If you have lived in Austin for a while and have never been to the top of Mt. Bonnell, you really need to go. If you visit this great city and want to see an amazing sight, you should also go. Mt. Bonnell isn't the highest place in Austin, but it is close. Take a look at the following photos - they might motivate you to walk up the 70 or so steps from the parking area to the top.
Looking south.
The view to the north-northwest.
Telephoto shot looking north-northwest.
Amazing Lake Austin homes below.
Getting to Mt. Bonnell is simple. Click here for a map.
I don't usually post about listings, but I will about this one. I put 14905 Running Deer into the MLS a couple of days ago and the list price is $135,000. Anyone who knows Apache Shores knows that this is a very low price. Why? The seller was working on fixing the place up and updating and never got finished.
This is a kind of funky house in an eclectic community. It is a two-story A-frame with 3 bedrooms and 2-1/2 bathrooms and has 1610 square feet of living space. The seller built a deck in the back and installed a tot tub, which conveys with the property. He redid the kitchen, but didn't grout the tile floor. The house needs paint, carpet, hardware updating, some sheetrock repair and some other things. I see this as a place an investor should buy, make livable and use as a rental property. The comps in the MLS show that someone could probably get either side of $1200 a month rent for this house.
There is a shed/workshop with electricity and a working refrigerator that conveys. The frige in the kitchen conveys and so do the washer and dryer. There is no garage, but there is a small covered parking area. There is also an overgrown garden that could be brought back to life,
The community is in the Lake Travis ISD, which is one of the best school districts in the state. There is a community boat launch and day docks on Lake Austin. There is also a hiking trail, children's playground, pool, tennis courts and a volleyball court. Lake Travis is just 10 minutes away and the neighborhood is within around 40 minutes of downtown Austin.
If you have been on a boat on Lake Travis and cruised by the town of Briarcliff, you know how challenging it can be to get to the water from a waterfront house. Some Lake Travis properties are gently sloping to the water and others are not. As you will see below, pictures really do tell the story.
As you can see, people get pretty creative when installing stairs to the water. Some homes will have a straight drop to the lake and will have stairs bolted to the cliff. Some will be a combination and others will go over a series of boulders. These stairs will have sections of removable rails so when the water rises the rails can be removed so the docks and boats don't hit them. As the water drops, the rails are installed again.
If you have any questions about Lake Travis waterfront homes, please call me at 512-293-2422.
Are you in the market for a new home in the Austin area? I got something from Taylor Morrison about huge incentives they are offering on new construction in order to get it sold before the end of the year. Straight from a builder's rep:
"As I am sure you know, Taylor Morrison builds homes as far south as Buda to as far north as Georgetown. Our prices start in the low $100s and go up to the millions.
What would you think if we kept it pretty general and said that buyers could take advantage of UP TO $100k off the price of homes in several of our Steiner Ranch communities, also in Falconhead and Falconhead West and Senna Hills?
In our North West communities buyers can benefit by taking up to $50K off the prices.
These homes already include designer features and landscaping! Many potential buyers realize what a great deal this is once they start pricing out a TBB home.
We are also offering incredible financing deals of 3.5% Fixed the first year 4.5% the second year and 5.5% fixed for life!!
It is a buydown on an FHA loan assuming 3 percent down with a 640 credit score. Taylor Morrison purchased the commitment money and basically those great rates go away when we run out of the money to offer."
If they are offering any REALTOR incentives, like a higher commission than we usually see, I take anything over 3% and have the builder credit it off the home price. So if you are in the market for a new home, call me at 512-293-2422.
Zillow, CyberHomes, HomeGain, House Values - are they useful? The better question is - are they accurate?
"As useful and services may seem to buyers and sellers, you've probably discovered by now that the price estimates are usually far from accurate... After all, you're now dealing with buyers and sellers who have preconceived notions (often far from reality) about what a home is really worth."
That is a quote from an article in REALTOR® Magazine about websites that provide estimates of home values. Click here to read the article.
Texas is a non-disclosure state, meaning that a buyer or seller of real estate doesn't need to disclose the price to the state or county. What this means is County Appraisal Districts may not have accurate information for most properties. Neither do sites like the ones mentioned above. So all of you buyers and prospective sellers out there, how can you get a more accurate idea of market value for a property?
In Texas, the only accurate data that will show sold prices is in the MLS and you can only access that data if you are a real estate agent licensed in the state of Texas. So if you are a prospective buyer or seller of a home in Texas, the very best thing you can do is interview several agents to see which one you like and trust and then work with that person.
