Author Archive for Crossland Team
Austin Sales Market Update for August 2008
Closed Published by Crossland Team September 23rd, 2008 on Crossland TeamThe average sales price for houses in Austin in August 2008 remained about level, decreasing slightly (-1.96%) to $259,500, down from $264,695 a year ago. Median sold price rose slightly (+2.05%) to $199,000. The number of failed sales efforts, or “Not Solds”, (expired or withdrawn) was 46% for August, up …
What is Your Debt Share of $700B Bailout?
Closed Published by Crossland Team September 23rd, 2008 on Crossland TeamAs the U.S. government debates a $700 Billion bailout for the financial industry, what does that mean for you and me, and our kids? One summary I saw broke it down like this:
About $2,300 per American
About $6,000 per U.S. household
The tally for all the various rescue measures launched by U.S. …
Austin Real Estate Market Update - July 2008
Closed Published by Crossland Team August 22nd, 2008 on Crossland TeamThe average sales price for houses in Austin in July 2008 remained about level, decreasing slightly (0.05%) to $262,114. The number of failed sales efforts (expired or withdrawn) was 42%, which is a large number. Days on market continues to climb also, to 60 days average on market and 39 …
Understanding Your Economic Stimulus Payment
Closed Published by Crossland Team August 9th, 2008 on Crossland TeamI received this nice letter from the IRS called “Understanding Your Economic Stimulus Payment”. I got out a calculator to arrive at my own understanding and, from what I can tell, my stimulus award was taxed at a rate of 92.17%, which is the percentage of the $1,800 total that …
By Bob Petersen, Precision Inspection
This month I am going to discuss two of the more critical mechanical components of a house, the ground-fault interrupter (GFI) and the temperature and pressure relief valve (T&P).
GFI’s (also called gfci for ???ground fault circuit interrupter???) are generally found only on homes of relatively …
Consumer Reports Flawed Realtor Survey
Closed Published by Crossland Team August 6th, 2008 on Crossland TeamThere has been a lot going around about a recently published consumer reports survey of home buyers and sellers. I take these type of surveys with a grain of salt, but I don’t ignore them, especially when the information provided is so obviously incorrect.
The survey says:
Most people still close the …
Home Warranty Does Not Cover Known Pre-existing Conditions
Closed Published by Crossland Team July 31st, 2008 on Crossland TeamI was negotiating repair items on a deal last week. I represent the buyer. The property inspection revealed, among other things, that both A/C systems in the home were showing splits that were out of compliance with normal readings.
A “split” is the difference in temperature between the air that is …
Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
Closed Published by Crossland Team July 30th, 2008 on Crossland TeamWell, the big Housing Act of 2008 has been signed. Based on what I’ve read and studied, this political move will do little in the long run. It may simply postpone true recovery in the national housing market by impeding the movement of the real estate to where it eventually …
Dear Out of State Investors - We Told You So
Closed Published by Crossland Team July 26th, 2008 on Crossland TeamToday’s Austin Statesman has an interesting, if not predictable article about California investors being disproportionately represented in Austin area foreclosures. We’ve participated in several sales by California investors (not ones that we sold to though) bailing out, some of which were short sales or pre-foreclosures.
As the Austin real estate market …
Austin Real Estate Sales Breakdown by MLS Area - June 2008 YTD
Closed Published by Crossland Team July 14th, 2008 on Crossland TeamBelow is the breakdown of year-to-date home sales in Austin by MLS area. This is for houses only, no condos, townhomes, etc. I’m often asked, “how is the Austin real estate market?”, to which I reply, it depends on which market you are talking about. There are multiple “markets” and …