Prices are down in the DFW Area

There.
I said. it.

House A -- Murphy

2008 = $199,900

2011 = $185,000

The thing is, people have been forecasting doom and gloom on the real estate market for years now.  Maybe they were well meaning sorts that wanted to slow down an out of control industry that was lending money to people who couldn't afford it.  Builders were starting up new editions anywhere there was open land.  REALTORS.... well, we brokers and agents just ride the waves, right?  Wrong.  We were all too happy to push folks in and out of transaction in order to cash checks.

But now, 3-4 years later, I can show you several instances of prices sliding.  Now, don't panic.  We're still only talking about a decline of less than 10% in the NE Dallas area.  But that's a real decline and there isn't any denying it.  Some areas will resist the drop in price better than others.  If you have updated your home regularly in the 5-7 years you've owned it, you won't see a drop but an increase in sales price.  But it won't be as much as you'd like.

House B -- Richardson

2008 = $140,000 (needed updating)

2011 = $160,000 (updated, should have been > $170K)

In a buyer's market you have more inventory than you do buyers.  More supply than demand.  Hey, I got a C+ in Economics at Blinn Jr. College (Go Buccaneers) and I leaned this stuff in between keggers, so you can too.  If you and three other guys are trying to sell the same thing to the same one guy, you have to make yours stand out.  So you fancy it up and you sell it for less than the other two guys.  Note I used the conjunction "and" not "or?"  I could have said "or" ...I didn't.

In a buyer's market you have to consider that every buyer wants more for the same.  You and the other two sellers have to offer more house, more amenities, more updating than each other.  One of the amenities is the price.  So, put in your granite, your slate, your butlers with shoe-shine kits, and lower the price.

Fear not, we are likely near the bottom.  But don't forget this advice because ours will not be an overnight change.  Dallas resisted the recession and we'll likewise ease into the recovery while Californians are screaming hallelujah---or whatever you scream when you're happy in California.

Want to know what the value of your home has done in the last three years?  Want to know what it is worth, today?  Email J.T. and he'll produce for you a detailed and logical market analysis for free and without any arm twisting run-you-out-of-your-house-pressure.

Move into Snoopy's House!

Super-cartoonist Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts cartoon, purchased his Santa Rosa, Calif. property from the Catholic church and married his second wife there in 1973. The chapel has been converted into a media room and gym, and the six-bedroom home still bears evidence of Schulz's presence. 

The office, complete with typewriter, aging television, and Peanuts art, has been left as a sort of shrine to the famed funny pages master. The rest of the Wine COuntry Estate is uber plush, including two large homes totaling 8,000-square-feet, two acres of well-landscaped grounds, and broad outdoor entertaining spaces, including a swimming pool.

The property is listed by Southerby's International.

Happy Independence Day! ...How to Make a Smoke Bomb

(From the wonderful pages of About.com)

The smoke bomb you would purchase from a fireworks store usually is made from potassium chlorate (KClO3 - oxidizer), sugar (sucrose or dextrin - fuel), sodium bicarbonate (otherwise known as baking soda - to moderate the rate of the reaction and keep it from getting too hot), and a powdered organic dye (for colored smoke). When a commercial smoke bomb is burned, the reaction makes white smoke and the heat evaporates the organic dye. Commercial smoke bombs have small holes through which the smoke and dye are ejected, to create a jet of finely dispersed particles. Crafting this type of smoke bomb is beyond most of us, but you can make an effective smoke bomb quite easily. There are even colorants you can add if you want to make colored smoke. Let's start out with instructions for the easiest/safest type of smoke bomb you can make:

Smoke Bomb Materials

sugar (sucrose or table sugar)

potassium nitrate, KNO3, also known as saltpeter (buy it online or you can find this at some garden supply stores in the fertilizer section, some pharmacies carry it too)

skillet or pan

aluminum foil

Once you've gathered your smoke bomb materials, it's easy to make the smoke bomb...

NEW LAW BANS PRIVATE TRANSFER FEES

From RECON at Texas A&M University comes this important legislative update...

AUSTIN (San Antonio Express-News) – Gov. Rick Perry has signed legislation banning private transfer fees attached to home purchases, the San Antonio Express-News reported yesterday.

Such fees throw a percentage of a home’s sale price back to the original developer each time the home is sold.

Under the new legislation, new private transfer fees will not be allowed. Developers who have existing fees on properties must file a notice of the obligation in county property records by Jan. 31, 2012, and update it every three years. If they fail to meet this requirement, the transfer fee is void.

Real Estate Center attorney Judon Fambrough and Research Economist Dr. Harold Hunt discussed private transfer fees on theReal Estate Red Zone podcast (episode 26).

Why am I updating a Dallas, Texas blog again?

Blogging... yeah, it seems a bit vain at times.  Did a NY Times writer really say, "Never have so many written so much to be read by so few?"  Hilarious!!!  I like the discipline of writing articles.  I like putting useful North Texas area real estate information out there.  I think that Facebook is quicker, faster, and certainly has greater traffic.