Well we did move, but not far. The Keller Williams Lake Travis office is now at 1921 Lohman's Crossing. We had a building put up and just moved in on Saturday. Although the move was Saturday, we are still getting things out of boxes and getting organized. Anyone reading this is probably more than familiar with moving, whether it was a home or a business. It is amazing how moving even just a hundreds yards can take so much effort.
The location is physically just up the hill in Lakeway that some of you already have known. Keller Williams moved because we just didn't have enough space. With around 200 agents in the Lake Travis Market Center and 30 or so in the office, we were getting pretty darned cramped. Offices were too small and conrerence and training facilities were just in adequate. Of course the phone system and network were getting a little out of date as well.
Keller Williams Lake Travis now has offices for many more agents. We also went from two conference rooms to four. Our meeting and training room is huge. There is now enough room to seat 100 people. Of course a new office space also means things like a new network with new cables, rounters and T-1 lines.
Out Grand Opening will be November 20 in the evening. If you have time, drop by around 6 or so. We will have food, beverages and live music. Hope to see you there!
This coming Thursday, November 6, will be the drawing for the Mercedes C300 and a trip to Germany. The Rotary Club of Lakeway - Lake Travis has raffled a car for the last 6 years to raise money for scholarships for high school students and we're doing it again. With ticket sales low because of people feeling pinched economically, this year's raffle odds are really good. We have 1200 tickets to sell and as of last Thursday, we have sold just over 400. The party this Thursday will be great. We will have a Parrot Head Band and a fajita buffet. If you buy a raffle ticket, admission is free. Otherwise, entry will set you back $25.
So if you win, what do you get (and you don't need to be present to win)? Well, the car we have been showing off is a loaner. What the winner gets is vouchers for air fare to Germany for two people. The winner will fly to Germany and pick up his or her brand new car at the Mercedes factory. It can be the C300 or you can use the value to apply to a Mercedes of your choice. After you pick up the car, you have a vacation in the Black Forest. When you are done, you fly back home and the car is delivered. How cool is that?
Tickets are $100 each and on the back of each ticket is $125 worth of coupons for things like a car wash and discounts at local restaurants. As I said before, you don't need to be present to win. You don't even have to live in Austin. You can click here and buy a ticket online. By the way, if you buy a ticket online, would you email me so I will know?
One of the blogs I follow is inmanNEWS. There were two posts this week that looked pretty encouraging. The first was abou thomes sales in Southern California being 65% higher than a year ago in September. The second was about the San Francisco Bay area seeing home sales increasing 45% over a year ago in September. Granted that prices are way down and foreclosures are way up, but homes are finally moving again.
Austin tends to lag behind California around 6-12 months in terms of an uptick of homes sales. So this could be a sign that home sales in the Austin area may start picking up as early as next April. I would also like to see is stats for places like Phoenix, Las Vagas and Florida.
Read the articles here and here.
My daughter spent the night at a friend's house along with three other girls last weekend. When I picked her up on Saturday, she rather animatedly told me about going to the House of Torment near Highland Mall in Friday night. She said that she screamed almost all the way through. It reminded me of the haunted hayride at Cactus Jack's, where Spanish Oaks is now. That was an awesome thing to do with the kids.
Here is a list of other places to visit in and around Austin for a good scream:
Illusion Manor
Mansion of Terror
Mansion of Terror: Vicious T. Mangle's Slaughter Circus & Freakshow
Nightmare Factory
The Horror Haunted House
Scare For A Cure
Austin Haunted Forest Trail of Fears
Gruesome Gardens at the Great Outdoors
If you go to any of these, enjoy. If you don't, but are out roaming the streets on Halloween night, please watch out for kids on the streets. They will be all over the place and we need to keep them safe.
Edit 11-2-08: Halloween has come and gone. If anyone reading this went to any of the haunted houses, I would love to hear back with a review. Just leave a comment. Thanks!
If you read my post from the other day, you will know that I talked about building in the floodplain of Lake Travis. I talked about elevating the first floor of the house and also about mechanical systems like the air conditioner compressor. I just found the house below today. Note the small platform just under the left side of the first floor of the house. The AC compressor is there. These folks did it right.
Below is another photo of the same house from a different angle. Note the parking space below and a deck between the parking space and the house. The deck is a bit hard to see, but it is there. I like this design because it keeps the deck is in the shade of the house and elevated enough to survive most Lake Travis floods.
By the way, the level of Lake Travis when I took these photos was around 658 feet above sea level. The first floor of the house must be at 723 feet. So how far up is the house compared to the lake right now? You do the math.
OK, this didn't come from me. It came from Forbes. The article, dated 10-10-08 talks about the economy in different parts of the country, specifically about job growth and housing prices. Click here for the article. It is interesting, but not surprising, that 4 of th etop 10 cities on the list are in Texas.
