Discover the Secrets to Successfully Protesting Your Property Taxes
We can help you get the right information to protest your property taxes.
Did you know that this is the year to protest your property taxes? With the market dropping about 15% year over year, this is the time to push back against the county and get your property tax bill to go down. To help you do this, we’re sharing a few things you should know.
First, know that you can do it yourself online on the county's website, or you can hire an agency to do it on your behalf. We prefer to hire an agency because it's a lot of work, and we want to make sure it’s done correctly and that we save the most amount of money possible.
Secondly, make sure to contact us to have us put together a comparable market analysis for you to use in your protest. Those haven’t mattered as much in the last five years, but now they matter again. Things have changed dramatically in Austin, so it’s time to push back, and we can give you the concrete proof that you need.
“Now is the time to push back against the county and get your property tax bill down.”
Lastly, we highly recommend using a professional. We use Home Tax Shield and wholeheartedly endorse them. You can click here to learn more about their services. Plus, they donate to one of our favorite causes in Austin, the Community First Village. Just make sure to act before May 15.
Don’t forget that you can reach out to us for help with the comparative market analysis and much more. And as always, we would love to help you buy, sell, or invest in Austin. You can call or email us anytime, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Critical Things That Happened In the 2022 Austin Market
Here’s a rundown of the market trends that emerged last year.
2022 was a record market for so many reasons! With home prices peaking at an all-time high in May at $555,000 across the five counties, and the market almost grinding to a halt for the second time in two years, it was definitely one for the books.
Despite our best efforts to predict the future, we all felt a little caught off guard by the massive market shift. Right now, the median home price is at $457,426, which is only down 3% year over year but down about 20% from the peak in May 2022.
In May last year, the median mortgage interest rate had already jumped to around 5%, up by around 3.5% at the beginning of 2022. If you are buying the median house then at $555,000 with an interest rate of 3.5%, the principal and interest payment would be around $2,243 with a 10% down payment.
“We will remain one of the strongest real estate markets in the Country.”
Today’s median price of $457,426 with an interest rate of 6.125% will bring your payment to around $2,499—a difference of only $250 from last year. Combine that with sellers willing to pay closing costs and give credits to buy down the interest rates and negotiate, it’s still a great time to buy a home.
Overall, the median price for 2022 was just over $500,000—and that’s a record for Austin. Sales declined by almost 20% at 33,500 homes sold, and days on market went from 11 days to around 30 days on average.
The real tale of the tape is housing inventory, which is how many homes are on the market versus how many are actually selling. At the lowest, Austin had about two weeks of housing inventory. Right now, we have around three months of housing supply. While this is a 230% increase in supply and feels like a buyer’s market, it is still a very stable and strong seller’s market.
So what does all this mean? I tend to look at the big picture and tell my clients that typically if you own a home for three to five years, you will have a safe investment. In the last three years, our market has gone up 65% and in the last five years almost 80%. Even if we give back 20% of those gains, Austin is still up 45% to 60%. That is still huge!
As interest rates settle down, fear of a recession calms, and consumer confidence comes back, we will remain one of the strongest real estate markets in the country. If you have questions about our local market or anything that’s real estate related, call or email us. We’re always happy to help!
SOLD: Wimberley Blanco River Waterfront Home
Address: 2800 River rd wimberley, tx 78676
Specifications: 4 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms
Approx. 2,425 sqft- 1894sqft Main / 531sqft Guest
Lot is 4.445 acres.
Asking Price: $1,595,000
Welcome home to 4.4 acres of Hill Country paradise, including 1 acre of private Blanco River Waterfront! Main house is 3 Bed/2 Bath with a 1 Bed/1 Bath separate cottage. Sip coffee on the front porch while watching the deer in the front yard and watch your worries melt away. The home has been professionally designed and reimagined inside and out with recent paint, lighting and plumbing fixtures.
The open kitchen/dining/living area is a true gathering space. In the kitchen, the white GE Cafe Appliances with gold trim are showstopping. Paired with granite countertops and recently custom cabinets, it’s an entertainer's dream. The dining room allows enough room for everyone to gather, plus a 4 seat counter area.
The wood look tile throughout the house allows for a true indoor/outdoor experience where you won’t have to worry about damaging the floors when you come in from kayaking in the river or stick hunting in the wet weather creek that runs through the property.
