Have you visited historic Gruene, Tx. lately? Do you love antiques and collectibles and hidden little towns that just take your breath away? Well, if you haven’t been to this charming little hill country town located on the beautiful Guadalupe River, hop in the car for a trip back in time to this delightful litte gem located just 30 minutes north of San Antonio and about an hour south from Austin.  On Saturday and Sunday (May 16-17), this delightful little village will be hosting  on of their wonderful spring market days.  Not only will you find beautiful outdoor plants and homemade jams and jellies to delight, but also wonderful local artisans displaying their art for sale.  And if that isn’t enough, you can explore the shops that line the streets and eat at  some of the  wonderful award winning restaurants like The  River House Tea Room  which in my opinion is one of the best restaurants in Central Texas!  Gruene also has delightful little shops lining both sides of main street. What a wonderful place to shop for those unique gifts that are sure to  surprise and delight the lucky recipients.  And just think, you are supporting someone’s dreams when you purchase something he or she has created with their heart and hands. And if you wander over to Gruene Hall which boasts the proud moniker of “ Oldest Dance Hall in Texas”, you can grab a cold drink and enjoy live music, too! Who knows who will be playing there?  You might just be lucky and catch Lyle Lovett!   What a great place to spend the day and evening! 

Enjoy the slide show and be sure and visit Gruene, Tx on one of our beautiful spring weekends!         

Another wonderful art festival in downtown Austin took place this past Saturday and Sunday.  The Old Pecan Street Festival celebrated its 31st year downtown on 6th Street.  Great art (250 exibitions), local handcrafts, festival food, and over 80 acts to take in all in two days!  Whew!  Sunday was a beautiful day, perfect weather, and as the slides will show, there was plenty of fun to be had for the kids, too.  From a petting zoo to pony rides to flying high on the  huge jumper areas, and if that weren’t excitement enough for the little ones, there was even a climbing wall erected on the street!  Just goes to show that the kids are way more adventurous than some of us attending the festival!  Some of my favorite artists were there as well.  Check out the wonderful photography from McClintock Photographics and the whimsical and fun folk art of Wayne Ayers.  We also loved the gorgeous watercolor originals by Patrick Sullivan who does wonderful portraits as well. Cool Houses Austin just loved them both!  Enjoy and don’t worry if you missed the Spring Festival.  The next Old Pecan Street Festival will be in the Fall of 2009.  See their website for more info.  And remember, if you want more information on living and playing in Austin or the surrounding Hill Country, just drop us an email or better yet, call us at 512-665-7778.  Enjoy the slide show and the music of Austin’s own (and my favorite Latino band) Del Castillo from their same titled CD just released in 2009.

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This past week-end, our lovely city of Austin,  proved to be the perfect setting for some very mesmerizing and incredible art from artists selected from all over the country.   April 25-26th brought us the Austin City Art Festival 2009 sponsored by the Austin Museum of Art.  The festival took place downtown at the 1st Street bridge beside the beautiful Colorado River, and included fine art, live music, and even a wonderful array of food vendors, too.   From  the gigantic kinetic wind-driven colorful animals of Fredrick Prescott to the delicate handblown glass of Joe Nielander, it was a feast for the eyes and the soul!  Local artist extraordinaire, Jay Long, was also on hand to showcase his beautiful owl and cat art…If you haven’t seen his work, you have to check him out!  And best of all, if you can’t spring the $12,000 for an original, you can do like Cool Houses Austin and take home one of his signed lithographs for a tiny fraction of the cost of the original!  And of course, there was live music because this is the Live Music Capital of the World, but hey, our art shows are pretty phenomenal as well!  Check out the slide show and the artists as well…And who knows, you may just end up with one of those life-size sculptures by Fredrick Prescott in your front yard!   Click on the link below to see the show!

