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Fannie Mae Agrees: Hire a Pro to Sell Your House

by Christie Cannon

Fannie Mae Agrees: Hire A Pro to Sell Your House | Keeping Current Matters

Do you really need an agent to sell your house in today’s market? Here’s what Fannie Mae suggests to sellers on the Know Your Options section of their website:

“Select how you'll market and list the home (e.g., with a real estate agent or for sale by owner). There are pros and cons to each, but unless you are experienced at selling homes, it usually makes financial sense to get professional help—homes sold by agents typically sell at a higher price and spend less time on the market. An agent will also help you determine the best pricing for the house, they'll market the home, and they'll be your advocate throughout the process.”

Let’s go over the points they made:

  • Homes sold by agents typically sell at a higher price
  • Homes sold by agents typically spend less time on the market
  • An agent will help you determine the best pricing for the house
  • An agent will market the home
  • An agent will be your advocate throughout the process

If Fannie Mae says using an agent probably makes sense, perhaps you should interview an agent before putting your house up for sale. Full post here.

New Christie Cannon Magazine

by Christie Cannon

The latest version of our magazine is now available on our website!  Check out all of our updated listings, real estate news and informational articles by going to www.ChristieCannon.com/Christie-Cannon-Magazine.  Christie Cannon Magazine

New Builds Are Up Nationally, But Face Challenges

by Christie Cannon

New builds are on the rise nationally....and are up big in North Texas.New Construction Challenges

As builders continue to have record new home starts this year, costs and build times continue to rise. Almost half of Texas construction companies are facing the challenges of losing their workers to other, higher-paying industries.  The shortage of contractors is creating rising costs and longer build times.  In Texas, over 90 percent of construction firms reported that they faced challenges in finding workers and 48 percent reported that lost workers to other industries.  Rising demand for oilfield workers has been a major culprit of luring away construction employees over the past few years.  Read the full article here...


Frisco's $5 Billion Mile

by Christie Cannon

The Frisco Economic Development Corporation has created a webpage summarizing all the announcements and new projects in what's being called "The $5 Billion Mile."  The new projects in development over the next few years will make Frisco a hot spot in the DFW metroplex!  Read all the details from Frisco's EDC here...

Existing Home Sales are Up!

by Christie Cannon

The newest report shows that existing home sales are at their highest level for 2014!  Check out the latest report from the National Association of Realtors.

House Prices.. Stabilizing...?

by Christie Cannon

Not Likely Yet.......... 

 

According to the latest Case-Shiller Report, last month, Dallas has seen the lowest gains since last fall. That said, it is not yet time to cry out that the sky is falling....we are still hovering at about a 1.8 month supply of homes in Frisco, 2.1 in McKinney, 2.4 in Little Elm, & 4.1 in Prosper  (2.1 in Collin County & 2.6 in Denton County)!  This inventory demand continues to fuel unprecedented (at least for our area) price competition....  We are starting to see some areas with days on market slowing ticking up; likely as sellers over estimate values based on the pace of the market, but until we see great balance in demand, an end to this run is not likely.  
- Christie Cannon

Foreclosure Inventory

by Christie Cannon

I am often asked about the foreclosure market here in North Texas.  A great tool in understanding how much change we have seen over the last 18-months in regards to foreclosures is CoreLogic's National Foreclosure Report.  According to CoreLogic's May report, foreclosures are on 31 months of consecutive year-over-year decline. In simply terms, May 2014 represents a 37% decline compared to May 2013 - and 9.4% year-over-year decline.    While it is true that TX is represented in the top 5 states of foreclosure volume in the last 12 months, we are also among the lowest by percentage of inventory.  TX's foreclosure inventory represents .07% versus a national average of 1.7%.

Does this mean the "foreclosure" market is in permanent decline?..  I would be very hesitant to say such...  many factors affect real estate, both in the short term & long term.  And while in TX (a non-judicial foreclosure state) our inventory has moved quickly, there remains a "backlog" of inventory in many parts of the country.  Likewise, in many areas, we can still see Mortgage Delinquency Rates (a "precursor" to foreclosures) remain higher than historical averages.

All that said, at least in the North TX market, a buyer offering that they "just want to look at foreclosures" may have (as we say in TX) some very slim pickins'.

 - Christie Cannon

I Don’t Always Find a House I Like, but When I Do …..

by Christie Cannon

“Why is it….