In addition, I want to share a video that was on KVUE TV yesterday. This was a news story about now being a great time to buy a home in Austin. Yes, this is the media, not a bunch of real estate agents. This is the same media that on a national level preaches nothing but doom and gloom about the housing market. Click here for the video.
If you are considering building on Lake Travis and probably on many other lakes, there are some things you need to know. Lake Travis is west of downtown Austin, Texas around 45 minutes. Everything in this article will be specific to Lake Travis, but it may provide some things to think about for anyone building on any lake.
The first thing a buyer of Lake Travis property needs to learn about is the floodplain. The full level of Lake Travis is 681 feet above sea level. The Lake Travis floodplain is at 722 feet. Why the huge difference? Lake Travis rises and falls depending on rain and on water use. Lake Travis is the main flood control lake of the Highland Lakes and it is managed by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). The LCRA has obligations to release water downstream because of water contracts. At times without rain, the lake will drop. When we get too much rain, the LCRA holds it back in Lake Travis to minimize or prevent downstream flooding.
OK, so the level of Lake Travis can change. What does that have to do with building on lakefront property? With the floodplain at 722 feet, the requirement for building is that the first occupied floor of a house needs to be at 723 feet or higher. So the first thing you need to know is the elevation of the lot – the whole lot and the location of the floodplain if part of the lot is in it. Most lots on Lake Travis slope and the slope can be gentle or it can be very steep If the lot is low to begin with, you probably want to build as close to toe highest level of the lot as possible. Take a look at the example below.
This shows a very nice looking home on a lot that is obviously very much in the floodplain. The builder of this house chose to have a large garage under much of the house and closed the garage in with brick or stone. You can see the lake in the background past some bare land. The level of Lake Travis when this photo was taken was around 658 feet above sea level. The highest the lake has gotten in its history was just under 711 feet. That would have put a lot of water in the garage of this house.
The above photo shows another stilt house close to Lake Travis that sits a bit higher than the previous house. Notice the ramp rather than stairs. You may be wondering about an elevator instead of stairs or a ramp. My thought is that this is just one more mechanical system that will be damaged when the water rises and an elevator would probably be pretty expensive to replace or repair. In case you are wondering about the metal frame at the top left, that is another house going up next door.
Other things to think that get more detailed are the septic system, the location of air conditioning compressors, a propane tank if you will have gas, the electrical service panel (breaker box) and water system equipment if not on city or other private water. To minimize damage, these items should be elevated. Lake Travis has been above 700 feet three times and above 690 four times since 1990. As the lake has never been higher than 711 feet, placing these at 715 feet or higher would probably fine, but there would still be some risk.
Many of the available lots you will find with frontage on Lake Travis will not have public water or sewer. Septic systems are quite common. There are two types you can install. If there is sufficient room, a gravity system can be used. These septic systems have next to nothing mechanically so they are less susceptible to damage by flood waters. Aerobic septic systems have many mechanical parts. These are generally installed when there is less room for the large underground septic drain field.
Here is the problem with a septic system: when the lake floods, the septic tank cannot function properly. If it an aerobic system, the electricity will not be working. If it is a gravity system, the tank won’t be able to drain. In other words, when the lake floods and your system is under water, you can’t count on using plumbing. This may be fine if you have a weekend house, but what about about living there full time? When Lake Travis floods, the water usually is back down in a week or so, but even being unable to use a house for a week may be a problem.
The LCRA has specific rules about locations of septic systems. The basic rule is that the lowest point of the septic drain field must be at the elevation of 691 feet or higher. In some cases a holding tank might be lower than this, but the effluent would need to be pumped to a higher drain field and this would require a variance from the LCRA. So once again, you need to know the elevation of the entire lot in order to know if a septic system can even be installed.
Regarding water, if the lot you are looking at does not have some sort of municipal water supply, you will need a well or to draw water out of the lake. The LCRA does allow pumping water from Lake Travis for household use and landscaping, but you need a contract with the LCRA to do that. You will also need a holding tank and purification equipment. All of this should also be placed at a high enough elevation so none of the equipment is within easy reach of floodwaters.
So getting back to building on a Lake Travis waterfront lot, there are things you need to know before going out and looking at lots. If you work with a Lake Travis REALTOR®, he or she should be able to provide guidance in these areas. Click for information about the Lake Travis floodplain.
Questions about Lake Travis real estate? Call me at 512-293-2422.
