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The new homebuyers tax credit that was recently put into action has many Steiner Ranch real estate agents feeling hopeful that they will see an increase of sales in the area. Although the previous new homebuyers credit went a long way toward increasing the sells of lower-priced homes and homes that were in foreclosure, the downside to the legislation was that it did little to help increase the number of higher-end homes that were sold. By offering a credit to current homeowners who are ready to make a move, however, real estate agents and experts in the industry are hopeful that higher-end homes such as those found in communities like Steiner Ranch will also enjoy an increase in sales.

Although homeowners do not need to “buy up” in order to receive the $6,500 tax credit available to current homeowners, the likelihood of this happening is made greater by the new legislation. With the previous tax credit, only those who did not currently own a home and who had not owned a home for the past three years were eligible to receive up to $8,000 in tax credits. As a result, many first time homebuyers decided to take advantage of the crippled housing market by purchasing those homes with the lowest price tags. Since many of the people selling these homes were suffering from financial difficulties, the likelihood of them “buying up” was quite slim.

With the new tax credit, current homeowners who have been considering purchasing a larger home may be inspired to take that step. As such, there is a greater likelihood of homes in Steiner Ranch getting sold. Of course, despite the economic downturn, Steiner Ranch has remained at the top of the list of the hottest selling neighborhoods in the Austin area throughout the year. In fact, according to Brian Talley of Regent Property Group, the hottest selling neighborhoods in Austin this year have been:

· Circle C
· Millwood
· Steiner Ranch
· Avery Ranch
· Cherry Creek

Considering its excellent location and the many amenities that Steiner Ranch has to offer, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that the neighborhood is among the best-selling in the Austin area. Thanks to the extension that has been put on the new homebuyers tax credit, which now gives new homebuyers through the month of June to take advantage of the $8,000 credit, coupled with the new credit for current homeowners, Steiner Ranch will likely continue to enjoy a top spot in terms of home sales.

The third quarter stats were surprisingly positive for Steiner Ranch.  Number of units sold was up almost 20% and median sales price increased by 9.32%.  However, average sold price was down 3.04%, highlighting the issue with upper end homes moving extremely slowly.  It looks as though the first time homebuyer credit will be extended for 6 months, so there’s no reason to believe that we’ll see things slow down in the near future.  Here are the 2008 Q3 numbers and the 2009 Q3 numbers.

The numbers look pretty decent for September, with the exception of median price.  We saw no change in number of units sold, and virtually no change in average list & sold price.  However, median price was down just under 11% from 2009.  Here are the 2008 numbers and the 2009 numbers.

Here are links to the Aug 2008 statistics and the Aug 2009 statistics.  There was an uptick in units sold by over 10%, but it looks like Steiner is still on pace to decline by roughly 5%.  However, the median price actually increased in August by 2.16%.

These numbers look promising, but the number of short sales in the neighborhood is worrisome.  Currently, 10% of the properties listed in the neighborhood are short sales or foreclosures.