My Take on April Statistics
This (below) is why I’m not worried about Austin real estate. In a month as awful as April, it was still only this bad. There’s a hundred reasons to be bullish about Austin, which is a speech my clients have to endure too often. 🙂 Besides steady job creation, stable cornerstone industries, and a hi
Corona Castles in the Sky
The past couple of months seem like such a loss that, if you’re like me, you’re just looking for something to show for it. How much has the bar been lowered when your list of month’s accomplishments consist of the number of shows completed or nintendo switch games you beat (I think somewhere around
Covid19 and Past Recession Impacts on Real Estate
I don’t have to be the author in order to acknowledge really great content when I see it. Often merely being a curator is the most helpful thing I can do. I follow a lot of newsletters and blogs related to Austin real estate, and this article is a head above the rest, worth sharing. With permission,
The HomeSmith Awards
Under quarantine, you find yourself embarking on more non-essential exploratory tasks than normal. You’ve no doubt seen countless realtors with row after row of awards and accolades in their signatures. It’s just our special way of saying, “Work with me, I’m a winner! I’m really experienced!” These
HomeLight Achievement
We’re grateful to HomeLight for recognizing and awarding our hard work. Real Estate agents earn this award when they rank in the top 5 percent of agents in their area based on historical real estate transaction data. Each year, HomeLight awards agents at both the local and national levels for excell
Coronavirus and Real Estate
So, I was in the large group of eye rollers for the past few weeks while everyone’s been clamoring that the sky is falling. Now I see how coronavirus is affecting my own business, and how recession is almost inevitable. I see that the societal pain this is causing is quite possibly a more fearful th
Market Comparison Charts for 2019
The new market stats are out! This is my favorite resource that I’m using every week. Scroll down through my past blog posts to see 2018 and how it compared.
Comparison: Solar Panel Systems
Solar panels are a big part of the homeowners equation for many people. We recently put solar on our roof, and I thought I’d share our research with you to make it a little easier if you decide to jump in yourself. First of all, just note that they’re usually only going to put panels on a south-faci
Flashback: Skydiving
I’m retiring an my old website intro page from several years ago, but I think posting is a lot of fun so I thought I’d preserve it for posterity here on the blog. My Big Leap This Year was jumping out of a plane. Most likely your big leap this year is something different. Maybe your current home is
The Smiths in 2019
2019 was a year of trying new things, full circle journeys, and incremental growth. I’m sure Hillary and I show more than 1000 houses a year (each), and it’s difficult not to get “the itch” sometimes. Our friends have dependably poked fun at our house hopping. Earlier this year, though, we found a c
Here’s our list of top Austin places to visit and things to do
South Congress– Great restaurants, shopping, and walk a little south to see the bats at the South Congress bridge (March through November and people start gathering around 5:30pm). Plan ahead and you can do a boat tour of the bats. (Side note: there’s a mass bat exodus in RR too, just off I-35 if yo
Updated Market Comparison Statistics for 2018
The Smiths in 2018
This year’s accomplishments include keeping my dauntless daughter alive one more year, getting my wife to finally admit Thai food is pretty good, and selling more houses than we ever have. In 2018 we’ve frequented some of our old favorite places (Enchanted Rock) and found new favorites, as well (Urb
Appraisal Addendum
In a seller’s market like this, it’s really common to see buyers willing to pay over appraised value as they’re tripping over themselves for the most prized properties. In these situations, for years now buyers and buyer agents have been looking for ways to formalize their creative offer structures
Freakonomics: Are Real Estate Agents Selling You Short?
Although I’ve heard great things about it for years, I’m finally getting to go through Freakonomics. It unpacks so many interesting topics at the intersection of economics, culture, crime, and behavioral science. The chapter on “What do school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?” deals with
The Smiths In 2017
Happy Holidays everyone!
One Resource Everyone Austin Buyer/Seller Needs
I want to make sure I put my absolute favorite resource into your hand. I send this to everyone, use it almost every week, and post an updated version every year. This gives you all of the information you need to see how the various areas around Austin are appreciating with information broken up by
The Smiths in 2016
Happy Holidays everyone!
Real Estate FAQ’s, vol. 1
How long does it take to close on a house? Prior to TRID changes (which came down from Dodd Frank legistlation) that happened a few months ago, we could close most loans in 30 days after an offer is accepted. Now it typically takes 40-45 days to close. Although I don’t see it very often, I’m told
The Truth About New Builds and Realtors
“I don’t need a realtor to go buy a new build home.” -This is actually true. The salesman at the model home can take you through the whole process without ever seeing a realtor. To me though, the questions isn’t whether or not it can be done or not, rather it’s whether or not you might have missed o
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