Some of The Best Real Estate Scenes in Film History

If you don’t want to be on YouTube or TikTok, then contact ROCK Properties and we’ll make sure that you and your real estate transaction do not become a viral sensation on internet social media.

1. “I Love You, Man”: Crop Dusting Around the Open

Peter Klaven is L.A.’s “biggest” Realtor.

2. “Step Brothers”: Selling the House

Take notes if you want to prevent your rival agent from selling their listing.

3. “Up”: The sickest mobile house ever.

If you did not cry during this movie, you have no soul.

4. “American Beauty”: I will sell this house today.

Everyone needs a little pep talk in the mirror once in a while.

5. “Bruno”: Deleted Scene

I can see why they deleted this …

6. “Curb Your Enthusiasm”: Larry prevents an office tenant from moving in to keep control of the AC.

This is an extreme, yet effective approach.

7. “The Money Pit”: The Stairs Are Out

Their agent did not disclose anything.

8. “The Best Man”: The Realtor

I am guessing most of you have not seen this movie. However, Seth Green does a fantastic job at making a closet seem like a third bedroom.

9. “Funny Farm”: Selling Your Country House

The most successful FSBO ever. If only real estate transactions were this easy.

10. “Modern Family”: Phil Dunphy explains “Always Be Closing.”

He is a true salesman.

11. “Glengarry Glen Ross”: Always Be Closing

The REAL ABC

12. “American Beauty”: Getting Nailed by the Real Estate King

Viewer discretion is advised.

13. “Moving”: The absolute best Realtor clip of all time. Moving… and taking the windows !!!

Should’ve had a REALTOR!

Austin-Round Rock, Texas

MARCH 31, 2022

• The national inventory of active listings declined by 18.9% over last year, while the total inventory of unsold homes, including pending listings, declined by 12.5%. The inventory of active listings was down 62.3% compared to 2020 right at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In other words, for every 5 homes available for sale in the earlier period, today there are just 2.
• Newly listed homes were down 3.4% nationally compared to a year ago, and down 5.0% for large metros over the past year. Sellers still listed at rates 12.2% lower than typical 2017 to 2019 levels prior to the pandemic. 
• The March national median listing price for active listings was $405,000, up 13.5% compared to last year and up 26.5% compared to March 2020. In large metros, median listing prices grew by 9.1% compared to last year, on average. 
• Nationally, the typical home spent 38 days on the market in March, down 11 days from the same time last year and down 21 days from March 2020.

Realtor.com®’s March housing data release reveals that the one-two-punch of rising interest rates and all-time high listing prices has moderated demand for homes. A decline in the churn of listings, consistent with recent slow-downs as reported for new and existing home sales, has led to slight inventory improvements despite a lack of growth in newly listed homes. While the median listing price has reached a new all-time high, a greater share of listings are seeing price reductions as sellers adjust to a moderation in buyer demand. This spring’s homebuying season is expected to be less competitive than last year, however activity is still elevated compared to other recent years.  

Inventory May See Growth by Summertime

Nationally, the inventory of homes actively for sale on a typical day in March decreased by 18.9% over the past year, a smaller rate of decline compared to the 24.5% drop in February. This amounted to 89,000 fewer homes actively for sale on a typical day in March compared to the previous year. The total number of unsold homes nationwide—a metric that includes active listings and listings in various stages of the selling process that are not yet sold—is down 12.2% percent from March 2021. This is also a smaller rate of decline compared to last month’s 15.3% decline. If current trends persist, we may see active and total listings grow over last year by June or July. 

However, this moderation in active inventory is not a supply-driven improvement. In March, newly listed homes decreased by 3.4% on a year-over-year basis and sellers were still listing at rates 12.2% lower than typical of 2017 to 2019 March levels. While newly listed homes looked to be improving in February, in March, sellers listed at a pace just below last year’s levels. 

The number of pending listings on a typical day (listings that are at various stages of the selling process that are not yet sold), has declined by 7.4% compared to last March, indicating that a moderation in demand is softening the rate of turnover in inventory. This is consistent with February data on new and existing home sales, which both slipped lower. This moderation is likely caused by the combination of rising interest rates and all-time high listing prices that have increased the cost of financing 80% of the typical home listing by $375 per month. That’s $4,500 per year or 30% higher than this time last year. For homebuyers who are still actively searching for a home, this could provide some relief as competition declines. However, it indicates that some homebuyers may have put buying plans on hold, despite the fact that the current rental market offers little relief from high prices.  

