The winter months can be cruel on your home no matter where you live. Gusting winds can batter plants. A snowstorm could stress an older home’s roof. Even a few days of heavy January rain could wreak havoc on clogged gutters and downspouts.
Whether you’re looking to sell your home or you just want to keep your house intact this winter, there are simple steps you can take to protect your home from whatever wintry forces of nature come your way.
A home is a reflection of its owner’s personality, tastes and values. Because we know that each individual is unique and has her own idea of what’s important when choosing a home, we set out to compare and contrast what different types of homebuyers–think men vs. women, dog people vs. cat people–care about when choosing a place to call home.
We asked more than 1,000 Americans which elements of a home they found most desirable and which they could do without. Then, we segmented their responses by a range of self-reported characteristics while tracking patterns in home preferences. Read on to learn what buyers valued most when it came to choosing a home of their own.
To start, we studied how men and women differed in the home features they sought. While some priorities seemed to resonate equally with each gender, significant differences emerged as well.
We’ve heard and written a lot about the hot real estate market in Austin, Texas. Prices have been on the rise, up 5.3 percent in September compared to last year, to a median sale price of $290,000. Homes in Austin are staying on the market for a median of 35 days, but hot homes are finding buyers much faster than that.
This week, we decided to dig into the most popular homes in Austin right now. Here’s a roundup of the ten homes listed between Oct. 23 and 29 in the Austin metro area that received the most favorites by Redfin users.
What is a favorite? Homebuyers searching on the Redfin.com site or mobile app can “favorite” a home by clicking the heart on the listing. This feature lets homebuyers keep track of the homes they are interested in and easily share those homes with their spouse, partner or cobuyer.
Looking at the most favorited homes is one way to gauge which neighborhoods, home styles and price points are trending now. Plus, it’s a fun excuse for real estate obsessives like me to ogle new properties on the market.
I’m loving the beautiful trees gracing several of the front yards. My personal favorites are #6 and #7. A stunning newly built home, #6 offers warmth and thoughtful architectural details (that arched iron door!) with modern amenities. At $3.295 million, this property offers a luxurious pool and well-manicured garden.
#7 is a smartly-updated older home that offers loads of character and charm. It has a great deck and patio space for entertaining. Redfin superstar listing agent, Yvette Evans, is selling this home and the lovely property that ranks #2 on the list. Reach out to Yvette if you have any question about those homes.
The most affordable home on the list is a $210,000 property in Round Rock offering vaulted ceilings and a large deck.
The Redfin Housing Demand Index fell 6.2 percent from 136 in October to 127 in November. The Demand Index is based on thousands of Redfin customers requesting home tours and writing offers. The seasonally adjusted number of buyers requesting home tours fell slightly by 1.9 percent, while the number making offers fell 14.7 percent.
“Three years of low inventory is taking its toll on buyer demand in terms of tour and offer activity,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “People still want to buy homes, especially before mortgage interest rates increase and prices rise even more. But there just aren’t enough homes for sale, especially at lower- to mid-level prices.”
While demand softened month over month, the story is different looking at year-over-year numbers. Compared to last year, the Demand Index increased 29.1 percent in November. The number of buyers requesting tours increased 41.3 percent, and 10.5 percent more wrote offers. Demand has consistently remained about 30 percent higher than last year’s levels since May.
