All Forum Posts by: David Ivy

@Account Closed

It looks like an interesting project. However, I balked when I noticed that the "Neighborhood Grades" are at least partly based upon household income (e.g., "wealthiest people" and "middle class") and crime (e.g., "high" and "warzone"). A major upshot of the Fair Housing Act is to prevent real estate professionals from steering buyers toward or away from certain areas or neighborhoods on the basis of such factors. If I understand the law and my training correctly, I cannot discuss or directly provide any information on economic class, such as white collar, blue collar, or high unemployment, with prospective buyers, even if those buyers are investors or otherwise specifically ask for that information. This also applies to local crime statistics, even if my data comes from another source. All I can do, in light of the Fair Housing Act, is point clients to some public resources to aid them in researching it themselves.

Am I wrong here? Or does this not apply to my participation in a project like this? Thanks!

@Eric Barnett

I moved property into my series LLC several years ago with (what I recall to be) minimal cost. However, I've only moved property owned free and clear. I'm happy to refer you to my series LLC attorney in Austin. Just send me a PM.

I use a local commercial insurance broker to insure property held in my series LLC. However, my brother in law is with Liberty Mutual and recently told me that they'll now write standard landlord or homeowner policies on residential property held in an LLC. I haven't looked into that personally, though. If you want to chat with him, or with my commercial insurance guy, let me know.

@Christopher Thompson

The overall Austin market is in an extreme seller's market with around 2.5 months of inventory. However, the story can be different depending on home price. Take a look at this (source):

Here it is broken down by Zip Code (source):

The Austin overall market began tilting toward an extreme seller's market in 2012 and has been holding there ever since (source):

As far as areas to consider, it's hard to say without knowing your price range. There are lots of great areas and neighborhoods at a number of price points, as others have already mentioned on the thread. I would recommend not discounting suburbs, especially Cedar Park, if you're in the market for single family.

Feel free to reach out with anything you need!

@Caroling Lee

Thanks for thinking of me! I'm happy to discuss what you're looking for and see if we're a good fit. I'll send you a PM.

I'm a full-time Realtor in Austin with a heavy investor client focus, though I also work with traditional clients (about a 60/40 split). So, I have a good grip on the market from both perspectives. I've also been actively investing in the Austin area for the past five years.

I'm happy to see if we're a good fit. I'll send you a PM.

@Dan Burstain

Thanks for the reply! The data in my post is limited to median rental rates on single family homes broken down by MLS area. Are you saying that MLS statistics on single family median rental rates in Austin are unreliable or misleading because a large chunk of the overall rental market (e.g., luxury complexes) happens outside of the MLS?

@Brandon Crisp @Rob Willis

You may find a post I made a few months ago valuable as well. It breaks down median rental rates for single family homes in Austin by MLS area. It's here.

@Christian Ruiz

Here are the zip codes you requested. Unless you're specifically interested in the December numbers, you'll want to look at the YTD numbers. You'll need to click the images to enlarge them. I hope they're clear enough. BP is funny about images.

78705

78751

78756

78757

@Account Closed

I agree that everyone, not just investors, should keep the "trust, but verify" mantra in mind at all times. I just wanted to note that not every investor holds property in his or her name. Many use an LLC or series LLC, which can be named all kinds of things that have nothing to do with the person's name (e.g., "Lucky 777 Holdings, LLC" or "Culebra Partners, a series of Lucky 777 Holdings, LLC"). The names can even differ from individual property to individual property. Of course, I'm not saying that the "100 unit" guy is legit. But someone with those kind of real estate assets would probably have them inside one or more business entities, not just in his personal name.

Here are the basic stats on single-single family homes sales for Dec. 2016 for the City of Austin and the Greater Austin Area.

Here are excerpts of from a recent press release from the Austin Board of REALTORS®:

Note that this echoes a sentiment I expressed earlier this year in a BP post here.

On the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area...

On the City of Austin...

What do you think? I have access to lots more data (e.g., specific zip codes). Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see.