Let’s put these ideas to work, so your home shows at its best.

Keep snow and ice at bay.If the buyer can’t get in easily, the house won’t sell. That means keeping walkways and driveways free of the frozen stuff. You want to make the home look well maintained.

Warm it up. Think warm, cozy, and homey. Before a buyer comes through, adjust the thermostat to a warmer temperature to make it welcoming. If you have a fireplace, turning it on right before the tour can create a more welcoming ambience.

Emphasize winter positives.Is your home on a bus route or some other vital service that means it’s plowed or deiced regularly in bad weather? Be sure to mention that to the buyers.

Make it festive. Even if you’re not actually going to be present, greet your buyers as if they were going to be guests at a party. Set up the dinner table with the good china and silver. Have a plate of cookies for your guests, some warm cider, or even chilled bottles of water.

Use the season to your advantage. When the holidays are over, you can still use winter wreaths and dried arrangements around the door to spark interest. In the winter, with the leaves off the trees, you might also have a nice view that isn’t as apparent in the spring and summer months.

First off, for Gen Y, is right now a good time to buy a property?

Right now is absolutely a great time to buy. The only time that was better was prior to April 2010 when the government was offering the first time buyer tax credit. But Interest rates are a little lower and sellers are a little more motivated right now (September 2010), so right now is a great time to buy a condo, home or duplex. We’ll cover all of these items in this interview, but you can also find a copy of “seven reasons why now is a great time to buy a home” on my website at www.AustinRisingRealEstate.com.

For Gen Y thinking of buying their first home, should they save for a down payment or pay off credit card debt?

It really depends. If your credit card debt is impacting your credit score and limiting you from getting pre-approved for a loan, then you will want to pay off your credit card debt. If your credit score is above 620 and your financial profile is decent, then saving for a down payment and closing costs will be more beneficial to achieving your goal of buying a your first condo, home or duplex.

What types of loans are available to first time home buyers?

There’s four types of loans available: Conventional, FHA, VA and USDA. Conventional requires 5%-20% down FHA requires 3.5% down VA (veterans) and USDA (homes located in rural areas) loans are 100% loans One of the best loans for the first time buyer is the FHA loan. Only required to put 3.5% down. So on a $150,000 home, that’s $5,200 plus around 2% for your closing costs and 1-3% for your pre-paids. On an FHA loan, a buyer can negotiate to have the seller pay up to 6% of their closing costs. On a conventional loan, the buyer can negotiate to have the seller pay up to 3% of their closing costs.  In every city, there is a max you can get approved for with an FHA loan. In Austin that is $288,000. You can contact your local lender and they will be able to tell you the max FHA amount for your area.

What if you have questionable credit?  How do you qualify for a loan?  Will you pay higher interest or need more of a down payment?

If your credit score is above 620 and you can qualify, but have questionable credit, then you will pay a higher interest rate to account for the risk adjustment.

Are there any down payment assistance programs for home buyers?

There typically are down payment assistance programs at the city and county level. Most of these programs require first time buyers to go through a class, pass a test and the assistance programs are only available if the funds are available. If you google your cities housing finance board, you can usually find more information. Family members are also a good source for assistance with a down payment. However, if a buyer is receiving assistance from family, they are required to bring $500 of their own money and the parents money would have had to sit in (or be seasoned) in an account for 2 years and be sourced.

We hear a lot about foreclosures, and that you can pick up a good deal for a low price.  What should Gen Y know when shopping for foreclosures?

Every city is different. I can only speak about Austin when it comes to foreclosures. We’re not seeing too many foreclosures in the central core. When one does come on the market they typically receive multiple offers. However, we are seeing a good amount of foreclosures in the surround suburban neighborhoods such as round rock, pflugerville, cedar park, ect. Here are the six things you need to consider when shopping for a foreclosure:

1. Evaluate Your Budget
2. Run Market Compareables and Don’t Over Pay
3. Consider the Location
4. Get a Home Inspection
5. Forget About Flipping
6. Be Prepared to Wait When You Submit an Offer

What about the incidentals of home buying? Like homeowners insurance, closing costs, and repairs? How should Gen Y budget for those items as they’re working on saving for a down payment?

