Ronda Allen's Blog

A city the size of Dallas, Texas???  It can be intimidating.  The breakneck speed of the traffic, the close proximities of the exits from the highway, the very existence of this thing alongside called the 'surface road'.  Not to mention the maze of neighborhoods - traditional and non-tradition - and the parking situation.  It can chase you right back out to the suburbs in a heartbeat. 

Dallas isn't really any more difficult to navigate than any other area in DFW where we sell homes.  Mapsco and GPS guide us to the street in the same fashion.  It's the extra people and the parking that tend to cause the most confusion.  It certainly makes the blood rush a little faster through your veins when you're planning a home tour close to, or in, downtown Dallas. 

Dallas is doing a good job of luring us in these days.  There are so many more housing options in the city of Dallas than just a few years ago.  Loft apartments, townhomes, condos, and single family.  Suburban Sprawl was the buzzword in Dallas real estate for decades.  But, let's call this new trend an Urban Retreat.  A couple year's ago, when gas prices hit the $4.50/gallon mark, a large number of people started moving back in toward 'town'.  It started tentatively.  Plano and Richardson gained in popularity.  Then, people started asking about living 'inside the loop' (this means having a Dallas address inside the Hwy 635 loop).  Then, they got really brave and began asking about housing options in downtown, to be able to walk to work and have more free time.  That's when it really got interesting.

Downtown living is a different animal.  Not everybody is cut out for it.  It's like the white noise in an office building.  There is always the drone of traffic and strange noises in all hours of the day and night.  You really have to know more about the buyer to know if downtown life will suit them.  Some people relish the idea of getting out of the suburbs.  Others test the water with a home tour and then jump right back to their comfort zone.  As agents, it's our job to stay open-minded and just present the options. 

Home ownership does not have to be a traditional 3 or 4 bedroom brick home with a 2-car garage and a yard.  That doesn't make everybody happy.  In fact, that makes some people miserable.  The Dallas housing market has so many faces...don't let intimidation keep you from finding out if a different style of living is right for you. 

Have a blessed day!

Ronda 

Other agents from all over the country will attest that we are getting calls each week from unrealistic buyers and investors looking to scoop up distressed properties.  Many of these buyers have to be sent away, because they are looking for a price point that just doesn't exist in our suburban housing market.  So, here's a breakdown of the minimum home sale on a distressed property across popular sections of our suburbs.  We want to help you make the most of your investment, whether you are a first-time home buyer, a start-over buyer, or a property investor.  But, use this blog as a guideline to ensure that your wish list includes a realistic starting price point:

NOTE:  These distressed property sales are documented home sales in our MLS in the last six months.  There is no guarantee that properties will sell at this price point now or in the future in these towns, and this distressed sale may have been the only one of it's kind.  This is strictly a guideline from which to begin conversations.

Plano  $47,900

Allen  $57,500

The Colony  $40,000

Prosper  $123,000 

McKinney  $15,000

Frisco  $68,400

Aubrey  $73,900

Lewisville  $44,900

Coppell  $68,000

Dallas  $2500 list price, that sold for $4000 (and it wasn't pretty and smelled of urine)

Southlake  $202,000

Grand Prairie  $15,000

Arlington  $32,150

Rowlett  $51,750

Duncanville  $38,900

Irving  $31,500

Fort Worth  $16,000

Kennedale  $52,800

Mansfield  $43,551

Highland Village  $85,000

Keller  $34,000

Haslet  $39,900

Watauga  $38,500

Trophy Club  $127,700

Flower Mound  $65,000

As you can see, when you call us about homes from $30-40k in towns like Prosper, Southlake, or Trophy Club, that price point doesn't even exist.  Some agents may get a little frustrated with even taking your phone call.  Forgive them.  They've just had fifty others just like it.  If your price range is realistic, and you are somewhat flexible on the location of the home, we probably do have a home to suit your needs. 

Have a blessed day!

Ronda

What is an old home?  It depends on where you're looking.  In Boston, Massachusetts, an old home may have been built in the 1880's and be filled with lots of old world charm or have been updated 15 times by 15 different owners and be completed modern on the inside.  In California, an old home may be one that was built in Mission Viejo in 1970 - like the one I grew up in.  Those homes are now great flips for investors, but they aren't truly old by definition.  They are old by comparison to the neighborhoods that sprung up around them in the 1980's, 1990's, and today. 

In Dallas/Fort Worth, did you know that a buyer may consider a home built in 1995 to be an old home?  Shockingly, it happens.  Buyers in Dallas/Fort Worth have no shortage of new contruction homes from which to choose.  People have a tendency to buy the newest and biggest home their budget can afford here.  The term 'McMansion' got coined by someone in the last couple of years.  Big homes with gamerooms and media rooms that contain so much for the family inside that they have no need to be outside getting to know their neighbors.   

Great strides have been made in the last ten years in terms of energy efficiency of new homes.  Visit any builder model home and they'll have page upon page of energy efficient amenities built into their homes, and try to one-up the next builder on how 'green' they can be.  Thus, a ten year old home in Dallas/Fort Worth becomes 'old' in the minds of the buying public. 

