Who is your favorite Texas muscian?

So I am wanting to put together a play list of songs written by fellow Texans. Who do you recommend that I add to this list? If you'd reply here or shoot me an email, I'd really appreciate your help!

Thanks, y'all!

Groupon - like a coupon

Join one of the new waves in group purchasing - Groupon. Offers delivered to your inbox every morning - highlighting things to do, eat or see in Austin. Now, I don't want to hear you saying there's nothing to do! ;)

Create your own cool online "look"

Have you ever seen those cute (well, usually cute) comic type photos of friends or colleagues on the net? Here are a few great, and free ways to make your own.

Meez You can join this free community or just use the avatar creator. The service lets you create and download an animated, 3-D avatar complete with changing expressions. When you've finished your masterpiece, click Save and then Go to Exports to download it or to obtain code that you can insert in various websites. Meez DOES charge for some selections.

Gaia Gaia Online is a popular virtual community. You don't have to participate in the community to use the avatar generator.

Yahoo Although the interface isn't terribly user friendly, Yahoo! Avatar Creator offers lots of options including detailed backgrounds and costumes.

South Park Check out this fun generator and make yourself into a South Park character. You can not save your creation on this site, you will have to take a screen shot of it, paste it into Photoshop or another image editor, and then crop and save the avatar from there. Kinda complicated, but still fun!

Social Networking for REALTORS®

The real estate market is constantly changing. As practitioners we are constantly looking at what we are doing, what the market is doing, and what our clients are doing. For those of us paying attention - we're seeing a huge shift in communication, especially as it relates to clients (or potential clients) "checking us out" before the contact us and ask us to represent them in the sale or purchase of real estate.

Social networking activities are quickly becoming the tool of choice as our clients and potential clients watch and learn about who they may decide to work with. That said, we as practitioners must look at how to present a true representation of who we are and what we do - online. We don't always know who is watching. We don't always know where the information we put out ends up.

All of you who know me know that I'm an educator at heart. I love teaching, and love the learning that comes along with the teaching. My most recent project has been the development and delivery of the Technology series - provided exclusively at the Austin Board of REALTORS®. The courses have been very well received - illustrated by the evaluation data. This data is used to help the Austin board, as well as boards across the state and country, choose courses and instructors, so this data is extremely important to me.

Are you an agent wanting to know more about this new world of social media - and what it means to your business? Join us for the next series - scheduled for October. I'll look forward to seeing you there!

What kind of house are you??

Have you ever heard people talking about a style of house - and wondered what THAT kind of house was like? Well, take the mystery out by checking out this great site that explains with photos the various styles of homes.

Once you figure out what kind of home you like - give me a call so we can go find it! ;)

August market statistics 5 year comparison

Latest Market Statistics (August 2009) for single family homes in the Austin MLS.

Units for Sale: (compared to August 2008)
New listings are up 1.90%.

Pendings are up 9.04%.

Solds increased by 2.81%.

As for Average Prices:

The "New Listings" average list price is down 5.95% to $294,002. In August 2008 the average list price was $312,594.

Sold average sales prices decreased 14.65% to $236,376. For August 2008 it was $276,954.

Who is the next person you know that would like to take advantage of this fantastic buying market and maybe even the first time buyers credit???

315,000 homebuyers have filed for $8000 tax credit so far. Time is running out!

If you're on the fence with your home buying decisions - this might help you speed things up. The deadline for the federal tax credit for first time buyers is quickly approaching. With the new appraisal rules and regular turbulence in the buying (and closing) process, NOW is the time to be making an offer on that home of your dreams. Stop paying rent and get yourself in a great home, at a super low interest rate, and enjoy the tax credit!

Does the credit apply to you? Check out this great article for more info. Feel free to give me a call to learn more about how you can benefit from one of the best Austin markets in many years.

September Newsletter Online!

Check out my September newsletter. Mark your calendars for the annual client appreciation party and watch your mailbox for a formal invitation and RSVP site.

Enjoy!