Short Sale Testimonial from another satisfied Seller

Here is another happy customer that I closed last week on their home in Spicewood.  This short sale transaction was probably one of the hardest I have worked on because of a problem I had with the lienholder.  Happy endings are always great and here is what the sellers have to say:

We recently closed on the sale of our home with Pearl Jones.  It was a nightmare dealing with our lender and one department not communicating with the other department.  Pearl was great at communicating with us and letting us know what was going on step-by-step throughout the transaction.  We would recommend her as your short sale specialist because she knows what she is doing and tries to make the process as painless as possible. 

Jason and Shelly

If you or anyone you know is in a short sale situation, have them call a short sale specialist like me! I get them closed! 

Distressed real estate properties in 2011

Since I work with many distressed properties, I thought I would see what percent of our real estate market is distressed sales in Austin.  Understand that this information comes from my MLS, Austin Board of Realtors, and my MLS contains properties in Williamson County, Hayes, Travis, Bastrop and Caldwell.
In 2011, 21,293 single family properties were sold.  Out of these SOLD, here is the breakdown:

3,201 properites were REO's
810 were short sales
4,011 total distressed properties or 18% of our sales last year.  That is a 1% increase compared to 2010.


18% is really not alot compared to other areas in Texas or parts of the country. At a short sale seminar I attended last Spring in Houston, their distressed property is 24% of their sales.

The following areas show the # of distressed sales in that city last year:

Austin	1245
Round Rock	417
Pflugerville	283
Hutto	223
Leander	222
Kyle	211
Manor	174
Cedar Park	169
Georgetown	118
Del Valle	102
Elgin	85
Buda	75
Bastrop	73
Taylor	52
Cedar Creek	44
San Marcos	36
Lockhart	34
Lago Vista	31
Spicewood	29
Lakeway	27
Liberty Hill	26
Smithville	24
Jonestown	23
Dripping Springs	22
Jarrell	22
Dale	20
Bertram	16
New Braunfels	15
Marble Falls	13
Burnet	11
Florence	11
Johnson City	11
Wimberley	11
Canyon Lake	9
Rockdale	7
Driftwood	6
Kingsland	6
Lexington	6
Manchaca	6
Other	6
Thrall	6
Granite Shoals	5
Point Venture	5
Paige	4
the Hills	4

Even areas like the Hills, Driftwood, Wimberly and Westlake DO have distressed properties.  No area is protected from short sale or foreclosure.  If you are buying a property, it is important to know how many distressed properties are there in the neighborhood whether you are buying one or not.  If you are selling, you also need to know how many distressed properties are in your neighborhood because this may affect the pricing of your home.

If you are a distressed seller, I specialize in short sale and I may be able to help you.  Whether you are buying or selling, you need to know someone who can education you how distressed properties affect you.  Please call me today at (512)786-7355 for a FREE two hour real estate consultation.

Ridge at Alta Vista sales in 2011

Ridge at Alta Vista is a gated community in Lakeway. There are 2 sections, Ridge at Alta Vista homes and Enclave at Alta Vista Condominiums.  From time to time, I blog about this neighborhood because of the number of homes I sell here.

Here are the sales statistics for 2011. I have separated the Ridge at Alta Vista homes to RESERVES and ESTATES, the 2 types of homes in the community.

If you are thinking of buying or selling a home or condo in this neighborhood, please contact me for a more accurate market analysis so that a comparable home will be used in obtaining a value for a property you had in mind.

YTD Numbers for 2011		Units	Avg	Avg	Avg Price	Avg Days
			Price	Sq Ft	/Sq Ft	on Mkt
Ridge at Alta Vista (Reserves)
Active		4	468,731	3,791	123.92	93
Sold in 2011		7	451,713	3,776	114.59	87
Ridge at Alta Vista (Estates)
Active		0
Sold in 2011		1	550,000.00	4,776	115.16	123
Enclave Condos
Active		2	$338,500	2,218	148.88	53
Sold in 2011		6	$257,317	2,523	101.61	67

December 2011 Real Estate Statistics

What did 2011 look like?  We closed the year strong!  In December 2011, residential units of sold properties in the entire Austin MLS were up 10% compared to last December?  For Lake Travis properties (properties in Lake Travis ISD), sold properties were up 6% compared to last December.
The year also started out strong as in January, we are writing contracts! I already had 3 pending just on the first 2 days of the year on my listings. I hope this is a good sign for Austin's real estate housing market and national economy.  How does this compare to your area?
Double click on the attached photo to enlarge.

Keller Williams' Halloween Carnival in Lakeway a Success

On October 27th, Keller Williams Realty Lake Travis Market Center held a Halloween Carnival at our Lohmans Crossing Road parking garage.  There were over 30 booths held by agents and sponsors and I held a colored hair spray booth I called "PJ's Punk Rockers".  This is our third year hosting this event and my third year as a participant.

The Carnival was a success! Over 300 kids came this cold and windy evening dressed  in their cute, spooky, funny costumes. Some agents and staff braved the Dunking Booth on this cold day. I would like to share some of my photos with you as this event was truly a blast! Come see us next year!

Market Statistics for September 2011 in Central Texas

Numbers don't lie.  These numbers came from Austin Board of Realtors and the numbers are amazing.  Closed sales are up 19.6% in September 2011 compared to last September.  The inventory of properties for sale is down 24.8%.  The best news is that we ONLY have 5.6 months of inventory.  Typically, less than 7 months of inventory means SELLERS market.  What does this mean if you are thinking of buying or selling or investing in real estate?  Give me a call today at (512)786-7355.  I appreciate the opportunity to earn your business.

What foreigners need to know when purchasing a home

What should foreigners need to know when they wish to purchase a home in United States?  I tell you, in this business, I learn something new everyday.  In this blog, a foreigner is someone who does not hold a US residency or US citizenship.

A foreigner from Asia emailed me asking on a property I have listed.  The man inquired how much down payment he needed to put on a home as he would like to finance.  Since I am not a loan officer or a mortgage officer, I had him get hold of a loan officer I work with.  The response of the loan officer was as follows:

"Unfortunately we do not have any programs available to a borrower who doesn’t have a valid work visa. The other challenge would be with receiving foreign income and your current physical address. We are now required to run automated underwriting using our borrower’s actual physical address. No PO Box or friend or family’s US address may be used unless the borrower actually resides there, and the automated system will not accept a foreign address." 

I asked an escrow officer or a title company staff if a foreigner is able to purchase property in the United States if they paid cash.  The escrow officer said that if they have the funds to purchase a property to pay cash in full, they are able to purchase property.  BUT, she addds, when it comes to sell the property, they have to provide this information to IRS and that they have to withhold taxable income from the sale.

I thought this was interesting information to our foreign investors.  If you are thinking of investing here in United States, please let me know by emailing me at pearljones@kw.com so that I can see if I can assist you in purchasing a home in Central Austin,  Texas or any parts of the country.