A short time ago, I wrote a post about how Austin is ranked highly among telecommuters. Well it better be, because, as a city, we are REALLY bad when it comes to traffic. It’s hard for me to dog on my city. Really it is, I love Austin, but traffic isn’t going away.

A little under a week ago this story came out from the Austin Business Journal about how bad traffic is in Austin. Now, if you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know from attending meetings with State Senators and Legislators, the top issues Texas will be facing in the next few decades seem to be traffic and water issues.

The ‘Urban Mobility Report’ ranked us has having the third worst traffic time index in 2009. What does that mean? That the time it takes to travel at non-traffic hours compared to traveling the same route during traffic times pretty much sucks. I tend to avoid I-35 as much as possible… but the times I do have to take it, I try to time my drive at non-peak hours. Overall we are spending 39 hours a year in traffic. Ouch.

What are the solutions? Well it’s not an easy one depending on who you are talking to. Building more roads isn’t always feasible (think the Mopac area around 45th Street). The access point is already going through a neighborhood. Not to mention the cost, and building more/multi-level highways aren’t going to encourage citizens to change their behavior.

In my opinion, and from listening to those in control of our budgets, it seems that the options will have to get pretty painful before people will change their behaviors. Part of that is going to be to increase the cost of traveling on the roads. Partly in hopes of encouraging drivers to use public transportation, and partly driven by the severe budget cuts that are coming. The funds will have to come from somewhere, so penalties on driving at the peak times are sure to be in future plans. That’s my opinion anyway.

My takeaway: expect higher fees to maintain your car (higher car registration fees etc). More emphasis on public transportation, and more fees and inconvenience parking downtown at at peak times.

It’s a question a get a lot. Again the answer isn’t a ‘one-size-fit-all’ type thing because it depends where you live and how expensive it is to purchase vs. rent.

However, Trulia has a great infographic which helps visualize the issue. Looks like Austin pans out pretty well, and leans toward the ‘renting is less expensive, but it might be better to buy’ category.

More interesting is New York, where the average price to buy is between $1.3M to $1.4M, and to rent is between $3000-$4000.

Overall though, Texas is definitely in the ‘better to buy’ category as a whole. Play around with it, there’s some great visuals when you change up the the ‘rent price’ and ‘list price’ options as well.

What are the top 5 remodels that get you the best return? According to a recent study by Realtor.org here they are. Although the study supposedly does account for regions and areas, number 3 on the list is Basement Remodels… In Austin? …go figure.

Top 5 Remodels

1. Replacing your entry door with a steel door will yield you 116%
2. Garage Door replacement
3. Basement remodel – which I don’t exactly get, since Austin isn’t known for having basements considering that in most parts of the city, digging 4 inches down, you hit limestone.
4. Attic Bedroom will get you 78% of your investment recouped
5. Window replacements will get you 76% back. So use those Austin Energy rebates, and

What are the top 5 WORST ways to spend your hard earned dough?

Top 5 WORST remodels

1. Sunroom Addition – with being able to recoup just barely 50% of your money back
2. Home Office Remodel – anticipates converting a 12×12 room with built in bookshelves, cabinets, laminate desktop, computer workstation. Also, a rewire for electrical equipment, drywall, paint, trim and carpet.
3. Backup Power Generator
4. Bathroom Addition
5. Roofing Replacement

So of course the question is, when would I tell my clients to do some of the least cost effective remodels? If it’s going to impact the quality of your life. If having a second bathroom will improve your day-to-day life and prevent you from screaming at the kids every morning, then for your sanity and privacy, get a second bathroom installed. Just know that you aren’t going to be getting back what you put into installing it.

AOL Daily Finance reported earlier this month that Austin ranks as one of the best cities for telecommuters. How so you ask?

The factors were a a mid sized city (1 million or so in population), average living costs, good education, good health ranking. Of course local technology and high-speed internet are a must as well.

It’s hard to be working from home and paying $5,000 a month toward a 2 bedroom apartment in an expensive city, when you could be in say Austin (#1 on the list), or Raleigh (#5). Of course, I’m pretty biased toward Austin with our amazing live music scene and focus on local business.