The inventory of homes actively for sale in the 50 largest U.S. metros overall decreased by 16.0% over last year in March, an improvement in the rate of decline compared to last month’s 22.1% decrease. Regionally, the inventory of homes in large southern metros are showing the largest year-over-year decline (21.0%) followed by the Northeast (-16.5%), West (-13.1%), and Midwest (-9.4%). 

Inventory declined in 44 out of 50 of the largest metros compared to last year, but six metros saw inventory growth, up from four last month: Riverside (+17.8%), Sacramento (+8.2%), Kansas City (+6.7%), Detroit (+3.6%), Austin (+2.9%), and Phoenix (+2.4%). Ten metros also saw the number of newly listed homes increase compared to last year. The markets which saw the highest year-over-year growth in newly listed homes included Rochester (+7.2%), Detroit (+6.7%), and Memphis (+5.4%). Markets which are still seeing a large decline in newly listed homes compared to last year include Virginia Beach (-20.8%),  Raleigh (-17.6%), and Hartford (-17.0%). 

Homes Consistently Spend Less Time on the Market Than Previous Years

The typical home spent 38 days on the market this March, which is 11 days less than last year. Homes spent 29 fewer days on the market than typical March 2017 to 2019 timing. However, while homes are selling more quickly than last year, the gap has been shrinking as demand moderates. Last month, homes spent 17 days less on the market than the previous year. In March, the gap narrowed down to 11 days. 

In the 50 largest U.S. metros, the typical home spent 31 days on the market, and homes spent 8 fewer days on the market, on average, compared to March 2021. Among these 50 largest metros, the time a typical property spent on the market decreased most in large metros in the South (-11 days), followed by the Midwest (-7 days), West (-6 days) and Northeast (-5 days). 

Among larger metropolitan areas, homes saw the greatest yearly decline in time spent on market in the southern metros of Miami (-32 days), Raleigh (-19 days), and Orlando (-19 days). Only Buffalo saw time on market increase. It was up by just two days compared to last year. 

The Median Listing Prices a New High but the Share of Price Reductions Increases

The median national home price for active listings grew to a new all-time high of $405,000 in March as listing prices rose faster than typical for this time of year. This represents an annual growth rate of 13.5%, an acceleration from last month’s growth rate of 12.9%. While high, this price growth reflects a larger share of smaller listings. The median listing price per square foot, which is one approach to control for this change, increased by a slightly higher rate of 15.7% year-over-year in March. The median listing price for a typical 2,000 square-foot single family home, which is another metric that somewhat controls for this change, rose 20.3% compared to last year. 

However, sellers are responding to a softening of demand. The share of homes having their price reduced increased slightly from 5.8% last March to 6.0% this year, but still remains 9 percentage points below typical 2017 to 2019 levels. Twenty-five of the largest 50 metros saw an increasing share of price reductions in March, compared to just 18 in February.

Active listing prices in the nation’s largest metros grew by an average of 9.1% compared to last year. Price growth in the nation’s largest metros has been lower than other areas across the country, but much of this can still be attributed to new inventory bringing relatively smaller homes to the market this year. The median listing price per square foot in the nation’s largest metros grew by 12.5% over the same period, not as high as, but closer to, the national listing price per square foot growth rate of 15.7%.

Miami (+37.0%), Las Vegas (+35.2), and Tampa (+32.0%), posted the highest year-over-year median list price growth in March. Austin homes showed the greatest growth in the share of homes with price reductions compared to last year (+2.9 percentage points), followed by Sacramento and Memphis (+2.3 percentage points). 

March 2022 Regional Statistics (50 Largest Metro Combined Average)

March 2022 Housing Overview by Top 50 Largest Metros 

Note: With the release of its January 2022 data, Realtor.com® incorporated a new and improved methodology for capturing and reporting housing inventory trends and metrics. The new methodology uses the latest and most accurate data mapping of listing statuses to yield a cleaner and more consistent measurement of newly listed homes. As a result of these changes, the newly listed homes data released since January 2022 will not be directly comparable with previous data releases (files downloaded before January 2022) and Realtor.com® economics blog posts. However, future data releases, including historical data, will consistently apply the new methodology.