Don't rule out resale homes in DFW just yet.  There are some totally great neighborhoods that built up in Dallas and Fort Worth in the 1980's.  The 1980's were a prosperous time in DFW.  Builders were doing custom homes for $70,000.  These homes had funky amenities in them that would be the signature of the builder.  Character is what they call those amenities today.  Homes with personality.  Unique homes.

The 1990's were a time in Dallas when we had a recession, and suburban offerings became a little more cookie-cutter.  Some people like the consistency in 1990's neighborhoods.  Other people are turned off by the similarity.  Those custom homes went up in price, and the 'add-on' amenities were available to those who would pay for them. 

Every buyer has a decade that appeals to them.  If you want to live close to downtown Dallas and love tree-lined streets and quaint homes, then 1960's Richardson will probably be an area that will attract you.  If you work at the Legacy Business Corridor in Plano and want a 10-minute commute to work, then 1990's Frisco and Plano may be more to your liking.  If you want a ranchette on a couple of acres with a barn and a price under $250,000, we're likely going to be taking you out toward Fort Worth, where your budget can stretch a little further than it does in Dallas for acreage properties.  If those big 2000-built McMansion types are the homes of your dreams, then you're search is very likely to include McKinney and Prosper.

Come to Dallas/Fort Worth with an open mind, the budget of your choosing, and your wish list in hand.  You may just be surprised at how charming an 'old' house can be.

Have a blessed day!

Ronda

IF I READ IT, IT MUST BE TRUE!

If you read a paper, or check online news sites for housing information, I know you've seen the headlines that it will be 2012 before the housing market bounces back from this recession.  There is still a glut of homes in foreclosure that must be sold and then time to distance ourselves from those sales so that our home values return.  Okay, there are some parts of the country for which this is true.  There are even some parts of Texas for which this might be true.  But, Dallas/Fort Worth isn't one of them.

IGNORE THE HYPE!

There is no national housing market.  Housing is a regional commodity.  In the DFW Region, we have buyers, we have sellers, and we have leasing going on every day in our MLS.  We have movement in all price points of homes.  And, the outlook for the rest of 2009 and 2010 is good.

LOWER LEVELS OF BUILDER SPEC HOMES!

Builder inventory is lower than it's been in the last two years.  Builder's are pushing new home starts, which means that resale has a 5-6 month window of opportunity to compete with new.  That's tremendous news for communities like Prosper, Frisco, McKinney, and Allen.  Resale offerings tend to be lower at this time of year, due to holiday activities, which means that the homes available right now have a higher chance of successfully selling in the 4th quarter of 2009 or the first quarter of 2010 because they have less competition.  The builders will likely be putting through price increases at the new year, which many have a tendency to do.  After all, the price of construction materials doesn't seem to be going down.  If builders go up on new homes, it's as if resale homes put through a price reduction without having to actually do it.  If you're getting a good amount of showing traffic in 4th quarter, your first quarter 2010 showings should get a boost by the higher prices of other homes around you.  The key is staying visible.  Timing your sale against the availability of a Spring spec home will be key.  Taking a 'break' from the MLS over the holidays could be a tragic mistake.   

HOORAY FOR HOLIDAYS!

This is a great time of year for listing your home for sale.  The weather in our region is fantastic at this time of year.  People love to grab a cup of coffee and drive around looking at the holiday decorations in the neighborhoods.  It's a very hopeful time of year, when people are looking at their own lives and making plans for the new year. 

PRICING STRATEGIES BASED ON FACT! 

The biggest mistake we see in January listings is sellers trying to sell their home too high above the area comparative sales.  Traditionally, our highest internet searches in DFW happen in January on the major housing sites.  Homes are compared to each other, and the homes' marketing strategy has to make sense to more than just the agent and homeowner.  The buyer looking at the home online has to have enough buy-in on the strategy that the house seems like enough of a value that it becomes 'worth a look'.  We hear that statement a lot from buyers:  "That house seems like it's worth a look". 

WILL IT APPRAISE? 

Added to the proper positioning of the home to attract the buyer, we have the added pressure of making sure the house appraises.  This is especially important right now.  If a sale is too far above the 30-60 day sale comps, the house is less likely to appraise for the contract sales price.  This causes unnecessary drama, in the least, and possibly an 'out' for the buyer in the last days before closing.  Nobody wants to get 80% through a home purchase contract and have it fall apart.  Price the house with the market for the best chance of success from start to finish.

Have a blessed day!

Ronda

For people who know Texas, and specifically the Dallas area, mentioning that I and work in Prosper, Texas is usually followed by their response of 'Oh, Prosper.  I've heard that's a nice area'.  However, when I blog and answer questions about our DFW Metroplex on www.trulia.com, buyers still predominantly ask about Plano, Frisco, and McKinney. 

