June 2009

Waco Real Estate Update – The Swimming Pool Factor

With the Texas Summer officially here, I usually get more phone calls from people asking about homes with swimming pools. It’s not surprising with the warmer temps. The temperature in Waco today, I think the weather guy said, was 738 degrees! With the heat index, it feels like 1,216 degrees.

Often though, some of those folks who are asking me about homes with pools are often surprised how ‘rare’ they are. You would think with the Texas heat every year, more homes on the market would actually have a cement pond!

I decided to do the math and analysis of homes on the market that actually have a pool. What I found was actually kind of interesting… well at least to me, but I can be a numbers nerd from time to time… okay, most of the time.

I should note though, a couple of these numbers may be skewed just a little. I’ll explain: Sometimes when a Realtor inputs the listing into the MLS system, if the community where the house is located has a neighborhood pool for everyone, some real estate agents will mark that the house actually has a pool. I tend to disagree with this. In the MLS system, when I’m looking for homes, I’m looking at specifics about the house only, not the community where it resides. I usually already know about the community and its amenities.

If I have a listing in a neighborhood that has a community pool then I’ll note that fact in the remarks section of the listing. I won’t choose the option that the HOUSE has a pool, because in all honesty, the house doesn’t have the pool… The neighborhood does.

Actually, I hope to get this changed. I sit on the Waco Associations of Realtors’ MLS Committee this year and I’ve already brought up the swimming pool issue. It would be nice to specify if the house has a private pool or a community pool. That alone could clear up some misunderstandings and make it more clear.

Anyway, back to the original point. When I looked up the listings and did the analysis for homes with swimming pools, I did NOT differentiate between those private pools and community pools. So if you’re looking for a private swimming located on your property, these number should come in a little lower:

• Only 9.4% of the homes currently on the market have a swimming pool
• Out of all the homes on the market that have a pool, a majority of them (87%) are classified as having a pool that is “in-ground”.
• The median asking price of homes that have a pool is $249,000 vs. $128,650 for homes that have no pool
• The median asking price of homes that have an “in-ground” pool is $269,000
• Since the beginning of the year, 9.3% of homes sold had a swimming pool
• The average days on market for homes with a pool is 172
• The average days on market for homes without a pool is 159
• There’s a little more than 9 months worth of inventory of homes with pools on the market
• Homes without pools? About 8.4 months worth of inventory
• Out of homes that are on the market right now that have swimming pools – 50% have 4 or more bedrooms and 47% have at least 3 bathrooms
• The median age of homes for sale with pools is 24 years
• The median square footage of homes with pools is 2,553
• Only 11.3% of homes for sale that have a swimming pool are no older than 5 years. Basically, for the whole Waco area, if you wanted a home with a pool and didn’t want it to be more than five years old, at least 4  bedroom 3 bathroom, with at least 2,000 square feet, you’d only have 8 houses to choose from. Out of those 8 houses, 6 are in Midway ISD.
• Homes for sale with a swimming pool breakdown (by school district):  1 – Axtell, 1 - Bosqueville, 1 – Bruceville-Eddy, 7 – China Spring, 4 – Connally, 2 – Gatesville, 6 – Lorena, 1-Marlin, 1 – Mart, 31 – Midway, 3 – Robinson, 1- Rosebud-Lott, 6 – West, 35 – Waco

Looks like Waco and Midway school districts (combined) account for 50% of the homes that have swimming pools.

These numbers aren’t life altering, but it does shine some light on where the Waco Real Estate market is concerning homes with pools. I always find stats a little interesting, especially when you really start to break them down.

Hope the numbers answered some questions or were, at least, a little fun to read.

If you’re looking for a house right now and need specific statistics concerning what you may be personally looking for, call me anytime or you can contact me online.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Home Buying

Are you looking to buy a home? Especially if you’re a first time home buyer, you need a guide on what your obligations are (as a home buyer) to your Realtor! “What? I have responsibities to my agent’? You bet! Most agents, it seems, are either afraid (or don’t know) to tell you that they have certain expectations too. But if you can follow this guide somewhat… It will make your whole experience of buying your first home, just THAT much better. Honestly… Have I steered you wrong yet?

