HometownGeorgetown.com

Seventeen deals went to the closing table in Georgetown over the past week. That number seems pretty low compared to 48 new listings coming on the market. Our inventory levels are quite high, which means that buyers right now have an excellent chance of finding their dream home. (It’s not such great news for sellers, I’m afraid.)

The homes that went on the market this week are priced from $60,000 up to $659,000. (My favorite, of course, is the one I wrote about yesterday. Where else are you going to find over 4000 square feet of high quality living space on over 4 acres for less than $400,000?)

Eleven of the seventeen homes that sold this week sold for less than $200,000. Only one sold for over $400,000. It sold for $485,000 after more than a year on the market, and it was originally listed for $539,900.

It all sounds kind of gloomy, doesn’t it? But that house still sold for more than its appraised value. And it sold for $138 per square foot. This appears on the surface to be a prime example of homeowners who were not truly motivated to sell. In the end, they were forced to realize that their house was not worth as much as they believed. It’s very likely that if they had priced it more realistically to begin with, they would have sold it for more money than they ended up getting. Their house was tarnished in buyers’ eyes simply because it was on the market for such a long time.

Historically speaking, we’re doing fine. Take a look at these sales numbers from the past five years in MLS areas GTE and GTW:

The number of sales we saw this week are in line with the numbers of the past five years. Things should pick up in the coming months.

The current owners are ready to downsize. This is your opportunity to buy your dream house in the country. Asking price is $20,000 under the current tax appraisal! Please call me at 512-876-6544 to schedule a showing.

An Arizona-based investment group, Bourn Partners, announced this week that they have acquired 185 acres of land with 2600 feet of frontage on Westinghouse Road.

“This area, bordered by IH-35, Westinghouse Boulevard, FM 1460 and University Boulevard, is fast becoming the hub of Williamson County for medical, educational and retail needs,” Joe Simmons, Principal, Bourn Partners, said. “Our site is literally a stone’s throw from the Round Rock Premium Outlets, Teravista’s master planned residential development and Scott & White Hospital. We are delighted to play a part in creating this dynamic project for future growth in the region.”

I’m not sure what he means by “literally a stone’s throw.” Does it mean that he and his crew went out and threw rocks at the Premium Outlets? Sarcasm aside, I think this is an exciting development. According to the press release, the multi-use property could include multi-family housing, medical offices, and retail.

Bourn Partners are the same folks who will bring us Longhorn Junction at the corner of Austin Avenue and Inner Loop, which I wrote about on December 12.

The Leadership Georgetown group met yesterday at the Boys and Girls Club of Georgetown, which is not quite two years old. (It’s located at 210 W. 18th Street, and it’s open to all children aged 7-17.) The club provides a positive, safe place for children to go when they’re not in school. Daniel Anstee, Director of the club, spoke with passion and conviction of the service they’re providing to these children and to the community at large. The Boys and Girls Club traditionally has an open door policy, and Georgetown is no exception. The staff and volunteers are not going to stop a kid from leaving who doesn’t want to be there. Rather, they try to provide activities that will draw the children to the club. But even those kids who only ever want to play pool are welcome. Within a couple of years, Georgetown should have a second Boys and Girls Club, near Shady Oaks Apartments, which are at 501 Janis Drive off Williams.

Membership to the Boys and Girls Club of Georgetown costs $10 per child per year, but Mr. Antsee will work with people who can’t pay immediately. There were 350 members in 2007, and daily attendance is up from 2006, when they first opened. During the school year, the club is open from 3-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. During the summer, they’re open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. They’re always looking for volunteers to teach classes (on whatever subject interests you), or to help the kids with homework after school.

We also had the opportunity to hear from Donald Loving, director of The Caring Place. The Caring Place was started in 1985 by people in the community who felt we should pool our resources in order to help folks in need, and it continues to be run today by people from the community. They do have ten paid staff members, but a lot of the work is done by over 300 local volunteers. This is a pure community-based organization. If you give a donation to The Caring Place, 100% of your money goes directly to client services. How can they make that claim when they have paid staff members? Because the fabulous thrift store generates enough income to cover all administrative costs.

If you are on Georgetown utilities, take note of the little box that asks if you’d like to donate $1 to the Good Neighbor Fund. Next month, please give serious thought to checking this box. The Caring Place administers the Good Neighbor Fund; when a family in crisis applies for assistance with the utility bill, The Caring Place determines whether they are truly in need. And then they match the amount given by Georgetown citizens who check that magic little box.

We finished our day at the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC). The big, beautiful new building is located at 1811 SE Inner Loop, and was designed by Moman Architects (Round Rock) to look like a sprawling country home, rather than an institutionalized box. Moman, Jimmy Jacobs Custom Homes, and Baker-Aiklen & Associates (Civil Engineering) all donated their management costs to get this project started. Children who go to CAC have already been traumatized enough. Isn’t it nice that our county has a warm, welcoming place for them?

