Georgetown’s West Side (78628, 78633)


   

•    The summary of activity on the West side of Georgetown shows 60% increase in units from August of 2010, but keep in mind that last years Tax Incentive required closing by June, and therefore August closings were harder to come by than normal.
•    August saw the strongest sales activity in the price ranges 250k and below. Most sales were of homes between $150,000 to $250,000.
•    Homes in slightly higher price ranges had a slow month.  Homes upwards of $300,000 made up only 18% of all sales.  
•    17 of these August closings were for properties sitting on lots that were 1 acre or bigger.  Average sales price for these sales was $318,147 and the Median Sales Price was $340,000.
•    Average days on the market for all homes are 96 days.
•    There were only 4 homes that sold for more than $400,000 in August  in West Georgetown
•    To see what has sold graphed by price and time of the year it closed see:  http://screencast.com/t/Ofx6hjVph

My thoughts on the subject:

    We continue to see decent amounts of activity in the $250k and below price ranges, however, the Days On Market seems to be creeping up a bit.  Above $350k, the market is downright sluggish, and only the most pristine or bargain-priced properties are selling.  Only 1 sale closed in Georgetown West above $500,000 in August, and that was a beautiful Sun City custom home, built by Tim Long.  By comparison, at the height of the boom in 2006, the month of August saw 6 closings with an average of $679, 786 and a median price of $560,000.  In 2006, there was a general feel that whatever you bought would appreciate, and so buyers were not so hesitant to spend. 

    Across the board, the objective for sellers is to answer a buyer’s question of value.  Besides liking the floorplan, amenities, location, neighborhood, etc…the buyer MUST be convinced of the VALUE proposition.  Each buyer defines value differently, but for sellers, it’s best to have a clear, concise Unique Selling Proposition in order to overcome questions of value. 

Here are some questions to ask yourself regarding value:

•  What makes you different from your competition?  (If you can’t answer this, the buyers will be focused on price and price is where you’ll compete.)  Are you being honest with yourself about those differences being in demand?

• Do you have a good view of who your target buyer is?  What do you see people in that demographic thinking about right now?  (For example, if your home appeals to empty nesters/retired folks, what are the major concerns of these folks right now?  The stock market?  Fixed incomes?   Do you think your home would be great for a young family?  Then how does your floorplan accommodate play areas and separation of adults from kids?)  
• Do I have any features that are so desirable that they will turn the focus away from price?   Or are my feature offerings so common that I will have to compete on price?
• Can a buyer close and just “move right in” without having to make lots of changes?
• In the days when I was selling for Dell, they trained us to have an answer for the question “So what?”  In other words, if you just blurt out features, the prospect may be thinking “So what?”  What is it about those features that will allow the buyers to see a benefit rather that thinking “So what?  Everyone else has/does that too…” ?? 

Georgetown East Side (78626)



•     The summary of activity on the East side of Georgetown shows a slight increase in units sold in August of 2011 with 24 homes compared to August of 2010 with 22 homes sold- change of 9.1%.  This is interesting, considering the aforementioned last year’s tax incentive program.
•    Year to date sales units are down 4.2%
•    Sales below $200,000 make up nearly 85% of all sales for the month of August
•    In August, only 3 homes sold for more than $200,000
•    Average days on the market for homes is about 106 days
•    Here is a YTD summary of what was bought and when it closed:  http://screencast.com/t/3KUlUnF1LV

My thoughts on the subject:

    24 units sold in GT East, compared to 96 on the west side, and all but 3 of those closings on the East side were below $200,000.  If you are a seller on the east side, you’ll have to compete with offerings on the west side as well as those in your own neighborhood.  In addition, you may have to compete with Round Rock or Jarrell in your price range.   You can’t sweat every other house that is for sale, but you can remember that your competition is numerous, and prepare your home and price it accordingly. 

By price alone, one could judge that the east side market activity lately is mostly geared towards the lower price ranges.  The exceptions to this scenario (in my mind) will always be the acreage properties (especially along the San Gabriel River) and Old Town (proximity to the Square and amenities), and nostalgic/Victorian homes.  One of my favorite east-side neighborhoods is Parkview because it’s within easy walking distance of the San Gabriel Park, the river, and the Community Recreation Center.  It’s also got great trees and schools.  This gives it a solid Unique Sales Proposition.