Yeah, I know… The title is cheesy and I ripped it off from the “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”, but nevertheless… You need a guide. Hopefully this article will give you some insight into the real estate world (or what I like to call… “As the Real Estate World Turns” or “All My Realtors” or “The Young and The Realtors”).

First and foremost, hopefully you read my previous article about obtaining your own buyer’s agent to help you a buy a home. If not, you may want to read it first: Get your own buyer’s agent.

There are a few basics you need to know when working with the Realtor you chose to help you find a home/house/apartment/commercial property/duplex/cardboard box. I’ll write about these more in depth later in this blog post:

• Don’t be surprised if that agent asks you to sign a buyer’s representation agreement
• Don’t call your agent at the last minute wanting to look at 4,769 houses
• BE HONEST WITH YOUR REALTOR!
• Don’t call the agent off the sign
• Be realistic

Buyer’s Rep
When you find the right Realtor to help you find the right home, don’t be surprised if that real estate agent asks you to sign a buyer’s representation agreement. This is essentially a contract between you and your Realtor. This helps establish a “client” instead of “customer” relationship. It’s best to have this in writing. By establishing a client relationship with that agent, that agent will have certain obligations to you – obligations to look out for your best interests. The buyer’s representation agreement can help clarify any potential fiduciary misunderstandings too. It will also let everyone know that the agent is working for YOU, the home buyer (and not the seller).

While it’s a good idea for the buyer to have a signed buyer’s rep agreement, it’s also a good idea for the agent too. It’s a win-win situation. It helps that agent to protect the work and time they’ve put into you as a client. If there are any commission disputes with other agents (hopefully there won’t be), your buyer’s agent will be able to produce a written and signed buyer’s rep agreement, which give them a huge leg up. Not to mention it shows that agent how serious you are as a buyer.

If you want your agent to devote time, energy, gas, etc… to you, you need to show the agent that you’re a serious home buyer. By signing that agreement, you’re showing your Realtor that you’re willing to commit and are serious about a home purchase.

Last Minute Help
Wow, this happens all the time too. Usually it’s not a problem, but sometimes it can be. If possible, try not to call your agent at the last minute wanting to look at a long list of homes that day. Especially if it’s a weekend! Sometimes it’s not an issue, but weekends can be pretty busy (even more so in the summer months). Your agent may not be able to show you property on Saturday if you call them at 9:00 p.m. on Friday night wanting to see houses the next day. There’s a good chance that your Realtor may already have appointment or at the very least, plans with their family.

Of course, there can be extenuating circumstances that can throw that out the window. Maybe you’re only in town for a couple of days and you’ve already communicated to your agent that you may need some help that weekend, etc… Calling at the last minute though, can prove to be problematic in actually viewing the homes too. Your agent has to set up the appointments with the seller. If your Realtor calls that home owner at the last second to try to show it to you, that may be inconvenient to them and they may say it’s not a good time. The more notice you can give; the better (and easier) it is for everybody!

BE HONEST WITH YOUR REALTOR!
You’d be surprised how many potential home buyers aren’t just “less than entirely truthful”, but intentionally dishonest! Here’s one for you (true story):

A few years ago I had a buyer call me up. The said that they were moving to town the next month. So I asked them if they needed to find something fast. They said yes. I asked them if they were working with another agent, they said no. So the next day I cleared my schedule so I could spend the entire day with them to find a home. I spend the entire day showing them houses. We did find a couple of homes, but the house they really liked was a little more than what they wanted to spend. So they were going to think about it and let me know.

The next day I called and they said they were still thinking about it. I gave them a couple of more days then tried calling. No answer. I left a message. I tried calling again, but the same thing. Over the course of the next week I tried contacting them several times and could not get them to return my emails or phone calls. Finally, I gave up thinking that something must’ve happened.