The purpose of CAC is to assist law enforcement with forensic interviews of children who are the victims of or witnesses to crime in Williamson County. They do not keep children overnight, and they do not take children away from their parents. Their role is to help the police gather evidence of crimes by interviewing children in a non-threatening environment. Thanks to a generous grant from United Way of Williamson County, they were able to add a full-time Child and Family Therapist to their staff once they moved into their new facility this past fall, to further help children begin the healing process. In April, they will open a medical wing and will provide sexual assault medical exams in collaboration with the area hospitals.

What can you do to help CAC? The CAC is a non profit 501 ( c) 3 and cash donations are always welcome, or you could purchase a brick paver for their memorial walk. (The honoree need not be dead to qualify for a paver. Pay your money, get a paver - that’s how it works.) They do not need clothes, diapers, or stuffed animals. (They give each child and accompanying children who come for a forensic interview, the opportunity to take a blanket and a stuffed animal, but they already have enough stuffed animals, thanks in part to a recent donation from Kohl’s.) They can use blankets, however. They also recycle used ink jet cartridges and cell phones, so are more than happy to take those off your hands. And they rely heavily on the help of volunteers, so give them a call if you have some time on your hands and a desire to help the children of Williamson County.

Or, visit them at www.wilcocac.org to learn more about these opportunities to help!

I was driving around town today, and I was surprised and delighted to see that we’re about to have another new restaurant here in Georgetown. A Greek restaurant is opening at the intersection of Williams Dr. If you’re driving north on 35, turn left on Williams, and the restaurant is immediately on the right after you cross over the freeway. For the life of me, I can’t remember what the name of it was, but it was definitely a Greek restaurant. Gyros, anyone?

Since I didn’t do the week in retrospective yesterday, I decided to do it today. Here are the numbers for the seven-day period between February 12 and February 18:

We’re still seeing a significant number of price changes. Sellers are slow to realize that if they truly want to sell, they need to set the price at a level that buyers are willing to pay. It all depends on the sellers’ motivation. How much do they want to sell the house? How much do they want to move? This week, twelve sellers decided that their motivation to move wasn’t strong enough to lower the price to a saleable level. These sellers withdrew their homes from the market.

Last week, we saw sales in excess of the same period in the prior two years. Was that an anomaly? Maybe. This week’s sales were significantly lower than the sales of the same period in the previous two years.

Maybe this week is the anomaly. We’ll have to keep an eye on this comparison in weeks to come. We certainly have a lot of homes that went into Pending status this week. If these sales prices equal 97% of the list price (which is historically probable), these sales will total $5,972,035.

Not all of these deals will probably go through. The deal’s not done until everyone has been at the closing table.

The 39 new listings this week are priced everywhere from $84,900 up to almost $2 million. 16 of the listings fall between $100,000 and $200,000, 8 between $200,000 and $300,000, and 6 between $300,000 and $400,000. (My listing at 415 Allen Circle is in that group, priced at $360,000.)

If you’re in the market for a new home, please call me at 512-876-6544 or send an email to Jenel@HometownGeorgetown.com. I’d love to talk to you.

Over the weekend, I listed a gorgeous 4-bedroom home in Fountainwood Estates, a wonderful established Georgetown neighborhood with huge, beautiful trees.

To see the web page I created specifically for this property, click here. If you or someone you know is looking for a home, please call me at 512-876-6544 or send an email to Jenel@HometownGeorgetown.com.

I had intended to write my weekly wrap-up this morning, but I awoke to find an email in my inbox that I want to share with you. Local appraiser Pat Carey of the Georgetown Appraisal Group has written a wonderful analysis of market trends right here in Georgetown. Here are a few excerpts:

If you have turned on the news lately you would think the real estate market in Central Texas is on the verge of decline.   While many areas of the United States have and are currently experiencing a decline in property values and slower economic growth, this does not appear to be the case in Central Texas.

	It is evident that values have shown moderate appreciation since 2005. The sales price to listing price ratio has remained stable and marketing time is generally 2-3 months.
At first glance it appears that values increased from $213,721 in 2006 to $230,687 in 2007 for a 7.9% change. Do not rely on this figure as an estimate of property value appreciation. The number was skewed as there were only 33 homes sold in 2006 that sold over the price of $500,000 for a total sales volume of $20,087,694 while in 2007, there were 38 sales over the noted price of $500,000 for a total sales volume of $25,113,174. This volume difference of $5,025,480 spread out over the 936 sales equates to an inflated average price of $5,369. For a more accurate estimate to determine property value appreciation it is best to analyze homes in the market that sold in 2006 and then resold in 2007.

In his full report, Pat does just that sort of in-depth analysis of our local market. He says that properties here are continuing to increase in value at a sustainable rate of 4-5% per year.

If you need an appraisal, please consider contacting Pat Carey.