By Eleni Himaras
reporter@ltview.com
The Lake Travis real estate market could be showing the early signs of a rebound, local realtors are saying.
While the higher priced homes are still sitting on the market, the area has seen a marked upswing in the under-$500,000 market in the past month and a half.
“It started for us around the end of March/first part of April and it’s definitely in that mid $200,000s-mid $400.000s where we’ve had the most activity,” said Larry Bishop of Turnquist Partners Realtors. “I really do think we hit the bottom of the market around that same time.”
He said his office has seen more traffic, gotten more phone calls and seen buyers buying instead of just looking.
“It’s all indicative of an improving market,” he said, but added that the summer season was also helping. “If we’re not busy this time of year, we’re really in trouble.”
Bishop believes that buyers are sensing the turn-around in the market as well.
“Overall, it’s just a feeling that it’s probably a good time to buy. Most buyers think we’ve hit the bottom or are getting close and the interest rates are still good,” he said.
Doug Land at Capital City Sotheby’s International Realty has seen the same trend in his office.
“It probably has to do with the first-time home buyer credits that are available,” Land said of the federal program that gives first-time buyers a tax credit of up to $8,000. “That tax credit is not going to be available to people in the higher price points.”
Of the 70-75 homes under $500,000 that his office has listed, 21 are under contract.
“We’re not necessarily seeing homes moving from a higher price point to this but definitely the ones that are selling are the ones that are accurately priced or have adjusted to the market,” Land said.
He sees the trend continuing throughout the summer and potentially into the fall.
“The first time home buyer credit is available through the end of November,” he said.