Compass Update 3-5-24
DID YOU KNOW? * Home Insurance rates are rising....not just in a few US states. The wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma highlight how many areas in the world are seeing a higher occurrence of more extreme weather property damage combined with higher replacement costs.... Aziz Sunderji addresses this topic here. * The regulations for squatters rights vary from state to state, but all 50 states have them. The major difference in these laws is the timeline for how long an occupant must have resided there before they claim the rights to the property. Professional agents should know their local laws and alert their clients who keep properties unoccupied for extended periods of time how to protect themselves from what can become a costly and lengthy battle. * A friend of mine has created a new form of vacationing campsite-style experience.....The DOMES AT CATSKILLS.....glamping in the Catskill Mountains, about 90 minutes from Manhattan. Many country homes include 'glamping' moments within their properties. * Is a Whole Foods Market Daily Shop coming to your hood? These new, smaller Whole Foods will range between 7,000 -14,000sf – a fraction of Whole Foods stores, which average about 40,000sf. The first one comes to the Upper East Side in NYC where 5 leases have already been signed. “The market is way weighted to a very soft landing. And when you look at the pattern of facts the last three or four years, it’s hard for me to see it’s going to be that simple,” - David Solomon, Goldman Sachs * Chicago is proceeding with a revamp of empty downtown office buildings initially estimated at $1 billion in an effort to counter a commercial real estate crisis that’s cut office sale prices by more than 50%. Adding new home inventory via conversions is part of the great rebalancing in all things real estate. (Bloomberg) “When times get tough, when income dwindles and interest rates spike, fashion often shakes off its blinkers and realises that people who spend money tend to want to look like they do.” - Alexander Fury (FT), speaking to a new trend that is the exact opposite of quiet luxury....."mob wife" luxury. * Annual Ozempic in the US costs about 10 times what it does in Britain, Australia or France. In Denmark - the home country of Ozempic producer Novo Nordisk - the cost of the drug is under $3,500 a year, roughly 25% of the US..... THIN-flation?? * The inventory of houses for sale in Austin and the number of houses that sold both increased significantly in January. In addition, national home price forecasts for 2024 have now been adjusted higher, and suddenly, the housing market is starting to look hotter. According to data provided to Business Insider by Realty Austin, powered by COMPASS, the number of new listings for houses in the Austin-Round Rock area increased by 56% in January compared to December and 5.1% compared to the same period in 2023. In addition, the demand for houses appears to be surging, with sales up 19% compared to the previous month and 4.3% compared to the first month of 2023. * Post Brothers CEO and co-founder Michael Pestronk highlighted the real estate opportunity brewing in urban areas as some Americans are opting to rent instead of buying a home. The "Forever Renter" is something happening on the higher end for those who could easily afford to buy but choose not to....Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran recently said your second home should be one that you rent out.....yes, those who are promoting the rent forever narrative are also.....the beneficiaries: landlords! ($8,000/month in rent equates to $5,75 million over 60 years assuming rents never rise.....)
How to Protest your Appraised Value
Property tax appraisals for the current year's taxable values are issued in the spring in all counties. Here are a few tips to understand your statement and how to file a protest if you disagree with the value assigned to your property. When you receive your Notice of Appraised Value: Verify that the appraisal is for the correct property and make sure that any exemption you are eligible for (i.e. homestead, over 65, etc.) is included If you believe the value assigned to your property is higher than what the market in your neighborhood would bear, you do have the option of protesting that value and asking the appraisal district to lower it, based on evidence provided. I personally recommend hiring a company like Five Stone or Ownwell to take care of this for you. NOTE: Your local appraiser is required to appraise property at market value as of January 1st, so your appraisal should reflect the value of the property at that time. The appraiser has generally applied mass appraisal criteria based on the individual characteristics of your property, and in most cases has not done a physical inspection of your property. How to Protest your Appraised Value: Protest may be filed in writing or online. (Check with your county appraisal district via the links below for the best way to file.) File your notice of protest by May 15 or no later than 30 days after the date of the Notice of Appraised Value, whichever date is later. Be aware that the deadline is 30 days after the date of the notice, not from the time you receive it. If you don’t file a notice of protest before the Appraisal Review Board approves the appraisal record, you lose your right to protest or file a lawsuit about the taxable value of your property. Homeowners wishing to protest should contact their local appraisal district office to confirm their interpretation of this time line. Provide information to support your protest. IF it supports the value you are attempting to lower your apparisal to, you might provide your closing statement from your home purchase, a copy of the purchase contract, any appraisals, engineer’s reports, etc. to the board when protesting your value. Photos of defects on the property are also helpful. Who decides? The Appraisal district board (ARB) is an independent board of citizens that hears property owner protest. It has the power to order the Appraisal District to make changes. If you file a written protest before the deadline, your case will be scheduled for a hearing where you will talk to one or more members of the ARB. The ARB has several options: grant your request, refer you to a hearing of the entire board, schedule a physical inspection of your property, or deny your request. If you are denied, you have the option of filing a lawsuit against the Appraisal District. Travis County Williamson County Hays County Bastrop County
