Sep 30, 2012

Does Your Dallas Home have Earthquake Insurance?

Chances are that you don't have earthquake insurance if you live in the Dallas Ft. Worth area. Earthquakes are so rare that it hasn't been a concern. Until last night when we experienced two earthquakes - one in Irving and one in West Dallas. My friends in Las Colinas tell me it felt like someone had crashed a car in to their home.

Standard Texas home insurance policies typically cover concerns like fire, wind storms, lightning and hurricanes. Those are mainly the types of catastrophes we see in Texas. However, most homeowners must purchase a separate insurance rider for coverage of floods, earthquakes and other issues.

Damage from earthquakes can range from cosmetic problems like cracked tiles and wood floors pulling apart to structural issues like foundation movement or plumbing leaks. The strong shaking a house gets during an earthquake is not something most Texas builders and homeowners plan for. [where: 75230]

Sep 24, 2012

Top 7 Homebuyer Motivations

Recent surveys reveal the top 7 driving forces that homebuyers want when they are looking for a home. If you are selling a home, ensure that it is presented in such a way that you are meeting these homebuyer demands. They are:
  1. Comfort. Buyers want a place to relax and feel at ease.
  2. Convenience. A home needs to save time or simplify the buyer's life.
  3. Entertainment. Buyers want a home for themselves and their guests to enjoy.
  4. Security. A home must be free from anxiety, doubt or dangers.
  5. Prestige. People want their home to reflect their success or status.
  6. Recreation. Kind of like Entertainment, they are looking to relax and enjoy in their home.
  7. Value. Buyers want to make money on their home.
Other factors like privacy and aesthetics are further down the list. As a seller, focus on how you can meet these needs.
[where: 75230]

Sep 21, 2012

Real Estate Update: Dallas vs the Nation

Here is a small look at the latest housing market update that shows how Dallas and Texas are leading the housing recovery.

Nationally:
Existing Home Sales were up 7.8%

Dallas- Ft. Worth:
Home Sales were up 16% over same period last year.
AND

DFW area sales have been higher for 11 straight months.

There is currently a 5 month supply of homes for sale in the Metroplex ( for details on what that means read THIS POST about supply and home inventory).

In Dallas - Ft. Worth overall prices are up 9%.

Hottest areas:
Sales up 54% in Frisco
Sales up 41% in Allen

Sep 19, 2012

3 Reasons why Higher Priced Homes take Longer to Sell


Many, if not most, homes in Preston Hollow and the Park Cities fall in to what is considered the "higher price" range of properties in Dallas. That is $1 million and over. And many of those homes are more challenging when it comes to selling. Homes over $1 million tend to take longer than the average days on market for lower priced homes. Why is that?

1. Smaller pool of prospective buyers. There are fewer people who can afford a $1 million home than can afford a $100,000 home. And these buyers are pickier. In this price range, the property needs to be close to perfect to fetch a good price. When comparing the number of buyers in this price range with the number of homes on the market, there is more competition in the higher price ranges.

2. Financing. It is so much harder to get financing these days - for everyone. It doesn't matter if you're a professional athlete who has just signed a multimillion dollar contract, or an esteemed surgeon recruited by our top hospitals. Issues like your lack of previous work history with the same employer, self-employment status and credit ratings can make financing a home difficult.

3. Unique is harder to sell. Many higher priced home tend to fall into the 'unique' category. Unique can be anything from custom wall treatments to specialty rooms ( like a pet room, cigar room, motorcycle garage,...). People like their own kind of unique - not someone else's idea of unique. A very large home - more than 8,000 square feet - is unique. So is a small home in a neighborhood of larger homes. Sorry, but plain vanilla is just easier to sell.

So what helps you sell a $1+ million property?

Ensure you are reaching your target buyers. These buyers are using a buyer's agent and they are searching on the internet for properties. Many of them are moving to Dallas from out of state. Think about who your buyers are - where they currently live, what they read, ...

Luxury home buyers also work with agents. Those agents need to know your property. Like many businesses, real estate is about relationships and active agents in North Dallas know the other active agents. Make sure your property is listed with a Realtor who has a good relationship with a lot of other agents in several different brokerages.

Sep 17, 2012

What is a Hip Pocket real estate listing?


A "Hip Pocket" property is Dallas Realtor lingo for a property that is for sale but is not listing in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The only way to know that the home is for sale is through a Realtor who is aware that it is available through their networking connections.

