December Stats & End of Year Wrap Up Numbers!

December 2014 

• 2,283 – Single-family homes sold, 14 percent more than December 2013.
• $246,530 – Median price for single-family homes, 10 percent more than December 2013.
• 55 – Average number of days single-family homes were on market, 3 days more than Dec. 2013.
• 5,077 – Active single-family home listings on the market, 12 percent more than December 2013.
• 2.2 – Months of inventory of single-family homes, 0.2 month more than December 2013.
• $710,200,206 – Total dollar volume of single-family homes sold, 21 percent more than Dec. 2013.

2014 Year-End Totals 

• 27,768 – Single-family homes sold, two percent more than 2013.
• $242,500 – Median price for single-family homes, eight percent more than 2013.
• 47 – Average number of days that single-family homes spent on the market, 3 days fewer than 2013.
• $8,607,385,376 – Total dollar volume of single-family homes sold, nine percent more than 2013.  

Released January 2015 by The Austin Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

10 Tips to Keep Your Utility Bills Low in the Summer!

1. Keep your thermostat as high as you comfortably can. The smaller the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures, the less energy you are using.

2. Do not set your thermostat lower than normal when turning it on; it will not cool your house any faster, but it will run up your cooling bill.

3. Make good use of ceiling fans; they allow you to raise the thermostat up to 4 degrees while maintaining the same cool comfort.

4. Keep lamps and TVs away from your AC thermostat. The heat created by these appliances will mislead thermostat sensors and force your cooling system to run longer than necessary.

5. Be sure that registers are cleared of dust regularly. Any buildup can cause it to run inefficiently.

6. Avoid using your oven as much as possible during the summer months - grill outdoors or use the stove and microwave as alternatives.

7. Efficient lighting will keep your house cooler. Up to 90% of the electricity that powers incandescent lights is turned into unwanted heat in your home.

8. Make sure your water heater is set to warm (120 degrees) instead of hot. This will avoid scalding and save on energy bills.

9. During times of the day when the sun is hottest, pull window treatments closed to block out warm rays and your AC unit won't have to work as hard.

10. Have a professional come out to inspect your AC unit before you need it, and maintain it by replacing intake filters every month and pouring a 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of bleach mixture down the condensate line to keep it flowing smooth.

Apple Creating 3,600 New Jobs in Austin!

Texas Governor Rick Perry announced Friday that Apple will create 3,600 new jobs and expand it's operations in Austin. A $304 million investment in a new campus will double the current size of Apple's workforce in Texas over the course of the next decade. The expansion will see most jobs in the customer support, sales, and accounting functions.

In order to entice Apple's commitment to Austin, the State of Texas has offered $21 million over 10 years through the Texas Enterprise Fund. Completion of contracts and local incentive agreements with the City of Austin and Travis County are contingencies of the agreement. Until the incentive deals are approved, both Apple and local business recruiters are being tight-lipped about the totality of expansion plans in the city.

Apple's official statement: "Our operations in Austin have grown dramatically over the past decade, from less than 1,000 employees in 2004 to more than 3500 today. We're looking forward to building a new campus in Austin, which will more than double the size of our workforce there over the next decade."

This is great for Austin's economy and real estate market. With 3,600 new jobs over the next 10 years, that's thousands of homes that will be purchased by employees. This will help preserve home values as inventory is kept in check and desirability of certain areas remains strong through the influx of a steady stream of buyers.

Austin Achieves YET ANOTHER Ranking! #2 in Country for JOBS!!

Ajilon Professional Staffing, a leader in recruiting and project consulting, has just released their list of the 10 best cities for finding employment in the United States. Guess who ranked #2? AUSTIN, TEXAS of course! The only city surpassing Austin for the top spot is Minneapolis-St. Paul. This ranking only adds to the massive pile that Austin has achieved in the past few years. Austin has become a staple of resilience in an national economic crisis with the ability to keep unemployment low by generating new jobs and featuring a variety of available employment fields.

Ajilon Professional Staffing had this to say regarding Austin: "Austin, Texas came in second place on the list as a result of the city’s low cost of living and diverse talent pool. Austin’s robust educational community also contributed to boosting job growth in the market. Home to several major universities, including the University of Texas, local businesses have a vast pool of well-educated recent graduates to choose from for local employment opportunities in Austin."

As a man who's job it is to sell Austin, these rankings definitely make my job easier. I've lived all over the country, even living abroad, and I've travelled the vast majority of the United States and if there is a city that has it ALL, it's Austin. Night life, outdoor recreation, festivals, culture, lake fun, parks, low-cost of living, outstanding property values, job market, events, live music, and friendliness of the people... Austin is without a doubt one of the BEST places to live in the United States.

