Today marks the passing of one of Texas’ most beloved women.  Lady Bird Johnson left us today and we are deeply saddened.  I don’t normally report non real-estate news, but this is worthy of our time.

Anyone who has ever driven through Texas and marveled at the endless bluebonnets and wildflowers, you have Lady Bird to thank for that.  Her endless commitment to the environment, even before it was “popular” has made Texas the most beautiful land in our nation.  For those non-Texans, you would think her husband would be the more famous, but Lady Bird left the bigger legacy behind.

When you visit Austin, head over to her pet project- the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center across from Zilker park… most Austinites have had their portrait taken there at one point!  She co-founded the National Wildflower Research Center and assisted in opening the LBJ Library on the UT Campus.  Lady Bird was one of the biggest UT fans, being a historically important contributor to the football and basketball programs- you could even see her in attendance over the decades.

God Bless, Lady Bird- you will be missed!

View a film of Lady Bird on You Tube.

Don’t know what “deck” is? You’re just not hip… I’ll clue you in! Liz Barkdale writes my absolute favorite article written thus far in 2007; click here to read on!

Anywhere in Austin south of the Capitol, the “Keep Austin Weird” subculture reigns. I’ve been debating how to use this article in the blogosphere, but it’s too dang funny to not publish. For those of you who have lived in or visited Austin, you’ll giggle as you read this article; for those who have not, you surely have some “deck” element in your own city.

Tell us how deck YOUR city is!
photo (from thatotherpaper.com )/ Fred Benenson

My husband bases his entire Real Estate philosophy on the advice given to him from a busy, sophisticated mother of six- “I never give my kids more than two options for dinner.” No buyer should be equated to a toddler, but the advice still rings true- never overwhelm your client. If your kids opt for chicken, God forbid you serve trout- confusion will abound, dishes will break, and tears will fall.

When someone calls looking to buy, a good Realtor should be able to listen and understand the complicated nuances of subjective wants vs. needs. While discussing a buyer’s future home, the Realtor should already have 5 MLS numbers in mind and be checking availability from his laptop (with a Sprint wireless card if he’s not in the office). By the end of the conversation, the Realtor should know the area the buyer desires (probing questions may reveal that they said they wanted North but they didn’t know the Tollway opened, so now they are open to the more affordable options in the West), have 5 homes in mind to tour, know 5 things the buyer wants in those homes by asking questions regarding subjects even THEY haven’t thought of (you have a baby coming? Perhaps you could use a study instead of an additional bedroom- that will open up some options. You want red brick? You’ll love this red brick with limestone accents featured by a prominent local builder. You say you want to landscape? Oh, you mean you want a 2’x4’ space for your hydrangeas!). After all, knowing 5 things they want is good because, as my husband says, “you can’t argue with your own data.”

If you (as a buyer OR Realtor) find yourself in home number six and are getting closer to a selection, the Realtor should discuss with the buyers their original 5 wants/needs and address how these have changed. Regrouping is pertinent at this point because buyers CAN change their minds midstream. If the Realtor isn’t even close to the mark, the connection might not have been made and the relationship should be optional beyond that point.

Too many Realtors simply have fun playing around in vacant houses and forget that the buyer’s time is precious too! Everyone loves dreaming about replacing floors and what color the valances will be, but shopping should be the easiest, smoothest, and often the shortest part of the home buying transaction. After the home is selected, most Realtors consider their job done and suddenly stop answering calls. This is pathetic- the best Realtors know to hold a buyer’s hand through the lending process, to follow up with title, to go to all inspections, help coordinate insurance and warranty, be at the closing table and be there to open the front door with the buyers. This is an incubation period which is often neglected in the Real Estate industry, but is CRUCIAL to the buying process. No wonder builders are experiencing so many cancellations!

Look, my husband has a 99% closing ratio because his background in PR and marketing has given him the unique advantage of being able to listen effectively and narrow down people’s comments into 5 desires or needs (and being able to distinguish the difference between the two), and in most cases being able to show buyers the home they will buy in the first shot (but will show 2, 3, or 4 more to ease the “what if” questions buyers may have). He tells buyers up front that they will look at up to 5 homes, they will not be stalked (and can walk away if it is not a good fit), and they will have someone on their side watching over the entire process. Most times, they will take their chosen home off the market the same day he shows them. He loathes the long term buyer’s agreement and doesn’t feel the need to subject a client to 120 days of his “service”- if a Realtor hasn’t gotten close within the first 5 homes, maybe they just don’t get it and all parties should part. After all, he wants to be at the house warming party and he will be the Realtor to sell that same house in the future!