The guest house provides extra space for guests or a home office with a walkout patio for lounging! Next to the guest house is a fenced raised bed garden just waiting for you to plant your spring veggies.
Lot 11 is 3.372acres with Home + Guest Home and wet weather creek / Lot 10 is 1.073acres with 75’ of Blanco River waterfront.
$150k+ in upgrades over the last 26 months.
A water retention system was installed in November 2022.
Rover Meadows POA
Wimberley ISD - Exemplary Rated Schools
NO STR’s under 30 Days
RV Hookup On-site
Tax Rate is 1.5897% and Estimated Annual Tax is $14,542
On Well and Septic that receive regular maintenance
Old Glory Ranch owns the land across the river and it’s held in Conservatory and won’t ever change.
Approximate Borders of the Property
Contact Patrick Birdsong for more info or to setup a showing.
(512) 585-1571
patrick@birdhome.com
BIRDHOME Real Estate Consultants at Keller Williams Realty
You Can Help Us Achieve Our Goals This Year
This year of the rabbit, we can reach our goals with your collaboration.
2023 is the Year of the Rabbit in Chinese culture. The rabbit is a zodiac animal believed to symbolize longevity, peace, and prosperity. More importantly, 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope.
In this new year, we are very hopeful that we gain prosperity, community, and an opportunity for us to serve our clients on a higher level. We've created what I like to call The 100 Initiatives. Our goals for this year include helping 100 families buy, sell, or invest in real estate, donating $100,000 to charities around Austin, and changing 100 lives for the better. Now more than ever, we want to collaborate with you to achieve these goals.
"2023 is predicted to be a year of hope."
Here's how you can help. First, you can connect us with anyone and everyone that you think we should be talking to about real estate. We’ve loved working with people over the years to buy and sell, and we are looking forward to working with more people like you. Second, tell us about your favorite local charities, connect us with their leadership, and tell us why you're passionate about their mission. Lastly, introduce us to anyone whom you think we can help.
This year, we already helped a client who wanted to get into real estate. We also had a good friend reach out over the holidays to talk about their struggle with alcohol. That's near and dear to my heart, and we were able to help them as well.
We're embracing the Year of the Rabbit, and I hope you do, too. Call or email me; I look forward to connecting with you.
Why We Have a Pineapple in Our Logo
Why we have a pineapple in our logo and how it relates to our values.
BIRDHOME Real Estate’s logo has a pineapple on it, and so many people have asked me why! Have you ever wondered about that? The symbol of the pineapple truly envelopes our core values, so I’m here to share those with you today and explain why we use the pineapple.
When Melody and I decided to create this real estate team, we were looking for something to sum up the general theme of what we were trying to do. We kept circling back to the pineapple, and there are three main reasons why. These are three things that a pineapple symbolizes:
1. Hospitality. In our opinion, hospitality in the real estate industry is about creating a unique, smooth, and seamless experience for our clients that is worth recommending to others. The pineapple symbolizing hospitality comes from the hotel industry. When a concierge reached a certain level of skill set when serving people, they were given a pineapple pin to put on their lapel. We want to accomplish that high level of skill in hospitality.
"The pineapple truly symbolizes what we are trying to accomplish."
2. Community. We love where we live, and we want to give back to this area. Pineapples became a symbol of community because they used to be hard to get, so when someone shared a pineapple with you, that meant you were truly part of that community. We want to welcome people in the same way.
3. Wealth. Since they were hard to get, pineapples were generally for the wealthy. This stands out to us because one of our goals as Realtors is to help our clients create generational wealth, including buying their first homes and eventually investing in them. We want to help you accomplish that!
Overall, the pineapple truly symbolizes what we are trying to accomplish, and we hope it taught you something about us. We wish you a happy Hanukkah, New Year, Christmas, and whatever other holiday you are celebrating! We hope you get to do it with your family and loved ones. If you need anything related to real estate, you know who to call!
At BIRDHOME, we strive to help our clients, friends + family build generational wealth through real estate investing. At the BIRDHOME blog, we're sharing our expertise in the Austin real estate market to help guide you to your new home.
let's connect
Contact us directly at home@birdhome.com
or call us anytime at 512.585.1571