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According to a March 30th story in Forbes, Austin is No. 2 in the Top Ten Cities Where Americans Are Relocating in 2009.  The main reasons given: better business opportunities, our very low rate of unemployment, better weather, and more afforadable housing than many US metro areas of the same size (nearly 1.7 million and growing).  Our population actually increased by almost 4%, being beaten by a fraction out of first place by Raleigh, N.C.  According to Forbes(http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/30/americans-moving-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-relocating.html), Austin has a broad base of employers which means it doesn’t rely on any one particular industry to sustain its growth.   For example, Austin’s biggest employers include University of Texas, Advanced Micro Devices (nyse: AMD - news - people ) and Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ). That wide range might have something to do with the area’s relatively low January 2009 unemployment rate of 6.4%…When it comes down to it, a buzzing business community is a metro area’s most important characteristic, says Sean C. Safford, a professor at the University of Chicago and author of Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save Youngstown: The Transformation of the Rust Belt. He studies the social economics of U.S. cities and metro areas. “Perception is driven by the vibrancy of the companies in an area,” he says. 

 And Austin is apparently, a very vibrant community indeed!  Just ask us at Cool Houses Austin and we will be happy to share our love of the city with anyone thinking of relocating here!  It is a great place to live and work and play!

From the article: www.http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/30/americans-moving-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-relocating.html

Everyone knows that the market is down in home sales (yes, even here in Austin and the surrounding Hill Country).  So what do you do if you are trying to sell a home in a down market? Here are a few tips for you sellers out there:

1. The First Impression:  The rule is that the first impression is your only impression! Spruce it up to say “Welcome” as soon as they drive up.  If that means, buying some new fresh bedding plants, flowers in pots by the front door, new mulch, spend the money if you want to get the money!  This is no place to cut corners.  I have had buyers tell me to drive away if the curb appeal is not there, they will not even get out of the car.  There are just too many houses for sale for you to scrimp here.

2.  Price it right!  Get a current (notice I said current) CMA done by the agents you are interviewing to list your home.  It doesn’t matter that in 2005 your home sold for more than the agents are telling you it is worth and it doesn’t matter what the tax appraiser’s office has your home valued at in this buyer’s market.  If you really want it sold and sold fast, then you have to compete against the foreclosure market and that is a tough one.  Best advice, find out what it’s worth, then shave another 15% off the price!   This is the single best strategy out there according to analysts and experts.  Some sellers argue that they need room to negotiate.  Think of it this way, would you rather have more buyers and multiple offers to deal with or a higher asking price and no buyers or offers!  In today’s market, this is your absolute best strategy for getting a home sold and sold quickly.  Many times, this tip will not only bring you an offer but sometimes more than one!

3.  De-Clutter, De-Personalize!  You’ve seen staged homes.  How do they do it?  Do yourself a huge favor and go rent a storage place and take 1/3 to 1/2 of your stuff and put it there.  And no, your garage is not a storage unit!  Pack up the family memorabilia, photos, games, toys, Christmas decor, collections, personal keepsakes, etc. and move them to storage!  After all, they are not staying with the house!  And look at it this way, you are way ahead of the game when it comes time to move.  And if you haven’t seen staged homes, have your agent make an appointment for you and your spouse (and I usually have them bring the kids along, too) to see a comparable home in your neighborhood that has been professionally stage. Selling your home is a shared family responsibility!  You need every family member’s cooperation to make the experience go smoothly.    Getting your whole family involved in the sale will pay off in the long run, and then,  they will all know what to expect and most importantly, what is expected of them when your home is on the market.

4.  Keep the house always ready to show!  Yes, it is a pain….we have all been there…However, in this market, you can not afford to be willing to show at a moment’s notice.  I can’t tell you how many potential sellers have lost possible buyers because they told agents that “today or this afternoon just wasn’t a good time to show and how about tomorrow?”  There are simply too many houses to choose from and the agents will simply move on.  Their buyers come first (remember, they are wanting to sell a house) and if yours is not ready, then Mr and Mrs. Jones around the corner will do just fine to show!