To summarize- when your buyer calls and is prequalified, you need to

(1) ask questions, listen, and assess their wants versus their needs into 5 specific targets

(2) don’t beat around the bush, show them the house they described first (often this can rule out your other four homes, but show them the next best thing anyhow).

(3) If you’ve realized that you missed the mark, don’t waste their time- reschedule and research with new current data in hand.

(4) For home number three, with your new data, show them the home most closely matching their new description- since this is post-reassessment, you should be spot-on. And here you are at home number 3 or 4 as opposed to 33 or 34.

(5) Now that you’ve saved time shopping, you can spend more time with the closing process and should be able to give more (aka better) service to the buyer!I see this work every day- it should be the norm in the industry, not the exception to the rule!

My husband and I traveled to Oklahoma City this weekend for my future sister-in-law’s bridal shower. We drove all around the city to a few select areas that used to be nice- SoCo type places to live, and my husband was trying to explain to the children that this ghost town feel on the north side was disappointing and upsetting. He could point out where they used to hang out, where fancy homes used to be, and where upscale furniture boutiques were- but alas, they were no more. We felt called to redevelop areas of the city that used to be the “it places”- if only I had an extra few million sitting around (that’s the 10 year plan). Perhaps just a few houses and buildings at a time…

My husband explained to the kids that the closing of GM, AOL jumping ship, and a future potential for Tinker AFB’s closing was detrimental to Oklahoma, while in Austin it would barely be a blip the news. We have become so used to being in a thriving area that it is saddening to spend time in an area that isn’t flourishing quite like ours. We have become spoiled by new tollways opening, constant commercial developments breaking ground, and it seems like a new home subdivision opens every week! We have become spoiled ROTTEN by being in a city that attracts Barney’s NY, Louis Vuitton, Saks, Tiffany’s and the like. We love our Starbuck’s on every corner living happily across the street from the ecclectic local coffee bars- both thriving equally. It reminded us that we have several friends across the country in the Real Estate Industry that are surely struggling, and we tip our hats to them.

We are spoiled and we know it, but we take pause today to pray for those in our field who don’t have the same annoying bragging rights that we do.

I’m not going to lie, I love rap (for you fogies out there, that’s music)… especially the repetitive songs that drive my husband crazy (like Mims’ “This Is Why I’m Hot”)! This song is simply a dude shouting out why he is hot and why you’re not- it lacks creativity and lustre, but he makes his point well (over and over (my husband suggested I add another “over”) again). Well, that is Austin’s adopted theme song right now as reports show that currently, Austin is the best place for Real Estate in the country! Leading economist Mark Dotzour noted to the Austin Business Journal that “national attention is being focused on Texas as markets decline elsewhere around the United States. Austin is further ahead of other Texas cities, with a very modest 3.2 months inventory of unsold homes, making it one of the tightest markets in the country.”

Again, besides Hula Hut, Barton Springs, Leander’s new X Park, HEB (sorry you guys up North who don’t have HEB!!!), Hut’s, music, SXSW, flip flops at work and UT FOOTBALL, Austin’s Real Estate Market really is HOT.

SO, this is why I’m hot… (ok, not me, but at least my husband AND the Austin Real Estate market)!

This is why everyone should live in Austin (for readers in Cali or Phx, you really should come visit- I’ll hook you up with #2)!

I started this blog to opine and learn about Real Estate, but as a wife, I would be a fool to not talk about my husband. I am about to launch “Partner Profiles,” a series of profiles about America ’s Realtor Wives (and husbands if I can find them). Most of the questions revolve around what makes each person’s husband/wife different and better than other Realtors around them. Some will have a clear answer and others may sound canned, but here’s MY response…

My husband remains unnamed because I am avoiding shameless plugs (although I’ll send you to his website any chance it is appropriate)! But why NOT showcase him? I think he’s so great that I married him, right? That’s the ultimate voucher right there! My husband is not only an incredible person, he behaved the same way even before he was licensed- kindness and selflessness is so natural for him. What attracted me to him was this very quality- always opening doors for strangers, helping old ladies cross the street, etc.