After about a month, I decided to look up in the county records and see if they ever bought a house. And they did. I was obviously curious who they ended up using as an agent. I went back to our MLS system to look for that info. I looked at the house that they purchased. Okay, fine they used another agent (sometimes it happens). But the kicker was the close date and the date they put the house under contract. I noticed that they had closed on the house just a couple of days after I showed them several homes! I then looked at the date at which the buyer put the house under contract and it was about 2 months BEFORE I showed them houses!!!

This means that the buyer who called me and said they weren’t working with another Realtor, not only had one, but they also had a house under contract at the same time!

If you find an agent to work with, by all means, be HONEST with them. You may not know it, but Realtors don’t typically earn a “salary”. Most of us work on commission, that’s how we put food on the table for our families. Sometimes transactions fall through because things change and that happens, but when someone is being intentionally dishonest, that’s something else.

Be Realistic
That should go without saying. It’s part of our job to show you what’s available in your price range and for what area you want to live in. What you “want” to spend may be different than what you may “have” to spend. A house with a pool? Usually going to cost more than those without. The 3 car garage? More. The 3rd bathroom or 5th bedroom? More. Etc….

I once came across someone who wanted to buy a house and sell his too. I showed them the house they wanted to buy… Actually, it was a great deal for that neighborhood (Twin Rivers). It was brand new on the market and I knew it wouldn’t last long. They had told me that that they didn’t need to sell their house first before they bought another one, but they wanted to put it on the market.

I went to their house on the listing appointment. I went over the comps with them for their neighborhood and pointed out things specifically about their house that was good and not so good. I then told them what price they would probably end up getting for it (most likely). They were not happy at all. I asked them what they were thinking they could get for their house. I was shocked to say the least!

The house they wanted to buy was $275,000. The house they wanted to sell was… well, according to comps, was worth around $155,000 (they were upgrading to a bigger house and different neighborhood). Anyway, they told me that they thought their house was worth at least $325,000!!! Wait a minute here… Their current home had no real “extras” either… no granite counters, average size yard, newer carpet, no pool, no gutters, etc… Not to mention the house they were selling was SMALLER than the one they were trying to buy! I asked them why they thought their house was worth that much. They said that a house in their neighborhood sold for that much. And they were right, it did sell for that much, but it was newer, almost twice as big, had a pool (and hot tub), 3 car garage, granite counters, sat on 2 lots,  etc… the works.

I pointed out to them that they were trying to get more for their house than the one they wanted (plus it was newer, had community pool, and just in a general more expensive subdivision). I asked them that if they were shopping today and they had the choice between their house and the house they wanted, which house would they buy… Of course they chose the other house. I then asked, why do you think someone else would pick their house over the other (cheaper) house. They didn’t have answer, but said that they were firm. $325,000 and that’s all they would take. Needless to say, I didn’t take the listing.

I mean, if I can’t get the house sold at the price they wanted, then I didn’t want them to get mad at me when it didn’t sell. If I can’t meet or exceed someone’s expectations, then they have no business hiring me as their Realtor.

Just remember, be realistic, be open, and ask a lot of questions. There’s always a lot to learn about current market conditions.

Don’t Call the Agent Off the Sign!
Refer to this article I wrote: Buyer’s Agent

Buying a home can be a both exciting and exhausting experience. If your agent will remember and peform their obligations to you and if you, the buyer, do the same for your chosen Realtor, it can go a loooooooong way to a more pleasant memory of buying your first home!

“Oops…I Called the Agent on the For Sale Sign”

What? You called the real estate agent off the sign in the yard? What the heck are you thinking? Come here and let me slap you with a trout (an old IRC joke back in the “old days” of the internet – early to mid 90s).

You may not even know why you should be afraid (be very afraid… Okay, now I’m just trying scare ya’). Actually, I’ll give you some info that you may not be aware of.

If you’re a serious home buyer, then the first thing you need to do BEFORE you begin looking at homes (well, after you get pre-approved for a loan) is to find a buyer’s agent! NO JOKE! Whatever you do, get your own agent and don’t call the agent on the sign.