Unfortunately, the City of Round Rock was hit by a Tornado on Monday, Mar. 21. Round Rock Mayor Craig Morgan signed a declaration of disaster on Mar. 22.

Attached are a few photos of the damage from the Round Rock Texas Tornado on Monday, Mar. 21. This is from a drive near our Round Rock office and to check condition of a client’s property.

More Photos of the Round Rock Tornado Damage.

Since you are reading this, I presume that you are interested in knowing the differences between a Realtor, Broker and Real Estate Agent in Texas. It’s probably not what you think. We’ll answer that and a few other common questions in this post.

Let’s start with the basics: Do you need to be a Realtor to sell your property in Texas? The answer is no. There are no provisions in the Texas Statutes that require you to have a real estate license to sell your own property. Texas does however, require a license for a someone to sell a property for another person in a professional manner or for compensation.

So why would someone pay Realtor fees? Selling without an agent, also known as for sale by owner (FSBO) has risks, takes time, effort, experience and research has shown that FSBO sale, on average, nets nearly a 6 percent lower price than an MLS sale for a similar property. You’ll also be responsible for all the work of an experienced realtor, so if you have other obligations, such as a job or a family, selling FSBO might not be for you.

What Is a Real Estate Broker?
A very abbreviated definition of a Broker from Chapter 1101 of the Texas Occupations Code says: A person who, in exchange for a commission or other valuable consideration or with the expectation of receiving a commission or other valuable consideration, performs for another person one of the following acts sells, exchanges, purchases, or leases real estate (it continues….)

What Is a Real Estate Sales Agent?
A very abbreviated definition of a Sales Agent from Chapter 1101 of the Texas Occupations Code says: A person who is sponsored by a licensed broker for the purpose of performing an act described by Subdivision 1 (Basically does the same stuff as the Broker but with less liability).

What Is the Difference Between a Broker and Real Estate Sales Agent?
Real estate Brokers and real estate Agents do many of the same things with the biggest difference being responsibility. The Broker is legally responsible for the actions of the Agents that he/she sponsors. Real estate brokers earn money by taking a share of the commissions earned by the real estate agents who work under them.

What Is a Realtor?
The Word Realtor is a term trademarked by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) which is America’s largest trade association. REALTORS® are required to follow a code of ethics and complete periodic training and re-education to maintain their Realtor® designation.

You can you maintain a Texas Sales Agent or Broker license without being a Realtor. However, it is NAR that provides the Multi-List System (MLS) in Texas which contains all of the real estate sales data and NAR also provides many automated sales and marketing systems for Realtors.

Real estate Brokers, Real Estate Sales Agents, Realtors and Attorneys can all legally help another person sell their real estate in Texas but you must be a member of the National Association of REALTORS® to hold the designation of a Realtor.

When Do We Use the Word Realty?
Since the terms REALTOR® and REALTORS® are trademarked, it’s best to use the words “Realty,” “Real Estate,” or similar terms that indicate the real estate nature of a real estate firm’s business.

The Right Real Estate Agent Is Ready to Help!

We hope you find this information useful. If you decide that you need the services of a Real estate Brokers, Real Estate Sales Agents or Realtor, ROCK Properties Realty provides exceptional service and specializes in residential and commercial Real Estate especially the areas of Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Hutto, Liberty Hill, Florence, Bertram, Taylor, Thorndale, Thrall, Jarrell, Buda, Kyle, Manor, Williamson County, Travis County and Bell County.

We promise Integrity, Knowledge, Communication, Pride, Enthusiasm, Diversity, Stability, Caring. Our vision is to perform your real estate experience with visionary people, innovation products, and professional services.

We are a family-owned, full-service real estate services company, committed to professionalism for our clients, our colleagues, and our communities. ROCK Properties Realty have been working in Williamson County, Round Rock for the past 19 years. If you are considering relocating to Round Rock and require assistance in buying or selling your property, we would welcome the opportunity to assist you.

You get a call, email or post-card from someone offering to buy your Austin | Round Rock home off-market for cash and you are captivated by the amount of money you can make by selling it. Before you do, there are a few things that you should understand and consider.

