Fredericksburg Real Estate

Various firms investigating the economic viability of placing “wind farms” in the Hill Country (Gillespie County) prompted the formation of the Save Our Scenic Hill Country Environment alliance (for more, visit www.soshillcountry.org ).  The flowing article (re-printed from the August 26^th Austin American-Statesman is sure to add fuel to the debate on wind farms near Fredericksburg, Texas

Court sides with wind farm in suit by landowners

Neighbors called 400-foot turbines’ ‘aesthetic impact’ a nuisance.

By Robert Elder
 AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
 Tuesday, August 26, 2008

A state appellate court has handed a victory to the wind energy business in Texas in a closely watched “nuisance” lawsuit brought by West Texas landowners.

The 11th Court of Appeals in Eastland last week upheld a district court judgment against landowners who had sued FPL Energy LLC over the company’s massive Horse Hollow wind farm in Taylor County. The jury had found that the wind turbines were not a nuisance to neighbors and rejected their claim for damages.

Horse Hollow is one of the world’s largest wind-generating facilities, with about 425 turbines spread over more than 50,000 acres of land southwest of Abilene.

Before trial, the judge rejected the landowners’ claims for damages based on the “aesthetic impact” of the 400-foot turbines. The jury was the first to hear a nuisance claims suit against wind farms in Texas.

The appeals court affirmation said “Texas case law recognizes few restrictions on the lawful use of property.”

The ruling “is going to kill all the arguments about filing a lawsuit because you don’t like the way (a turbine) looks,” said Dallas lawyer Trey Cox, the lead counsel for FPL Energy, a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla., utility FPL Group Inc.

Disputes over the noise of turbines or their environmental impact shouldn’t be affected by the ruling. Cox predicted: “That’s something you can objectively fight about in court. But the issue of what’s pretty and what’s ugly, we can’t argue about that.”

Steve Thompson, the Houston lawyer who represented the Abilene-area landowners, did not return a message Monday.

The plaintiffs didn’t contend that FPL’s operations were illegal, but they said a legal business can be considered a nuisance if it’s abnormal and out of place with its surroundings.

The 11th Court ruling, written by Justice Rick Strange, noted that several Texas courts have accepted the argument, but in cases where the nuisance had occurred from things such as flooding or odors.

The appellate ruling was the second win for wind projects this month. Earlier, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel of Austin said he would dismiss a suit that sought to stop further construction of two wind power projects along the Gulf Coast in Kenedy County. The projects are expected to place more than 600 turbines on 60,000 acres near Laguna Madre, south of Corpus Christi.

Yeakel has not yet issued his final order in the case.

The Coastal Habitat Alliance, an environmental group that includes the King Ranch, filed the suit, saying the turbines could kill untold numbers of migratory birds and damage the bay. The suit sought to overturn the decision by the Texas General Land Office to allow the projects to be built without environmental review or input from the public.

Hey buyers, listen up.  If you don’t know this already, you’re in a great position to buy Fredericksburg Texas area real estate.  If you are “pre-approved” for a loan, can pay cash (or a very hefty down payment) you have negotiating leverage that simple did not exist in this market a year ago.

Old news you say.  Perhaps, perhaps not.  The perception being painted by the media has been (and continues to be) that the sky is falling, bankruptcies are rampant and sellers will do just about anything to dump their property.  Buyer’s have been quick to take the hype to heart; however, the reality in Fredericksburg (and the Hill Country, in general) has been somewhat different than what the media would have us believe.

The Fredericksburg area has been “hot” for the last several years.  Buyer were “encouraged” to make quick decisions as properties were moving fast and there weren’t a plethora or alternatives from which to choose.  The roles have reversed in that there is plenty of inventory, sales volume has slowed to a trickle and the time on market for most property classes has increased dramatically. As more properties are listed, competition builds, time on market lengthens and sellers become much more reasonable in their expectations. Factor in the shortage of financing and any qualified buyer has the upper hand.

More properties to choose from, sitting longer on the market waiting for buyers with actual money equals deals that couldn’t be had until very recently.  Don’t get me wrong, buyers are not “stealing” property but they are pushing that spread between “asking price” and “sales price” to new territory. 

Most sellers aren’t that desperate in our fine community. There is; however, ample opportunity for a savvy buyer (with his savvy agent, of course) to make a solid investment in a stable market with healthy fundamentals and very positive prospects for continued growth.  Did I mention that the population of Texas is projected to grow by 13,000,000 within the next 20 years…?  Fredericksburg TX Real Estate

Real estate prices in Fredericksburg, TX are being challenged.  Increasingly confident buyers are now asking for (and in most cases receiving) price reductions (and other concessions) in amounts not seen in this market for quite some time.  As we continue to slide into a recession (subprime fiasco, Wall Street woes, weak dollar, record oil prices, etc.) sellers of real estate face the hard question of how to price their property to sell in a (generally) downward trending market.

Past posts have touched on this subject yet it warrants a fresh look.  What are the risks of overpricing your property in market where 1) qualified buyers are scarce, 2) financing is difficult, 3) prices have stabilized and 4) the spread between the asking price and the sales price is increasing?

The most common scenarios agents face in listing presentations with sellers are:

1.        “Another agent said they’d listed for more.”  A sellers’ mission should be to select the best agent, not the best price.  A real estate agent has no control over the market, only the marketing plan.  Never select an agent based on price. 

2.       “We can always come down.”  This is true, but the reality is that a series of prolonged price reductions merely add to the important “days on market” factor.  What question does a buyer ask me at the front door of every home I show?  “How long has it been on the market?”  They ask that because if it’s been on a long time the common perception is that they can buy it for under market or that something is wrong with it.  Either way, you’re losing time and (probably) money with this mind-set.

3.       “Couldn’t we try my price for a few weeks?”  It is well-known to agents that the majority of market activity occurs in the first two to three weeks on the market.  This is absolutely the worst time to overprice since this is when the best customers will see the property.

4.       “But we have made so many Improvements to it.”  Most improvements are made for enjoyment, not resale.  Another important point is that structures and improvements to it do not appreciate in value. It is the real estate—the ground beneath it that appreciates. Where is it said that you can buy an item, install it in your home, decorate it to your taste, use it for a few years then ask a new buyer to pay you for it? The question that determines the value of an improvement is; if the item were not there right now, how many buyers would add the same improvement and pay what you want to charge?

5.       “But we paid $xxx for it.”  I’ve addressed this in previous posts, but another way to look at this is that there is no relationship between cost and value. What you paid for something has nothing to do with what it’s worth today. It’s all about the current market.  You may not have “overpaid” at the time but as conditions have changed, you may be surprised to learn that (by today’s standards) you did, in fact, “overpay”.  The converse is also true based on past market gains.  If you “paid right” and have enjoyed the recent price appreciation, a “relative re-adjustment” will still likely net you a nice gain.

6.       “They can always make an offer.”  While it is increasingly true that buyers are emboldened by their new-found negotiating power, the only way a qualified buyer can make an offer on your real estate is if they actually see it. The problem is, most buyers look up to their price range, peek a bit over, then focus only in their price range. By overpricing, you put your property into a price bracket where they won’t look.

The buyers of Fredericksburg real estate are out there.  They are being smarter, more patient and more demanding.  As a seller (in a challenging market) you must be smarter, more patient and more demanding of your agent.  Remember, Experience Matters