Don’t worry, typically, a buyer’s agent is free to you. When a Realtor lists a house for sale, they charge that seller a fee. When another real estate agent brings a buyer, then that listing agent splits their fee with that buyer’s agent. If you call the agent on the sign, then typically that agent will keep the full fee. Most of the time there are two agents involved in a home sale. It’s common for a buyer to find their own agent to represent their best interests throughout the home buying process. Don’t have your own agent? Then you’re on your own… not good.

I know, I know, you hate talking to “sales” people. Although, some real estate agents are nothing more than sales people, the vast majority of us are actually more than that. Hey, it’s our job to explain and guide you through the process of buying or selling your home. In addition, sometimes we’re advisors, city tour guides (if you are new to the area), negotiators, personal trainers (when we have to explain it like it really is and whip you into shape – Ha!), and (unfortunately) marriage counselors. Boy, it’s tough when you have to list the house of a nice couple that you sold them 5 years ago because now their getting divorced (that’s another post for another time).

If you’re looking to buy a home, especially if you’re a first timer, call around and talk to some Realtors. Great idea! But, what do you ask? Here’s a couple of suggestions, but really, ask them anything you want (except what they had for lunch…trust me).

• “How’s the market?” – You’d be surprised at how many agents can’t tell you how the market is actually doing. And I mean more than them saying “not bad”. Hey, it’s our job to keep track of the market! Honestly, we should be able to pretty much quote some basic stats! For instance, how many houses are on the market (a rounded figure is fine for this one), how many are listed as under contract, etc… Now there are some in-depth numbers you could analyze, but what we’re talking about here are the basic numbers. If you talk to an agent who can’t give you the basics, then find another agent. It’s our job to read, analyze, and KNOW our market. If that Realtor doesn’t know the basics of their own market, then find an agent who does.
• “Do you specialize in a certain price range?” – Some Realtors focus on a certain price range of homes. Realtor (A) may focus on high end homes while Realtor (B) focuses on lower prices homes. In any case, if you find an agent who specializes in a price range and you’re not in that same range, ask that agent if they recommend someone who does work in your price range. Now, with that being said, there are agents who work with any price range. It’s just a good question to ask!
• “Do you specialize in a certain area?” – Although it’s not as common here as in other areas (like DFW for instance), a lot of agents will focus their business on a few certain areas. Dallas/Ft. Worth is so big that it’s really hard for any agent to keep track off all the different areas. In Waco, since it’s a smaller town, most of the agents here have no problems servicing the McLennan County MSA.
• How long have you been in the business? Great question, but there’s no right answer really. I mean it depends on what you’re looking for. If the agent has only been in the business for a couple of months, then chances are they don’t have too many active clients and can devote more time to you. If the agent has been in the business for a considerable amount of time, then of course they’ve got the experience. Beyond that though, they’ve done more transactions and may know history about certain houses, since that agent has been in the business longer. It really depends on what you’re looking for.
• Do you work on the weekends? Believe it or not, some agents just don’t work on the weekend! I don’t know how they do much business (considering a lot of people only have weekends available to actually find a home).
• You may laugh, but it may be a good idea to ask (especially if you’re in a hurry to find and buy a home), if that buyer’s agent that you’re talking to is planning to go on vacation in the next 30 -45 days. To some people it may not matter, to others it may. But if you’re one of the folks that would prefer your agent be around while your transaction is in escrow… don’t forget to ask about their vacation plans!!!!

That’s just a few questions you could ask a Realtor that you’re considering using as your buyer’s agent. You may be able to get more ideas for questions just by surfing the web.

Whatever you do, don’t call the Realtor off the sign! They have a contractual obligation to represent the best interests of the seller and owe you no loyalty. If you call an agent off the sign and ask about the price and that price is a great price to you… DON’T say something like… “Wow, that’s an awesome price… I’d sooooo pay that! But let’s see if I can get it cheaper.” Guess what… they owe it to that seller to tell them that you would be willing to pay full price.

Don’t be scared! They’re not evil when they go to the seller with that kind of information. They OWE it to the seller to pass along an material information they may come across. Just be aware that if you’re talking to the seller’s Realtor, don’t tell them too much information!