• Should I sell and take the money?
• What is selling wholesale?
• Should I sell my property wholesale?
• Can I sell my home with a Realtor if it’s not in good condition
• Can a Real Estate Agent sell my home fast?
• Is there a benefit to selling “wholesale”?
• Do I net more money if I sell wholesale?
• Are wholesalers honest? Are Real Estate Agents?
• Do wholesalers take advantage of ignorance?
• Wholesalers offer a fixed price and Realtors get a % of the sale.
• What are assignable contracts.
• What are the differences between selling wholesale and retail.

Should I sell and take the money?
The thought of selling your home and taking the cash equity is tantalizing. I’ve thought about it many times but I always come back to the same questions. Where will I go? All of the other real estate in town is also inflated.

With the world in such a chaotic state, investing your money in your primary residence is probably one of the safest investments you can make. Cash in the bank will shrink due to inflation. The stock market and other investments are unpredictable. If you own your home, your housing costs will rarely change much but if you rent, they will rise with inflation, supply and demand. If the economy crashes, you have a place to live until the good times return.

What is the difference between selling Wholesale or Retail?
Those buyers that advertise, send post cards, emails, and telephone offers to buy your house are called wholesalers. When someone buys or sells a property without going through a Real Estate Agent, it’s called off-market or wholesale. When you buy or sale using a Realtor, it’s called a retail real estate transaction.

Should I sell my property wholesale?
If a wholesaler convinces you to sell your property to take advantage of the equity in your Austin or Round Rock home, you should first understand the advantage and disadvantages of selling off-market/wholesale versus retail with a Real Estate Agent.

• Can a Real Estate Agent sell my home fast?
  Yes, they can offer ALL of the same sales strategies as a wholesaler.
• Can I sell my home with a Realtor if it needs repair?
  Yes, your home does not need to be in good condition to use a Realtor.
• Will I net more money if I sell wholesale?
  It’s very unlikely.
• Are there benefits to selling wholesale?
  I cannot think of any. Really!

Are wholesalers honest? Are Real Estate Agents?
No one can judge the honesty of someone they do not know. However, the wholesaling business is often based on taking advantage of a seller’s ignorance. Wholesalers continuously market for home sellers who are in distress or have a property that they don’t want or is in poor condition. All of these selling conditions can also be handled by a Realtor and you may also net more money using a Real Estate Agent, even after paying the fees. Realtors can offer most anything that a wholesaler can offer.

What are the main differences between selling wholesale and retail?

The biggest differences between the two are in the contract. A wholesale contract usually entails the wholesaler getting the right to buy the property at the contracted price for a period of time. The wholesaler will then attempt to find a buyer to buy the property at a higher price. The contract also usually gives them the right to sell the “assignable contract” to another party who may then sell the contract to yet another party. The lower the contract price the wholesaler can get on the property, the more profit they can potentially make. Often, a wholesale contract does not compensate the seller of the wholesaler cannot find a buyer.

On the other hand, a contract with a Real Estate Agent is a contract between the seller and the Realtor to provide a service to sell the property (not to buy it). A Real Estate Agent is usually paid a percentage of the sales price, so the more money the seller makes, the more the Realtor makes. The retail market is also much larger than the wholesale market which provides a much greater opportunity to find as-is, cash and rehab buyers.

In summary, I would always recommend using a Real Estate Agent to sell your property. Realtors can sell properties as-is, cash and quickly, just like a wholesaler. Remember, the more the seller makes, the more the Real Estate Agent makes whereas it is the opposite with a wholesaler. Realtors are also licensed by the state and are required to have training. Real Estate Agents also have access to a much larger pool of potential buyers. These differences can potentially mean a greater chance of success and a good chance of dealing with someone with experience and integrity.

ROCK Properties Realty will Help Sell Your House Regardless of Condition or Situation.

We hope that this post will help you understand differences between selling wholesale/off-market and retail and which option might be the best option for you. ROCK Properties is a licensed Texas Real Estate Brokerage with offices located in Round Rock Texas. We have been in business for almost twenty years and have experience with both the wholesale and retail sides of the Austin Texas real estate market. We can assist clients with both retail and wholesale real estate transactions but we are biased toward the retail options.

