News and Issues Affecting You
North Texas Home Sales Trending Up
Right now most real estate reports being referenced are based on statistics comparing 2011 home sales to 2010. Due to the Home Buyer Tax Credit that sparked the market last year it unrealistic to expect 2011 sales numbers to come close to that level. The MetroTex Association of Realtors (MetroTex) has done sales comparisons of 2011 to the non-incentivized year of 2009 and North Texas saw an increase in sales during the month of April and is only slightly behind 2009 year to date. April 2011 had the highest number of home sales since the tax credit expired in June of last year.
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Why You Need a True Professional to Sell Your Home
by The KCM Crew
Many people ask us whether they should hire a REALTOR to sell their home or whether they should first try as a For Sale by Owner (FSBO). In today’s market, we believe this is an easy decision: you need an experienced professional!
You need an expert guide if you are traveling a dangerous path - The field of real estate is loaded with land mines. You need a true expert to guide you through the dangerous pitfalls that currently exist. Finding a buyer willing to pay fair market value for your home at a time that there are mass inventories of foreclosures and short sales will take a true real estate professional. Finding reasonable financing can also be tricky in today’s lending environment.
You need a skilled negotiator - In today’s market, hiring a talented negotiator could save you thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of dollars. Each step of the way – from the original offer, to the possible re-negotiation of that off after a home inspection, to the possible cancellation of the deal based on a troubled appraisal – you need someone who can keep the deal together until it closes. Realize that when a REALTOR is negotiating their commission with you, they are negotiating their own salary; the salary that keeps a roof over their family’s head; the salary that puts food on their family’s table. If they are quick to take less when negotiating for themselves and their families, what makes you think they will not act the same way when negotiating for you and your family? If they were Clark Kent when negotiating with you, they will not turn into Superman when negotiating with the buyer or seller in your deal.
Texas REALTORS-supported eminent domain protections now law
Legislation strengthening Texans’ protections against eminent domain abuses has been signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry. The new law tightens restrictions on state and local governments’ ability to invoke eminent domain authority to convert private property for public use. It requires government entities to make reasonable purchase offers to landowners for their property, allows landowners to buy their land back at the original price 10 years later if it isn’t used by then, and adds criteria that agencies must meet before declaring eminent domain over private property. The Texas Association of REALTORS, the advocate for REALTORS and private-property owners, supported these protections. Read more at the Dallas Business Journal.
Large loans may get harder to come by
If you were waiting until the perfect time to buy that $700,000 house, you may not want to wait any longer. By the time this summer ends, the federal government will no longer back jumbo loans of $700,000 and above, making such mortgages harder to obtain. For more about this looming change, read this article from CNBC.com.
Texas an economic leader, thanks to healthy real estate market
Texas homes are maintaining their value, preserving the Lone Star State’s leadership position in terms of economic recovery from the national recession. “Texas has avoided the real estate bubble felt in other parts of the country and continues to lead the U.S. in recovery – due in large part to the leaders of our state actively protecting private-property rights in past legislative sessions,” says Dwight Hale, chairman of the Texas Association of REALTORS, in the organization’s latest Texas Quarterly Housing Report. “For more than a decade, sound public policies have contributed to our quality of life and relatively low cost of living. As the latest numbers show, we are continuing to recover well, but we are not out of the woods yet. We encourage lawmakers to continue to keep the interests of homeowners foremost in their actions.” Read the news release on PR Newswire.