On Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 7:30pm the band Fingerprints will be playing at Southlake Town Square's Rustin Park (in front of City Hall.)

Sounds like fun!

I am sure that all of us who have been caught  in the morass where Routes 114 and 121 try (and I do mean try) to connect have been glad to hear that in the reasonably near future someone is going to do something about this impossible interchange.  For an update, check out this recent article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram.  Think construction starting next year and toll lanes finished in 2014.

Interesting Star-Telegram article about folks moving to Texas.

"If you had to ride out this downturn, there is no better place than Texas. The declines here have been nothing compared to other states:"

The article describes how Texas is becoming what California has been since the Great Depression - the best place to be for jobs and housing.  While we are down in unemployment and housing, we are still much better off than California, Arizona and Florida.

Ebby Halliday, founder of the largest independent real estate Brokerage in Texas, visited Southlake on Sunday, May 17th.  She was here to do a book signing at Barnes & Nobel in Southlake Town Square.  Her biography, "The First Lady of Real Estate", authored by Michael Poss, has been a great hit.  Michael says that Ebby told him some wonderfully touching stories about her life and he captured come of them in this book.  She was welcomed by a large group of fans, both Ebby Halliday agents and many members of the public. After making some introductory remarks and amusing the crownd with some funny stories, Ebby began signing books. Members of the Carroll High School Band provided some great background music during the signing.  The Ebby Halliday Office in Southlake made a $1000 donation to the band as a way of saying thank you.



Ebby began her Southlake sojourn by visiting one of the Southlake Ebby Office's new listings.  The owners of this lovely property in Kirkwood Hollow graciously welcomed Ebby to their home where they had a private chat with her while they showed her around.  She also visited  some new residents to Southlake who were assisted in purchasing their  home by an Ebby Halliday agent in the Southlake Office.

We were all very proud to have her visit us.  Ebby is ninety eight years old and still goes to work every day.  She credits work with keeping her sharp and able to keep going.  She hopes to make 100.  She says that there is a rumor around that if she does, she will be able to do the coin toss at the Super Bowl.  She then laughs and says that the rumor may have originated somewhere in the Ebby organization!   We are all very proud to have this wonderful lady as our leader and as an example well worth following.

Here are the sales numbers for the first three months of this year versus the first three months of 2008.  For most areas there was a significant drop in the number of homes sold this quarter.  Prices are edging down in some areas also. The big spike in Trophy Club/Westlake is due to a handful of very expensive homes selling in Westlake (at reductions from their original prices.)  The days on market has lengthened for the more expensive areas and decreased for the less expensive towns.  In general the lower end of our market is healthier than the higher end.  This is quite likely being driven by first time home buyers attracted by low interest rates and by the tax credit available to this group. 

On a personal note, my business this year has been largely driven by folks relocating to this area.  Some are being relocated by their employers; others are entrepreneurs or self employed professionals who want to be in an area that offers good value, good growth potential and a great place to raise families.

MLS Activity Report for Selected Areas

City	# of Sales	% Change vs. Prior Year	Avg Sales Price	% Change vs. Prior Year	Median Price	% Change vs. Prior Year	Avg Days on Market	% Change vs. Prior Year
Bedford	86	-20%	$167,284	1%	$152,750	-1%	59	-23%
Colleyville	53	-35%	$521,235	6%	$415,500	9%	99	29%
Denton County Southeast	529	-33%	$228,725	-4%	$187,500	-4%	81	5%
Euless	66	-28%	$158,020	5%	$155,900	8%	63	-2%
North Central Tarrant	303	-31%	$151,774	-4%	$142,820	-4%	73	-13%
Grapevine	67	-30%	$230,271	-8%	$209,500	-10%	66	14%
Hurst	90	-19%	$132,280	-8%	$131,000	-2%	72	-4%
Keller	111	-35%	$305,679	-4%	$283,000	5%	95	4%
N Richland Hills / Richland Hills	130	-14%	$164,627	-4%	$135,000	6%	75	-6%
Roanoke	38	27%	$161,879	3%	$145,000	-6%	80	-13%
Southlake	65	-34%	$684,660	6%	$531,500	-7%	89	22%
Trophy Club / Westlake	29	16%	$471,182	74%	$327,000	60%	113	74%
Watauga	59	-21%	$99,008	-4%	$95,250	-13%	69	0%

Note: All Information is from North Texas Real Estate Information System (NTREIS) and is believed but not guaranteed to be accurate.