Also, that agent off the sign shouldn’t divulge confidential information to you either. I’ve had people call me off my for sale signs before and after they ask about the price they’ll say something like… “Well, how much will the seller take?” Even if I know that the seller will take $10,000 less or they need to sell it fast and will probably cut a deal, I have an obligation to my client to look after their best interests. Divulging that kind of information to a potential customer would go against my fiduciary responsiblity to that home owner.

Thinking about buying? Get out there! Get pre-approved, get familiar with the areas, and most important, get your own buyer’s agent!

Researching Waco Real Estate (And More)

So you’ve decided to buy a home or maybe you’re relocating to the Waco area. Either way, you’ll want to do your research about Waco real estate and the area. Where do you start? I hear ya… searching on the internet can be a daunting task. Forget about the tons of information that’s available online, but trying to find RELIABLE information can be a pain too!

If you’d rather look around online instead of talking to a Realtor first (really, we’re not scary people! Okay, well maybe some of us, but not all of us), I’ve got some cool tricks, tips, and websites fer ya.

You’re relocating to Waco? GREAT! We’d love to have ya here (especially if you can pull some strings and get Grandy’s Restaraunt to open back up in Waco). Here’s a list of cool websites to check out (well not including my website, which goes without saying )

Virtual Earth
I love this site for looking at photos of neighborhoods. Google Earth is a nice program, but with Virtual Earth, you get a “bird’s eye view” option (in addition to the satellite photos). The bird’s eye view will get you “closer to the neighborhood” than the satellite view option. So0000, you found a great looking house online, but you want to get a feel for the surrounding area…. Virtual Earth is a great way to get that info! Here are screen shots of Twin Rivers, Hidden Valley, and Badger Ranch to give you an idea of what you can see:

You can drag the map around and expand the views too. It’s really a neat tool that I use all the time when I’m talking via email with people out of town. I’ll take screen shots (or send them the link) so they can see the areas and judge how far this or that is from here or there. I’m surprised that more real estate agents don’t utilize this tool….. at all. Visually, it really helps people out who are currently living out of town but relocating to the Waco area.

Google Maps
Of course when mentioning properties, maps, satellite photos, etc… You can’t forget about the de facto standard of Google Maps with (most importantly) Street View. If you haven’t heard of Google’s street view option on their mapping website, then wake up!!! Put the donut down, turn off the golf channel, hop on the internet and check it out!

Not all areas are covered, but Google is adding more street level views everyday. Their goal is to map the entire world.

After you check out the bird’s eye view of various Waco areas, head to Google Maps and check out the street view! It’s like you’re driving your car down the road, driving past the house yourself. Google Street View can really give you and idea of how some areas are laid out.

After all, just finding the right house is only part of the process. You know what the say… Location, Location, Location! It’s your chance to take a true virtual tour of the neighborhood that you’re thinking about calling home!

Waco Chamber of Commerce
The Waco of Chamber Commerce website is a great souce for learning about Waco, especially if you’ll be opening a new business here. It has all kinds of stats and information. Check out Waco Prospector too.

Waco Tribune Herald
I can’t forget to include the local paper’s website! All things Waco (and more). News, classifieds, etc… Actually they do a really good job with the website. If you’ve got a hankering to move from Pontotoc, Mississippi to Waco, Texas, this a great site to visit and try to get a feel for Central Texas.

McLennan County Appraisal District (MCAD)
Texas property taxes tend to be higher than a lot of other states. Part of the reason for the higher property taxes? Texas’ lack of a state income tax. Before you get “sticker shock” over the tax amount, you may want to browse around the website to get an idea of what the property taxes would be on any home you’re thinking about buying.

Note:
Be aware though that the value for taxes may not be an accurate estimate of the MARKET price of a home. A general rule in real estate is that there are 3 “values” for any given home:

1. The appraised value on which the county will asses taxes (Tax Appraised Value)
2. The appraised value on which a bank or lender will use in the process to determine whether or not they’ll make a home loan available for you on that property
3. The market value for a home. The amount someone (a potential home buyer) would be willing to pay for the home

In a perfect world, all of these amounts would be the same. But this is far from a perfect world! Unfortunately, when it comes to comparing home purchase price vs. tax appraisal, there can be  (and many times, are) discrepancies… sometimes WAY OFF!

