Prosper, TX

Think this sounds like a demanding wish list for a buyer?

1. Gated community

2. Great schools

3. 1+acre lot size

4. Custom home with luxury finish-out

5. Renowned builder

6. 4,000 sf or larger home

7. 3 or more garage spaces

8. Budget - around $500,000

Depending on what part of the country you live in, this may sound like a pipe dream. But, in Prosper, Texas, we ask, "when can you make an appointment to come out and walk home sites?" Christie Farms, located on Custer Road, just 1.5 miles from Highway 380, fits the bill. Build to suit from such renowned builders as Dave R. Williams, Alford Homes, or Castlemark. Large, acre-plus lots. Gated community. Niche neighborhood. A level of finish-out that would cost in the millions in other metropolitan cities in the U.S. Fantastic Prosper schools.

One gorgeous finished home in this Prosper neighborhood as of October, 2009, with all builders accepting lot deposits, makes this a fantastic ground-floor opportunity for buyer's in 2009/2010. Put on your jeans and your boots and let's go walk some dirt together in the North Texas suburb of Prosper. We may just find your ideal homesite.

Have a blessed day.

Ronda

In the North Texas region, sale comps rule when it comes to determining the market value of homes. We have a market that has a large corporate base, so there is a steady turn of homes throughout the year. Supply determines value, too. When supply of homes is saturated, our home values drop. When supply diminishes, those values appreciate.

When a balanced market returns, as is the case in Prosper, Texas, buyers need to listen very carefully to their agents when they tell them about sale comps in the area and how that impacts the market value of each home. We have a very educated seller-base, which means that the listing agents are doing a tremendous jobs of educating their clients on sales comps at the time they list the home. It is a competitive advantage to know enough about a neighborhood to know when a home has been priced correctly right from the start, or when it has reduced in price to the point where it becomes a great value. Not every home has the wiggle room in the price that the buyer would hope for. Some homes are priced at or under market value from day one.

Luxury homes in the North Dallas suburbs are selling. Prosper, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, and Plano are all seeing sales in price ranges that were stagnant just a year ago. We have 90-day sold comps that agents, lenders and appraisers use to determine if fair market value has been established on a home.

The best tip I can give a buyer purchasing a home in Prosper, Texas this Fall is: Don't get over-greedy and try to steal away the seller's equity. The owner was smart enough to purchase a home in Prosper in 2004 to 2007. Like fashion trends, the recession is so-last-year. Sellers in Prosper know how to say 'no, thanks' to a bad offer - and if they are wise, they'll submit a thoughtful counter-offer and get the deal done.

Have a blessed day!

Ronda

Seller's: Same song, second verse - right? Buyer's are still trying to tell us that Prosper, TX is a buyer's market, even when we can prove to them in sale comps that we're a BALANCED market. I know the low-ball offers can be exhausting. We selling agents don't care for them, either. It's a lot of work for no result.

So you've gotten what you would consider low-ball offers on the house in the past? Maybe. Or, you've gotten no offers on the house to date? Don't tell anyone that - let them assume you just haven't accepted a reasonable offer yet. What now? Well, there are a few truisms that I have found in my experience in the real estate market in Dallas/Fort Worth in general, and in Prosper, specifically, that you may find of interest:

1. A home in demand stays in demand.

If you have received offers for your home, that is confirmation (regardless of the offer submitted) that your overall market strategy is working. The goal is to generate enough showing traffic to bring in offers, and hopefully, be in a position to turn just one of those offers into a contract that closes successfully. Don't think you have to give away the farm. Just negotiate with the buyer(s) who offer, and be willing to wait for the next buyer if the negotiations don't work out.

2. If the agents are showing the home, and providing positive feedback, don't fix what isn't broken.

Agents aren't shy. If we don't buy the price of the home or there is a condition issue that stands out as an obvious concern, we're going to tell you in our showing feedback. The Dallas/Fort Worth housing market can be defined as somewhat seller-lazy prior to listing. Not a lot of work goes into making the house sale-ready. Our buyer's agents do a great service - we want your home to sell and will tell you exactly what you need to do in order to overcome objections. Prosper agents have it a little easier. Our homes tend to be newer, which should mean they show well with minimal make-ready.

3. No showing feedback does NOT equate to no interest in the home.

Yes, it's true that not every agent is good about giving feedback. But, cut the agents a little bit of slack. Some are being advised by their broker's to ONLY invest their time in activities that generate income. Sitting down for an hour to give feedback from a showing tour that lost them a full day out of the office is the professional thing to do, but it isn't an income-generating activity. Any good listing agent has experience with home listings that had 30-50% of the showings fail to give feedback, but one of those agents ended up bringing the buyer who ultimately purchased the home. Never give up on those showings as prospective buyers. There was an agent in Dallas who used to say you stay with a buyer until they 'buy or die'. That's a bit harsh, but a good listing agent definitely keeps following up until they know that buyer purchased some other property.