.  But, who knows... at least the brain is twisting, turning, and my clients can see that on my website I am eager to communicate to them about their real estate needs in Murphy, Rowlett, Richardson, Plano, etc...

I like my job.  Reminds me of a joke my Dad used to tell me, he got it from Henny Youngman.  ...An elderly Jewish man was crossing the street when he was hit by a car.  The paramedic shows up and says, "Are you comfortable?" The man says, "I make a good living."

Insight into why the economy is suffering...

(I had to have some satire relief today)
The United States is apparently built on ancient Native American Indian burial grounds.  Yup, we're cursed...

What's your budget, Richardson?

How about $415,000?   ...Got it:

. 

Less?  Ok, what about $175,000?   ...Bamn:

 

Discount Realty! Selling for 1% 0% ...and even less!!!

7% seems about right to me.  Does it seem too high to you?
What about 6%?  5%?  Is there a standard rate in Murphy or Richardson?  What about 1%?  What if the 1% is really 4% and *YOU* have to do 80%?
Would you believe that the way discount realty is practiced by most licensees is illegal?!


Discount realty agents lure you in telling you they will put your house on the MLS for $500, or they'll sell your house for 1% and then that really means you pay 4% and they give 3% to the buyer's agent.  Trouble is, that every listing agent under contract to sell your house is obligated to a minimum service requirement via the State of Texas who issues their license.  The Texas Real Estate Commission requires licensees to "inform the party of material information related to the transaction, including the receipt of an offer by the broker, and answer the party's questions and present any offer to or from the party. The bill prohibits a broker who represents a party from telling another broker to negotiate directly with the broker's client."


Wow!  I can find you a listing on the MLS any day with the opposite of that in the description.  They often say, "contact the seller for more information" or, "send all offers to 972-555-5555" --which of course is the sellers fax line or an e-fax that the seller checks rather than the listing agent.


So what?


Fair question.  Folks, you get what you pay for.  It is conceivable that your transaction will never get off the ground with limited service.  It is completely reasonable that a licensee fighting violation charges or trying to cover his ASSets might not get your home sold and closed.  You get what you pay for.


JTOden Realty is an independent real estate brokerage so we set our fees ourselves.  Each listing and each buyer is unique therefore, each fee we collect is reflective of that individual buying or selling situation.


What is consistent is our commitment to OUR minimum service standard: We represent our clients like they would work if they had the time, inclination, experience, and passion to be the very best Brokers they could be.

Is it Cheaper to Rent or to Buy?

I guess that depends on where you live.  

   In Dallas and its suburbs, you should buy.  However, if you move to Fort Worth, maybe you should rent?  New York City?  Definitely rent.  In fact, Inman News reports that It is cheaper to buy a home than to rent one in 39 of the nation’s 50 largest cities.  Inman cites a a quarterly report released today by real estate search and marketing site Trulia.

   The folks at Trulia have produced a rent vs. buy index that compares the median list price with the median rent on two-bedroom apartments, condominiums and town-homes in the 50 most populous cities in the U.S. listed on Trulia.com as of April 1, 2011. 

   Ken Shuman, Trulia’s spokesperson, stated, “With home prices nearing a double dip and more foreclosures expected to flood the housing market over the next two years, the decision between renting and buying a home across most of the country has clearly moved in favor of buying.
   “As we head into the summer buying season, those looking to buy a home should be encouraged by improvements in the market and feel optimistic about their chances of finding an affordable home — much more so than in previous years.”

   A price-to-rent ratio of 1 to 15 means that it’s much cheaper to buy than to rent in a particular city. 

Top 10 cities to buy vs. rent:

Rank	City	State	Price-to-rent ratio
1	Las Vegas	Nev.	6
2	Phoenix	Ariz.	7
3	Arlington	Texas	7
4	Fresno	Calif.	8
5	Miami	Fla.	8
6	Mesa	Ariz.	8
7	Jacksonville	Fla.	9
8	Sacramento	Calif.	9
9	Detroit	Mich.	10
10	Omaha	Neb.	10

Source: Trulia.com

   Inman reports that this index considers the total cost of homeownership compared to the total cost of renting. Calculations for total rental cost include rent and renters insurance.  The total cost of homeownership was highest, compared to the cost to rent, in New York; Fort Worth, Texas; and Kansas City, Mo.

Top 10 cities to rent vs. buy:

Rank	City	State	Price-to-rent Ratio
50	New York	N.Y.	39
49	Fort Worth	Texas	30
48	Kansas City	Mo.	22
46	Memphis	Tenn.	20
47	Los Angeles	Calif.	20
43	San Francisco	Calif.	19
44	Boston	Mass.	19
45	Seattle	Wash.	19
42	Portland	Ore.	18
41	Oklahoma City	Okla.	16

Source: Trulia.com
http://www.inman.com/