If you do have a property that needs work, you need to sell quickly or as-is, ROCK Properties Realty can offer you several options. We can buy it wholesale, fast and as-is (Off the MLS), we can help you fix it and sell it retail (On the MLS) so you can benefit from the improvements or we can help you sell it as-is retail (On the MLS). Either way, we can help you sell your property fast with no, repairs, hassle, or stress. We can also buy your house without appraisal or inspection in any condition in the Austin, TX area and you can choose the closing date that best suits your needs.

If you live in the Austin | Round Rock, TX area and have property problems, contact ROCK Properties Realty. We can assist with issues such as; back taxes, bad tenants, code violations, divorce, filled with clutter, homes in bad conditions, inherited houses, overwhelming maintenance, Preforeclosure, vacant houses, with severe damage, without any repairs, & much more. We also buy houses that are in good condition.

ROCK Properties Realty provides exceptional service and specializes in residential and commercial Real Estate especially the areas of Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Hutto, Liberty Hill, Florence, Bertram, Taylor, Thorndale, Thrall, Jarrell, Buda, Kyle, Manor, Williamson County, Travis County and Bell County.

Have you ever searched the internet for terms like Best Real Estate Agent in Round Rock and then get results like these?

• Round Rock’s Top 20 Real Estate Agents & Realtors
• Find the best 5% for you based on millions of home sales and 70 reviews.
• Find someone you trust to be your Realtor & Real Estate Agent.
• 2020’s Top Real Estate Agents and Realtors in Round Rock, TX
• Find the Best Real Estate Agents in Round Rock, TX. U.S.
• Top 10 Best Real Estate Agents in Round Rock TX
• Top Realtors® in Round Rock | 2022’s Top 1% Ranked Agents
• Find The Perfect Round Rock Realtor® Using Verified Sales Data …
• Round Rock’s #1 Rated REALTOR® – Round Rock’s Best Agent

Anyone who has been around the Internet long enough already knows that most of the results on the first page of a (Google) search are from advertisers who pay Google to be on the first page.  Most of the rest are from marketing sites that charge Realtors for a profile page on their website while they spend time and money promoting their website to appear on the first page of a (Google) search in order to collect leads to sell to hungry Realtors.

You have to ask yourself, are these really the Best Real Estate Agents?  Can anyone really say who is the Best Real Estate Agent?  What makes a good real estate agent?  How do you find a good real estate agent?  Is there really a difference between Real Estate Agents and do their differences really matter?  Let’s find out.

Can Anyone Really Claim To Be The Best Real Estate Agent?

Believe it or not, a big part of what makes a Realtor successful is marketing.  That includes marketing for new clients and marketing their client’s properties during the sales process.  Of those two marketing tasks, successfully marketing for new clients can have the most dramatic effect on a Realtor’s success.

After a Realtor has an agreement with a client, marketing the property for their buyer or seller clients is a very important skill, but much of the marketing is automated and it’s often the Realtor’s more subtle skills that set him or her apart from the rest.

What Makes An Outstanding Real Estate Agent?

It’s the skills other than marketing that divide the good Realtors from the outstanding Realtors and most of those skills can only be acquired through experience.  Some of the crucial skills for a “Best Realtor” are:

• Are they full-time or part-time?
• Are they responsive?
• Can they explain any and all of the paragraphs of the standard TX real estate contracts?
• Can they give a reasonable estimate for the cost of a property repair?
• Do they have an eye for photography and design?
• Do they have construction knowledge?
• Do they have experience negotiating contracts?
• Do they know the growth path of the town and the current events?
• Do they like their work?
• Do they own one or more properties?
• Do they understand emotion and the art of negotiation?
• Have they lived in the same or adjoining zip codes as their clients’ property interests?
• And many more…

Does Choosing The Right Realtor Matter?

Absolutely!  If a smooth transaction and getting the best deal on your property transaction matters, then the right Realtor can make a big difference.  Especially important is negotiating contracts and understanding emotion and the art of negotiation.

From this, we can see that the best real estate agent may not be the one that appears on the first page of Google who claims to be the Top Agent in your town.  So what are some good ways to find a great Real Estate Agent and what difference does it make?