What I have found during the course of my career in real estate is that buyers tend to start their home search in areas that they've heard about.  But, that isn't always where they end up buying.  Part of the job of the area's real estate community is to educate new prospective residents about all of the suburbs surrounding Dallas and Fort Worth and being an ambassador for the areas they don't know.  Here are the things that I do to attract buyers to the North Dallas Suburbs:

1.  I moved my office back to Plano.  Why?  Because Plano is by far where most of my buyer clients initially search.  Because of the nature of many buyers to want the newest and biggest homes they can buy, Plano is quickly followed by Frisco, Allen, McKinney, and Prosper.  A buyer will typically do a preview tour of homes that will include all of these suburbs, unless their initial interview rules out areas (for example, an associate at JCPenney's home office in Plano wanting to live within 5-minutes commute time of their home from their job in the Legacy Business Corridor of Plano is not going to consider purchasing a home in McKinney.  You can't get from the intersection of Legacy and Hwy 121 to McKinney in 5-minutes). 

2.  I joined a team.  Why?  The 13 members of our team list homes all over DFW.  The cross-marketing of homes under our Broker/Owner helps gain more exposure for each home than the agents listing alone and brings up questions like, "how close is Prosper to Frisco?". (answer: Prosper borders Frisco on the North side of town, and yes - a JCPenney home office associate could actually consider purchasing a home in Prosper and expect a 10-minute commute to work if they take the North Dallas Tollway).

3.  I am very strict about doing online and offline marketing efforts every day.  Why?  Tasks like blogging, writing tweets on twitter.com, answering questions on trulia.com, following up on showing feedback, and speaking with other top agents in my area brings attention to my community.  No, these are not what a broker might call 'income generating activities' in a direct fashion.  It can take writing quite a few blogs before the onine community considers you an expert in your area.  But, over time, the efforts add up.  I equate finding buyers online for my home listings to fishing.  If you rely just on the MLS to sell the house, you have one line in the water.  If you add realtor.com, trulia.com, activerain.com, homes.com, point2homes.com, twitter.com, postlets.com, zillow.com, craigslist.com, and others to the mix, and add traditional networking efforts as well, you have lots of lines in the water and a better chance of having direct interaction with a buyer who will become your client. 

4.  I interact with the builders in my community.  By attending builder events like grand openings and touring models, we build knowledge of our area and familiarization with builder inventory that helps us match buyers to homes.  But, we also have the opportunity to impress a local builder representative.  The builder representative is going to have people who come into their offices to tour homes who either 1. Need to sell their home first in order to buy from the builder or 2. Aren't a match for the builder's neighborhood, and might need a local Realtor to help them identify a better match for their preferences or budget.  In DFW, and especially in growth areas like Prosper, we have a large number of great home builders who should know our names. 

5.  I toot my own horn.  Why?  I hate to tell people how fabulous I am.  But, when I first started blogging and answering questions online, I used to hear comments that I must be a rookie agent because I had 'so much time on my hands'.  It takes a lot of effort to stay on top of these regular activities in the midst of a very irregular work day.  Busy agents face huge challenges in daily time management.  But, successful agents know that making time even on the busiest of days for the daily marketing activities is what keeps a steady flow of business.  Selling homes is the goal, and we can do so much more online to reach out to buyers and sellers these days than outdated marketing efforts like open houses.   Even if you have to squeeze in marketing into early mornings or an exceptionally late evening, just do it.  Keep that flow of information going and benefit from the effort rather than missing the opportunity.

Have a blessed day!

Ronda 


Ronda Allen-Realtor and Certified Purchasing Manager
CEO of comingsoonhomes.com
RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs-Keith Dobbs Team
#1 Office and #3 Team for RE/MAX in the North Texas Region at mid-year 2009!
972-816-4369 7am-7pm CST Monday through Saturday and 12-5pm on Sundays

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www.rondaallen.remax-texas.com
www.comingsoonhomes.com
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www.dallassuburbs.com

I've been tracking the views in different areas in DFW now on trulia for a little more than a year.  When I first began using the site, average views of my showcase spot were running around 800 to 900 views per day.  That was great in my opinion.  It was much more exposure than I was getting on some other sites that I won't bother to name here.  And, being able to track what communities were getting the most views was very interesting to me.

Agents have done a great job of spreading the word about this fabulous site, which was relatively new to our area until 2008.  Those efforts are paying off.  Quantum leaps in usage are being experienced.  Now, there is rarely a day that goes by that my views report on trulia.com aren't well over 1,000 per day and some days those views are pushing 1,500.  I can't think of a better way to help give the kind of exposure to my listings that brings results (doors opening and showings happening).  Trulia is absolutely the best tool I added to my toolbox last year, and I just renewed as a Trulia.com PRO this month.  I am looking forward to even more exposure for my clients and myself in 2010.

Thanks Trulia.com!
Have a blessed day.
Ronda


Ronda Allen, C.P.M. and Realtor
RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs
www.rondaallen@remax-texas.com
www.dallassuburbs.net
#1 Office for RE/MAX in the North Texas Region at mid-year 2009!