For example, if you’re looking at buying a home for let’s say, $200,000 and the week before you supposed to close on your new home, you go to the appraisal district website and notice that the appraised value is at $225,000, don’t automatically think that you got a great deal and you got it for $25,000 less than it’s worth! And vice-versa. Many factors can play into inaccurate tax appraisals. Maybe the home owner never protested their tax appraised values. Maybe the MCAD website has the wrong square footage, etc….

Actually, I was kind of reluctant to suggest the county appraisal district’s website. Sometimes it does nothing more than confuse people when they see a different value listed for tax purposes than what they are actually paying for the house. Just be aware, when you’re on the county’s website looking at property information, look at it strictly for the dollar amount of taxes that will need to be paid. DON’T use that info to try to get an idea of the home’s market value. The best way to help determine actual market value for a home is by having your Realtor pull comps (recent sales information) for the neighborhood and compare the price per square foot of homes that are active, sold, expired, and under contract. Also, other variables will play into an estimate of market value – age, condition, location, amenities of that home vs. other homes in the neighborhood, etc…

City Data
This a great resource for learning about different cities. They have a ton of information regarding the people, population, climate, economics, etc…

Great Schools
Don’t know which school district you want your children to attend? Greatschools.net is a valuable website for those folks seeking education information! It has parent reviews, demographics, number of pupils to teacher, classes offered, etc…

Texas Education Agency
The TEA website is another excellent resource for people concerned with school districts. The Texas Education Agency does post state ratings/rankings for all the schools. Is the elementary school that you child would be attending rated as recognized or unacceptable? Find out straight from the state.

Those are just a few websites that you can visit to gain a little insight on what to expect from Waco, Waco real estate, and life in Waco. Of course, if you have any questions call me anytime!

Over Priced Home Listings – What Are They Thinking?

We’ve all seen it – over priced homes on the market for sale. Not just a little over priced, but REALLY over priced! Not a home that’s maybe $4,000 or $5,000 too high, but more like $40,000 – $50,000 too high. It makes you wonder what the seller is thinking. Makes me wonder what the Realtor is thinking.

I know it’s a numbers game. I know that a lot of Realtors (especially those agents who are brand new to the business) will take an over priced listing in hopes that they will get a few phone calls from the for sale sign (or Realtor.com or the newspaper, etc…) and be able to convert the caller to an appointment and eventually to a buyer. According to statistics and research, each listing can generate from 2-4 additional transactions for that listing agent.

Am I a fool for not taking grossly over priced listings? Yes, according to some people, I’m sure.  Last year, I had a call from a seller whose house was on the market with another agent, but they were terminating the listing with that broker. Seems the seller wasn’t happy with their current agent because buyers were not looking at their house and submitting offers. I told the seller I would do some comps and give them a call back. My research showed that the house was about $30,000 too high. It was on the market for $169,900. In that neighborhood, the highest price paid for a house (at the time) was $140,000 (the average price was $135,000).

I called the seller back and told him my findings. Needless to say he wasn’t happy about what I had to say. Of course, I told him “Don’t shoot the messenger”. That’s what the numbers showed… $30,000 too high. Hey, I didn’t make the numbers up, they were staring me straight in the face! I told him that he needed to list the house at $142,000 and be prepared to drop the price if we got no showings in the first 3 weeks. Apparently, he REALLY didn’t like what I had to say because he called another Realtor and listed the house them. No hard feelings, that’s business. I did watch the listing on the MLS though. That other agent listed the house at $159,900 (still… $20,000 too high). After a while they dropped the price, then they dropped it again and again and again. I saw that they had finally dropped the price to $142,000 (the price I initially told the selller it needed to be), then the listing expired. Now, you must know by this time it’s about 6 months later and the housing market cooled off even more.

