Open House: Sunday 19th February 2p-5p

For Sale: 4025 Threadgill Street is a barely lived in house for sale at Mueller Austin. It’s the practical Meritage 1902 floor plan, which is a yard home with some very popular features. Firstly, the master bedroom is on the first floor, and there’s a great master bath. In addition to a living area and separate dining room, it also sports a second downstairs bedroom and full bath.

Open kitchen living area

click for larger floor plan

Here are some of my favorite variations that the owners have selected:

1. Hard wood floors in the entry, living and dining are elegant and practical
2. Crepe myrtles provide color, shade and privacy
3. The home participates in the Pecan Street Mueller Smartgrid Demonstration Project and has additional energy efficiency upgrades over and above the 3 star rating in the Austin Energy Green Building program
4. Extensive crown molding and a bright kitchen backsplash illuminated by under cabinet lights
5. Conduit to allow a TV to be located remotely from the operating equipment in the downstairs living

This home is move-in ready, and is conveniently one block down Emma Long from the sports court, playground, pocket park and Olympic sized Ella Wooten pool. Here are some stats at a glance:

Mueller Steiner Home For Sale

• 1996 sqft per appraiser
• 2 story, master down
• 3 beds
• 3 full baths
• Upstairs living / game room
• yard home – 0.0788 acres
• 3 star rating in Austin Energy green building program
• completed in October 2009
• List price: $369,500

See 46 inside and outside photos in the virtual tour – get in touch if you would like to schedule a showing, or check out all Mueller homes for sale. Call or text 512 215 4785.

Open  House: Sunday 19th February 2p-5p  – come see what all the fuss is about!

For Sale: This is a rare chance to get a corner lot yard home in Mueller Austin Texas. As you probably know, yard homes are in short supply with just 30 new yard homes coming in the next phase of residential development out of 221 new homes. This popular Meritage 1903 plan has the Maggio elevation, and is on one of the largest lots – a true corner lot, not to be confused with the smaller alley corner lots.

The owners have done much since purchasing the new home in February 2009, and here are three of my favorite updates:

Click for a larger version of the 1903 Floor plan

1. The first is the addition of 7″ hardwoods throughout the lower level and more noticeably up the stairs. Since the lower living area is very open plan this really ties the living, dining and kitchen together. This floor plan really benefits from the wood updates on the stairs as this is one of the first things you see as you enter the home.
2. The second is that they’ve mounted a flat panel TV in the living room above the fireplace and concealed the wiring so that the TV equipment is in the hall closet. Coupled with the installed surround sound, this makes for a really clean look.
3. The third differentiates the home from most others – the addition of two great decks and stone pavers to make a huge outdoor entertaining space in a neighborhood that is not known for large yards.

Inside, the home has the optional third bathroom downstairs which means that the downstairs study could be reconfigured as a guest bedroom. The upstairs boasts the optional loft, which could be a third or fourth bedroom. The master is large, and features a balcony overlooking the outdoor decks, and a master bathroom with a great closet. Here’s a recap:

Luscious hand scraped wood

• 3/4 bedroom
• 3 bath
• Master up
• 2122 sqft per TCAD
• 2136 Emma Long Street
• Double detached garage
• Alley access
• Corner lot 0.1075 acres with two decks
• 3 stars in Austin Energy Green Building program
• List price: $407,500

Photos will be coming soon – if you would like to take a look, please get in touch or call 512 215 4785.

There are several Mueller  rental options, though rental inventory is extremely low in the single family home, condo and townhome portions of the neighborhood. Mosaic has luxury apartments for rent, but for those looking for a private yard space, there are few options. Bad news for tenants, but great news for owners and prospective landlords.

Mueller Leases Are In Short Supply

Taking a look at the MLS lease listings from 2011, the breakdown of pricing is as follows:

Single family homes (aka yard homes): between 1600 and 3200sqft for between $2100 and $2750 a month. That doesn’t tell the whole story – there was a 2700sqft home that leased for $3000 per month. Looking at the average, the lease listings run at about $1.15 per square foot, which equates to around $2300 for a 2000 sqft 3 bedroom home with an office. It’s never a good idea to focus on averages for anything more than a vague ballpark. For example, rent rates varies greatly on the features and size of the home – for example a net-zero capable home with solar PV panels would rent for significantly more as the cost of living to the tenants would be lower (no electricity bill). I give this example as I had one off market lease listing last year which had a solar array.

Town houses (aka town homes, row homes): between 1700 and 1800 sqft for between $2350 and $2700 a month. While these town homes had small yards, they also have exterior landscaping taken care of, which appeals to some tenants. One of these homes was also fully furnished, which demands a premium too.

So this gives you a ball park rental rate, from which you can build. If you’re looking at your cash flow model as a would- be landlord, it’s important to factor in HOA dues, potential increases in property tax bills (if home prices continue to rise and you lose your homestead exemption), marketing fees and property management if you require that. (Many of the larger firms charge 8% of the gross rent to manage your tenant in your absence).