The top ten best cities for telecommuting are:

1. Austin
2. Cincinnati, Ohio
3. Atlanta
4. St. Louis
5. Raleigh, N.C.
6. Cleveland
7. Pittsburgh
8. Charlotte, N.C.
9. Kansas City, Missouri
10. Nashville, Tennessee

What problems do I foresee? Well I’ve mentioned it in other posts before, but traffic is going to continue to be an issue. Hopefully more people telecommuting, the increase in flex-time work hours, and the the eventual increase in people willing to take the MetroRail… will alleviate some of those issues. But I really think its going to get worse, much worse, before it gets better.

Read more: Austin best city for telecommuters, report says | Austin Business Journal

If you are considering selling your house in 2011 here are my top 5 things you need to know as a seller. This is one of my few longer posts, just so you’re prepared! Of course my standard disclaimer applies;

• Every region is different: What may work well in Austin, won’t necessarily work well in San Fran, or Chicago. What may have worked for your buddy in another subdivision, even in the same CITY, may not be what works best for your home. You get my point.
• Every ‘time’ is different: What is going to work in Q1 2011, is probably not what worked in the summer of 2006. (Back in 2006, all you probably had to do was open your door and whisper out into the world that you wanted to sell your house, and you would have had 5 offers in 5 minutes)
• Every house is different.The way to sell a fixer-upper home in East Austin, is going to be different than a house out in Westlake. Even within the same subdivision, the strategy your agent may employ to sell your home vs. your neighbors home can vary.

So onto the meat of the post:

1. 
   

   Price your home well

   – I can’t stress this highly enough. Price it to SELL, not to sit on the market for 6 months. How do you know if it’s priced well, the National Association of Realtors rule of thumb is: 2 weeks without a showing (priced too high), or 10 viewings and no offers (priced too high). So let’s break that down further; If we look at the fact that you haven’t had a single showing in 2 weeks, you are priced so high, that agents are not willing to bring their clients to even see your home. As in, they don’t even want to LOOK. You definitely don’t want to be in this position. If we look at the second reason, some agents did think your home was worth showing, but not enough to make an offer. Your agent should be following up with each and every one of these people to see what you could do to get an offer. There might be things you can’t change (location, floorplan etc), but there may be somethings you are overlooking (staging, cleaning).

2. 
   

   Stage your home to SELL!

   Alongside price, staging is one of the quickest ways you can lose or make money on your home. I can’t overstate how important this is. There is a reason that model homes look the way they do. The number one tip when staging: declutter.

3. 
   

   Online Marketing

   – I’m not just talking about the MLS, I’m talking, craigslist, trulia, googlehomes, etc. It really isn’t enough for your agent to put your home on the MLS and leave it there. Is your agent talking about the property on their facebook and twitter feeds? Do you feel like other agents are hearing about your home?

4. 
   

   Hyperlocal Marketing

   So we have the other end of the spectrum. Do your neighbors know you’re selling your house? Have they been through it at an open house?  Most people move within 7 miles of where they currently live. Is your agent marketing to those homes? ‘Just Listed’ postcards and inviting the neighbors to an open house is a great way to gain exposure. Many times neighbors have friends and family members who say ‘I love this neighborhood! If a 4 bedroom, one story home comes up, let us know!’. So make sure the neighbors know.

5. 
   

   Know your competition

   You do know you’re entering a competition right? If you live in the burbs where there are about 17 houses with your exact floorplan, and 4 of them happen to be for sale right now, you better know that! How are you going to compete with those homes? Does your home show better? (hint: it better!) Is it priced better? If another home gets an offer and your home didn’t why do you think you lost out? If you really can’t answer those questions, you’re in trouble.

6. 
   

   One bonus tip: Think like a buyer.

   Go visit the competition. Go visit open homes. Then come back to your home while keeping your buyer’s hat on, and look at your home through the eyes of a buyer. Dust on the fan blades? Bet you didn’t notice that. Scuffed up baseboards? Better touch those up. These seemingly little things make a buyer think that if you didn’t care enough to clean up your house and maintain it well before putting it up for sale, then what else might you have skimped out on? Too many family pictures? Too much clutter? There is a reason that model homes are decorated the way that they are. The builder wants you to see the home for what it is, not the clutter or the weird doll collection in the china cabinet, or spending time admiring the cute baby pictures.

As always if you have questions about selling your home, contact your best, most trusted real estate professional. After all, this is what we do for a living. Notice that I used the word ‘professional’. In the current market, you want a full-time, committed individual who is going to understand what is is going to take to sell YOUR home. A professional.

Drop the weight!