Austin MSA housing market continues to normalize; REALTORS® report recent uptick in activity
In January, median home prices dropped 6.3% to $450,000, the largest price drop since July 2011, according to the Austin Board of REALTORS® latest Central Texas Housing Report. Despite the price decrease, monthly housing inventory stayed flat at 2.7 months of inventory from December 2022, demonstrating that this market is still in need of more housing as the industry standard is that six months of available inventory is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers. “January’s data demonstrates the Austin-Round Rock MSA market is continuing to find a post-pandemic normal.” Ashley Jackson, 2023 ABoR president, said. “As we compare the market today to what was an abnormal market in the previous three years, looking at the year-over-year numbers needs the added context of comparing trends month-to-month. Without this context, the year-over-year data may not be as informative as the market continues to adjust.” In January, residential home sales declined 27.3% year-over-year to 1,634 closed sales and sales dollar volume declined 29.1% to $917,954,115. New listings dropped 16% year-over-year to 2,988 listings while pending listings dropped 16.7% to 2,581 transactions. Monthly housing inventory increased 2.3 months to 2.7 months of inventory, and homes spent an average of 76 days on the market, up 47 days from January 2022, but only up three days from December 2022. When looking at the added context of month-to-month changes from December 2022 to January 2023, in addition to a modest change in days on market, new listings increased 63.4% to 2,988 month-to-month. This demonstrates that sellers see opportunity in this market. At the same time, buyers also were more active in January 2023 compared to December 2022 as pending listings increased 32.4% to 2,581. “It is important to remember that when we compare year-over-year, we are currently comparing to an abnormal time in our market. As we reset our expectations to reflect the information our REALTOR® experts are seeing in real-time, we need to look at month-to-month trends to have a true sense of what is going on in the region. REALTORS® are seeing an uptick in activity from December 2022 to January 2023, and that is reflected in the new and pending listing trends month-to-month.” Jackson added that while prices decreased in the City of Austin, Travis County and the MSA, surrounding Central Texas areas are experiencing an uptick in median home prices. “Outlying areas like Caldwell and Hays counties are the most affordable pockets in Central Texas. When we have a city like Austin challenged by affordability, the entry point in surrounding areas will slightly increase as people try and find neighborhoods they can afford. These outer county data sets are reflective of affordability disappearing from Austin and closer-in suburbs hence why buyers are moving further out in Central Texas. Jackson also noted that rising interest rates and affordable housing will be the major drivers challenging consumers this year and emphasized the importance of local experts. “Housing affordability woes combined with higher interest rates play an outsized role in market activity. There is no national real estate market. Consumers need to follow local REALTORS® and local news while taking sensational headlines and reports with many grains of salt. Now more than ever, it is important for buyers and sellers alike to work with a REALTOR® who best understands how to navigate the changing landscape of our real estate market.” City of Austin In January, home sales decreased 37.3% to 439 sales, while sales dollar volume decreased 35.0% to $295,909,860. At the same time, median price slightly decreased 4.6% to $525,000 for the City of Austin. Last month, new listings ticked up 13.0% to 886 listings, active listings skyrocketed 387.5% to 1,760 listings as pending sales declined by 26.0% to 678 pending sales. Monthly housing inventory increased 1.9 months year over year to 2.2 months of inventory. Travis County In Travis County, home sales decreased 31.7% to 749 sales, while sales dollar volume decreased 31.3% to $492,893,906. Last month, the median price in Travis County slightly dipped 5.9% year over year to $499,274, while new listings increased 17.0% to 1,410 listings and active listings ballooned 421.9% to 3,116 listings year over year. Pending sales declined 22.3% to 1,130 pending sales as monthly housing inventory increased 2.0 months year over year to 2.4 months of inventory. Williamson County January home sales decreased 26.2% to 556 sales in Williamson County. Sales dollar volume declined 28.8% year over year to $269,359,523. The median price slightly decreased 4.9% to $437,500 as new listings ticked up 6.8% to 892 listings. During the same period, active listings soared 654.1% to 2,383 listings while pending sales dropped 11.4% to 909 pending sales. Housing inventory rose 2.2 months to 2.5 months of inventory. Hays County In Hays County, January home sales decreased 11.9% to 245 sales and sales dollar volume also dropped 16.7% to $123,838,974. The median price for homes rose 7.3% to $427,665. During the same period, new listings increased 38.4% to 447 listings, while active listings skyrocketed by 398.7% to 1,192 listings. Pending sales slightly decreased 10.1% to 372 pending sales as housing inventory jumped by 2.7 months to 3.3 months of inventory. Bastrop County Last month, Bastrop County home sales decreased 35.7% year over year to 63 sales, while sales dollar volume also fell by 39.2% to $24,904,074. Median price decreased 7.9% to $350,000 as new listings ticked up 5.2% to 163 listings. Active listings soared 319.3% to 499 listings as pending sales decreased 20.8% to 122 pending sales. Housing inventory increased by 3.2 months to 4.1 months of inventory, the highest level of inventory across the MSA in January. Caldwell County In Caldwell County, home sales decreased 4.6% year over year to 21 sales, and sales dollar volume also dropped 20.0% to $6,458,267. The median home price slightly rose 0.6% year over year to $316,750. At the same time, new listings increased by 31.0% to 76 listings as active listings skyrocketed 315.6% to 133 listings. Pending sales decreased 7.7% to 48 pending sales, and housing inventory increased 2.1 months to 3.1 months of inventory. For more information or to download the January 2023 Central Texas Housing Market Report, visit ABoR.com/MarketStatistics.
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