Facts about Retirement

Two major retirement studies were published this month - they gave a compelling look at the state of individual Americans’ retirement planning. The first determined that the average person relying on their 401(k) as their primary retirement source will have to wait until age 73 to retire comfortably. The other claimed that the “average American” has saved less than 7% of what they need for retirement. For example, respondents aged 50 to 59 have secured only about $29,000. 

What’s most interesting is that many of the respondents weren’t sure how to determine the amount of money they need to save for retirement… and knowledge is half the battle.

You are never too young or too old to start taking better control of your financial future.  For more information about successful planning tips, contact The Oldham Group at info@oldhamrealestate.com or call (512) 531.2904.

Talk to you soon!

Here We Goooooo People – Austin Ranked Highest for Economic Recovery

It was almost too coincidental, I walk into the office this morning and it’s just like every other day the past two weeks.  The phone is ringing off the hook, the printer is always out of paper and my Outlook can’t keep up with the massive amount of emails back and forth.  Yes, the real estate industry is moving! And, quickly!

So it couldn’t have been more perfect timing when I see the Austin Business Journal’s latest article reporting the Brookings Institution ranking on the best cities for an economic recovery.  Based on the analysis of 150 cities, Austin was ranked 26th for “best economic recovery worldwide,” this was the highest ranking of all U.S. cities.

This report designated three main indicators that would determine overall ranking:  1) employment growth, 2) per-capita gross value added, 3) income per person.

“It was estimated that Austin has grown 3.2 percent between 2009 and this year, while income has escalated about 2.7 percent,” as reported by the ABJ.

This only confirms our intuition that Austin is posed for a fantastic year in 2011.  For more on this story, click on Austin ROCKS or to learn more about how you can take advantage of the great deals available, call The Oldham Group at (512) 531-2904.

Home Sales on the Rise – CNN.com

For the second month in a row leading into September, existing home sales are on the rise and there is hope from many that this will lead the way to a housing recovery.

“Sales of previously owned homes rose 10% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.53 million units last month, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. That was up from a 4.12 million rate in August,” according to CNN.com.

This report was a shock to many economists who had predicted a slight recovery in the upcoming months after home sales sank 27% in July.  While this is great news, some housing economists are predicting that the stop on foreclosures in October will impact these statistics over the next few months. 

“A housing recovery is taking place but will be choppy at times depending on the duration and impact of a foreclosure moratorium,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.”

Keep updated with the latest housing news by viewing this blog post or going to ATXHomesSales.

Housing Market 2010 Recap

There are some big questions being raised about the sustainability of the government’s effort to stimulate the economy. Research Economist James P. Gaines outlines a real estate Market Recap for the first half of the year.

As written by James P. Gaines: 

The housing market seemed to show signs of improvement; however, during the second half of the year with no incentives it’s questionable as to whether the sudden growth will remain into 2011.

Existing single-family home sales for the first half of 2010 nationally were up 12.4 percent to just under 2.3 million units.  The increased pace of sales lowered the months inventory from 8.9 to 8.6, still a relatively high level during the months of March, April and May.  In June, sales fell a whopping 26.5 precent from July 2009, and the lower sales level caused the months inventory to soar to 11.9 months.

Like the U.S. housing market, Texas’ local housing markets felt the impact of the tax credit and aftermath of its withdrawal.  On a total year-to-date basis for the first 6 months of 2010, Texas home sales totaled 109,581, a healthy increase of 11.1 percent over the first half of 2009. 

It appears that Texas housing sales, like U.S. sales, peaked in May rather than the typical June or July cyclical high.  Sustaining momentum from the first half of the year into the second half may be difficult.

One potential explanation for the unexpectedly high number of properties listed for sale may be a marked increase in the number of foreclosed and bank-owned properties as well as short sales.  The continued softness in the overall economy and especially the job market continue to plague the housing sector.

Even with the significant sales decline in July, the July median price in Texas managed to increase 0.7 percent.  If October and November home sales do not show a substantial decline from 2009, the market may be indicating a significant and real recovery!