How To Find A Good Realtor In Round Rock

I think the number one factor is how long have they been a Realtor.  There really is no substitute for  experience.  Not everyone succeeds in real estate and those that have been doing it for two or three or more years have figured out what it takes to succeed.  Most online reviews have some value but it’s a good idea to use those along with other criteria.  I have seen some Realtors with 250+ 5 star reviews and I wonder if they are real.  I know that positive reviews can be purchased.

Like choosing the right attorney or accountant, Buying or selling a home is a big decision and transaction that requires a lot of paperwork and real-time decisions. A wrong decision and you could make less money on the sale of your home, pay too much for a home, or even lose the home to another buyer. It should be simple to (Google) search and find information on a respectable real estate agent in Round Rock.  Look for a trustworthy website, a profile, and testimonials from previous clients. But Remember one thing, The right real estate agent for you may not be the right agent for someone else, though! Thousands of dollars are spent each month by large real estate brokers to guarantee that their agents are the most prominent. However, the agents backed by the most promotion dollars aren’t always the best, and may not be a good fit for your circumstances.

Selling Your Property

If you’re selling a home, you’ll want to hire someone who understands how to price a property, promote it, and negotiate effectively. Begin your search by asking friends or coworkers for recommendations. By all means, get references and check them. Most importantly, it is also a good idea to ask a possible broker for references, which are previous clientele who may provide feedback on their services. When speaking with these clients, be sure to inquire whether they have any reservations about referring the agent to others, and if so, why. Inquire about whether the Broker matched their expectations for excellent communication, real estate market experience, and the execution of an effective marketing or search strategy, as well as how they felt about their general. “You’re the CEO of this transaction, so own it,”. When meeting with potential Round Rock TX real estate agents, doing some preliminary study on properties, the Round Rock real estate market, and Round Rock home sale prices can help you to ask more pointed questions. You’ll also be able to examine each agent’s knowledge base more accurately. Don’t select someone  to sell your home based on the number he puts in front of you . “The market decides that, not the broker.” 

Buying A Property

If you’re buying a home, make a list of your desires and priorities before you start looking for a property. The location, type of residence, and age of the home are all factors to consider. Look for a broker who asks the right questions, such as: What is your timing? How is your financial situation? Have you been pre-approved for a mortgage?  You want someone who knows about the area where you want to live in from a hyperlocal level. Good communication skills and empathy instincts are highly desirable traits on the buying side. The broker who seems to tell you only what you want to hear may not result in the most successful and fair transaction. On the contrary, a broker should be the one  who is strong enough to say: ”I know it isn’t on your list, but just come and see this place. I truly think it will work for you.”  If you’re buying a home for the first time, your Realtor should discuss any challenges of locating the home you want at the price you desire and they should also have a strategy for achieving your objectives. When working with a Realtor, you should always feel as though you are in control of all critical decisions and that your real estate agent is acting in the role of a trusted advisor.

The Right Real Estate Agent Is Ready To Help

Now for our sales pitch.  We think we are the best Real Estate office in Round Rock, but the truth is, who can really claim to be the Best.

We do promise Integrity, Knowledge, Communication, Pride, Enthusiasm, Diversity, Stability, Caring.  Our vision is to perform your real estate experience with visionary people, innovation products, and professional services.

We are a family-owned, full-service real estate services company, committed to professionalism for our clients, our colleagues, and our communities.  ROCK properties Realty have been working in Williamson county, Round Rock for the past 19 years. If you are considering relocating to Round Rock and require assistance in buying or selling your property, we would welcome the opportunity to assist you.

ROCK Properties Realty provides exceptional service and specializes in residential and commercial Real Estate especially the areas of Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Hutto, Liberty Hill, Florence, Bertram, Taylor, Thorndale, Thrall, Jarrell, Buda, Kyle, Manor, Williamson County, Travis County and Bell County.

As a Realtor, I have been helping buyers and sellers negotiate real estate home contracts in Austin-Round Rock for more than fifteen years. Wow, has it changed.

For most of my years, I would do a market analysis, determine the market value based on recent sales in the same area and adjust the price based on size, condition, location and other amenities. We would tour the house with the seller and suggest areas that they can improve to make their home sell better and then we would help the seller prepare their house to compete with the other nearby homes for sale.