The recent Dallas Morning News story about this unique way to sell a home explained the concept well. Of the thousands of Dallas agents with real estate licenses, I'd be willing to bet that less than 1% are aware of any hip pocket properties for sale. To find out about them, an agent needs to constantly be in touch with other agents - not only in their brokerage but in other brokerages in the area. Membership in a networking group like Pacesetters opens the doors to a lot of this kind of information.

Remember, the knowledge that the property is for sale is tucked away in the agent's "hip pocket" and they need the know-how to spread the news about it to other agents in order to find a buyer for the property. The quickest way to sell a property for the best price is still through the MLS. But in a hot market like we have now, there are buyers looking for them and hip pocket listings are selling. [where: 75230]

Sep 14, 2012

New North Dallas Winery ?

It's not every day that we hear about a zoning request for a winery in North Dallas. The award winning Fuqua Winery near Love Field is the only winery in North Dallas that I know about.

But now The Art of Wine is hoping to move into the northwest corner of Preston and Forest where they plan to manufacture and sell their beverages. We won't know until October if the request is approved by the city. One more addition to our vast array of food and beverage choices? [where: 75230]

Sep 12, 2012

Strong Home Sales continue in North Texas


Home sales and prices were strong through the summer of 2012 and look to be holding into the fall as well. Steve Brown of the Dallas Morning News has been reporting the good news along with fall predictions from real estate experts.

Autumn is typically a slow time for real estate sales as you can see from this 5 year graph. However, this year continues to show the recovery in North Texas. [where: 75230]

Sep 10, 2012

Should you Rent-to-Own a Home?

Remember the Layaway programs - like Sears or Sanger Harris used to have? You brought your purchase to the Layaway desk where they held it while you paid a portion of the purchase price each week until you paid for the item. Then you got to take it home. If you didn't make the timely payments, the item went back on the shelf and you didn't get to keep it. Some places still offer these programs.

A lot of folks like to think of renting to own like a layaway program. Only renting to own is even better. You get full use of the house while the 'layaway program' is still in place. Once you've paid for it, it is yours.

However, unlike layaway programs, rent-to-own has a few more costs. Unlike a sweater or a sofa, a home has costs to the owner beyond the purchase price - like taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, upkeep and repairs.

So the cost of rent needs to equal not only the price of the property, but these extra costs. And owners often need to add on about 10% to cover the hassle of managing the property.

All those costs added up will usually exceed the cost of the monthly mortgage payment if you were to outright purchase the property. So why would you rent to own instead of just buy now? Two words: down payment. You may not have it.

The solution? Get with a good mortgage lender and figure it out. A good mortgage officer can help determine if buying is a good option (and I'm not talking about some bait-and-switch on-line broker). A smaller down payment will usually mean a higher interest rate. You're usually better off paying a higher rate ( and lets face it, the rates are still incredibly good) and getting a mortgage instead of renting.

So if you're thinking of renting to own, get out the calculator and run the numbers with the seller or your agent. It may work. Or you may decide to purchase with a mortgage. Or you may decide to keep renting. [where: 75230]

Sep 8, 2012

Team Ebby competes in Corporate Challenge

The agents and staff at the Ebby Halliday Companies are competing with other companies around the Metroplex ( like Southwest Airlines, Baylor Healthcare, Pepsico, Samsung,...) in the 15th annual Corporate Challenge to raise money for Special Olympics Texas.

The 2 month series of competitive events range from serious athletic endeavors like a 5k run, basketball, and a bike race to more unusual competitions like dodgeball, table tennis and horseshoes.And then there are events like darts, fishing and Texas Hold Em poker.

We're half way through the events and Team Ebby is doing very well. And guess who took home a gold medal last night at the big poker tournament? Team Ebby! If your company has never competed in this fun challenge, I encourage you to give it a try. [where: 75230]

Sep 7, 2012

Change in Home Sales Price Disclosure Rules for Texas

Beginning October 15, 2012 the sales price of all properties sold through the MLS must be disclosed to members of MLS. To the casual observer, this may not seem like a big deal since sales prices are typically available to Realtors. But in North Dallas real estate, this is noteworthy. Let me explain ...
MLS rules have always required that sales information be disclosed so that agents and appraisers can use the information to determine values in the area ( often called 'comps' or comparables).