After the listing expired, I tried contacting the seller, but never heard anything back. I noticed that they didn’t get the house listed in the MLS again, but did see in the county records that it did actually sell. So the house must’ve went under contract or something right when it expired, boy did that agent (and home seller) get lucky! (or was the price finally right at $142,000?). I don’t know what the house actually sold for (since it was expired and the sold information not reported to the MLS), but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was less than the seller could’ve got if he had just listed the house at the price I told him to begin with. I’m sure he netted less since he had another 6 months of taxes, insurance, and interest he had to pay.

Am I fool? Maybe so. That other real estate agent may have gotten a couple of buyers off the sign and (I’m not sure since the listing was expired and the sold info not reported to the MLS), but it looks like that the agent did finally sell the house. I just don’t prefer to do business that way. When I’m being honest with someone and they can’t handle truth, as a matter of principle, then I’d rather not do business with them. Does it cost me a paycheck sometimes? Sure, often actually. Thank goodness I have an understanding wife! My reputation is worth more than a commission.

Now, that’s not to say I don’t make mistakes (hey, I’m not perfect!). I’ve listed houses before that I actually thought were priced right (and according to all the numbers, it was)… but no buyers. The housing market changes all the time, on a day to day basis (more so now than a few years ago). Boy, I hate when I have to make that call, “Hey Mr. and Mrs. seller, I was wrong about your house, the market is changing and we need to adjust the asking price to match today’s housing demand.”  But every Realtor makes a mistake from time to time on pricing. When you’re pricing a home (right), typically, you use historical data to help predict a price point based on an anticipated future sale. Normally it’s pretty accurate, but with the ever changing market, it’s important to stay on top of it!

So why do Realtors take over priced listings? In a nutshell:

• Maybe the agent made a mistake on pricing point
• Maybe they want the home buyer calls from the sign
• Maybe they’re trying to win some contest at their office for who can get the most listings in one month
• Maybe they’re new and don’t know any better
• Maybe they don’t know how to educate their seller on pricing
• Maybe they just don’t care
• Maybe for their ego!

Their ego? Sure, maybe they want to go around saying they listed (X) number of homes last year. If you are ever interviewing an agent to list your house and that agent even bothers to try and say something like.. “Well, I’ve listed 4,000 homes in the last 6 months.” TAKE THAT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT! ASK THEM… “OKAY GREAT, WELL OUT OF ALL THOSE HOUSES YOU LISTED, HOW MANY DID YOU ACTUALLY SELL? WHAT’S YOUR ‘SOLD TO LIST’ RATIO?”

Ego, sometimes, could be the motivation behind a Realtor trying to ‘buy your listing’ too. “Buying My Listings? What’s that?” I’m glad you asked! It’s actually real estate jargon for when an agent (and recklessly, I might add) will inflate the recommended list price in hopes to win your listing.

Here’s the scenerio: You are going to interview a couple of different agents before you put your house on the market. Realtor (A) comes to your house, does their marketing presentation for you, he/she ask you questions about your needs and expectations, etc… shows you the comps for your neighborhood and other data they have for your property and suggests to you an asking price of (let’s say) $185,000. Not exactly what you wanted to hear. Okay, now Realtor (B) shows up with his nice shiny briefcase (but doesn’t open it. Heck, he could have last month’s issue of “Fishing and Wildlife” in there and you wouldn’t know it). Realtor (B) walks around your house glances in the closets for a second, opens a cabinet or two, makes a nice comment about that painting in your living room, tells you that he listed 4,000 properties in the last six months, and then takes a deep breath and sniffs and says “Hmmmm… I could probably get you $210,000 for your house” Which Realtor do you pick? Hopefully, you pick Realtor (A) and run from Realtor (B)!