Get in touch if you would like to know more about leasing a home at Mueller – 512 215 4785.

How is life at Mueller Austin? It’s a hard question to answer for anyone considering relocating here, and the National Association of Realtors will always say that an agent can’t answer demographic questions subjectively. Suffice it to say that there are all walks of life here – multi-generational families, young upwardly mobile types, retirees and everyone in between.

Rather than diving into my opinions about the Mueller community, here’s an unprompted opinion that I can share. I was copied on an email about Mueller Austin this morning, and I asked the neighbor who sent it if I could reproduce it, and she said yes. I removed a few identifying remarks, and here it is:

I’m sending you Garreth Wilcock’s real estate site www.homesatmueller.com .  Garreth is a real estate agent who lives at Mueller and specializes in homes here.  You and your wife might find Mueller a congenial neighborhood close in to downtown and UT and convenient by surface streets to much of Austin, including your [...] office.

Lab rendering courtesy Michael Hsu/Office of Architecture

The next phase of development opposite the Wildflower Terrace includes several things – the Muskin / Michael Hsu townhomes, possibly some new affordable apartments by the people behind M-Station on MLK and the lot at the corner of Berkman and Antone will host the Pecan Street’s Demonstration Home which will be named after Pike Powers. Pecan Street Inc. (formerly the Pecan Street Project)  has closed on the lot and is in the final stages of planning for the build out of the three story home which it is anticipated will break ground in mid February.

The home will feature many of the latest energy efficient design and construction techniques that you would expect from the organization that is bringing Home Energy Management systems, 100 subsidized Chevrolet Volt electric cars and rooftop solar to the ‘hood as part of the Smart Grid Demonstration project. It also includes instrumentation and equipment to allow Pecan Street partners to test and demonstrate their new smart grid systems. There will be large floor to ceiling windows on the Berkman and Antone sides, so Muellerites will be able to see the lab in action. On the exterior will be some novel landscaping design that has not yet been seen in Austin. Click on the image for the Statesman article

Looking back at the homes that sold in Mueller in 2011, many people are surprised about the ferocity of the market. Low inventory, modest new home inventory and high demand left sellers for the most part very well off. I think many residents are going to be surprised again when their TCAD valuations rise, and that may even mean that some people are forced to sell as the cost of owning a home increases.

Here’s a quick recap of the MLS portion of the market, which accounts for only a fraction of what happens – I’ll get back to that later.

Single family homes – this includes yard homes, garden homes and garden court homes:

The median number of days on market was 23 days (all price points in the market rate homes). The price breakdown was as follows and reflects a higher average number of days on market (pulled up by some homes under construction in the upper price ranges).

So it’s still hard to get a detached home under $350,000, and if you do want one, you have to be fast as a buyer (7 days on market average).

There were five listings that were withdrawn from the MLS. Two of these switched listing agents and ultimately sold (I was one of the listing agents that sold a home that the former agent couldn’t), one was rented, one was a former model home which the builder took off the market before they sold it, and one was a to be built home which is being marketed differently now.

This only tells part of the story – there are many things that happen here at Mueller that are off-MLS – the silent market, pocket listings – whatever you want to call them. I personally had seven buyers last year who bought houses here that were not listed. Compared to the 13 that sold on the MLS – that’s pretty significant.

Condos and Townhomes – this includes the Greenway Lofts, Mueller House Condominiums, row homes and town homes:

Five of eleven sales were the new Standard Pacific Condos, and five were resale town homes in the $250,000 to $350,000 range. No homes in this category failed to sell and the median time on market was 61 days – not quite as brisk as the detached homes, but still not too shabby.

All in all, I would say that Mueller in 2011 was very much a seller’s market below $600,000. 2012 has started off with a bang – one of my listings is under contract already in a season not known for voracious activity, I have buyers in negotiations for another off market listing and there is a second off market listing in negotiations too. All in the space of two weeks.

My advice to buyers: get in touch and get your ducks in a row for when a home comes up that meets your needs. My advice to sellers: don’t be shy – there are buyers out there waiting. My advice to residents: start getting ready to protest your taxes. 512 694 8873

There are four incarnations of the Meritage 1903 at the old airport development – The Royal, The Pena, The Benson and the Maggio, each with slightly different size and elevations. There are several different options for each plan.

Downstairs in the 1903 Pena

The different elevations have different porch configurations, and as you enter the front door the stairs are to one side and a study or optional bedroom are to the other, and a half bathroom or optional full bath with shower. The rest of the main level is open with a large living and dining area opening up into the kitchen with an island and breakfast bar. The dining room opens through French doors to a side patio area, and the kitchen leads to the utility room and double garage.

Upstairs are three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The master is at the rear of the home and has a balcony overlooking the side yard. The master bath has shower and an optional garden tub configuration. There is also an optional loft area, or the stairs can be open to the second floor.