Gen Y should plan to have 3.5-5% for their down payment, 2% for closing costs and 1-3% for their pre-paids (tax reserves, 1 year hazard insurance, interest and 1st months payment + interest). On a $150,000 that’s roughly around $5,250+$3,000+$1500-$4500 . On an FHA loan that’s roughly around $14,250 and the buyer can negotiate with the seller to pay up to 6% or $9000 on their closing costs. So in the perfect transaction, a buyer could get in to a $150,000 property with a $5,250 down payment.

How do you figure out your credit score?

AnnualCreditReport.com is the ONLY authorized source for the free annual credit report that’s yours by law. The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees you access to your credit report for free from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion — every 12 months. To order your credit score, visit annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228 The rest of the companies you will find online are typically selling services and require you to pay.

Obviously, employment is important to any lender.  How long do you need to be employed to satisfy lender requirements?

Lenders are looking for a buyer to be employed for at least two years. If you are in college, they are looking for you to be in the same line of study or have a co-signer for the same amount of time.

What is the pre-approval process all about?

The pre-approval process is where the lender looks at your financial profile and assesses the buyers risk. They look at your debt to income ration, your credit score, your assets to see if you are a qualified buyer. The main things they look for is are a credit score above 620. Your debt to income ratio is below 56/57%. And you don’t have too much out standing debt. You can contact your local lender to schedule a Remember that lenders WANT to get you qualified and the government WANTS you to own a home, so they will try their hardest to get you qualified.

You can visit our website at www.AustinRisingRealEstate.com/buy/faq to see over 70 first time buyer frequently asked questions.

What are the reasons Gen Y should become homeowners rather than renters?

There’s a lot of reasons. But the biggest reason is you are building wealth instead of helping someone else build their wealth….in other words paying someone else’s mortgage in the form of rent.  Here are the top three reasons Gen Y should consider buying versus renting.

1. The average rent out of college is $946. That’s more than $11,000 a year you are throwing a way towards rent. If you plan to live somewhere for 5 or more years, that’s almost $57,000 you could save, on top of appreciation of the home.

2. Interest rates. Seriously are at an all time low. I know we keep hearing this, but some economist are predicting they will dip down into the high threes around 3.99% early next year. Obviously we don’t have a crystal ball, and a lot could happen between now and then, so if you are considering you should take advantage of interest rates now.

3. The third reason is home prices are trending back up. The recession is behind us and consumer confidence is slowly starting to restore.  As of September 2010, condos, homes and duplexes are probably at their lowest prices. As the saying goes, buy low and sell high. Those are my main three reasons why gen Y should buy a home within the next six months.

To view our report “Seven Reasons Why Now is a Great Time to Buy a Home” remember to visit our website at www.AustinRisingRealEstate.com

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The Austin Asian Resource Center is well on its way to being built, according to an update to the Austin City Council Mar. 11 by Schiller Liao, a member of the AARC Board of Directors.

“We’ve been working on it for a decade now and we’ve been working very diligently since then,” he said. “We want to see completion by April 2012 and have a grand opening by May for Asian Heritage Month. We will do every effort to do that.”

The AARC, located at 8501 Cameron Road, would serve the entire community of Austin as a gathering and educational space, similar to the city’s Mexican-American Cultural Center.

Liao described the space as a multi-purpose space where business meetings can take place, especially as a site to welcome business people from China and other Asian countries. It would be also be a family-friendly area with open spaces for children.

“This project is not just for Asians, but it is for all Austinites and for all Texans,” he said.

Voters approved a $5 million bond for the project in 2006. The project has since been scaled down in scope, but still provide a multi-function hall for 600 people, classrooms, conference rooms, a library, art exhibition space and outdoor areas with water features.

The design concept will be LEED silver level certified and will incorporate solar energy, xeriscaping (using native plants that require less water) and rainwater harvesting, among other green features.

