Home Sales Increase In Austin

[George E. Russell]

Home sales increase in Austin, group says

by KVUE News
kvue.com
Posted on April 20, 2010 at 2:58 PM
Updated today at 2:58 PM


Home sales are up in the Austin area.
According to the Austin Board of Realtors, 1,784 homes sold in March 2010 -- up 27 percent from a year ago.
There were 215 condos sold -- up 129 percent from March 2009.
The median price for a single-family home in Austin is $180,000 -- unchanged from last year.
The increase in sales could be the result of homebuyer tax credits that expire at the end of the month.

[Donnie Roberts]

George,
Man it would be nice to get some of these.

tcbinspecions.com
Austin

[George E. Russell]

You and I my friend are in a town saturated with inspectors. Some well established and some damned good ones. Hard market to break into. Good thing I'm stubborn...Luck to ya!
G

[Donnie Roberts]

Ya I hear got to keep on movin on, If I ever get any that I can't do I will call you and send them your way.

[Michael R. Boyett]

Originally Posted by grussell

You and I my friend are in a town saturated with inspectors.

Are we? Consider these numbers. Per TREC there are approximately 110 inspectors in the metro Austin area. If 80% of the homes sold get an inspection then there were around 1600 inspections in Austin in March ((1784 + 215)* .8 = 1600). That means that, on the average, a typical Austin inspector could have expected to do 15 inspections in March (1600/110). With a typical average price of $325/inspection that results in $4,875 revenue for the month. Not going to make you rich but it's a decent income. So, juggle those numbers and come up with your own take on it to see what you get. Does this mean that a select few inspectors are getting the majority of the work and others are going without? If so, why is that? Marketing, of course, but anything else?

[Donnie Roberts]

I hear ya man, I really don't understand myself, I have advertised, brochures, website,I have no answers, I heard some are doing inspections for $125.00 up to 2000 ft. Im not going to do that at all. It wouldn't be worth my time to drive accross town and then the report on top of that.My time is worth more than just doing an inspection for nothing, I understand business and someone needing to work as I do. But heck.

[George E. Russell]

Sure marketing has a lot to do with it. Then again newbies like me going up against seasoned vets like yourself is a tough row to hoe. Guys like you are established and damned good at what you do. It would be kind of like me opening a harley shop in next door to someone who has been in business for years, it would take awhile to build a client base. I'm not complaining by any means...I'm just saying Austin has a lot of inspectors and I haven't found my niche yet. I'm always working on it though!
G

[scassady]

good to see Austin doing well, theres a lot of places that are not well at all. i feel sorry for some of those people.