Homebuilding Industry Presents Pacesetter Homes with Four Marketing and Excellence Awards
On Saturday May 11, Pacesetter Homes was awarded two product awards and two sales representatives’ awards at the annual Marketing and Excellence (MAX) Awards program, sponsored by the HBA. The annual program recognizing excellence in the home building industry and Pacesetter Homes won for Best Product Design in both the $100 – $149,999 and the $150,000 – $199,999 price ranges.
The Kendal model home plan, priced below $150,000 is built in the Heritage Trace neighborhood in the master planned community of Blanco Vista in San Marcos and was designed by the Harder Organization and merchandised by Five Star Interiors.
The second wining plan The Chandler (now marketed as the Saxon plan ) was designed by the Harder Organization and can be seen in the Knollwood on the Colorado River neighborhood in Austin. Interior merchandising of this home was also provided by Five Star Interiors.
In addition Danielle Lipari, the Pacesetter Homes sales representative for the Chaparral Crossing neighborhood was awarded the Rookie Sales Person of the year and Nianne Van Bibber received the On-line Sales Person of the year award. Check out Pacesetter Homes today at PacesetterHomesTexas.com
Austin’s Continues to Shine on Multiple lists for Jobs Technology and Economic Performance
The Austin Business Journal recently provided a great list of 21 accomplishments for Austin. Below are some of the highlights:
- Austin took the top spot on Forbes’ list of “America’s 20 Fastest Growing Cities” for the third year in a row.
- Austin topped the NerdWallet.com list of “Best Cities for Job Seekers”
- Austin ranked second behind San Jose, Calif., on the Milken Institute’s annual index of best-performing large cities.
- When it comes to job gains as a percentage during the past five years, Austin is tops.
- Austin was named one of the most surprising real estate markets recently.
- Trulia predicts Austin will be one of the healthiest housing markets in 2013.
- Austin is one of only five metropolitan areas in all of North America to rank in the top 70 of the 300 fastest-growing metropolitan economies worldwide.
- Austin ranks No. 5 on a list of cities with the youngest housing stock.
- Forbes has ranked Austin No. 8 on a list of cities where a paycheck stretches the furthest.
- Austin has been named the No. 1 destination on the rise in the United States by TripAdvisor Inc.
- This is a top U.S. city for clean technology, says Clean Edge Inc’s Clean Tech Index.
- Austin is one of only seven markets to experience a more than 5 percent growth in employee’s paychecks during the past 12 months.
- Austin ranks fifth in the nation for the number of technology startups per capita, says San Francisco-based SizeUp.com.
After a Banner 2012, Austin Area New Home Construction on Pace for a Positive 2013
After a 116 percent rise in residential permits in 2012 Austin homebuilders are predicting much the same for 2013. With the inventory of homes shrinking to its lowest level since 2007, homebuyers are now experiencing a competitive market with rising prices. Although interest rates should remain stable for this year homebuyers who continue to hesitate in making the decision to purchase a new home, need to consider that a $10,000 increase in price has about the same effect on the cost of a home as a .5% increase in the interest rate. With prices expected to continue to rise, don’t lose out on qualifying. Check out Pacesetter Homes today.
Austin Ranks High on List of Healthiest Housing Markets
Jed Kolko, Chief Economist for Trulia has listed four Texas cities in their list of Top 10 Healthiest Housing Markets. Strong job growth, low vacancy rates and low inventory of homes being foreclosed are some of the fundamentals Trulia looks at. Houston tops the chart with San Antonio and Austin listed at number four and five respectively. Fort Worth is listed at number seven. To see the full report click on Trulia Trends.
Tech is Back in Austin Texas
The Milken Institutes annual index of Best-Performing Cities has ranked Austin Texas No. 2 with six other Texas cities among the top 25. The report sites that tech is back and is what helped Austin move up from fourth place on last year’s list. To see the full report click on Best Performing Cities.
Austin’s Economy is Hot and Getting Hotter
Local economist Angelos Angelou at his annual economic forecast event stated Austin had a spectacular year in 2012. Austin will finish the year with 65,500 new residents, 26,300 new jobs, 1,120 new businesses and $722 million in venture capital investment. In addition, the areas unemployment rate dropped to 5.3 percent.
Angelou also said the future is just as bright with 28,000 new jobs being forecast for 2013 and 2014 is projected to yield more than 30,000 new jobs. Driving the economy will be the tech sector, real estate and new business star ups.