If you're interested in Austin, TX real estate and purchasing your piece of this great city, contact me at the numbers on the sidebar. I'd be happy to help! View my own personal compilation of Austin's rankings over just the past 3 years here:

http://www.i-am-real-estate.com/austin-rankings-c23311.html

www.I-Am-Real-Estate.com HAS BEEN LAUNCHED!

Today is the day. September 1st, 2010 marks the official launch day of my website www.I-Am-Real-Estate.com. This incredibly detailed real estate website has now been launched after 4 months of work practically everyday. My wife has been neglected, my social life drained, legs and brain cramping, all for the consumer. That's right. I sacrifice for you. 

This website was designed with the consumer in mind. It's goal was to become the most comprehensive real estate website in the Austin metro area and I think I've done it. The website's purpose is to make you more knowledgeable when looking to buy or sell a home. In a way it's like when the apes in 2001: A Space Odyssey started stroking that smooth obelisk (my website) and suddenly they were smarter and could do things they couldn't before! It's kind of like that except in a good way, not that you'll go around killing each other with bones and screaming at each other. Oh, and I'm definitely not referencing you all as apes. You're all way ahead of apes. My site is just a tool, so it's more like the bones that you strike each other with because it gives you an advantage over the next guy. Ok, nevermind. Horrible analogy.

The point I'm attempting to make is that my site is user-friendly. The site features detailed a detailed page on over 150 communities in the Austin (broken down by segment), Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Hutto, Leander, and Georgetown areas. Each page has pictures of that community, pertinent links, and a list of active homes for sale in that community. You can search the MLS and the site actually has up-to-date listings, no more searching on Trulia or Zillow and finding out the home sold 3 months ago!

I have a FREE iPhone and iPad Home Search App that will allow you to search for active listings anywhere in our area and provide pictures, descriptions, and allow you to contact me by email or phone directly with the push of a button for more info.

There is also Buyer/Seller tools that will walk you through the process that can be complicating or overwhelming for some. There is also a Financing Roadmap that will walk you through the steps of that process. Also, a Client Concierge, Austin's rankings in the news, Social Media outlets, Relocation Austin Major Employer Guide, and more!

So, I invite you to check out www.I-Am-Real-Estate.com I put an immense amount of work into it and I would be honored if you would make it your Real Estate tool of choice. Feedback and constructive criticism is welcome!

Baby Prep Classes No Waste Of Time!

My wife coaxed me into attending a Breast Feeding Class at St. David's Hospital this past Friday and oh my what an experience. To me it was pretty much the equivalent of when they send juvenile delinquents to the school of hard knocks aka prison, to get a dose of what they can expect if they continue their self destructive route. Except in this case if we continue, we get a beautiful blessing that will poop, pee, cry, flop, whine, hinder me from travel, prevent me from dinner dates with mommy, cause all sorts of financial strain, and then will grow up and stress my life when they start driving, dating, and head off the college causing more worry and financial strain. 

In the midst of all of this there will be a glimmer. A glimmer of why it was all worthwhile. A glimmer that displays love, warmth, inspiration, tenderness, anticipation, hope, devotion, and an undying affection. Many say that love at first sight doesn't exist, but I disagree. The moment I saw that floating bag of bones on the ultrasound screen, I instantly loved him more than any material possession or anyone I have ever met. Sorry antique blowtorch collection and sorry mom. 

I have no idea where I was going with this, but the excitement is building. These classes really bring to light a wealth of information that I didn't really think about. I thought you just kind of put the breast by the baby's mouth and they eat until they're done. I really didn't know what "engorgement" was, that you need to pump breast milk all the time, or that if you get drunk you have to drain a batch so the baby doesn't get drunk through the milk. These are important things that you don't give much thought to, because when you're baby is flopping around and his eyes are bobbing around like he's on a rollercoaster you start to regret skipping the breast feeding class. You probably shouldn't be handling a baby trying to feed it when you're drunk anyways.

I bet when you came to this blog, you didn't expect to hear my adventures with an education on breast feeding. But hey, I don't really care. This is probably the only blog on the internet that mixes real estate with breast feeding, pregnancy, and getting babies drunk through your breast milk. There are lots of young parents out there going through a pregnancy and interested in Austin real estate. I'm sure one day they'll stumble across this blog and think "Oh, perfect. I can read a first-hand account of a guy going through the exact same thing AND learn about the goings in a market! Hey honey, did you know the baby can get lit from drinking your spiked breast milk?!" Still have a couple classes including Lamaze class. Stay tuned!