On the buyer side, we would get to know the buyer, find out what they wanted and needed and then suggest some things that they should consider before making this large investment. Then we would setup some property email alerts to notify the buyers of potential homes that match what they are looking for. Together, we would analyze the properties as they came up and narrow it down to the best few that we wanted to look at. That was then!

The Austin-Round Rock real estate market has certainly changed. Like any other product, the housing market is affected by supply and demand and the demand in the Austin-Round Rock area has definitely changed. We’ll talk about why, later.

In the current market, it’s still a good idea to prepare your home to be the best one in the neighborhood, but it’s no longer necessary as it’s almost guaranteed to sell regardless of the condition.

I usually price a home at what I believe should be the current market value based on condition and nearby activity. Not too low to try to attract a quick sale and not too high to try to get a higher than market price for the property. Those too high and too low prices are not good and not necessary as the market takes care of finding the right price for us. In all of my recent listings, I continue to be surprised by what the market is willing to pay for a home, but that is the result of an unbalanced real estate market and the demand exceeding the supply.

In most of my recent sales, we have gotten into a multiple offer situation. As a Realtor, I prefer to work one-offer at a time because I have empathy that the buyers and their family are just looking for a place to live at a reasonable price. However, as the listing Realtor, I represent the sellers and it’s my duty to help them achieve their real estate goals and that usually means getting the highest price with the lowest risk of contract default.

There are lots of things that they buyer’s agents are now doing to try to secure a house for their clients. Many of them submit a deadline for response with their offers as it creates a sense of urgency for the sellers to accept the offer or lose it. As a listing agent, I convey this information to the sellers but in reality, there really is no urgency to take the first offer for your home. If you are selling a home in Austin-Round Rock, the motivated buyers will often be the first one to submit, but it’s also important to note that it might take a few days for advertising to saturate the market.

If you are representing a buyer, it sometimes helps to provide a letter with the offer so the sellers can see the humanity that goes on behind the contract. Or as stated earlies, give the seller a deadline to reply to create a sense of urgency. Sometimes, being the first to offer can help if you find a buyer that wants to get their property under contract, so they don’t have to think about it anymore.

Buyers are currently offering many incentives to try to win contracts that were uncommon when the Austin Round Rock real estate market was more balanced. It’s now common for buyers to waive appraisals, waive contingencies on financing approval, offer shorter option periods, offer more earnest money, pay for traditional seller paid closing costs and of course, pay higher prices.

If you are a seller, of Austin-Round Rock real estate, you are blessed. If you are a buyer, it’s a challenging and very competitive market, but don’t give up, the Austin-Round Rock real estate market should continue to have a bright future for quite some time. Either way, it really is a great benefit to have an experience Realtor® helping you with the process.

Contact us if we can help you buy a home, investment or commercial property in the Austin-Round Rock area.  It’s a great way to build wealth.

ROCK Properties Realty
512 850 4510
service@rockproperties.com

After 20 years in the high-tech industry, I decided I wanted to be in the real estate business.  How hard could it be, right?  Well, now I’ve now been in the Austin-Round Rock real estate business for almost twenty years, and I also realize how little I knew when I started.  But I survived and thrived and I’m still enjoying it.  After 20 years of many successes and mistakes, I have a much better idea of what matters.  Now I know what location, location, location means.  If you don’t, ask us.

I’ve personally bought and sold dozens of properties for my own personal reasons, and I’ve helped hundreds of clients buy and sell properties for their own use.  I’ve gotten to that point in my career where I enjoy being a teacher and sharing my real estate experience with clients to help them make wise decisions and to help them consider things that they might not realize until after purchasing a property.  A little experience can go a long way towards preventing costly mistakes and also those annoying little things that you wish you would have considered before you made that big real estate purchase.

Lately, one of the questions that I’ve been asked by many clients and other professionals, is the Austin real estate market going to crash?  I’ve been trying to guess the direction of the Austin real estate market for almost 20 years without much success. The only thing consistent about my predictions is that when I think it cannot go any higher, it does.

I’ve been fortunate enough that I bought and held a few properties that I acquired through my career.  Of course, since I held them, I bought them when prices were lower, and they are now worth more than I paid for them.  It seems that Austin real estate has always been a good investment as far back as they began keeping records.  There have certainly been some highs and lows along the way, but I’ve acquired properties and held them through the mortgage crisis, and they continue to be good investments.

