Fredericksburg Texas

Having recently completed the last of three required courses to earn the “coveted” GRI (Graduate Realtor® Institute) I’m a bit under-whelmed by the fact that almost two dozen other agents in Gillespie County will receive their designations at the same time as I do.

The website www.realtor.org website describes GRI as:

The Graduate REALTOR® Institute (GRI) symbol is the mark of a real estate professional who has made the commitment to provide a high level of professional services by securing a strong educational foundation. REALTORS® with the GRI designation are highly trained in many areas of real estate to better serve and protect their clients.

Impressive, eh?

While it’s true that valuable information is contained in these courses, is the designation “worthwhile” if everyone has it?  I guess that remains to be seen.

I’m certainly a big believer in continuing education.  How else does one stay on top of industry development, legal updates, etc.  What will distinguish a good agent from a successful agent are the intangibles like market knowledge, past experience, personality and an ever-expanding SOI (that’s industry double-talk for sphere of influence).

When looking for an agent to help you buy or sell real estate in Fredericksburg, TX, research your choice the same way as you would shopping for a new car.  Search the internet, ask questions, seek referrals…interview more than one agent.

If you’re comfortable trusting the purchase or sale of a major asset to your sister’s boyfriend’s cousin…go for it.  If not, dig a little deeper and look for a professional.

Fredericksburg Texas Property For Sale

Some time has passed since my last update on the re-model of  524 W. Austin Street.  Here’s the latest.  Nothing has happened!  We’ve been waiting on the contractor to free time in his schedule to get going on the scheduled work.   The problem has been that the re-model he’s doing on our residence has taken longer than anticipated (what a surprise).

 It’s not his fault things have gone slow at our house.  Unexpected things happen, something gets done wrong and has to be re-done, etc.  Luckily, we are dealing with a contractor who is a perfectionist and is not willing to leave until it’s done right.  It’s a good thing too because he’s not getting paid until its right!

 Hopefully, they’ll be done at our house this week and be going big guns at Austin Street next week.  First on the schedule is getting the houses rewired.  Painting will commence, in earnest, as well.  All told, the job should take about a month.  I’ll take lots of pictures and post lots of updates as we really start to get in to it.

 In other news, I completed the last of the three courses necessary to complete my GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute) designation yesterday.  Soon I’ll be updating my website, cards, ads, etc. to reflect this accomplishment.

 Fredericksburg Texas Property For Sale

We currently face a confounding paradox.

The New Year has seen a marked increase in the number of buyers plying the market while this is (traditionally) the time of year when the least amount of inventory and new listings are available.

What the heck does that mean?  It means that sellers might want to re-think the conventional wisdom that has created and sustained the herd mentality of everyone placing their house/property on the market in the spring.

In the previous two years, buyers contracting in December and January have resulted in January and February being among our busiest months for closings.  This certainly runs counter to traditional sales patterns but appears to be a trend that is continuing.

Analysis of MLS records over the past three years has shown that the most active months for new listings (not total listings) are March, April, May and August.  Accepting that most transaction close within 30 days, you’d think that the months showing the most activity in closed transactions would be April, May, June and September.  In fact, the months showing the highest average dollar value of closings over the last three years has been February, August, September and December.

Buyers looking in December, January and February are faced with an inventory that is somewhat less than what is representative of the usual market conditions.  Patience is strongly counseled.

Sellers should consider altering their timeframe for listing their property to take advantage of the buyers out there with nothing to buy.

In short, Fredericksburg has been transformed into a year-round market…sellers would do well to recognize this!

Fredericksburg Texas Property For Sale

WOW.  What a year we had in 2005.  Every conceivable category of transaction type and dollar volume that is tracked is way up over 2004. Here are the highlights (total dollar volume):

Total Residential Sales              +23.23%

Residential w/Acreage              +112.8%

City Lots                                  +37.64%

Acreage, Farm, Ranch              +65.89%

Rural Sbdvn lots/Tracts             +47.99%

Commercial                              +51.06%

All Combined                           +58.65%

WOW!

Does this mean the market is over-inflated and ready to burst?  I can answer that by not only saying “no”, but by saying “hell no”!  The fundamentals that have raised the market for real estate in Fredericksburg, Texas to their current levels are still in place and still solid.

Quality of life, affordability, health care, climate, convenience, amenities, etc. are all things that draw retirees, families, professionals and “new beginners” to Fredericksburg .  Several of the items noted are constants while the others are continually improving to draw more raves from locals, visitors and home buyers.

I fully expect that 2006 will produce similar dollar volume increases. I also predict that the average sales price in each category (see above) will increase 12%-15%.  An exception to this will be that the average price of a single-family residence will increase by a more modest 3%-4%.

Despite the lofty results of 2005 vs. 2004, I don’t foresee the 2006 year as being either a “buyer’s year” or a “seller’s year”.  Inventory levels remain healthy and housing starts have been steady (thank you Stone Ridge and Cross Mountain West) and buyer continue to stream in from other areas while locals are “moving up”.  The very definition of market equilibrium.

RE/MAX again finished the year #2 in total sales volume and, more importantly, re-asserted it’s dominance with a sales per agent ration more than twice that of the nearest competitor!   That, my friends, is a big deal!

Fredericksburg Texas Property For Sale