Apr 30, 2008

New Floor Plan in Your Future?

From the Real Estate Cyberspace Society (yes, a real club that I really belong to):

Big events in life include rearranging the way we live. This certainly includes buying a new home, rearranging an existing room or moving into a new office. Here’s a great place where you can save time and have fun laying out your ideas ahead of the momentous occasion.
These folks give you the online tools to quickly and easily create and share good looking interactive floor plans. With their point-and-click, drag-and-drop tools, you can make your new floor plan in minutes, and then rearrange it as often as you want. Then you can save, send, and print your designs to share them, or place them on your own website.It’s easy – no downloads – no heavy lifting -- and no cost.
http://www.floorplanner.com/

[where: 75230]

Apr 27, 2008

Favorite Advice

Buy land,
cause they ain't makin'
any more of it.

Will Rogers

[where: 75230]

Apr 25, 2008

North Dallas Artist Studio Tour

Several Preston Hollow artists are showcasing their works this weekend in the North Dallas Artist Studio Tour. This annual event runs this Saturday and Sunday at various artist's studios in our area. Check out the map and visit these unique venues. The piece here is by Ann Norvell. Her studio is on Norway Road in Preston Hollow.
[where: 75230]

Apr 24, 2008

Bad Real Estate Photos of the Week


Its spring and everything is blooming. Time to update that snowy photo.







Want to buy a towel? We'll throw the kitchen in for free.







Nice tree. Too bad this is the only photo of the property.







What a lovely home listed at $3 million. For that kind of money, I'd rather not get a crick in my neck.






Call us after the funeral is over.
[where: 75230]

Apr 22, 2008

Best Time to Buy is Now

The experts are fond of saying that -
"The best time to buy a home is always five years ago."
Well, the best time to buy is right now. Interest rates are great, inventory is rising and sellers are getting nervous as they read the headlines. Don't let this great buyer's market slip away.

Apr 19, 2008

6465 Mimosa Lane

This incredible estate is an outstanding value at $1,550,000 on a coveted block of Preston Hollow. A few famous neighbors here that would impress the guys. From the gleaming wood floors to the 6 water heaters, every detail is exceptional.
What a great opportunity to enjoy elegant entertaining and warm family living. I love it when a quality property like this one features a sparkling pool, bubbling spa, built in grill, stone patio for tables and chairs and still leaves room for a grassy yard.

I plan to sell all 6,175 square feet of this gorgeous property quickly. [where: 75230]

Apr 18, 2008

Hail of a Night in Preston Hollow

The damage was minimal in my backyard as the hail swept through Preston Hollow and the Metroplex last night. Looked quite impressive though. Missing 'Survivor' to the weather reports was our biggest tragedy. [where: 75230]

Apr 17, 2008

Bad Real Estate Photos continue

This week's featured bad photos of homes for sale:

Never underestimate the power of a light switch.






Snow White & friends live here?







I don't know where to begin... with the dark figure looming over the doorway, the cat in bottom corner or the curved walls making the house look like its about to burst.





Nothing says 'up close and personal' like highlighting the owner's incontinence problems.






OK. Put me in a corner for that last one.


[where: 75230]

Apr 16, 2008

Foreclosure numbers down

Depending on how you look at the statistics, foreclosures in Texas are down. The Dallas Business Journal reports -

"Texas is bucking the national trend of rising property foreclosure rates, according to a California-based research company. A total of 10,700 Texas properties entered the foreclosure process during March, down more than 16% from the volume of filings recorded in March 2007 .... The March foreclosure figure also represents a decrease of almost 13% from filings reported this past February."

Nationally, the percentage of default notices and bank repossessions were up more than foreclosures. This is a sign that "more defaulting homeowners are simply walking away and deeding their properties back to the lender." Often giving up the deed is easier than the long and ugly foreclosure process.
[where: 75230]

Apr 15, 2008

North Dallas Sales to date

Year-To-Date statistics are in for March from the North Texas Real Estate Information Services. Given the headlines & economy, they aren't bad at all.
Here they are:
North Dallas (south of LBJ, between Midway & Central):
Number of Sales: 98 (down 40% from 2007)
Average Sales Price: $1, 047,341 (up 20% from 2007)
Average Days on Market: 102 (up 28% from 2007)
Park Cities:
Number of Sales: 141 (down 25% from 2007)
Average Sales Price: $1,201,839 (up 5% from 2007)
Average Days on Market: 97 (up 47% from 2007)
Northeast Dallas (east of Central):
Number of Sales: 135 (down 15% from 2007)
Average Sales Price: $229,737 (down 3% from 2007)
Average Days on Market: 73 (up 24% from 2007)
Northwest Dallas (west of Midway):
Number of Sales: 101 (down 40% from 2007)
Average Sales Price: $209,724 (down 2% from 2007)
Average Days on Market: 95 (up 28% from 2007)
[where: 75230]

Apr 14, 2008

This Floor is the Pits

File this under the 'what will they think of next' category.
This unique floor is made of fruit pits and is referred to as a 'Stone Fruit Floor'. While it has an organic appeal ... just looking at it makes my feet feel sticky.
A very important rule when decorating or remodeling your home is to think of resale. What you believe to be beautiful and unique may not appeal to others and could cost you dearly when it comes to selling your home. Highly personalized homes can be a very difficult sell. This floor is one example.
Another new flooring trend that definitely falls into the 'highly personalized' category are custom wood floors in intricate patterns. Here are a few examples that I would encourage my clients to steer clear of (if you care about the resale value of your home at all):
[where: 75230]

Apr 13, 2008

Did he see the sub-prime lending mess coming?

