Crossland Real Estate

05/25/2025

Are popcorn ceilings still undesired? I updated this post from 2011.

Popcorn ceilings are one of the most common features homeowners love to hate. But are they really worth the trouble to remove? In this updated 2025 guide, we break down the pros, cons, myths, and modern alternatives to help you decide what’s best for your home and resale value.

05/25/2025

Austin Real Estate Market Update - April 2025

Austin home prices are still running above their natural trend line, but the gap is slowly closing. Meanwhile the market is lethargic.

The Numbers:
Current medianSold: $495,000
Where we'd be following pre-COVID trends: $433,000 (8% overvalued)
Where we'd be following historical averages: $397,000 (25% overvalued)

What's Happening: This isn't a crash—it's a slow drift back to reality. We've gone from being 53% overvalued in early 2022 to 8-25% overvalued today, depending on which baseline you use.

Bottom Line:

Buyers: Don't expect fire sales, but patience is paying off. Avoid listings stuck in 2022 pricing.

Sellers: Price it right the first time. The market rewards realism and punishes wishful thinking.

The trend line is rising to meet current prices while prices drift down to meet the trend line. Time is healing this market, just not as dramatically as many expected.

05/03/2025

Downtown furnished condo! Sylvia and I are renting our furnished downtown condo at Bridges on the Park. 12+ month lease, no pets, turnkey furnished. Luxury amenities, 24/7 concierge, 2 assigned parking plus ample guest parking, plus a large storage personal space in addition to bike and paddleboard storage.

Live in the heart of Austin and enjoy a walkable urban lifestyle on the doorstep of town lake and Zilker Park.
Available now!

Thoughtfully designed turn-key residence for lease at Bridges on The Park, a mid-rise tucked between...

04/16/2025

2025 property tax valuations are now live on the county websites. Time to check yours.

Sylvia and I don’t mess with protesting ourselves anymore — we use Ownwell. They handle everything and only charge if they save you money. Highly recommend.

👉 Start here: https://www.ownwell.com/partner/crossland

If you prefer the DIY route, I’m happy to send you comps for your neighborhood — just message me.

County sites (copy/paste to check your value):
Travis: traviscad.org
Hays: hayscad.com
Bastrop: bastropcad.org
Caldwell: caldwellcad.org
Williamson: wcad.org

Let me know if you need help.

Ownwell combines technology and local expertise to help real estate owners save money on property taxes.

08/30/2024

I ask of thee ...
Should a zit-faced 11th-grade boy ask a girl if she’ll say "yes" before actually asking her to the prom?

Should a comedian ask the audience if they’ll laugh before telling the joke?

Should an artist ask critics if they’ll like the painting before picking up the brush?

Should a job seeker ask an interviewer if they’ll get the job before applying?

Should a novelist ask readers if they’ll like the plot before writing the first chapter?

Should a musician ask the crowd if they'll demand an encore before playing the first song?

If you answered "Hell No!" to all of the above, then ...

Should a buyer's Agent ask a seller's Agent if they’ll say “yes” to paying the buyer's commission before making a formal purchase offer? Hell no!

Your Realtor is a weak, lousy negotiator if they think it's in your best interest as a buyer to try to pre-negotiate terms before making a serious, formal written offer that a seller can actually sign and accept.

Or to suggest to you that you ought to skip certain homes that fit your search criteria because the seller's agent won't give a solid pre-offer "yes" to paying your buyer agent commission.

The proper way to ask is through a formal offer. Ask with the offer.

You will objectively, from a scientific human psychology standpoint, and time tested Negotiation Best Practices, have a greater chance of getting what you want by presenting a "ready to sign" written offer for the seller to consider, instead of allowing your Agent to beg from a position of weakness.

No professional negotiator would disagree, yet the Realtor Agent forums are replete with Realtors who disagree. Ask your buyer Agent what their negotiation strategy will be before signing your buyer rep agreement. If you need a good buyer agent, I can recommend one.

08/26/2024

Here an Austin real estate market update and some context.

- The average annual appreciation for residential homes sold through the Austin MLS from 2014 to Dec 2019 was approximately 5.40%. I've always told investors to assume 4.5% annually, so Austin was chugging along very steady, better than expected.

- If the pre-COVID appreciation trend of 5.40% had continued uninterrupted, the projected average home sales value in July 2024 would be approximately $408,955.

- The actual YTD 2024 average is $443,400, indicating a higher-than-expected value compared to the pre-COVID trend. So, as sluggish as the market is, the homes that close are still above the expected 10 year trend.

If you purchased pre-covid and are selling now, you are better positioned from an equity standpoint than you would have been had the pandemic never happened.

The average annual appreciation from January 2020 through YTD 2024 has been approximately 8.00%. 2020-2022 we up markets, and mid-2022 through YTD has been a correction period.

Once the red trend line and the green touch again, pricing will have normalize for pre-2020 buyers wishing to sell.

If you bought during the June 2020-May 2022 peak , you may still be under water on what you paid vs today's value. But you have a super low interest rate.

I thought 2024 had a good chance of being a recovery year, now I think things are looking up for 2025. Especially if interest rates get back down into the 5s.

Finally, if you're a buyer still looking, you're operating under the new Realtor commission rules. If you're looking to make a good buy in the still-soft market buyer's market in Austin, and your Realtor is not a strong negotiator, indicated by their hand wringing over which homes to show you, and advising you against seeing certain homes, the you have a BAD Realtor.

My condolences. Tell them you want to see EVERY home and make the offer YOU WANT no matter what. If they blink, fire them. You can do that. They are not the strong advocate that you need, and they don't have the sales skills you deserve.

08/30/2023

Opportunity knocks! Homes with refreshing, cooling backyard pools in Austin will soon become coveted.  Beat the heat with my latest listing, comes with a beautiful unground pool surrounded by a landscaped backyard oasis. 

This is up in Cedar Park. Great location. Great neighborhood.

Agents: I’m looking for someone to host open house(s) this weekend.

Co-listed with Joe Gage.
Steve: 512-850-5450
Joe: 512-702-3279

05/15/2023

Today is Appraisal Value Protest Deadline May 15:
Just a reminder to all my property owner friends and clients in Texas, Appraisal value appeal deadline is today.

As an accomplished procrastinator myself, I understand all the last minute calls and emails I'm receiving, so here is my advice if you have not already filed your property appraisal appeal.
Don't worry about figuring out if the value is too high at this late hour. Just file the protest. Here is how:

1) If you have you tax appraisal Notice, check it for online instructions and follow those. For example, in Travis County, you'll need the pin number from the paper form you received in the mail. Else you can't do it online direct with Travis County, you're better off with a service.

2) Use a service. The one I am using this year is Ownwell. You can input your protest right now, takes about 10 minutes total if you know all of your basic home info, and they handle the backend filing and protest processes turnkey from there forward.

This link will give you a $20 credit toward any ultimate success fee with Ownwell. If they are not successful, there is no cost to the service.
https://www.ownwell.com/?owl=3E04BZC0C

I'm using Ownwell for my Hays County property this year, and doing it on my own for my Travis County properties.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email or call me.

Take Care,
Steve
512-784-7574