Happy NEw Year 2009 - OOPS guess this is where I should have started this discussion.

Good morning all and Happy New Year.

Well I for one would like to hear about your individual markets. Maybe this is a good forum to discuss what is happening in your markets.

In the Austin, TX MKT we saw a slow down in activity in Dec but there seems to be a noticeable difference in the last week in buyer activity and interest in most price ranges. We have enjoyed a healthy job market here but there is evidence that we are starting to see a slow down in that vital area so I am sure there is a direct correlation.

We have had the phone ringing and the corporate relocations have picked up a tick. Unfortunately there seems to be more employees that are moving into Temp housing until their homes sell.

Interesting that our web traffic seems to be off a bit (year to year) we are of course reviewing our page titles and descriptions in the never ending battle to get to higher results pages. It is a good time to sit down and review all of these faucets of our business with our own sites as well as with corporate sites.

We are still seeing a lot of refinancing in the market but a few brokers are also reporting a pick up in mortgage request for new purchases. One piece of info we heard was that Fannie and Freddie were actively kicking back appraisals in certain areas and asking that they be reviewed and re appraised. Seems like the lines have been drawn but I do not know what criteria that are looking at to determine if a property needs a re appraisal.

I would be interested in finding out more info on that subject if anyone has the expertise.

I look forward to hearing about your individual markets.

Regards

Robert Kenney, CRP,GMS,TRC,RDC Realtor®
Turnquist Partners Realtors, Inc.