5.  Keep it Light and Bright! Make sure that after you de-clutter, you deep clean and paint!  Every room should sparkle!  Buyers want good light and freshly painted (neutral please) walls in their new home. Not sure what neutral means (check out your local Pottery Barn store for great ideas). Replace burned out bulbs, clean your windows until they sparkle, clean screens (or remove them entirely and stack them in the garage).  You want as much light coming in as possible. Still have those heavy custom drapes from the 1980’s?   Now is the time to get rid of them! Buyers don’t care how much you paid for them and they date your home severely!  Same goes for wallpaper! Get rid of it! Buyers know it is labor intensive work and they don’t have to do it in this market!  They will typically deduct thousands off the asking price or simply go on down the street,  so rent a steamer or hire someone who can quickly take it off!  Wallpaper will kill a sale faster than you can blink! Put a fresh coat of paint on the walls and hang some inexpensive rods that look new and chic, add some floor length or a bit longer sheers (never hang short or window length unless it is an over the sink kitchen window) and Voila!  Your home suddenly looks newer and brighter!

6. Kitchens Sell a Home! Now is not the time to totally remodel your kitchen to get more money but it is the time to paint the kitchen (remove any old wallpaper please!), paint the cabinets if needed, update the cabinet hardware, and the kitchen faucet!  Some experts advise buying one brand new high-end stainless steel appliance to replace any old ones that you have. (It makes the whole kitchen look expensive).  Some also suggest replacing formica counters with more high-end granite.  It depends on your price points and the comparables in your neighborhood.  Do the other homes that are comparable have granite or silestone counters?  Remember, it may cost you a few thousand to do this, but buyers typically offer an average of  $30,000 less to upgrade a kitchen! Never ignore your competition.  Be a savvy, educated seller.  It will pay off in the long run.

7. Pet Sense!  You may think it is okay to put the kennel in the laundry room but if Fido barks continually when your home is being shown, the buyers will flee before they can even see half of the house. If you have an indoor cat or dog, remember, you may be showing the home to people who do not!  If possible, take the dog and cat (yes, they have kitty carriers) with you when the house is being shown!  I can not stress the importance of this enough. Remove the kitty litter box, too! No buyer wants to see or smell kitty litter or even worse, reminders of pet “accidents” on the carpeting.  If the carpet is stained, have it professionally cleaned and deodorized by experts in getting out the stains.  If the stains and smell can not be removed, get rid of the carpet and pad, bleach the floor underneath, and replace the carpeting!

For more tips on selling your home, I always suggest to my sellers to spend a few evenings watching HGTV and see how the experts do it!

And for more tips on selling your home, check out their top 10 at HGTV.com/real-estate

The Austin City Council voted unanimously on March 5 to contract with San Fransico based Gemini Solar Development Company to produce up to 30 MW of solar power over the next 25 years.  The facility will be located in east Austin and will be the nation’s largest solar panel arrary in existence!  It is expected to be online by 2010 and according to City Council staff, it will produce no carbon emissions, no fuel cost, and its energy production will create more green jobs in the Austin metro area and help hand the peak demand needed in our hotter summer months.  Way to go, Austin!  No wonder it is so very cool to live here….a truly cutting edge community.  See our Living Green section here on Cool Houses Austin pages for more info on this and other sustainable practices in and around Austin!

Once again, the city of Austin is selected for top honors!  On March 12th, Mayor Bill Wynn and the city council accepted the National Wildlife Federations’ offiicial certification as a Community Wildlife Habitat.  This makes Austin the first Texas city and the largest metropolitan city in the nation to be so honored!  The main focus of the National Wildlife Federation Habitat program is to benefit plants, wildlife, and people through the creation of sustainable landscapes that require little or no pesticides, fertilizers or excess watering. And best news of all is that you can have your very own garden or yard certified as a wildlife habitat!  Get officially recognized and the very cool sign to display in your yard by simply providing food, water, places for cover(shrubs, etc), places to raise young (again grasses or shrubs or nesting areas, and sustainable gardening(compost, mulch,etc) For more information on the project, simply click here: National Wildlife Federation