If you owe the bank $100 that's your problem.

If you owe the bank $100 million,

that's the bank's problem.

J. Paul Getty
[where: 75230]

Apr 11, 2008

Preston Royal Mural


Have you seen the mural being painted on the side of Dougherty's Pharmacy on the Northwest area of Preston & Royal Lane? The shopping center owners (Henry S. Miller Commercial Real Estate) have decided to brighten this previously boring wall with a snazzy, custom mural. These two talented ladies should have it completed in the next couple of weeks.
[where: 75230]

Apr 10, 2008

Pitiful, Bad Real Estate Photos

For your viewing pleasure, this week's bad photos of Dallas homes for sale:


Its so nice to know you can buy a house in Texas with an air conditioner. Is this a great country or what?








This photos says 'my sign is more important than your house'. We can see all of the sign but only half the house.





Isn't is supposed to be a jungle out there? Not in here?







The decorator said this room needed a little punch of color. Don't you love how the plant enhances the room?







Enjoy peaceful evening dinners on your covered patio.
While the neighbor kids enjoy watching your peaceful dinner from their covered playhouse.


[where: 75230]

Apr 9, 2008

Great Photos Help Sell Homes

I've been preaching this sermon for a long time. But if you don't want to take my word for it, look to the National Association of Realtor's recent statistics about how photos affect the sales of homes.

Here is the scoop, according to the folks who do these kinds of statistics:

"Photographs that accompany home listings on the Web or in brochures, newspaper advertisements, flyers, magazine articles, and other marketing materials play a significant role in attracting buyers. These images serve as the first impression, and buyers often decide whether or not to see a home in person based on their quality and presentation. Research reveals that the more photos a listing has, the quicker it sells.

A property with a single photo spent 70 days on the market (DOM) on average, while DOM fell to 40 with six photos, 36 with 16 to 19 photos, and 32 with 20 photos. Additionally, listings with one photo sold for 91.2 percent of the original price, while homes with six or more sold for 95 percent of the original price."

So if you want your home to sell faster and at a higher price - make sure you have several professional photos of the property in all marketing materials.
[where: 75230]

Apr 7, 2008

25 Biggest Real Estate Mistakes

Buyers and sellers alike should set the Tivo on Sunday, April 13th for HGTV's 25 Biggest Real Estate Mistakes . This one hour countdown special will highlight several crucial facets of the real estate process.

If you're looking for a few great tips to avoid or fix the biggest real estate mistakes that people make, don't miss this. Here is a sneak peak at HGTV’s list of those 25 biggest error:
  1. Failing to showcase your home and make small cosmetic changes
  2. Setting too high of a sale price
  3. Buying what you want, not what you need
  4. Overlooking the extra and hidden costs
  5. Buying a home without a professional inspection
  6. Falling in love with the first property you see
  7. Skipping the loan pre-approval
  8. Doing major renovations/remodeling before selling
  9. Not being pro-active at closing
  10. Visiting the house only once
  11. Not setting a realistic budget
  12. Buying the most expensive home on the block
  13. Not hiring an agent
  14. Not knowing your agent
  15. Trusting everything a real estate advertisement says
  16. Buying with actually seeing the property
  17. Not thinking about resale
  18. Failing to market your home in different ways
  19. Looking at the real estate market as the stock market
  20. Waiting until spring to sell your house
  21. Trying to make the "hard sell" while showing
  22. Losing money with auctions
  23. Not researching the neighborhood
  24. Not providing easy access for showings
  25. Buying the house for its decor

As a full-time profession, I work hard to help my clients avoid these common mistakes. The program offers some sound advice for everyone in the market. So tune in.

[where: 75230]

Apr 6, 2008

Get back to work

Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America.

If I'm not there,
I go to work.
Robert Orben,
magician & writer

Me, too.

Apr 4, 2008

Economic Forecasts

The herd instinct among forecasters
makes sheep look like
independent thinkers.
Economist Edgar R. Fiedler

Apr 2, 2008

Ugly Real Estate Photos

OK. So it's not always the agent's fault when you see really bad photos of a home. Sometimes, it's just an ugly (I mean 'unique') house. While there are plenty of homes that don't exactly rate a magazine layout, Realtors usually try to highlight the best features of a home. I guess sometimes, they just can't help it.

Here are just a few examples from our lovely Dallas neighborhoods.
You know, the date in the bottom corner of the photo doesn't even bother me on this one.






 
The agent should have hooked 'em on out of here. When you can only show 10 photos of a home, narrowing your market to UT fans probably isn't the best idea.




The 70's called. They want their kitchen back.






 
Orange you glad you don't live here.





Somehow, I don't think Lilly Pulitzer would approve.

[where: 75230]