So, is the Austin real estate market going to crash?  I don’t think so!  I think it will level off and may evens settle a little, but I don’t think Austin real estate is going to do anything that we would describe as a crash.  Austin has too much going for it.  It is becoming the new high-tech center of the US. There are many people and companies relocating from California and other areas to Austin. There are multiple announcements of major manufacturers moving to the Austin area. There are real estate investors from all over the world investing in the Austin Round Rock real estate market. However, even though Austin Texas doesn’t bring down the price of Austin real estate, there are other global or national things to consider that we will talk about in another post.

Austin-Round Rock Texas is entering a new era in real estate. Years ago, I saw a California real estate poster that depicted a skeleton of a person long dead. The caption read “Still waiting for California home prices to go down”.  Ever increasing real estate prices in Austin and California has been a double-edged sword. It has allowed some people to sell their house after many years and retire happily to a cheaper area. The downside is that it has kept large numbers of hard-working people from ever being able to own a home.

Is it too late to buy invest in some Austin real estate?  One thing I’ve learned by experience, is that if you are a long-term real estate investor, the odds are in your favor to make a profit if you hold it long enough.  You can always hold a property until the market recovers.  I’ve survived a couple of downturns along the way, and I’ve never lost money on a real estate deal in Austin.  Of course, It’s always better to buy low and sell high, but that requires making predictions of the future market performance which is rarely accurate. it really doesn’t matter when you buy.  If you hold long enough, you can make a profit.

In the long run, land is a limited commodity, and they are not making (much) more of it, so long-term, real estate will continue to rise with some ups and downs along the way.  I think more important than when you buy, is where you buy. There is a saying that the three most important things in real estate are location, location, location. This is absolutely true. I would much rather own 1 acre in Round Rock Texas than 100 acres in the Sahara Desert.

Austin real estate is like all of the old cars I’ve ever owned.  I wish still owned all of them.

Contact us if we can help you buy a home, investment or commercial property in the Austin-Round Rock area.  It’s a great way to build wealth.

ROCK Properties Realty
512 850 4510
service@rockproperties.com

Author: Britny Eubank

Residential home sales rose 2.5% year-over-year.

AUSTIN, Texas — More homes were sold in the Austin-Round Rock area in 2021 than ever before, according to a new report from the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR).

ABoR’s report shows that residential home sales rose 2.5% year-over-year to 41,316 homes sold in 2021. The median price for a home across the area also set a record last year, rising 30.8% over 2020 to $450,000. Additionally, more homes hit the market in 2021 than ever before, with new listings increasing 5.9% to 46,449 homes and pending listings increasing 1.1% to 42,592 homes.

In the City of Austin alone, residential home sales increased 4.6% to 13,351 sales, an annual record. The median sales price for residential homes in Austin rose 27.7% year-over-year to $536,331 in 2021, also an annual record. New listings slightly increased 1.4% to 14,937 listings while active listings dropped 41% to 782 listings, and pending sales increased 4.7% to 13,595 pending sales.

Cord Shiflet, the 2022 ABoR president, called 2021’s housing market the “most exciting, complicated, fast-paced and record-setting” market in Austin’s history.

“With all the new jobs across the region from exciting companies like Tesla and Samsung, Austin was put on the world’s stage and captured the hearts and attention of so many,” Shiflet said. “We are lucky to call Austin our home when it has so much to offer from a great quality of life to a wonderful destination for innovation and opportunity.”

One number did show a notable decline for the area: the average number of active listings on the market dropped 48.2% to 2,348 homes last year. ABoR said homes spent an average of 20 days on the market, 25 days fewer or 55.6% less than in 2020. The 5-county MSA ended 2021 with 0.6 months of housing inventory.

Mark Sprague, the state director of information capital at Independence Title, said that 2021’s housing records were set due to high demand combined with limited supply. Lack of inventory and supply chain disruptions could continue to affect the housing market this year.

“Lack of inventory and global supply chain issues may lead to a 5-7% decline in closed sales across the region in 2022, but rising home values will ensure the housing market’s economic impact remains steady,” Sprauge said. “In short, 2022 will see a robust market for home sales and property values, but the region must do more to address inventory.”

To read more about December’s numbers and dig into the 2021 numbers for Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties, check out ABoR’s full report.