Austin's economy is recovering and with it--the housing market.
Freddie Mac announced Thursday that this week marks the sixth consecutive week that average fixed mortgage loan interest rates have fallen to record-breaking levels. The 15-year fixed mortgage loan interest rate averaged at 2.94 percent. The region's rapid growth has led Forbes to rank the Austin metropolitan area number one among all big cities for jobs for 2012 in their annual survey. All good reasons to purchase my first home.
I set my initial budget at $200,000, found a real estate agent, and listed neighborhoods of interest. Other preferences included one story, right swing garage, at least two bedrooms and two bath, newer than 1980, school district, and feng shui. I started the initial search in February with the intent of not renewing my current lease which ends in September.
Leyla Naderi, from Private Label, and I met on a Saturday to drive around the different neighborhoods and look at homes for sale. She is one of my good college friends' mom. My two favorite locations were Mueller and Great Hills but prices were listed at $300,000 and above and not within my price point. We looked at about 8 homes on the day but I only liked Parmer Village which is a new neighborhood under construction.
Over the next month, I continued to receive agent listings and I researched homes for sale on Zillow and Realtor.com. I also found new construction homes by D.R. Horton, Scott Felder, and David Weekley. When my family visited in March, we looked at different new homes and were impressed by Scott Felder. A few weeks later, I went back with my agent and signed a contract.
Homes in the area were between $250,000 to $350,000. I stretched the budget but I met most if not all my prefences and the bonus was highway accessibility. New home constructions require more effort since you are customizing your home and inspecting the craftsmanship along the way. I will walk you through the process.