With success like this, no wonder home prices have increased $10,000 to $30,000 this year and will only go higher. Check out Pacesetter Homes who continues to offer affordable homes throughout the greater Austin area. Visit Pacesetter Homes today.
With HBA and Pacesetter Homes, homeownership is closer than you think
The Homebuyer Assistance (HBA) Program developed by HomeBase, provides loans to qualified, first-time homebuyers with deferred, 0% interest loans to assist with purchasing a home within Travis County but outside a town or city limits. Get up to $38,000 in funds to help you purchase a home. HomeBase is a non-profit 501(c)(3) affordable housing organization based in Austin, Texas.
Pacesetter Homes Chaparral Crossing and Austin’s Colony neighborhoods both qualify for the HBA Program.
How Does HBA Program work? There are two types of loans available to qualified homebuyers: 1) Downpayment Assistance Loans of up to $8,000. These 0-interest loans are forgivable after 5 years and can be used to pay for certain closing costs and up to half of the down payment on your home. 2) Shared Appreciation Gap Financing Loans of up to $30,000. These loans are also 0-interest with no payments due while you own and live in your home. These loans are used to cover the difference between the purchase price of your home & the mortgage loan amount from your lender. You may use the loans together to buy your home. For more information on the HBA program visit Austin’s Colony and Chaparral Crossing or call Nianne at 512-323-6420. “Live Chat” with Nianne at www.PacesetterHomesTexas.com.
What Does Your Credit Report Show?
If you are considering the purchase of a new home this coming year you may want to order a free credit report from annualcreditreport.com. This will help to determine the accuracy of your report and to see if anyone has confiscated your identity and opened credit under your name. Ordering a credit report, once a year, is a suggested practice that can help provide you with some piece of mind.
A good report with a high credit score is very important. However your credit report will not provide your credit score. You can get your score, for a fee, from one of the three reporting agencies. Your credit score will determine if you qualify for the purchase of a new home and the rate of interest charged on the mortgage loan. A minimum credit score of 640 is required by most lenders in order to get approved for a home loan. If your score is below 640, it is a good idea to consult with a lender or credit counselor who will be able to provide you with ways to raise your score. In some cases in may take only a few short months to raise your score enough to get qualified for a new home.
Pacesetter Homes can help guide you to one of our preferred lenders for a free qualification analysis and to help you determine what needs to be done to improve your credit rating and score. For more information contact Nianne at 512-323-6420
Below are links to the three major reporting agencies:
Pre-Grand Opening in Heritage Trace
Pacesetter Homes is now offering the award winning designs from their Portico Collection and their Courtyard Collection in Blanco Vista.
“Life by the River” is exactly what you will find in Heritage Trace, a new neighborhood in the Blanco Vista community that’s adjacent to the Blanco River and Five Mile Dam Park. This 2,000 home master-planned community located in San Marcos, the gateway to the Texas Hill Country, promises an abundance of exciting amenities from a fun-filled water park and fishing pond to an onsite elementary school.
The Portico Collection from the $110’s provides a series of affordable one and two story homes that include stylish flair on the inside with covered porches, balconies, and garden front yards on the street side.
The Courtyard Collection from the $140’s offers a unique carefree design to fit any lifestyle. Each home features a courtyard living space with private gated entrance, creating a garden oasis. Large windows provide natural light accenting the open living space and architectural elements throughout.
For more information on these two series of homes click on Pacesetter Homes or contact Nianne, our On-line Concierge at 512-323-6420 or go to www.PacesetterHomesTexas.com and “Live Chat” with Nianne.
Area Home Sales up 37 Percent
The Austin Board of Realtors reported a 37 percent increase in home sales which represents the highest year-over-year percentage gain in the last three years. This increase in sales has reduced the numbers of homes on the market creating what real estate agents call a seller’s market. Agents are now seeing multiple offers on their listings and many of these offers are above asking price. The Austin Board of Realtors also reported the median home price has increased to $199,320 – 5 percent higher than October 2011.
Area job growth and low interest rates are major factors contributing to the success of the local market and do not appear to be going away anytime soon. The metro area annual job growth has been above 3 percent for several consecutive months and the annual growth rate is currently at 3.5 percent. Mortgage rates continue to be below 4 percent.
Many local area homebuilders have increased prices on their homes between 7 and 10 percent from this time last year. Pacesetter Homes which has shown increases in their sales price in the past 12 months is still able to offer affordable homes in the Austin metro area between the low $100 and mid $200’s and feature several neighborhoods with USDA zero down financing. For more information click on Pacesetter Homes or call Nianne at 512-323-6420.
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