However, Texas is one of a few "non-disclosure" states that does not require the sales price be included in publicly recorded deeds. Therefore, at the time of sale buyers often stipulated that their purchase price not be reported to the MLS system. Our MLS rules allowed a buyer to make this request and, if all parties agreed, the price was report this as a “Z sale”. Where we would normally see the sales price in the records, a Z ( standing for zero) would appear next to the list price instead of the sales price. The sales price was not reported or recorded in MLS and no one but the buyer, seller, their agents and title company knew the actual sales price. This is an exception to the common practices. We usually see it with high profile buyers, very high priced homes, builder sales or purchases from an investor who plans to flip the property.

According to our local MLS, in the past couple of years the practice of Z-ing out a property has become much more common in "several neighborhoods". Those neighborhood are in North Dallas.

Since our MLS is a private subscription based service it can require its members to report all sales information, including prices. Our MLS claims that withholding sales prices is "... diluting the effectiveness of comparable information available for MLS Participants in creating true market analysis, including Appraisers ... This begins to have a significant impact on comparable sales available and hinders the ability of real estate sales professionals to accurately advise clients on home values."

They are right. It does hinder appraisers and agents who don't have access to the sales prices. MLS membership is not cheap. As an agent, my MLS dues create and support the system and I have a right to proprietary information that the general public does not.

However, mandatory reporting of sales prices to the MLS also encroaches on our basic right to privacy. As our privacy in this country continues to dwindle, I can see that more than a few people are going to get worked up about this change. It is a double edge sword.

Regardless of what I think, the change is taking effect next month. As always, the MLS will not distribute sales prices to third parties or public web sites. Information may be publicly used for statistical purposes but they do not publish individual property sale prices to the public.

If a website publishes specific sales information, they are providing an "estimated" sales price based on public record information. Only MLS members may use the information when creating a market analysis for a client or compiling statistics. And a buyer can trust that their specific information will not be publicly disclosed ... right.

Sep 5, 2012

State of the Real Estate market in North Dallas

As we head in to the 4th quarter of 2012, here is an update on the North Dallas real estate market.

This is for the area south of LBJ and north of Northwest Hwy and includes all types of properties ( single family, condos, townhomes, land).

Closed sales:
We've had 859 closed sales in the past 12 months. That is the highest number in the past 4 years. The most popular price range in the past 12 months is $250k - $500k.

Inventory:
We currently have a 7.9 month supply of homes for sale. That is the lowest inventory in the past 4 years. The inventory for homes over $1 million is a 11.5 month supply. While that number is higher than lower priced homes, it always is and remains the lowest inventory in the past 4 years in this price range.

Homes Available for Sale:
Here is a break down of the number of properties available for sale by price range:
below $265,000: 117 properties
$265,000 - $500,000: 130 properties
$500,000 - $950,000: 122 properties
$1 million + : 150 properties

Median Prices:
The median sales price for single family homes was $519,000 in August. That is down slightly from $524,000 in July and up a little from $513,250 in June.
where: 75230]

Sep 3, 2012

6 Crutial tips when selling your home


So your home is for sale and you've done everything I usually tell you to do to get it sold:
  • - chosen a great agent
  • - priced it right
  • - staged it to appeal to the most number of buyers


Now you're waiting for buyers but they don't seem to be coming? Here are my 6 tips ensure your property is being marketed correctly:
  1. How does it look on the internet? Are there lots of photos? Is it on lots of web sites? It should be.
  2. Are you making it easy for buyers and their agents to see your property? It should be registered with the local showing service and you should respond quickly to allow showing requests. Keep the restrictions minimal regarding how much notice you need and showing hours.
  3. Do buyers and their agents have easy access? Your property should be on a keybox and doors should be easy to operate.
  4. How many showings are you getting? The higher priced the house, the fewer people will likely see it just because the pool of potential buyers is smaller. However, you should be getting at least a few showings per month at any price.
  5. Think like a buyer. Try the 2 most popular search engines for Dallas real estate: www.realtor.com and www.Ebby.com . Take a look at the homes in your neighborhood that are similarly sized and priced. How do you compare?
  6. Find out which homes are actually selling in your neighborhood. What do they have that you don't? Are the master bedrooms down stairs and yours is up? Are the lots the same size as yours? How about the style or architecture of your home? The more unique your property, the longer it usually takes to sell.
If your property is marketed well, it is what buyers want and the price is right - you should be getting offers in today's market. [where: 75230]