I'm happy to announce that we have added listings for Flower Mound and Argyle to the site. 

These are two great towns.  Flower Mound has a wide diversity of homes - there's sure to be one for you! 

Argyle is great for those looking for a more rural feel while still being close to town.

Enjoy!

Our MLS provider, North Texas Real Estate Information Systems (NTREIS), has been having hardware problems that are preventing us from updating the site.  Hopefully they'll get it fixed real soon now.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Updated Wednesday, April 8, 8:42am:  Looks like NTREIS is feeling much better, updates are back to normal.  I hope.

Had a problem this morning with getting photos from the MLS.  Should be fixed now.  Sorry for any inconvenience!

http://www.builderonline.com/local-markets/the-healthiest-housing-markets-for-2009.aspx

Article about the healthiest new home markets.  Numbers 1-5 are in Texas, with Fort Worth at #3 and Dallas at #5.

I received this question via email and thought I would share some of the
response I wrote.

As I've mentioned before, real estate is very local, right down to the subdivision.  So instead of looking at all homes in the city of Keller, I concentrated on Hidden Lakes, the community in which this person's home was located.  In the last six months there were six homes sold in that price range and nine active listings.  That is a nine month supply.  Considering that a six month supply is considered normal, nine months is definitely indicative of a "Buyers Market".

As far as time to sell, those nine actives have been on the market for an
average of 121 days and the six solds averaged 108 days.  That time range does
include some of our slowest selling period.  November and December are very
quiet when it comes to real estate activity.

The determinants of time on market are price, preparation, and presentation with
price relative to value being dominant.  We can help you determine a  value
range for your home.  Where it is priced in that range directly and forcefully
impacts how long it is on the market.  It has to be priced right, right from the
start.  Why?

Every new listing has an initial burst of buyers looking at it.  These buyers
have been looking for a while, and check out every new listing that meets their
needs.  As a result, they are extremely well educated about their micro-market
of interest.  As soon as they walk into a home they can tell if it is overpriced
or if it is a good deal.  And appealing to these crucial first-lookers is what
will sell your home quickly.  Once they are gone, they don't come back, and all
you get is the slow trickle of new entrants to the market.  This is why listing
high and then reducing is a mistake - you miss those first lookers.  Did I
mention they don't come back?

The result of this is that if you graph time on market, you see a strong "bar
bell" effect.  Maybe thirty percent of the homes sell in a month, dropping off
to a trickle of a few percent a month, until you finally chop off the chart and
see the other end of the barbell with a big jump at "120+ days."

And, there are signs that prices are softening.  We're eagerly awaiting February
numbers for some solid sign, as mentioned in an earlier post.  If we are in a
down market, you must get ahead of the curve - buyers are demanding deals, and
every month you are in the market can cost you a lot more than carrying costs.

While secondary to pricing, preparation and presentation reveals to the buyer
the true value of your home, removing obstacles and objections and reasons not
to fall in love with a home.  This is a very emotional business.  A pre-listing inspection
and professional staging are the starting points there.  They can help push
your price up in your value range.

The pre-listing inspection helps you catch any big problems and many of the
small problems.  Having a clean inspection report to show buyers is a huge plus.  
They won't see many of them at other listings, and seeing that you went to the
extra expense and effort is impressive and reassuring.

Presenting your home in a way that appeals best to buyers is also important, and
a professional stager is often needed.  Your home strongly reflects your
preferences and your tastes.  That's a big part of why you own a home!  However,
once you decide to sell, your home turns into a house, and you must make it into
"product" with broad appeal.  And unfortunately this means bare, bland, and
beige.  This can be a painful step, and you just have to look forward to the fun
of decorating your new home!

So, the average time to sell might be 108 days.  But the minimum time was nine
days, and I bet that that home was well priced, well prepared, and well
presented.