Austin Real Estate Market Attractive For Both Real Estate Investors & Consumers

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Bubela & Associates

After seeing so many false starts and differing national opinions about the recovery of the national housing market, it’s hard to not be skeptical about the level of recovery and real timelines. Will the market improve steadily, or will it keep up with this choppy tug of war that has been going in since the recession?

The first thing to realize is that you cannot let the national media, national data and national statistics affect your true opinion. While national housing data is used as a general indicator of overall economic health for the country and does have a huge effect on the stock market, you have to look at real estate on a local level and how it affects you personally. Continue Reading “Austin Real Estate Market Attractive For Both Real Estate Investors & Consumers” »

Bond Program 77 Makes Homebuying A Bit Easier for First Time Homebuyers in Austin Area

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Bubela & Associates

Since 2010, the Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs (TDHCA) has released $500 million in assistance funding to help first time homebuyers purchase a home or condominium in Central Texas. The overall goal of the program is to assist moderate to lower income homebuyers with two special types of “assisted mortgage loans” that ease some of the burden caused by down payment and closing costs requirements. Continue Reading “Bond Program 77 Makes Homebuying A Bit Easier for First Time Homebuyers in Austin Area” »

USDA No Money Down Home Mortgage Program Covers Parts of Leander

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Bubela & Associates

Did you know you can buy a home in the Austin suburbs for No Money Down through the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)? The USDA offers a housing loan program for qualified homebuyers designed to promote housing purchase in designated “rural” areas.

There are rigid defined qualifications that must be met by both the homebuyer and the property in order to meet the requirements for these 30 year fixed rate, no money down loans. The good news for Austin residents is that many communities in close-in areas are considered “rural” by the USDA. And the even better news for Austin residents is that your income must be below a certain annual amount.

A large number of popular areas within Leander qualify, and the number of properties eligible only increases the further you get from the City of Austin. The Leander suburbs are attractive prospects for those wishing to live close to Austin and purchase a home without having to worry about high down payments or draining their savings. There are also great opportunities in the areas around Schulenburg and the rest of Central Texas between Houston, San Antonio and Austin.

“There’s 2 easy ways to find out if a property in or outside Austin is considered ‘rural’ by the USDA. The first is to call our offices in Cedar Park or Schulenburg. For example, most of Leander is designated as rural by the USDA as well as the areas around Schulenburg. But, due to development, new retail and proximity to Travis County employment, consumers do not consider these 2 areas to be rural by any definition. These are prime locations that growing families are turning to for great homes with high savings built in. USDA just makes it easier with their $0 down loan program, “ said Chip Bubela, Principal Broker at Bubela & Associates.

“The second way to find out if a property is eligible, is to simply enter the address for the property into the USDA website. The data is usually very accurate and is great for those who are home shopping on the web during off business hours,” continued Bubela. “The link can be found here.”

Bubela & Associates is a full service Austin area real estate brokerage with offices in Cedar Park and Schulenburg. Those wishing to explore listing their homes or land for sale or home buyers requiring assistance in finding a property to purchase should contact realestate@bubelatexas.com.

Homes Around The U.S. (and Austin) Are Selling Faster.

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Bubela & Associates

Around the U.S., its taking homeowners less time to sell their home or condominium, with the average time for listings spent for sale on the market now improving. The National Association of Realtors recently released news that the average time for homes on the market nationally is finally again in the range of historic “normal levels”.

The Assocation says the median time nationally for a home listed on the market was 69 days in July, down 29.6 percent from a year ago, when it took an average of 98 days to sell. Even better, just over one-third of residential real estate transactions sold in July, 2012 were on the market for sale for less than a month.

The trend in Austin follows a similar pattern of good news, which is great for homeowners in Austin and the surrounding area. Homes for sale in Austin were on the market an average of 63 days in August, 2012, meaning homes in the Austin are selling 6 days faster than the rest of the nation. This was an improvement of 14 days over Austin market numbers for August of 2011, or an 18% increase.

“We’re thrilled at our offices in Austin and Schulenburg. This news confirms the increase in activity that we’ve been seeing out on the streets. Our homeowner listings all over the Austin area and in Central Texas as a whole have been getting increased phone calls, tours and attendance at Open Houses,” commented Chip Bubela, Principal Broker of Bubela & Associates. “Our team is educating our sellers, that while it’s exciting to have lots of interest in their properties, it’s important to maintain a stable position on listing prices and to not leave money at the negotiating table by accepting offers too hastily.”

Austin continues recognition as an Improving Housing Market by the NAHB

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Bubela & Associates

It’s still a great time to be a Central Texan – the Austin real estate market has again been included as part of the Improving Markets Index for August, 2012, as monitored by the National Association of Home Builders and First American Title Insurance Company.

Austin was added to the Index in early 2012 and has retained its spot for August among the 80 tracked markets, used nationally as a general indicator of real estate market health in Metropolitan areas across the U.S. Continue Reading “Austin continues recognition as an Improving Housing Market by the NAHB” »

Austin real estate market continues to improve in Summer, 2012.

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Bubela & Associates

June 2012 became the 13^th consecutive month of sales volume increases for single family homes in the Austin real estate market. This was also the 5^th straight month of price increases for Austin home sales when compared with the same months in 2011.

Single family home sales totaled 2,593 homes sold in Austin in June, 2012, a more than 23% increase over June, 2011. During that same time period, the average price for homes was $218,350, an 8% increase over June, 2011. Continue Reading “Austin real estate market continues to improve in Summer, 2012.” »

First Time Homebuyers – learn how owning a condo or home produces wealth for your future.

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Bubela & Associates

One of the most common and popular ways to build personal wealth is by owning your own home. Whether it’s a downtown Austin condominium, townhome or a suburban single family home, the money you spend monthly paying your mortgage acts just like money put away in a long term savings account.

This idea becomes more clear when you add in another factor – the value of a home can appreciate much faster than money invested in a savings account with a low interest rate. In a situation where your home increases in value annually, your wealth or investment in the home increases two fold – 1) as you pay the mortgage, you owe less on your original loan amount; and 2) the overall value of your home or asset increases. Continue Reading “First Time Homebuyers – learn how owning a condo or home produces wealth for your future.” »

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