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If you've paid much attention to the news this past year, you know that 2023 was a rough one for the real estate industry, nation-wide. The Fed's aggressive rate hikes to fight inflation made buying a home almost twice as expensive (with traditional financing) as it was before they began raising rates. This left a lot of people on the sidelines. First time homebuyers were priced out of starter homes, and folks looking to move for work, convenience, or downsizing struggled with the reality of swapping their current 3% mortgage for one at 7% or even 8% at the peak last fall. The natural respons ..read more

First a personal update: being a full-time agent has been great! I am grateful that I had the opportunity to “retire” early from General Motors and get a nice separation package that gave me the confidence to try this out. That said, my first couple of months have been very successful! Since my last day at GM I’ve closed a lease for a client in Brushy Creek, sold 5 acres of unimproved land in Spicewood for my friend’s mother in law, and helped some other friends purchase their dream home in Highland Park West (my biggest deal to date!). Also, by this time next month, I should be a broker and ..read more

After a 30-year long career in IT, I've made the decision to make #realestate my full time job. I have been doing it on weekends and evenings, helping friends and family over the last 5 years, and I'm ready and I'm excited! I'm planning to get my Broker's license this summer, which is kind of like a promotion in real estate. Brokers control and are responsible for transactions and agents. Agents represent the brokerage and their clients. As part of applying, I had to make a list of every closed transaction I've done, and I've logged 32 transactions worth nearly $16M over those 5 years, so Jim ..read more

As the parents of a young daughter, my wife and I started thinking about college expenses before she was out of the womb. We have a 529 set up, and we put money in every month. We're trying to be smart about saving for college, and I hope that any of who you read this are being smart, too. Having said that, I am still learning! I have known a couple of people who bought homes to house their college-bound children, and it seemed a smart move. After doing some digging, I can say it is a *very* smart move! Consider this scenario... There are a lot of assumptions in here, and I can certainly walk ..read more

The Austin real estate market has been crazy since Covid hit in spring of 2020. First, everything went deathly still... then slowly momentum started to build on the buy-side, making it an extreme sellers' market for about 2 years. There was very limited supply (builders struggled with supply chain, permitting, etc) and extraordinary demand (150 people/day moving to the area, PLUS investors got wind of the appreciation and cash flow potential in central Texas). Roughly one in four SFH bought in Austin was purchased by an investor of some sort. More recently we've seen a fairly significant swin ..read more

Short Term Rentals, or STRs, are a very hot investment space right now. Revenue numbers can dwarf long-term rental units, if your property is in a desirable location with a strong tourism component. Yes, there are higher costs as well (property management, cleaning, etc), but in a market like Austin, the numbers are very compelling. STR is the best way to maximize your revenue. However, investors who are familiar with Austin know that the city has made it difficult and expensive to own and operate STRs here. Restrictions include that only owner-occupied dwellings are eligible, and one must ap ..read more

What if I told you there was a way to buy a lake house (or other vacation property), and get someone else to pay for it? Seems crazy, I know, but I've done it. Twice. Let me tell you my story... First of all, like a lot of people, I've always wished for a lake house near Austin. I've done well in my career, but not to the point that I could plunk down 20% on a decent place *and* afford two mortgages. But in 2019 I stopped wishing and asked myself how I could make it happen. To make a long story short, my strategy involved two key things: (1) Partnering with friends whom I enjoy hanging out wi ..read more

I'm sure everyone has heard the news over the last 6 months that the Austin real estate market (and many others around the country) has been extraordinarily hot. Stories of sellers getting 50 offers on the day they list, and stories of buyers having to offer $100,000 over asking with appraisal and inspection waived are fading into (recent) history. It is still a sellers' market, though. Roughly two weeks of inventory in Austin proper, and about 3 weeks in the MSA. For reference, a "balanced market" carries about 6 months of inventory. I say all of this to indicate that if you've been thinking ..read more

I can't tell you how many times I have had this conversation in the past few months with my friends and neighbors here in Austin: 'Man, I would love to sell my house right now, but... where would I go?". It's true! This is a fantastic time to sell - competition is fierce and you can get top dollar and amazing terms. Let me share some ideas with you all, and perhaps we can chat some more if any of these resonate with you. Move on up: We have some friends who have wanted to move to a larger house with room for a pool for a few years. They finally felt they were ready financially, but they were ..read more