• 3 bedrooms (with optional 4th or study)
• 3 baths
• 3 star green in Austin Energy Green Building Program
• master up
• 2050 – 2130 sqft
• double garage with alley access
• open living /dining /kitchen
• balcony from master bedroom

2011 / 2012 resale prices start from $380,000 to $400,000. Get in touch if you would like a copy of the floor plan, or be notified when one of these homes comes on the market, or any other Mueller real estate. 512 215 4785

Should you market your home on the internet, or work with a more traditional signs and fliers agent who knows a lot of people?

After showing a home at Mueller for sale this morning, I went over to meet a potential seller in the neighborhood at lunchtime. We toured her home and discussed some of the necessary preparations that would have to be undertaken to get the most return from a sale, and the impact of the new homes on the relationship between supply and demand here. The verdict was that early Spring is traditionally a low inventory time of year, and that with no new detached homes being announced before Summer, this might be a good time to list.

She mentioned that her old room mate was a Realtor, so I thought is was worth articulating my value proposition. I took a few moments to explain how I use the internet to sell homes, and I thought I’d share that here. I have a whole presentation about it, but here’s the Cliff Notes version of our conversation which I think answers the original question.

Me: Most people start their home search on the internet so I spend the largest proportion of my marketing dollars there.

Seller: But when I’m looking for a home, I just go to AustinHomeSearch and search the MLS – doesn’t everyone do that?

Me: Many people do. Having a properly prepared MLS entry is an essential part of most marketing strategies. Correctly using the MLS allows your home listing to feed into a number of other systems. Not all, but most homes sell through the MLS – a few sell through a silent market approach. AustinHomeSearch and other MLS feeds are a big source of buyers.

Seller: Doesn’t the MLS get the most hits from home searchers?

Me: It certainly puts you on the map. The other three sites that have the highest traffic in Austin are Zillow, Realtor.com and Trulia – so I pay to advertise my listings there. I also have my own sites which I use to promote listings on. But that’s really for other sellers to see.

Seller: Don’t your sites get much traffic?

Me: Actually, they rank highly for search terms related to Mueller Austin Homes for sale. [at this point, I normally whip open a browser and google that term and show that I am usually first place after the developer site] And I also run paid advertising to actually advertise your listing [see screenshot below]

Mueller Austin Homes

Seller: So what about all the postcards that I get from you? It almost seems like you want me to move.

Me: People find their homes in different ways, and not all of it is through people searching on real estate portals. So some of my marketing budget goes on letting neighbors know about homes for sale, some on letting agents know, and some goes to online marketing. And also my postcards to the neighbors are just my way of letting people know that I’m here, buying and selling homes for clients in Mueller.

Ultimately real estate brokerage results in different agents representing the buyer and seller in any given Austin home sale. So as a listing agent I find motivated and capable buyers for your home – by directly marketing to buyers and by marketing to other agents. One way I do that is through internet marketing, though it is important to look at the other ways in which people buy homes and cover the traditional “signs, fliers and networking” approaches too.

Get in touch if you’re interested in finding a buyer for your home at Mueller – 512 215 4785

The new Meritage home at 1908 Antone that is to be started in early 2012 went on the market a week ago. This is the first new yard home under $400k that has come on the market for over a year, and is a precursor to the 221 new homes being built in 2012.

The home went under contract in 6 days, despite being put in the MLS in an unusual way – the “listing type” field was entered into the Multiple Listing System as “See Agent”. This means that it wouldn’t show up on a typical search for a “house”, which in my mind makes it a little strange.

I think this is just another sign that the 30 new yard homes coming from Standard Pacific and David Weekley next year will be extremely popular, and may not make it into the MLS at all. Let me know if you want to get first dibs on the upcoming homes for sale.

The Trinity Elevation

Standard Pacific has 12 new condos in two Mueller House Condominium Buildings on sale now. Half the units are market rate, half are in the affordable program. The two new buildings (Frio and Trinity) are at the end of the current condo construction – the big space at the end of Simond Avenue as it meets Berkman Drive.

These compliment the 10 buildings either under construction or already occupied on both sides of the street. These floorplans are new, and so you can’t walk around and see inside one under construction at this time. You can check out the construction specifications though which includes details such as:

• 14.5 SEER puron HVAC (read – energy efficient)
• 6’8″ glass insert wood entry door at front (read – pretty)
• 36″ oak / poplar raised panel cabinet doors in kitchen

Here are the facts at a glance for the new market rate homes:

The F6 has a popular master down configuration, and these three bedroom units will have more broad appeal perhaps than the four and two bedroom units in the four condo buildings.

Here are the details for the affordable units:

Frio Elevation Mueller House Condominium

The A6 is the first affordable home in Mueller for a while with three bedrooms and all bedrooms on the ground floor.

As always, I’m available to represent you in the purchase of a new condo at no cost to you – the Standard Pacific model home is about 90 seconds walk from my home office. Contact me if you want to know more about these homes 512 215 4785.

The site of 12 new condos