4. Until we reach a win:win, there is no chance of a successful real estate transaction.

There has been no worse year in real estate than Summer 2008 to Summer 2009 in the DFW Metroplex, in my opinion and in the record books. But, moreso than having slower sales figures, the behavior of buyers has been the most appalling on record. Buyers ran around going for the jugular on listed homes all over neighborhoods. Buyer's jumped from one home to the next, looking for the most desperate sellers. What used to be a cooperative industry became a competitive industry. I am personally so glad to see balanced market conditions return to Prosper, and sellers standing their ground based on factual sales figures. People are holding on to the equity they earned, and are no longer just giving it away to make the sale. It's a sign of strength and recovery that took almost a full year to regain. Until a buyer can offer a normal seller a win:win, the seller still maintains the right to sell the house or wait for the next buyer. In a balanced market, both parties must work together to negotiate a fair market value. And, that brings the skills of the real estate agents back into the forefront.

5. A low-ball offer is still an offer. Counter-offer if you don't like it.

The state of Texas has no requirement on a seller that forces an answer to an offer within any timeframe or at all. Sellers have the right to simply ignore an offer. But, quite frankly, that's just stupid. Every offer is worth a counter-offer. It doesn't take any time at all to counter to an offer. About 20 minutes to knock out the paperwork. There are lots of buyers out there who have to be educated on the value of the homes. They aren't necessarily from here. They may have to throw out everything they ever thought they knew about real estate (sorry, Californians - I had to learn the Texas market when I moved from California in the 1970's and the same is true today). Without a counter-offer, you don't allow the buyer to learn how to buy real estate here in Prosper, Texas. Take 24-hours to cool off after a low offer. Pitch a fit. Get offended. Rant and rave about how horrible the offer is. Then, sit down and draft a fair counter-offer based on the actual 90-day sale comparatives in Prosper, and educate the buyer. Don't swat them away like a fly being a nuisance. Help them understand the seller perspective in Prosper, Texas, and they may just come up to meet you. The worst they will do is walk away.

It's Texas-OU Weekend. Be safe and have a blessed day! GO LONGHORNS!!

Ronda

It's getting dark earlier, and we're losing that precious daylight marketing time of Summer, that allows us to show homes after the traditional work day ends and into the evening. This is the time of year when many agents in the North Dallas Suburbs cut back to their Fall/Winter schedule. Smart agents know that a serious buyer wants to view the home inside and out, which means they need to see the home during the daytime. But, smart agents also recognize that nothing draws attention to your home in the evening more than the lights being on. Not just those beautiful coach lights out front, or the up-lighting in the landscaping. Light the house up completely. Every light in the main rooms of the house. Prosper has new and beautiful homes! Show them off. (You can skip the bedrooms - telegraphing bedroom locations in your home isn't safe and you need to leave a little mystery to your home to get the buyer to set up a showing).

When you light up your home, it looks like you are expecting company, and it makes your neighbors and the interested parties in your neighborhood look your way. And, having the lights on illuminates your for sale sign into the night. We Prosper real estate agents appreciate that extra advertising time, as many of us resident Realtors of Prosper work at home and well into the evening. You don't have to light up the house for a long time. A couple of hours each night is all it takes - in case there are prospective buyers cruising by. They could be visiting friends or family in the area, or just cruising through neighborhoods trying to figure out which one feels like home. They may or may not even have an agent representing them yet. But, you want your home to be a stand-out, and this is an easy way to set yourself apart in Prosper or anywhere else.

Remember to open the blinds and drapes. I know it makes you feel like a fish in a fishbowl, but you get over that sensation in a few days. You are encouraging folks to view inside your Prosper home, which is a teaser for an actual showing appointment. How many times have you driven past a home and glanced through the windows and thought, "it looks nice inside"? You just want your home to be worth a look, and that's what lighting it up does. Drive-by showings are legitimate in the DFW Metroplex. That's why many agents use the property flyers boxes out front. Yes, we encourage nosey neighbors, too. We know that we have a double-digit change of meeting the buyer of the home in Prosper through one of those lovely neighbors (as compared to less than 1% chance of meeting the buyer at an open house event - keep that in mind). People want to have a say in who moves into their neighborhood. That's why they pull flyers and take them to people they like.

So, light up your Prosper, TX home. Even if only from 5pm-7pm each night, and gain a few more hours of marketing time during which your prospective buyer may be gauging the commute time from their work to your house, or getting off work to rush over and check out your home. That little bit of inconvenience may be what it takes to get you to that coveted 'sold' sign just a bit faster.

Please NOTE: Prosper plays Celina starting tonight 10-15-2009 (7th and 8th grade) and culminating Friday 10-16-2009 in a huge matchup along Preston Road. The excitement is building. Please be safe tomorrow along Hwy 289 (Preston), as Prosper folks will be lining the streets to cheer on the guys as they head to Celina for the big game.

Have a blessed day! GO EAGLES!!

Ronda