“I salute you with the LEED certification. That’s very exciting aspect,” said council member Chris Riley.

Mayor Lee Leffingwell congratulated Liao and other board members on the progress they have made on the center.

“The MACC [Mexican-American Cultural Center] took 30 years, and Phase 1 opened a few years ago. It looks like in relative terms you’re moving in light speed,” he said.

Councilman Bill Spelman also offered his congratulations on seeing the project near fruition.

“I am in awe of your master plan. I look forward to your being able to break ground on this thing in 2012 and I look forward to going here all my life,” he said.

http://impactnews.com/southwest-austin/258-recent-news/7679-austin-asian-resource-center-aims-for-completion-by-2012-

Since the Fed’s mortgage program ends tomorrow and the tax credit ceases 4/30, what will the future for mortgage rates and home prices be?

The recession that wiped out thousands of jobs in Central Texas also erased $6.5 billion from the market value of Travis County properties.

The 5.3 percent drop in values from 2009 was the first decline since 2003, according to preliminary figures from the Travis Central Appraisal District.

The news means tough decisions for local government leaders, who must decide whether to raise tax rates, cut budgets or both to compensate for tens of millions of dollars in lost property tax revenue.

“It means more belt-tightening,” said Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe, who presides over the Commissioners Court. “It’ll probably be some combination of cuts and small tax increases.”

The drop does not necessarily mean lower tax bills for all homeowners. Housing prices declined only slightly last year, despite the recession.

Meanwhile, the commercial market suffered more, with rising office vacancies and foreclosures or bankruptcies for some large properties.

Chief Appraiser Patrick Brown estimated the total market value of the property in the county at $116.9 billion , down from $123.4 billion last year.

“These are predictions, not promises,” said Brown, who is still analyzing the figures before sending out notices to taxpayers in a few weeks.

Residential property assessment increases are capped at 10 percent, no matter what happens to market values, under a state law that cushions homeowners during hot real estate markets.

But the law also requires that assessed values continue to rise until they eventually catch up to market values.

“Many people have been getting assessed values below market for three or four years,” Brown said. In those instances, “many homeowners will see an increase in assessed values, even though market values aren’t climbing.”

The preliminary 2010 valuation is hardly unexpected, given the state of the economy, but declines have been rare for Central Texas in the past three decades.

The last decline was 5.3 percent in 2003 , reflecting the tech bust. That year, the county’s market value dropped by $4 billion, to $71.9 billion. The decline in taxable values was half as large, in part because of the effect of the 10 percent cap.

The 2010 estimate says more about where the economy has been than where it is going.

Last year, home sales fell off across Central Texas, and builders cut back on starting new homes. But home prices only dipped slightly.

Brown credited the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time buyers and the region’s continued population growth for cushioning the residential market.

The commercial market suffered more. Office vacancy rates continued to rise, with some newer suburban complexes having few or no tenants.

In Bee Cave, the Hill County Galleria went into bankruptcy last May and was sold in January for $75 million — less than half of what developers had borrowed to build it.

“The worst is behind us in terms of commercial values dropping, but the appraised values are reflecting transactions from last year, when they were still declining,” said Charles Heimsath, president of Capitol Market Research , an Austin real estate consulting firm.

Heimsath said the apartment market, where occupancy rates have hovered around 89 percent, will probably be less affected than suburban office buildings and industrial properties, where the rates are lower.

Total property values are not yet available for Hays and Williamson counties, but Chief Appraiser Alvin Lankford said Williamson County’s value might be down slightly.

“There is a possibility of a loss, but I’m not prepared to say how much,” Lankford said. A drop would be the first in the decade he has served as chief appraiser.

Property values in Bastrop County are expected to increase about 4 percent, said Chief Appraiser Mark Boehnke. He credited new development for offsetting any softness in property values.

“If you are in Central Texas, the market was pretty good,” Boehnke said. “I think that’s hard for some people to understand, given what they were hearing on the news” about the recession.

In Travis County, the estimated rate of decline varies among taxing jurisdictions.

