New homes have dominated the sales at Austin’s Mueller Development in 2009, though there has been a mixed bag of results for the resale homes. Here’s a quick recap and some thoughts on how to sell your home here. All data is from the Austin MLS.
The successes: Three resale homes have sold in 2009.
Time on market: The number of days on market averages at 18, which is outstanding for an average list price of $341k. Compare this with an average of 81 days for other homes in the city of Austin sold in 2009 between $300,000 and $400,000.
Other listings that didn’t sell: Two were leased out rather than sold, one failed to sell (expired) and one is temporarily off the market. So 25% of listings have failed to sell, though the statistical sample is laughably small.
Other resale homes available: There is one other home available on Pinckney Street opposite the pool. There are around 14 new homes in various stages of completion available as of this morning.
What’s the price per square foot of homes at Mueller? I’m not a big fan of this basic type of analysis – it misses out the detail of what makes each home unique, and sales between $150/sqft and $202/sqft give a very wide deviation. I don’t put much stock in the number.
How do I price my home at Mueller for sale? Pricing is always interesting when there have only been a few resales and the builders are still active in a neighborhood. The good news for those considering reselling right now is that the Mueller builders only have very limited inventory, and no fixed plans are in place for the next phase of development.
Pricing must be realistic and is based on competition, supply and demand. If your home is competing with a builder model, then pay attention to the incentives that they are offering, and what upgrades and options your home has.
For example, an inventory home listed at $369,000 might seem like fair competition for your two year home unless you consider that the builder may be offering seller paid closing costs or other incentives to use their preferred lender. The builder will also offer a warranty with their new home, while much of your warranty might have expired.
When pricing your home, get professional advice from a local real estate agent who has been involved in the new home sales. There are several that live in Mueller including myself.
Garreth Wilcock is a Realtor ® specializing in new and resale homes at Mueller. Call him on +1.512.829.1351 for a chat about home sales.