Central Texas ~ Austin Metro

Sales Tax Collections ~ Local Governments Will Receive $453 Million Posted on January 17, 2011 by Bill Austin Most economists agree that our economy is consumer driven. The best way I have found over the years to keep my finger on the pulse of the local and state economy is to track the sales tax...

           SOME TIMES YOU FEEL LIKE A NUT! I found this acorn while showing homes on Januay 13, 2011 in Austin, TX. I have never seen an acorn of this size or frankly even close. I guess it may be a common type of Oak that produces this every year, do you know? The photo shows a normal lemon nex...

DID YOU KNOW? All Realtors in Texas represent the seller unless you designate one to represent you.  What does it cost you to have professional representation? Nothing, the seller has already agreed to pay the commission. As a buyer, can you just contact the listing agent to save money? The short...

Single Family Homes ~ Austin Metro MLS December 2010 ~ Distressed vs Total Market (All Active)             Listings: 8013                Pending: 1534                   Sold: 1212 (Foreclosures)       Listings: 641 (7.99%)     Pending: 261 (17.01%)    Sold: 182 (15.02%) (Short Sales)          Lis...

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in.                                                                   A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.  ~Bill Vaughan Cheers!!! Bill

Hello all, A friend of mine from Romania left me with this New Year saying from his homeland. I hope I can get it right. "Best wishes for you and your family in 2011. May it be better than 2010 but not as good as 2012." Cheers, Bill

Take a look at the full article by following the link at the button. She has assembled a list of the top 10 cities (by percentage) relating to job growth. Austin ranked #1! Where jobs are created is where the people will move to. This should bode well for sales of existing home sales here over th...

Who is the BOSS? Posted on December 25, 2010 by billaustin Hi all, I write this post for a couple reasons so bear with me here. When a home owner wants or needs to sell a property they have many things to consider, right? Do it yourself. Hire a Realtor. Price they can accept. Why they want/need t...

Hello All, Realtors are not required to be available "24/7" so don't go there on this one. Almost every time a blog is written regarding "answering your phone" I see the posts about I'm not working 24/7. When "WE ARE IN CONTRACT" and there are issues we are trying to resolve PLEASE answer your ph...

This was a point of discussion among our master mind group a couple weeks ago. We have 7 Realtors who meet weekly to motivate, educate, & help each other out with business. I commented on a listing of mine that recently expired. The home was market well with consistent showings but no offers. Age...