The estimated drop in taxable property values — factoring in homestead exemptions and other deductions — for the Austin Independent School District, for example, is nearly 5 percent, while the City of Austin’s decline is about 6.4 percent.

City of Austin officials, who are expected to disclose budget options in a couple of weeks, declined to speculate what the drop will mean.

“I certainly wouldn’t want to be in (City Manager) Marc Ott’s position,” Heimsath said. “He’s going to have to find places to cut in the city’s budget and probably have to make a recommendation to the council to raise the tax rate, and that’s very challenging, particularly in bad economic times.”

At the Austin school district, Chief Financial Officer Nicole Conley-Abram said officials had anticipated a drop in property values. “But it’s certainly not good news.”

All school districts in the county are at the state-allowed maximum property tax rate.

Falling property values also could add to the state’s projected $11 billion-plus shortfall when lawmakers convene next year. Under the school finance formula, state aid must increase as local revenues drop.

lcopelin@statesman.com; 445-3617

snovak@statesman.com; 445-3856

http://www.statesman.com/business/travis-property-values-face-first-drop-since-2003-545370.html

Austin area home prices are expected to stop falling in the final quarter this year, according to Federal Housing Finance Agency and Moody’s Economy.com data.

The Fiserv Inc. (Nasdaq: FISV) report released today projects Central Texas residential price tags rising in the first quarter next year, reaching levels from before the recession by 2016.

The document estimates prices will have fallen about 4.8 percent by the time it reaches the trough at the end of the year. It said prices began the free fall in the final quarter 2008.

The city fared relatively well compared to 374 markets also included in the report. Markets that experienced the greatest price bubble — certain markets in California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada —won’t see home prices reach peak levels until 2025 or later. Austin prices are expected to hit the last peak on or before six years from now.

“The picture is not uniformly grim,” Fiserv Chief Economist David Stiff said. “In fact, our analysis projects that some markets are poised for a relatively fast recovery, including some areas that never experienced large declines in prices. Markets that could see prices come back within the next few years include Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Columbia, South Carolina and several metro areas in Texas, Washington and upstate New York.”

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/04/05/daily50.html

Before I-35, East Avenue was a Thoroughfare with a View
East End Cultural Heritage District

New Plans for Waller Creek Improvements

by SHELTON GREEN / KVUE News
Posted on April 7, 2010 at 9:20 PM
Updated yesterday at 10:25 PM

The Mexican American Cultural Center in downtown Austin was packed Wednesday night with neighbors, downtown business owners, employees and the curious. All of them showed up to learn more about the latest redevelopment plans for Waller Creek.

It’s kind of been left alone to fester on its own and I just wonder what they have in store,” said Marvin Chaney an Austinite who showed up to hear and see the final Master Plan for Waller Creek.

“Tonight’s vision is to get in front of the public and let these folks discuss what kind of ideas they have, what can happen along the surface once the tunnel gets rid of the flooding threat,” said Stan Evans with city of Austin’s Watershed Protection.

Evans and other city staffers told KVUE that city engineers had to first come up with plans on controlling the flooding of Waller Creek before developers could even begin talking about redevelopment.

“Then the idea is to use this project to really help reconnect with east Austin with the Lady Bird Lake trail system, with the University of Texas, with the Capitol,” said Jana McCann with McCann Adams Studio, the Austin firm working with the San Francisco development company ROMA.

The city had tables full of artists renderings of hike and bike trails, promenades, restaurants and shops along Waller Creek for citizens to study and submit ideas.

A rough estimate of the improvements to Waller Creek from 12th street to Lady Bird Lake could cost 34 million dollars.  It’s unclear at this point where the money will come from.

The Austin City Council has the final say in June. If approved construction on the Waller Creek tunnel could begin in 2011 with a completion date scheduled for early 2014.

http://www.kvue.com/news/Waller-Creek-improvements-90165617.html

*Read interest rate disclosures and follow daily rates here. To speak with one of Austin Rising’s preferred lenders, visit our Team page.

February 2010 Market Update

Our market update allows you to follow five simple market indicators so you can understand what’s happening in the Austin real estate market.

