JBGoodwin REALTORS Real Estate Blog

This is our second trip to the East Coast during our Cost of Living blog series. In a previous post, we compared the cost of living in Austin to that of living in the Northeast United States. Today, we take on the southern half of the East Coast and look at three of the region's largest cities. 

We used Best Places to compare the cost of living in each of the cities. This website lets you compare city-to-city costs of living across the country, and factors in the cost of daily essentials such as housing, food, and utilities. If you don’t see the city you’re curious about in this post, you should wait for the fourth and final blog we have of this series, which will compare the cost of living in Austin to cities on the West Coast.

Sit back, relax,

Natural disasters, theft, and other home security problems can arise no matter the technology or attention that you give to your home. But preparing your home with practical safety measures is a powerful way to enhance the safety of your family, and alleviate the problem or damages these incidents cause.

Central Texas isn’t exactly the most dangerous place to live in the U.S., but even the safest places on earth are far from perfect. Theft, fire, and weather are a possibility no matter where you turn. Those who desire more safety for their family can easily improve their security with a few intentional investments of time or money.

Here are a few ways to improve the safety of your Central Texas home:

1. Always Give The Appearance Of Someone

Here's a look into Austin's leasing and rental market for the month of August 2017. Highlights include:

• The median price for a single-family home is $1,750 per month or $1.15 per square foot
• Total leases are up 7% since August 2016
• JB Goodwin rentals spend 4 days less on the market

For somewhere to qualify as a lucrative place for homeowners to lease out their properties, the city should offer several traits. The most optimal locations tend to be areas popular to young families, and where local universities consistently attract students to the area.

With those factors in mind, Austin is a great city for taking the plunge into your landlord business. With many young families moving to the area, and the thriving campuses of Austin Community College and The University of Texas at Austin, local property managers have a long future of business to look forward to.

But becoming a landlord is not usually a get-rich-quick scheme. There is a lot that goes into being a successful property manager, especially at the beginning when

San Antonio attracts many visitors each year. The Alamo, our culture-rich downtown, theme parks, and reputable schools are just a few of the awesome features that families look forward to when moving to family-friendly communities in San Antonio.

For families new to this piece of the Texas Hill Country, finding the right San Antonio real estate can feel stressful. Most people don’t even know where to begin their search for a new home. We want to make the process a little easier by presenting some of the communities we find most popular among local families.

The neighborhoods on our list are each known for being safe and for offering convenient and enjoyable places for parents, kids, or the whole family to spend time. Here are several family-friendly

Locals are the first to brag about the experience of living in Austin, Texas. Their happiness has spurred a migration of families from every corner of the country who couldn’t resist all that is offered in this slice of the Hill Country.

New families come to Austin every day. The healthy lifestyles, booming job market, year-round warm weather, and renowned cuisine is enough to incentivize people to try Austin for themselves.

As real estate agents, we know that exciting and tasty motivations are not all that gets factored into a move. Choosing the next city to call home is a decision that considers job possibilities, housing costs, and more. To help families looking for their next home, we devoted this blog series to compare Austin real estate to

Locating the right apartment is a challenge many people face when browsing the housing options of a big city. Families come with ideas and preferences unique to their lifestyles, personalities, and budgets. They look for everything from swimming pools, to work out rooms, to open kitchen plans. For many families, the best leasing options are offered by Northwest San Antonio apartments. 

It turns out that in San Antonio, Texas, there is no short supply of awesome apartment housing options for families with diverse definitions for their ideal home. In fact, Northwest San Antonio apartments, more than many major cities in the country, offer a stunning variety of living options to families with diverse tastes.

Northwest San Antonio was highlighted by

Take a look at Austin's real estate MLS® sold data for the month of June 2017 below.

Highlights include:

• Housing inventory was up 20% from last year
• There was a 4% increase in demand for Austin homes since June 2016
• Total of 16,222 homes have been sold in 2017

There’s no denying it. Texas heat found us again.

High Central Texas temperatures are great for swimming, but can be real a downer when that heat penetrates your home and proves stronger than your air conditioning. Many families rack up enormous utility bills in the summer just to combat those local temperatures.

But Texas heat doesn’t have to break the bank. There are several easy tricks for lowering your utility costs while still enjoying the pleasure of a/c.

Before you spend a fortune by cranking down the temperature, give a few of these money-saving tips a try for keeping your house cool.

1. Don’t Fall For This Common Air Conditioning Myth

There’s a myth that for years has instructed families to turn up their temperature whenever they

Have you ever wondered how Austin real estate costs compare to other major cities across the U.S.? We were curious too.

Austin’s delicious food, prolific creativity, booming industries, and vast outdoors are no national secret. More families are won over by our awesome city every single day. But these aren’t the only features that qualify a town to be the next place a family calls home. One of the most important factors behind any move is affordability.

Cost of living considers many income and expense variables. Before moving, it’s worth looking into the average rental cost, grocery bills, and median incomes of that city. Since JB Goodwin is a team of expert real estate agents, we decided that crafting a blog series that compares Austin’s cost of