If you live on Lake Travis or are buying property on Lake Travis, you may be wondering about using Lake Travis water for household use and landscape irrigation. The answer is probably yes. What you need to do is contact Anissa Menefee at the LCRA at 800-776-5272, ext. 3231. What you should be able to do is contract with the LCRA so use Lake Travis water. There isn't a meter, you just need to estimate water use. The terms should be spelled out in the contract. From what I was told by a gentleman at the LCRA, the annual cost isn't much. Call Anisa for details. If you would like to learn about
Lake Travis homes, give me a call at 512-293-2422.
I've been waiting and waiting for this time of year to get here. No, not football season, although I am thrilled that it is here. Right now is when the door really got slammed on buyers who could not qualify. This is the time that lenders put the huge squeeze on borrowers. Now that September and October are here we will see stats at a time that the market conditions were actually the same as 12 months ago. Finally we can compare apples to apples.
Austin has seen prices rise or remain flat for the until September. Read on and look at stats from our friends at Alamo Title Co.
Units for Sale:
Sept. 28 - Oct. 4, 2008
(compared to the same week in 2007)
New listings down this week 20.06%
Pendings down 22.65%
Solds up 56.03%
As for Average Prices:
Sept. 28 - Oct 4, 2008
Sold average sales prices decreased 4.66% to $244,418. In 2007 it was $256,360 for the same week.
September 2008
Units for Sale: (compared to September 2007)
New listings were down 6.23%.
Pendings were down 3.94%.
Solds increased by 7.37%.
As for Average Prices:
The "New Listings" average list price is down 0.11% to 322,116. In September 2007 the average list price was $322,466.
Sold average sales prices decreased 5.52% to $242,215. For September 2007 it was $256,360.
Did you know that we had 11,323 active listings during the same week in 2007? Today there is 11,863 active listings! That is a 4.77% increase from last year.
So what are we seeing here? First, I want to see October results to see if this will be a trend, but what we are seeing is a pick-up in home sales and a decrease in prices.
My comments: I really want to see October stats when they come out to see if this is a blip or the beginning of a trend. But what this data tells us is that more homes are selling and prices are dropping. We're also seeing a drop in the number of new listings. I suspect that over the next few months we may see a decrease in the number of Active listings.
For one thing, builders aren't starting a bunch of specs and they are dumping existing inventory. This should lead to a reduction in the number of listings as the new stuff gets sold off. The incredible deals builders have been offering should help force prices down. The excessive amount of inventory, especially of high-end homes in places like the Lake South area of the MLS will cause a few things. First, a huge number of these homes that haven't sold are either up for lease or have been leased. This should start a slight drop in available supply. Second, some of these builders are taking a hit when selling, causing a drop in prices in the higher price ranges.
Of course in this time of incredible uncertainty with the economy, it is anybody's guess what will happen with housing as well as other sectors of the economy. Austin, as much of Texas, is very strong economically, but we can't keep up good numbers if the nation or globe fall into a deep recession.
Richard from Cedar City left a comment on an earlier post about people waiting to buy to see if prices will drop more. That is always a gamble. Money is available for people with good jibs, good credit and money in the bank. Interest rates are still pretty darned low. Some sellers who must sell, as opposed to those who want to sell, are pricing aggressively and this could result in good deals. If you are an Austin home buyer, I would keep my eyes open and strike when a great deal presents itself.
No, not HAM and not Spam. Sure, Austin is home to Spanfest, but HAAM is something entirely different. HAAM stands for Health Alliance for Austin Musicians. Austin is called the Live Music Capital of the World" and yet there are so many musicians here, not many actually make a good living. HAAM was put together to help the low income and uninsured Austin musicians obtain affordable medical coverage.
HAAM Benefit Day of 2008 will be Tuesday, October 7. When you eat or shop at over 180 Austin area businesses on the 7th, participating businesses will donate 5% of what you spend to HAAM. There will be Austin musicians all over the place performing in most of the 180 or so participating businesses. You can go watch and listen and have part of your purchases donated or toss a donation into a box onsite. Click HERE for an interactive map for the 2008 HAAM Benefit Day.
So this organization, HAAM, helps low-income musicians obtain affordable health care. From what I have researched, funding for the organization is provided by business and private donations and grants. Sounds great to me. I don't know if the city of Austin kicks anything in or not, but I hope it doesn't. Not that I would not want to help low income musicians, but that just wouldn't be fair to other groups of people without health insurance.
My thought is that many businesses in Austin have a very good idea of how the music industry helps this city. It attracts a lot of people through festivals like the Austin City Limits Festival and South by Southwest. The people who come for those spend a whole lot of money here and that generates a whole lot of tax revenue. Many people visiting Austin for business or family or just to explore Austin end up on 6th Street in clubs checking out local talent. These people also generate money for club owners and tax revenue.
So if you're out and about tomorrow and hear music pouring out of a local business, check it out.