Here are a few tips to help you show your home in its best light.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

What’s the best way to show your home in a seller’s market? This question is coming up more and more because we’re starting to see sellers take shortcuts in our market during the showing process. We at the Jackson Hayes Group abide by the opposite philosophy: Although it’s a seller’s market, behave as if it’s a buyer’s market. 

One of the best things you can do is have a housekeeper come to your home either the day before or the day of its market debut. This will give it a nice, clean, crisp appearance when people are touring it. 

"Although it’s a seller’s market, behave as if it’s a buyer’s market."

We’ve also had some of our clients leave their homes for a few days while they’re on the market. This is important because your home will see the most amount of foot traffic its first few days after being listed. You can get as many as 10 to 15 showings a day, and if the home is vacant, people will be able to view it patiently and get a really good feel for it. 

Additionally, consider having an open house. It’s an open secret that Realtors often hosted open houses in the past to acquire buyer clients. In this extreme seller’s market, though, people are having a hard time getting into homes to see them, so an open house might be a good forum for two or three hours on a Saturday or Sunday. This will ensure the maximum number of qualified buyers will walk through your home. Remember, getting the maximum number of qualified buyers in your home is what will generate multiple offers and lead to your home selling above asking price. 

If you have questions about listing your home or any real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

Here are a few good reasons to get a pre-inspection before you sell.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

We recommend pre-inspections to all our sellers, so today I thought it would be a good idea to review what benefits pre-inspections provide.

A pre-inspection is advantageous to sellers because it allows them to get a synopsis of any repairs that need to be addressed in their home. It also allows them to address the needed repairs on their own terms, and they can take it into account when it comes to pricing their home. Pre-inspections also give sellers confidence that their home is in good condition before they put it on the market. They make listings more attractive to buyers who might have reservations about purchasing a home that needs repairs—especially first-time buyers.

"A pre-inspection gives sellers an advantage during repair negotiations with buyers."

Finally, pre-inspections give you a chance to get estimates on the cost of repairs. That’s useful for sellers who go into negotiations with buyers over repairs; they’ll already know whether what the buyer asks for is reasonable or not because they’ve already taken the time to find out.

If you have any questions about pre-inspections or real estate in general, feel free to reach out to us. We’d love to help you.

Here are just a few of the many advantages of a VA loan.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

We have a very large veteran population in Central Texas, so let's take a quick look at the advantages of a VA home loan. The requirements for this loan are more lenient than those of conventional loans and you just need a 620 credit score to qualify. Additionally, VA loans don’t require mortgage insurance no matter what your down payment is. Finally, there is no longer a loan limit for VA loans so there is no maximum price as long as your income qualifies you.

If you have any questions about VA loans, whether you qualify for one or not, or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here’s what happens when a home’s appraisal fails to meet its contract price.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

As you might expect, home prices are rapidly rising in this market and appraisers are having a tough time keeping up. You may have heard the phrase, “Every battle is won before it’s fought.” It’s especially true in this market because buyers and sellers should anticipate potential appraisal problems while writing the contract.

There are a few different considerations you can make when doing so. For instance, you could add an appraisal addendum. You might need to bring more cash to the table as well.

When you receive the appraisal, make sure you double-check it for accuracy in terms of typos, errors, and comparable home sales. If they aren’t using the right or the most recent comparables, have your agent check to see if there are better ones out there and they may be able to add new market comps that are a better fit for your appraisal.

"You might end up needing to bring more cash to the table."

After you’ve exhausted all these options, there are still other things you can do. For instance, you might need to renegotiate the contract or bring more cash to the table to satisfy the lender.

If you have any questions about appraisals or real estate in general, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you.

Here’s what’s happening in our market and what we expect to see this year.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

What can we expect from the local real estate market in 2021? As you know, 2020 was a volatile year due to the pandemic. However, our real estate market remained very strong. Companies such as Tesla, Apple, and Oracle are increasing their presence in Austin, thereby creating many jobs. As a result, we’re seeing an increasing number of people moving to our city. 

With that, we’re seeing more buyer demand than we’ve ever seen before, which is leading to multiple offers, cash offers, and homes selling above asking price. We believe we’ll see these trends continue through spring and summer. 

If you have any questions about the market or navigating the buying or selling processes, please feel free to reach out to us via phone or email. We would love to be your real estate resource.

  The Central Business District of Austin, Texas. Downtown is located on the north bank of the Colorado River. The approximate borders of Downtown include Lamar Boulevard to the west, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the University of Texas at Austin to the north, Interstate 35 to the east, and Lady Bird Lake to the south.

         It is where the city's high-rise buildings are located, as well as being the center of government and business for the region. Downtown Austin is currently experiencing a building boom, with many condos and high rise towers being built. The top three tallest condo buildings west of the Mississippi River are all located in downtown Austin: The Independent, The Austonian, and the 360 Condominiums.

Sold Homes In October

Sales - 15 properties sold ranging from $200,000 to $1,000,000 (October 2020 had 24 sales)

Average Days on Market - 73 days 

Average Price $729,173

Great Place to be!

Downtown Austin has so much history and so many places to visit. You can spend an afternoon of beautiful weather on the Boardwalk, Buy you stuff at the SFC Farmer's Market every Saturday, visit the Bob Bullock Museum, take a peek at the State Capitol Building, Go boating at the Kayak Town Lake, and so much more!

If you are looking for the perfect home, contact me today at 512-375-8945.

We hope you enjoy this wonderful time of year!

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

Happy holidays to you!

The holiday season has officially arrived. We hope you enjoy this wonderful time of year and make some fantastic memories.

We wanted to take a moment to thank you for your continued support. We love helping people make their real estate dreams come true, so thank you for working with us and supporting our business.

This may be a busy time of year, but we are always here to help you and answer any questions you may have. Give us a call or reply to this email and we’d love to help out.

In case we don’t hear from you until 2021, have a happy New Year!

The University of Texas at Austin, often referred to as UT Austin, UT, or Texas, is a public research university in Austin, Texas and the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, the University of Texas was inducted into the Association of American Universities in 1929, becoming only the third university in the American South to be elected. The institution has the nation's seventh-largest single-campus enrollment, with over 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and over 24,000 faculty and staff.

Sold Homes In November

Sales - 10 properties sold ranging from $150,000 - $1,900,000 (October 2020 had 13 sold listings)

Average Days on Market - 46 days 

Average Price $487,350

Great Place to be!

Aside from being in the University area, there are nice coffee shops, architectural buildings and a great area to live and invest!

If you are looking for the perfect home, contact me today at 512-375-8945.

Here's our message of gratitude this holiday season.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

The 2020 holiday season has officially begun! We hope you are as excited as we are. 

We’d like to take a moment to express our gratitude to all of you this Thanksgiving. We have met some truly wonderful people, and we’re proud to have helped so many reach their real estate goals over the years. 

We wouldn’t be where we are today without all of your support. 

Enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner—that’s what we plan to do! 

In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any real estate questions. We would be happy to help you. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Evolving East Austin is a diverse area. Early 1900s bungalows give way to modern condos, while cool cocktail bars mingle with Southern-style eateries, including iconic Franklin Barbecue. In a circa-1841 building, the French Legation Museum documents the Republic of Texas era. Other museums examine the city’s musical history and African-American experience.

Sold Homes In October

Sales - 46 properties sold ranging from $149,999 to $1,990,000 (September 2020 also had 46 sales)

Average Days on Market - 20 days 

Average Price $562,676

Great Location

Great Historical area, there is so much to do in East Austin. Shops, Museums, business are all around. 

If you are looking for the perfect home, contact me today at 512-375-8945.