For most of use who are on the internet 24/7, when we come home one day and find that stack of yellow and white pages left on our doorstep, are left wonder who really uses these anymore (Other than maybe a door stop)? And maybe you think to yourself, ‘I wish I could just not get these anymore’. Well you can unsubscribe!

Here’s how to do it in Austin:

• You can call this number to opt out of the ATT book: 1-866-329-7118. Some people have reported that it only took 5 minutes, while someone else said it took them 15 minutes. 
• Call 1-800-929-3556 to opt out of the Yellow Book.
• You can now recycle the books in the big blue single-stream recycling bins as well

Another handy resource is Earth911.com which can provide info on where to recycle lots of things. Yay!

Go forth, recycle, and be good to the earth.

While Bank of America may be looking to resume foreclosures again, at least for the holidays (Dec 20-Jan 3), no one is going to get kicked out of their home. That’s good news coming from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and several of the larger banks. Of course, if you are risk of foreclosure, check with your bank to see what their process are going to be during the holiday season, not all banks are going to be participating in the foreclosure freeze. 

One more point: If you are behind on your payments (or have friends/family members that are), and think you might be at risk of losing your home, please contact your bank! A large number of homeowners NEVER contact their bank about being behind on payments.

I know it’s hard to swallow your pride and admit you can’t make your payments, and that you may not be able to for a few more months, but the banks are in a position to help you and, although you may be struggling, know that people all over the country are facing a very similar situation. The banks are generally well equipped (at least better than a 12-18 months ago) to deal with homeowners in distress and there are TONS of resources to help you, but you’ve gotta ask.

DO NOT sell your home without consulting your bank. There are many, many scams out there, and like you’ve probably heard a thousand times, if it sounds too good to be true, there’s probably a reason why. And when you feel desperate, and lost, you are easy prey for some of these scams to seem plausible and feel like they are going to ‘save’ you from the situation  you are in.

If you do decide that selling is the best option for you, contact an agent you trust who can guide you through the process. We are prepared to guide you through the complicated process and work with the bank to get the most favorable terms for you.

Consider this advice my holiday gift to you.

The World. Yes, you heard right. An article in the Austin Business Journal today shows Austin as the leader, in the US, in 27th place, in a ranking for the highest-rated recovery.

Again, it looks like GREAT news for the Austin market, and I’m happy to be in an area which has worked hard for the past several decades creating policies and economies for a  stable market which we are now getting the opportunity to experience. It’s a rare thing folks. Enjoy it while you can.

What city way number 1 on the list, Istanbul, Turkey, but alas, I’m not selling real estate there.

For more detailed info about Austin in particular, just click the image above or this link.

During an interview at the recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) convention, the FHA commissioner David Stephens had this to say about consumers trust in the real estate industry.

But Stevens cautioned that lending isn’t the only challenge today. The real estate industry also must close a "trust deficit" with Americans, especially with echo-boomers in their early 20s to early 30s who represent the future of real estate demand…."We’ve got to weed out the bad players," Stevens said to loud applause.“Shed the light on anyone who’s just out to make a buck. We need to have very accountable and responsible behavior.

It’s nice to see that even those who are higher up are seeing the lack of trust that the average consumer has in the average real estate agent.  As an industry, we’ve done a pretty crummy job in the past several years creating a lack of trust with the American public. And for those of us who are going to stick around in this career, it’s our job to clean it up.

As a consumer, what would make you think that an agent actually cared about YOU; cared about your home, your transaction, and would be there to answer questions for you after the deal was done?

As the future of the real estate industry changes, I think the trust level that the consumer is going to expect and SHOULD expect from a real estate professional, yes, professional, is really going to change how the real estate market operates. And I, for one, say bring it on.

As much as I love this city, and can go on endlessly about my love of Austin, it’s always great to get outside reassurance that I’m not in my own little world about what makes Austin great. So I thought I’d give you a taste from a ‘newbie’ to Austin.

One of my friends, Jon Levine, wrote this post about his first three years in Austin, and was nice enough to let me feature it on my blog! Thanks Jon!

First Three Years in Austin

As you can see from the post, they’ve definitely been making the most of their time in Austin.

If you’ve been considering a move to Austin, and want more info about what life here is ‘really’ like, I plan on featuring other posts from (not me) about life here.

And, if you’re lucky enough to live here already, let me know what your favorite places and things to do in Austin are… who knows, maybe you’ll be a guest contributor soon!