By now we have all experienced it… House Today, Gone Tomorrow!  But why so fast?...  Sometimes the answer is obvious – the home is priced well, staged, well marketed, in a desirable area, low inventory, priced below FHA limits,… etc & thus moves quickly.   BUT what about that home that is 112 days on the market, you finally go look at it… make your offer & BOOM – multiple offers, or worse… the seller just accepted another offer!   That (my friends) is a whole other level of frustration… how odd that no-one bought it for all that time, until (seemingly) “we” get interested.  So why is it?

It is important to understand that often the very same market factors that “drove” you to that particular home are driving other buyers.  It isn’t hard to surmise that buyers are looking for the best home at the best price – but to see how that may play out in a home that seems more “market stale” than others, picture this same 112 “days on market” home for the last 100 days as having strong competition in surrounding homes. One with an award winning media room, one on a greenbelt, one almost new, one with massive updates, perhaps one a little less functionally obsolete, or maybe a few just priced less – all of these fall under contract, one after the other - until POOF, the 112 “days on market” house’s time has come. This isn’t to take away from the 112 “days on market” house, but simply to reflect that as competition falls off the market, simply due to scarcity of the inventory, the desirability of the 112 day home increases (this is especially true if new listings to the market continue to have price increases) - driving you & the other buyers towards the same home.

Even knowing this…. it still doesn’t make it feel any less like a conspiracy.

Stay "searching" my friends,

- Christie Cannon  -  469-951-9588  -  Christie@christiecannon.com

Frisco's MLS March Market Numbers!

by Christie Cannon

The MLS just released the preliminary Frisco numbers for March 2014 & WOW!

  • March-to-March listing down -21.3%
  • Year-to-Date listings down -13%
  • March-to-March closed sales down -12.8%
  • Year-to-Date closed down -3.6%
  • March-to-March Listing Under Contract down -25.2%
  • Year-to-Date Listings Under Contract down -12.5%
  • March-to-March Days on Market UP +0.7% = 51 days.
  • Year-to-Date Days on Market down -12.9%
  • Month’s Supply of Inventory down 32.9% to 1.5 months supply
  • YTD Price is up +12.5% Average & +16.5% Median Sales Prices
  • Percent of Original List Price Received YTD is 96.4%

A couple of things that stand out to me…

  1. WOW – inventory is low!
  2. See #1
  3. The huge discrepancy between March-to-March numbers v/s the YTD may be explained by not only changes in market but also (to a degree):
    1. March numbers include some estimates/projections
    2. Weather factors were big this spring – which often affects buying cycles (moving them sooner &/or later in a year)
    3. More purchases are occurring outside of the MLS – New Builds, some “Hip Pocket Listings”, etc
    4. ** While a 1.5 months supply of homes clearly indicates a strong seller’s market, dare I say, there are still some sellers who may be over estimating their home’s position in the market or the market’s strength – which is reflected in an average sale with a Percent of Original List Price as 96.4%, which does NOT reflect seller paid concessions – and an increased number of days on market (I am proud to say that The Christie Cannon Team averaged 20 Days on Market with over 98% of Original List Price).

Have questions on how this market may affect you or your family's real estate goals?  Have questions about how your city, area, or neighborhood is doing?

Please feel free to call or email with questions!

-          Christie Cannon  -  469-951-9588  -  Christie@christiecannon.com

Tis the Season - for Protesting your Property Tax Value

by Christie Cannon

The season is almost upon us.... property tax protest season!  So what do you do when that envelope arrives & your value went sky high?  You do have the opportunity & option to contest/protest your tax value.  Despite what some may lead you to believe, it is not a terribly difficult process.

While counties do have variations, tax protests start about May 1st.  While most counties offer easy steps & explanations to the process, the how & why a value was derived still leaves many of us wondering.  

Once again Texas A&M's Real Estate Center  has come to the rescue in this month's Tierra Grande, offering a wonderful article on the detai ls of the Property Tax Protest & Appeal!

You can find the article on their website - http://recenter.tamu.edu/pdf/2062.pdf

Need help or have questions about the comps for your home (from Jan 1st time)? - please feel free to give me a call...

- Christie Cannon

Displaying blog entries 141-150 of 174

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Christie Cannon
Keller Williams Realty
5933 Preston Road #300
Frisco TX 75034
972-215-7747
Fax: 972-215-7748
Keller Williams Frisco - The Christie Cannon Team - http://www.christiecannon.com