According to the Multiple Listing Service report, the volume of Austin area homes sales were up 4% in February 2010 compare to the same month in 2009. “These results demonstrate that Austin’s recovery is continuing steadily,” said John Horton, Chairman of the Austin Board of REALTORS®. “Our area has been identified as one of the first to emerge from the recession and the real estate trends of recent months clearly support this assertion.”

We will continue to see a good amount of activity  up to April 30th due to buyers looking to take advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit.

According to Forbes Magazine, the Austin area tied for first place on a list of large metropolitan areas where the recession is easing first. Austin’s low unemployment rate and job growth from 2007 to 2009 – just below one percent, which was more than any other city included in the research – were cited as key factors for the ranking.

Mr. Horton continued, “It appears we’re beginning to see an impact from this steady improvement, particularly in increases in pending sales and new listings, as well as a decrease in the length of time homes are staying on the market, all of which are indicators of future demand.”

COLLEGE STATION, Tex.– Chief Economist Dr. Mark Dotzour is crisscrossing the nation delivering his economic message and collecting valuable data for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. Here is a recap of this week’s findings gleaned from meetings of the National Association of Business Economics in Washington, D.C.

Among the comments he heard, were:

- “Clearly there is virtually no threat of inflation in the next two years.”

-“There’s virtually no chance of the Fed increasing interest rates (maybe a symbolic small move aside).”

- “The last recession, the Fed waited until unemployment was 5.5 percent before tightening.”

- “We won’t get to that level for several years.”

- “The threat is for deflation across the globe, with the exception of China.”

- “China’s money supply is up 30 percent from last year. Our M3 (the Fed’s measure of the money supply) is virtually unchanged from a year ago, and available credit is less than last year.”

“The Congressional Budget Office said the United States is going to be unable to pay for the social contract with America,” said Dotzour. “It’s only a matter of when and how the adjustments for failed promises have to take place. Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security cannot be funded at current levels of spending.”

Dotzour heard a representative of Barclays, a worldwide financial services provider, say that the real damage to housing values occurs when the real estate owned (REO) dominos begin to topple.

“Just because a house gets foreclosed, prices don’t fall,” said Dotzour. “It’s when the REO is disposed that the value impact occurs. Foreclosures have been postponed, first due to a moratorium and now due to banks having to prove they tried a modification before they can foreclose. So the major price impact on the housing market is not over yet.”

If the core rate of inflation drops to less than 1 percent, expect the Fed to re?engage in quantitative easing (printing money to create inflation), reported Dotzour.The news from across the pond is not good either, he said.

Dotzour heard a commodity specialist say that China is purchasing way more hard metals than they need for the level of industrial production that they are experiencing. He said it was clear that they are stockpiling these hard metal commodities.

“This reminds me of the oil market the month before the summer Olympics in 2008,” said the Center’s chief economist. “China hoarded diesel in case they had power failures at the games.”

Prices for all commodities have skyrocketed since the day the Fed announced quantitative easing. An oil representative said that oil could stay high and go higher because marginal demand is coming from China and India.

“If and when China’s bubble blows, the entire commodity complex could come crashing down fast,” said Dotzour.

“All of a sudden Russia, Brazil and Australia don’t look so robust. Money will start flowing hard into the United States. Again, this makes me think ten?year Treasuries might look pretty saucy right now at 3.7 percent.

“Surprisingly,” reports Dotzour, “nobody is really talking about states, cities and school districts. Their layoffs and reduced spending will impact local suppliers all over the country.”

“None of this is pretty,” said Dotzour, “but investors and business people need to be aware of the environment that they are working in.”

—30—

Note to Editors

To interview Dr. Dotzour (Dot-sir), call 979-862-6292 or e-mail him at mdotzour@mays.tamu.edu. For information on the Real Estate Center, contact Senior Editor David. S. Jones at 979-845- 2039 (voice), 979-845-0460 (fax) or d-jones@tamu.edu. Or contact Associate Editor Bryan Pope, 979-845-2088 (office) or b-pope@tamu.edu.