My New Blog

The Austin - Round Rock area tied for first on a list of Large Metros where the recession is easing. 

Central Texas tied Washington D.C. in the Forbes.com ranking that compiles job growth and real estate industry improvement, among other indicators.  Washington has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation 6.2 percent and the city produced more goods and services than any other in 2008.

Austin has also maintained relatively lower jobless rates, though the number increased to 7.6% last month from 7 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.  Statewide, the rate was unchanged at 8.2% from December to January, compared to 9.7% nationally.

Austin and Washington D.C. also benefit from their high government job generation, according to Forbes.  The number of Central Texas jobs increased just shy of 1 percent between 2007 and 2009, more than any other city included in the research.

Dallas came in second on the ranking behind Austin.  The number of jobs there are expected to increase more than 7 percent in the next three years.  San Antonio and Houston also made the top 10 list.

Job growth projections were based on information from Moody's.  The listing also considered median home sale price changes and Metropolitan Gross Domestic Product.

remember....

Buying or Selling a Home?

I Want to Help!!!

Heather Brown

RE/MAX Austin Skyline

512-751-2931

www.HeatherBrown.com

Austin Area Home Sales Up 5% in January

Austin Home Sales in January 2010 were at 884 up 5% from the same month in 2009, according to the Multiple Listing Service report by the Austin Board of Realtors.

The Median Price remained stable in the same period, up 1% to $179,250.

John Horton, Chairman of ABOR said "At this point, we can look back and see that January 2009 was the low point of this cycle.  With steady improvement throughout 2009 that continued in January 2010, we can see that we're one year into the recovery in Austin"

Throughout 2009, the volume of single family home sales in Austin improved steadily.  In the first half of the year, the gap in year over year sales volume closed consistently, reaching levels similar to 2008 during the summer peak, with the exception of a dip in August.

In fall 2009, sales volume began outperforming 2008 and surged in October and November, spurred by the original deadline for the first time home buyer tax credit.  In December 2009, sales volume returned to a modest increase of 5 percent compared with December 2008, a growth rate that was maintained in January 2010.

*Low Interest Rates,

*An Extremely Wide Selection of Homes to Choose From

*Low Down Payments

*Really Good Buys in the Market Place

*The Opportunity to Take advantage of the Revised Federal Tax Credit

All of these, make this, with out a Doubt, the BEST TIME to Buy a Home!!!

Please feel free to give me a call either at  my office (512)328-5151 or on my Cell (512)751-2931 or you can visit my website www.HeatherBrown.com

Buying or Selling a Home?

I Want to Help!!!

Heather Brown

RE/MAX Austin Skyline

512-751-2931

www.HeatherBrown.com

St. Davis's HeatlhCare is Buying Heart Hospital for $83 Million!

St. David's HealthCare Partnership signed an agreement on Tuesday to buy Heart Hospital of Austin less than two months after acquiring a related doctor's group.

St. David's signed a definitive agreement to take over Heart Hospital assets after it absorbed affiliated physician group Austin Heart Jan. 1st.  Details on both transactions were not disclosed, but the sale is reportedly worth about $83.6 Million.  Officials said the recent deal will be finalized during Heart's third fiscal quarter.

Austin Heart is a separate entity from the hospital, but the practice's providers own part of the hospital and perform most procedures there.

Heart Hospital CEO and President David Laird said this morning the change will be relatively transparent to patients.  Heart staff and management will stay on through the deal and signage is not expected to change.

MedCath Corp. based in North Carolina, opened the 58 bed Heart Hospital in 1998 during a time of a massive health care consolidation in the region.  But the specialty cardiac hospital since has proved viable competition to the city's dominant health care providers - St. David's HealthCare Partnership and Seton Healthcare Network.

Austin-based St. David's operates 24 care center in Central Texas and is one of the largest health care systems in the State.

Remember......

Buying or Selling a Home?

I Want to Help!!!

Heather Brown

RE/MAX Austin Skyline

512-751-2931

www.HeatherBrown.com

First time Homebuyers and Repeat Buyers now qualify for a tax credit if they purchase a home through April of 2010!  The Tax Credit has been Revised and Extended thus reinforcing that NOW is By Far the Best Time to Purchase a Home!!!

Here are the details:

$8,000 First - time Home Buyer

*The $8,000 tax credit is for first time home buyers only.  For the tax credit program, the IRS defines a first time home buyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three year period prior to the purchase.

*The tax credit does not have to be repaid.

*The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.

*The tax credit now applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010.  However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30,2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.

*For homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before November 6, 2009, the income limits are $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.

*For homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010, single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit. 

The $6,500 Move-Up / Repeat

Home Buyer

*To be eligible to claim the tax credit, buyers must have owned and lived in their previous home for five consecutive years out of the last eight years.

*The tax credit does not have to be repaid.

*The tax credit is equal to 10% of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $6,500.

*The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.

*The credit is available for homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, the home purchase qualifies provided it is completed by June 30, 2010.

*Single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

There are great Q&A and detailed resources at www.IRA.gov 

Please feel free to give me a call either at  my office (512)328-5151 or on my Cell (512)751-2931 or you can visit my website www.HeatherBrown.com

Buying or Selling a Home?

I Want to Help!!!

Heather Brown

RE/MAX Austin Skyline

512-751-2931

www.HeatherBrown.com

Austin Home Sales - Up 5%

Austin home buyers returned in force last month, increasing sales 5% from the same time in 2008, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.

The median price of the 1,373 homes sold in December rose to about $194,000, an increase of 6% year over year.

Dramatic increases in sales volume were seen in October and November of last year, which were probably related to the original deadline for the first time home buyer tax credit.

Increases in sales volume past November along with figures that have improved steadily throughout the year indicate that, while some demand was driven by the initial tax credit deadline, a sustainable recovery is also underway in Austin's real estate market.

Even though the recent numbers were encouraging, home sales were still down 6% overall from 2008.  Homes sold last year drifted near a $188,480 median price which was down 1 percent year over year.  Officials said the overall 6 percent decline in home sales is still a significant improvement when compared to the double digit decreases that we experienced in the first quarter of 2009.

*Low Interest Rates,

*An Extremely Wide Selection of Homes to Choose From

*Low Down Payments

*Really Good Buys in the Market Place

*The Opportunity to Take advantage of the Revised Federal Tax Credit

All of these, make this, with out a Doubt, the BEST TIME to Buy a Home!!!

Please feel free to give me a call either at  my office (512)328-5151 or on my Cell (512)751-2931 or you can visit my website www.HeatherBrown.com

Buying or Selling a Home?

I Want to Help!!!

Heather Brown

RE/MAX Austin Skyline

512-751-2931

www.HeatherBrown.com