Luxe Austin Homes - selling

"The House You’re Negotiating on Is ‘Accepting Backup Offers’—Now What?"

Realtor.com writes,"You found the house, made an offer, and got the good news: The seller accepted. But when you check the listing a few days later, you notice it’s still marked as “accepting backup offers.” What does that mean—and should you be concerned?

In today’s competitive housing market, it’s not unusual for sellers to hedge their bets, especially during the early stages of a deal.

Here’s what to know if the home you’re trying to buy is still technically on the market.

What it means when your offer is accepted—but the listing is still open

An accepted offer is an important step, but it doesn’t guarantee that the sale will close. Between acceptance and closing, there’s a window—known as the contingency period—where several things can…

442 Views, 0 Comments

"Good News for Homebuyers—It’s a Friendlier Market as Sellers Get Ready for Spring"

Realtor.com shares, "The much anticipated spring selling season is a few weeks away, and signs point to a friendlier market for homebuyers.

The share of consumers saying that now is a good time to buy was the highest in over a year, but still only at 24%. Meanwhile, the share of those saying that it’s a good time to sell remains high, at 62%.

On the one hand, this aligns with the data. The Realtor.com® weekly housing inventory showed that listing prices softened as new listings and active inventory growth both rose and homes took longer to sell. These are all signs consistent with a housing market shifting into buyer-friendlier territory.

At the same time, when the market is shifting and uncertain, it can be wise to home in on seasonal…

128 Views, 0 Comments

"Housing Market Predictions For 2024: When Will Home Prices Be Affordable Again?"

Forbes Advisor writes, "The housing market might finally be entering a transitional phase.

Summer sales have been tepid thus far, but there are signs that activity could heat up by the end of the summer as mortgage rates edge down and much-needed resale inventory continues to enter the market, giving buyers more options.

Other good news for home shoppers is the ongoing decline in the median price for a new home—now below the median resale home price—even as builders continue offering buyer incentives.

Nonetheless, experts say the housing market will only see renewed momentum once mortgage rates drop enough to ease affordability challenges and incentivize homeowners locked in at low rates to move so inventory grows substantially to meet…

284 Views, 0 Comments

"Active Austin home listings keep rising in emerging 2024 trend, says report"

CultureMap Austin reports, "The latest real estate report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) has revealed that June saw a significant increase in the number of active home listings in the Austin metro area — continuing on a three-month high that began in April — and median sale prices are dropping to accommodate the rise in inventory.

New in the June report, Unlock MLS refers to the Central Texas region as the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan statistical area (MSA), whereas it was previously identified as the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown MSA.

The data shows there was a 13.4 percent drop in home sales across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA, with only 2,732 homes sold in June for a median price of $450,000. There…

283 Views, 0 Comments

"Home prices have reached a milestone. Here's why it's a double-edged sword."

Austin Business Journal shares, "The median sale price for U.S. homes hit a record $383,725 during the four weeks ending April 21, up more than 5% from a year earlier, according to newly available data from real estate firm Redfin Corp.

The increase comes even as the supply of homes also has gone up, with 10.2% more new listings compared to the same time last year.

The record-high sale price is double what the median price was 10 years ago and up about 50% over the past five years, according to Redfin (Nasdaq: RDFN).

High interest rates have kept mortgage rates above 7%, and there's little indication from the Federal Reserve that interest rates will be measurably declining in the near term. That combination has helped push the median monthly…

277 Views, 0 Comments

"Buda's Sunfield is metro's fastest-growing neighborhood"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Buda’s Sunfield is the fastest-growing neighborhood in the metro, nabbing the top spot after leapfrogging from the No. 8 position in 2023. See the list below this article.

Scarborough Lane Development’s Sunfield, a 2,795-acre master-planned community, earned first place on Austin Business Journal’s latest list of fastest-growing neighborhoods with 470 home starts last year. The list is based on data from real estate company Zonda.

There are eight homebuilders active in Sunfield, where homes can be purchased at prices much lower than the average home in the metro.

While Sunfield’s 470 home starts was an increase over the 291 home starts reported on our 2023 list, many neighborhoods saw a decrease in home…

299 Views, 0 Comments

"The Grossman & Jones Group offer white-glove customer service to homebuyers and sellers in Austin"

Community Impact writes, "With a combined 40 years of experience in the real estate industry, Todd Grossman and Michelle Jones of the Grossman & Jones Group are committed to exceeding clients’ expectations.

Up until 2018, Grossman and Jones each had their own businesses at a boutique real estate company in Austin. When they got word that Compass, the nation’s largest independent luxury brokerage, was coming to town, they decided to become business partners and join as founding agents.

They founded their company on professionalism, integrity, great relationships and hard work, and today, with the backing of Compass, the Grossman & Jones Group provides buyers and sellers white-glove service.

Jones said joining Compass was an attractive option because…

277 Views, 0 Comments

"14 Austin Real Estate Startups and Companies Making the Industry Smarter"

Built in ATX writes, "Austin remains one of the country’s hottest real estate markets, so its booming real estate tech sector should come as no surprise. From tightening renter relations between the tenants and the landlords to skipping the commission take by realtors, here are the Austin tech companies making it easier for realtors, renters, homeowners and leasers alike to operate in real estate.

TOP REAL ESTATE TECH COMPANIES IN AUSTIN

• Realtor.com
• Virtual Staging Solutions
• Agent Pronto
• RealSavvy 
• Billd
• OJO

What they do: Closinglock offers real estate tech for fraud prevention. It serves title companies, legal offices and financial service providers in an industry vulnerable to wire fraud, impersonation and other…

732 Views, 0 Comments

"What Is an Origination Fee, and How Much Does It Cost?"

Realtor.com writes, "in the seemingly never-ending mortgage lexicon of home buying and selling, one term in particular stands out as a source of confusion: the origination fee. What is an origination fee? It’s something every homeowner needs to understand. And the good news is that it’s not actually that complicated.

In basic terms, an origination fee—sometimes referred to as a discount fee—is money that a lender or bank charges a client to complete a loan transaction. An origination fee can encompass a variety of different fees added together, says Mark Ventrone, owner and broker with ABLEnding, based in California and Arizona. It can include underwriting fees, administrative fees, processing fees, discount fees (also known as points), and any…

544 Views, 0 Comments

"Signed Contracts for U.S. Homes Rise for the Second Month in a Row"

Realtor.com reports, "the numbers: U.S. home sales inched up for the second month in a row, as the housing market continues to be hampered by high rates and a lack of home listings.

Pending home sales rose by 0.9% in July from the previous month, according to the monthly index released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.

The figure exceeded expectations on Wall Street. Economists were expecting pending home sales to fall 0.5% in July.

Transactions were still down 14% from last year.

Pending home sales reflect transactions where the contract has been signed for the sale of an existing home, but the sale has not yet closed. Economists view it as an indicator for the direction of existing-home sales in subsequent months.

Big…

343 Views, 0 Comments