About Bell County, TX

Survey crews have been surveying up and down IH-35 recently in Troy Texas. Hopefully they are closer to making the widening of IH-35 a reality. This project has been in various plan and hold patterns, for about 10 years now, making it difficult for property owners and business owners to plan for the future. We need to watch out when driving around the field crew as they are busy working on the side of the roads.

TEMPLE-BELTON MLS 2009 RESIDENTIAL MARKET REPORT

The residential sales transactions were almost identical, with 1,984 sold in 2009, as compared to 1,981 in 2008, as found in the Temple-Belton MLS system (TBBOR), which primarily only covers the eastern half of Bell County. The total sales volume was down from $276,041,280 in 2008, to $268,223,624 in 2009.

ACTIVE LAND LISTINGS There are 932 residential listings in TBBOR MLS with a listing price range of $17,750 to $1,700,000 with an average listing price of $182,621 and a median listing price of $138,125. The Days On Market (DOM) range from 1 to 1,041 with an average DOM of 117 and a median DOM of 92 days.

UNDER CONTRACT LAND LISTINGS There were 170 residential listings under contract in TBBOR MLS with a listing price range of $24,900 to $945,000. The average listing price is $133,287 and the median listing price is $109,300. The DOM ranges from 0 to 504 with an average DOM of 93 days and a median DOM of 69 days.

SOLD LAND LISTINGS In 2009 there were 1,984 residential listings that Sold utilizing the Temple-Belton MLS system, with a listing price range of $6,000 to $849,900 with an average listing price of $139,324 and a median listing price of $119,997. The sold prices ranged from $7,900 to $765,000 with an average sales price of $135,193 and a median sales price of $119,500. The DOM ranged from 0 days to 885 days with an average DOM of 120 days and a median DOM of 95 days. The average price, and median prices, as well as the average days on market, and median DOM, are very similar to the 2008 numbers.

TEMPLE-BELTON TEXAS MLS 2009 LAND MARKET REPORT

There was approximately 28% less land transactions in 2009 than in 2008, as found in the Temple-Belton MLS system (TBBOR), which primarily only covers the eastern half of Bell County. The total sales volume was down from $20,903,917 in 2008, to $12,783,266 in 2009. Also, it is important to remember that there are many land transactions not included in the MLS statistics.

ACTIVE LAND LISTINGS There are 297 land listings in TBBOR MLS with a listing price range of $3,200 to $2,252,000 with an average listing price of $178,323 and a median listing price of $63,000. The Days On Market (DOM) range from 7 to 362 with an average DOM of 150 and a median DOM of 127 days.

UNDER CONTRACT LAND LISTINGS There are 8 land listings under contract in TBBOR MLS with a listing price range of $9,000 to $589,000. The average listing price is $135,260 and the median listing price is $50,000. The DOM ranges from 0 to 398 with an average DOM of 94 days and a median DOM of 56 days.

SOLD LAND LISTINGS In 2009 there were 114 land listings that sold utilizing the Temple-Belton MLS system, with a listing price range of $1,200 to $1,656,000 with an average listing price of $133,200 and a median listing price of $57,010. The sold prices ranged from $1,200 to $1,656,600 with an average sales price of $112,133 and a median sales price of $50,250. The DOM ranged from 0 days to 1,161 days with an average DOM of 209 days and a median DOM of 154 days, which is slightly longer than in 2008.

Jerry Wright, owner of Jerry Wright Homes, Inc., visited with me yesterday about his plans for the upcoming year. And I have to say, I came away totally impressed with the exciting direction he is taking his new home builder business this year.!

Jerry said after reviewing contracts for 2009, he has decided that his goal this year as a new home builder is to "make it easy for everyone".. meaning making it easy for buyers AND for their realtors! He's outfitting every home with the most requested upgrades of granite countertops, lawn sprinkler systems, full yard sod, and privacy fencing. He will also be paying for all the buyer's closing costs, prepaid reserves, title insurance and for the property survey. And he said as far as he is concerned, buyers can use any lender, as long as their loan fees are in line with what local lenders charge!

So this is all GREAT news for those of you who are making a military relocation and are looking for a new home for sale in the Fort Hood area of Killeen or Copperas Cove Texas. You can buy with basically no money out of pocket, so call me or any Fort Hood REALTOR for more information!

Visit Jerry Wright Homes at www.jerrywrighthomes.com. See the current inventory list, all the new home floorplans he's building in Killeen and Copperas Cove, along with plenty of photos of new homes for sale or new homes that have sold recently.