This conveyed perfectly into a career in residential Real Estate because he sincerely cares about people around him (what an amazingly fresh concept in the world of Real Estate). I have seen him list homes pro bono so a homeowner that was upside down could get out of the nightmare they were in, not just because when they are back on their feet in a year or two they have pre-selected their fantastic Realtor, but because he sincerely wants to help people. My husband has counseled more than one client through divorce when they call at midnight freaked out by the overwhelming process of selling or buying because of separation. On top of doing the occasional good deed of pro bono short sale to avoid foreclosure AND being just short of a therapist, my husband spends time trying to selflessly promote the entire INDUSTRY as a caring, helpful industry rather than an industry of blood sucking hyenas (yeah, hyenas suck blood). Even more, on his own blog he doesn’t plug himself, rather promotes the industry! He doesn’t even ask for referrals, rather he just gives good common sense advice. In a world centered around commmissions, his goal is to simply talk about how to find the value in a realtor or market- raising the standard.

My husband spends extra time in the community volunteering his time, is dead serious about not missing mass, and devotes endless time to our children teaching them about the good in this world. I could start getting mushy here, but I’ll refrain. Simply put, if I’m going to ask other spouses to talk about how amazing their husbands are, it would be laughable if I avoided doing the same. So, if my husband was running for President, I would say “vote for him” here, but instead, I’ll ask that you visit his website or blog and find out why he is Austin’s leading Realtor- he’s an honest, likeable guy that makes anyone around him comfortable because he’s watching out for them NO MATTER WHAT!

When I was little, despite missing two Easters in a row (chicken pox twice- seriously), I still believed in the Easter bunny. I also spent many years of my life preparing cookies for Santa, Lego houses for the Tooth Fairy (don’t ask), being scared of Alligators under my bed (again, don’t ask), avoiding cracks in the sidewalk, and even watching the skies for any saucer shaped object watching for a possible streak of light to follow!

All of those mythical things I spent time worrying about were all for nothing, and as each legend dematerialized before my eyes (regardless of what he says- dad told me he shot the Easter bunny, Santa got stuck in the chimney, the Tooth Fairy was broke and that aliens only existed if you did drugs), I became disillusioned. I was irritated that people around me went to such great lengths to scare me (Alligators under the bed so I would stay put) or prepare me for events that benefited them (watching dopey kids hunt for dairy products in the yard every spring- what a laugh)! I learned from those things and came into adulthood, slightly jaded and overly analytical.

Like Santa, the “Austin Real Estate Bubble” we hear about “bursting” from poorly dressed local anchors is all smoke and mirrors. Perhaps markets like Schulenburg, Texas or Clovis, New Mexico suffer stagnant markets while the east side of Atlanta, Georgia and Hollywood, Florida simply fail so miserably. All four cities are examples of markets irrelevant to Austin yet, they are taken into account when the national news anchors rant endlessly about the “bubble burst.” Austin isn’t a bursting bubble, it doesn’t pay children for rotting teeth, nor does it break your mother’s back when stepped on. Austin’s market is doing better than ever- look at any Austin Real Estate blog which will bore you with nothing more than charts about said successful market statistics (or “stats” if you’re cool). So please- stop worrying about the “bubble” in Austin- it isn’t in the near future, but if it gets close to becoming a reality (think believing in saucer shaped objects in the sky), we will most certainly let you know!

What is so cool about the Austin Real Estate market is that it’s like an appetizer sampler plate. If you can’t decide between spicy Miami, cool ranch Kansas City, or relaxing margarita Del Mar, Austin is a great choice. When you don’t want any one particular flavor but an infusion of ALL tastes at once, spend 20 minutes driving around Austin and you’ll know what I mean! Down South is the SoCo district with their hot new condominiums sprouting from the ground like iris bulbs. Drive central to the revitalized 6th and 5th streets with live music and sexy Austin lofts. Getting north of town brings you to huge oak trees and patio dining at the Arboretum.

What else is cool about Austin? The real estate market bubble is non-existent… while news anchors nationwide bark about a bubble bursting, Austin sits back and has another mojito. A bubble burst is as foreign a concept as putting a 7-11 hot dog on your awesome sampler plate (although I will confess to loving gas station hot dogs, they just don’t go with the wildly amazing flavors already on the plate)!

This morning I read on the Single Pointe Realty blog about pricing in Austin and where we stand. Pricing is creeping up to where it should have been in the first place, into the range of the market’s true worth. We aren’t headed for an astronomical surge in pricing, but they are inching higher and higher. The good news is that this strengthens our market even MORE while other markets (Detroit’s market ringing any bells….?) slip into a weaker position.

That Real Estate Guy gives great advice to people in the market to get OFF that wobbly fence and go for it! Prices aren’t going to go back down and people shouldn’t procrastinate their way out of a house. As for me and my sampler plate, I’ll happily take more salsa and a mojito- cheers!

That’s my Two Cents,
Austin Realtor’s Wife

*****SO, what is YOUR market like? Spicy, Tangy, Mojito-ish?