Why Waiting Could Cost You the Real Estate Investment of a Lifetime

There’s an old proverb that goes “the best time to have planted a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.”

The same holds true for real estate. I know that there are many of us who wish we had a time machine so that we could go back a few decades to purchase properties in areas before they were hot, then sit back and watch their value appreciate.

The good news is that, even though it’s captured the nation’s attention as the best city to live in, and is experiencing major growth, the time is still perfect to buy and sell real estate in Austin. And I’m going to tell you why.

Sustainable growth is key

Now you may have seen the Zillow article predicting Austin to be the “hottest real estate market of 2020,” along with other news stories cautioning that certain cities are overvalued and that a crash is imminent. That’s mostly hype designed to create drama and attract new readers.

While it’s true that some cities have suffered with the explosive growth/bubble and burst cycle – think Las Vegas or Phoenix – Austin has never been one of them. 

In the chart above you can see 40 years of Austin’s real estate appreciation. There are years that the numbers are a little higher, and some years that they’re lower, but on average, the annual appreciation is 5.4%, which is healthy and sustainable.

What makes Austin so special? Well besides the city’s incredible quality of life, Austin’s growth is backed by strong fundamentals which help insulate the city from the usual growth pitfalls. The unemployment rate is just 2.2%, with jobs in a wide variety of sectors: education/university, state, and of course, tech. We have an average of 152 people a day migrating into Austin, and a lot of that influx is comprised of white collar workers that are highly skilled, highly employable, and make a good living. So, they come and they contribute to the economy and the prices are going up because we need to find places for them and their families.

I follow economist talks very closely, and all of them seem to think that, even if there is a recession, Austin is going to be fairly immune to anything. There are a lot of tech employers choosing to come to Austin because the tax environment's cheaper and cost of living is substantially cheaper. And our economy is about to get even more diversified: one economist I follow predicts a large influx of medical companies relocating to Austin over the next 5 years. This only increases what we have to offer as a city.

The danger of waiting for “the drop”

The bottom line is this: 2020 is going to be a hot market, but it’s not going to be overheated. If you’re sitting there, waiting for it to drop – DON’T! because you're just going to miss out. When it finally does drop, it might be so far in the future that what you buy today would still be less money than what you would buy when it drops. And then you would have missed out on all the benefits of home ownership during those years.

Now, are there areas in Austin that have more potential for appreciation than others? Yes. And as someone who closely follows growth and employment patterns, as well as having 20 years of experience with the Austin real estate market, I can help you find something in those areas to maximize the rate of return.

And while the general rule of thumb is that it’s almost always a good time to buy, the same doesn’t always hold true for selling. Fortunately, this market is a great time to sell, so don't hold on to a place where you're not experiencing your best quality of life for whatever reason that might be. 

In real estate, the key to success is not timing the market, but time IN the market. Let me help you start that journey today.