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If you stumbled across this blog post, I’m guessing you may be curious when the best time to sell your Austin area home is. Generally speaking, homes in Austin tend to sell for more during the spring. However, this isn’t true for every neighborhood or every home. Regardless of what time of year you list your home, homes that hit the market on Thursdays tend to do better. This is why I always advocate for my seller clients to list their home on a Thursday. It may appear to be an arbitrary day; however, when you think about it, the rationale for listing on Thursday is quite strong.  Home buyers often shop for homes on the weekends. When you list on Thursday, your home is top of mind among buyers who then must coordinate with their agents to see your home. A 2018 study by real estate brokerage, Redfin, found that homes listed on Thursday sold for $3015 more on average than those listed on any other day of the week. Those homes also sold more quickly. The same study found that those listed on Thursday went under contract 6 days faster than those listed on Sunday, the worst day to list your home for sale. So, there is certainly a strong case for listing your Austin home for sale on a Thursday, but which Thursday will yield you the most money on your home sale? The seasonality of the Austin Real Estate Market strongly correlates to the public school year. Most people want to move when the kids are out of school for the year. This is why you often see the highest sales prices in May or June. In 2019, the highest median sales price for Austin Area homes occurred in May. Based on the median sales price for the Austin area, you could argue that selling your home in May vs. February would result in an extra $60,000.  Now, you must be thinking, if you live in an area where there are families, you should list your home for sale on a Thursday in May. Not so fast, the highest median sales price usually occurs in May, but that does not mean that listing your home in May will result in the highest price paid for your home. If home sales in May are the most profitable, you must list earlier. It usually takes about 30 days to go from contract to the closing, and in May of 2019 the average days on market was 48. This means, if you want to sell your Austin home for the highest price, you need to list your home in March or April in order to sell for the most money,
What about the UT area condo you purchased as an investment property and now are thinking about selling? It may not follow these same trends. Every property is different, and determining the best time to sell your unique property is not black and white. If you’re curious about when the best time to sell your Austin Area property is, contact me today. I’d be happy to provide a thorough analysis of your unique market.
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 In my opinion, you should almost always get a home inspection. If you are buying a tear-down, you may not want to have the property inspection, but aside from that one instance where you may not want to get an inspection, you should always have your home inspected by a licensed professional. When you are building a new home or a buying a brand new home, it’s also a prudent choice to have it inspected by a third party inspector. Often times builders will have their own inspections, and the city will require various inspections for major components such as plumbing and electrical too. However, you should also hire your own independent third party inspector. This individual will work for you! They are looking out for your best interest, and in addition to pointing out any areas of concern that may need to be rectified, they will also teach you how to maintain your home moving forward. Foundation InspectioN There are four main opportunities for an inspection on a new construction home. The first inspection is a pre-pour foundation inspection. During this inspection, an inspector will assess the engineering of the foundation. During this inspection, the depth of the footings, post-tension cables and other integral parts of the homes foundation will be assessed. In central Texas with the varying soil conditions, it’s a good idea to ensure your home’s foundation is properly built to last. Pre-drywall InspectioN The second opportunity for an inspection on a new construction home is the pre-drywall inspection. As you may have guessed, this inspection occurs before the sheetrock is installed. This inspection allows the inspector to see all of the integral components of your home before they are hidden behind drywall. The home is fully framed and your plumbing, electrical and HVAC is usually all fully installed and visible. It’s common for inspectors to find minor oversights at this stage, and it’s easy for the builder to correct these issues at this stage. This inspection also allows you to see all of the framing of your home, and plan accordingly for things such as TV mounting and avoiding drilling a hole into your main water line. Final InspectioN The last opportunity for an inspection on your new home before you officially close occurs when the home is complete. This inspection usually occurs a week or so before the closing. During this inspection, all utilities should be on, and the inspector will be able to assess the functionality of appliances, outlets, sprinkler systems etc. This is also the time to look for minor cosmetic items such as opportunities for paint and drywall touch up. One Year InspectioN After you move into your home, theres one more opportunity for a home inspection. Most new construction homes come with a builder warranty. The builder warranty will cover various aspects of the home, and it will cover some systems for longer than others. Commonly you will see what is referred to as a 1 - 2 - 10 warranty. The “1” refers to the one year builder warranty on workmanship. The “2” usually means the 2 year warranty on electrical, plumbing and HVAC, and the “10” is in reference to the 10 year structural warranty. Thus, it’s a good idea to have a third party inspection performed shortly before the 1 year builder warranty expires. After living in your home for around 10-11 months you should schedule this inspection. Then you can provide a copy of the inspection report to your builder and have all of your maintenance items addressed prior to the lapse of that warranty.  Inspections provide peace of mind, and oftentimes save you money in the long run by eliminating the need for you to pay for costly repairs. You may not feel the need to utilize all four of these inspections; however, it is up to you to make that decision and I hope this article helps you understand the options available to you. If you have general questions about buying a new construction home in the greater Austin area, feel free to give me a call or send me an email.
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