Things Austin Home Buyers Need To Know

People moving to Austin need our help, fellow agents. They need a dose of reality. What everybody reads in the press makes many out of town buyers think that real estate market in Austin are the same as markets the press writes about. In other words, they think home sales are soft and that everything is overpriced. The result? Lowball offers that insult sellers. This isn't true everywhere, but it is in many areas and is especially true on areas west of downtown. So what we need to do is let people know that Austin is still appreciating. They need to really understand the comps we show them and then make realistic offers.

The second thing buyers need to know is that they really should't make an offer without proof of ability to pay if it is a cash purchase or a letter of pre-approval from a lender. A problem of late is people's lenders going under and having no funds at closing. A letter of pre-approval is no guarantee that the lender will be in business a week or a month from now, but it helps. With lenders having much tighter rules for making loans, anyone not already pre-approved is not likely to be taken very seriously.

So let's get out there and really educate our buyers.