Unfortunately, many sellers would choose Realtor (B)! And Realtor (B) knows this. That home owner got told what they wanted to hear… that their house is worth more than it really is.  That home seller just got “played”, unfortunately. Not every Realtor is unethical, but it only takes a few bad apples…

I was at a listing appointment a couple of years ago. The seller was interviewing several agents. When I was talking to the home owner, she said that one real estate agent  (I’m not going to mention names) came in and right off the bat told her that she could get her almost $20,000 more for her house than what the rest of us were saying. Fortunately, she ran from that Realtor. I didn’t get that listing. But the real estate agent that the home owner did choose priced the home right and it sold in a timely manner. Although I didn’t get the listing, it was refreshing to know that the real estate agent who tried to buy the listing did NOT get it after all.

If your home is on the market now and it’s not being shown to buyers or it’s getting shown but no offers are coming in, then ask your agent to do another CMA for you and see if you need to adjust the asking price.

If you’re planning on selling on your home, keep an open mind about the asking price. It’s unlikely that any agent can sell your home for more than it’s actually worth. There are rare occurences where the buyer would be willing to pay more than market vlue or that the agent the buyer has working for them doesn’t actually know the real value. Hey, luck happens, but it can be rare. More often that not, a seller will actually net less for their house if they start out too high and have to drop the price over several months. In almost all cases, the seller benefits more if they just listed their house at the right price to begin with.

A really high asking price (over priced), is it worth it? In most cases, no. Take into account what your Realtor says and what the numbers tell you. DON’T JUST LIST YOUR HOUSE WITH AN AGENT THAT RECOMMENDS THAT YOU LIST YOUR HOME WITH A GROSSLY OVER INFLATED ASKING PRICE.

My dad used to tell me… “Son, if someone is telling you something that you don’t want to hear, it’s probably the truth.”

Castleman Creek Elementary – Hewitt, TX

I drove by the new elementary school that’s under construction in Hewitt today – Castleman Creek Elementary. Wow! Construction looks like it’s almost completed. I knew it was time, but didn’t realize that it was getting so close to being finished. Where has the year gone so far?

The new elementary school is located on Hewitt Dr., next to Hewitt Park, in front of Indian Creek Estates. Completion for Castleman Creek is set for the end of July with classes starting on August 26th. If you have a child attending the new school then you may want to know that a couple of days before school starts (August 24th) a “Meet the Teacher” will be held from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Castleman Creek Elementary will serve PK – 4th grade.

Last year, Midway I.S.D. voters passed a $76 million bond initiative.  The bond proposal included a new elementary school (Castleman Creek), a new intermediate school, upgrades and renovations to existing campuses, classrooms and labs added to Midway High School, new bus maintenance facility, new administration building and upgrades to Panther Stadium. I did read an article that said so far, the costs for the bond programs have been running about $3 million under budget.

I don’t know where the final cost will come in, but the budget for Castleman Creek Elementary was $16,654,924. It will have enough room to house up to 650 students. As for square footage (according the design submitted February 12, 2008, before the election), the breakdown is as follows:

• Academics: 39,305
• Physical Education (including storage, coach’s office, and full size court): 5,045
• Dining Area (including cafetorium, kitchen, storage, teacher’s lounge, platform): 7,960
• Administrations (including reception, principal office, counselor’s office, conference room, etc..) 3,945
• Other (Corr., mech. rm, bathrooms, walls, etc..) 27,885

The total air-conditioned square footage is 84,140. Add the porches and the square footage is 86,840, which is about 1,785 sqft bigger than Woodway Elementary.

Below are some photos that I snapped today as well as other construction photos from the 2008 Midway Bond Program Update website:

Castleman Creek will be the 6th elementary school for Midway ISD. The elementary schools for Midway are: Hewitt Elementary, Speegleville Elementary, South Bosque, Woodway, and Spring Valley.

Other projects contained in the bond are either under way (and judging by looks, running on time) or being prepped to begin. The new intermediate school is set to be completed in June 2010.

Of course, the new Midway ISD elementary school attendance map met with some parent opposition whose children will be affected. Some students of Spring Valley Elementary will be attending the new Castleman Creek Elementary for the new school year. Here’s the new attendance map:

Midway ISD Elementary School Attendance Map

You may find some of these websites useful:

Midway ISD
2008 Midway Bond Program Update