Team DiMuria Katy Texas Blog: September 2007

Well, we got blasted again on the today show and our NAR representative did not do a great job of overcoming the comments of the raving lunatic that parades as an expert on all investments.

We need to find a way to prepare our NAR reps to explain why real estate and home ownership is far more meaningful to the home purchaser than buying stocks or bonds are to the day trader.

It was pointed out to the NAR rep that only 3 small areas of the country have strong markets....this is totally false however he did nothing to contradict that statement.

Much of the Texas market including Houston (the 4th largest City in America) has a fairly robust market. But the more we allow idiots to tell the public not to buy homes, the longer our economy will remain in a funk. We will create issues that do not exist!

We need to create the position of national spokesman. This spokesman needs to handle the job of making the case for home ownership. The fact is we have bargains in all markets in the US right now. We need not scare away buyers...or sellers from doing what is in the best interests of their families.

Here is a breakdown of the balance of the fall concert series at the Cinco Ranch La Centerra Mall:

October 4th- Ezra Charles and the works (classic rock)

October 11th- The Fondue Monks (great funk and R&B)

October 18th- La La Wilson & Company (Texas own blues and jazz great)

October 25th- The Ken Mondshine Group (jazz, R&B, and funk)

November 1st- Kim Prevost & Band featuring Bill Solley (BET on Jazz Discovery Award Winners)

These free to the public concerts do ask guest to bring an item to help our 4 legged friends at Special Pals Shelter.  call 281-579-PETS for details of what is needed.

We see many shows on HGTV and other cable channels about Home Staging. This is the hottest new trend and many of our clients are seeing and reading about what home staging can do for them.

To explain...when you move into a new home, you want to personalize it...make it your own! A home stager does the opposite. They depersonalize the home. They set it up to show NOT TO LIVE IN. This is key for a real estate agent. When potential buyers walk in to your house, we want them to see it as the home THEY will live in, not the house YOU live in.

Stagers also have ways of making your home look larger, and more inviting. This can add value and will usually help your home sell faster...and for more money! It also gives the buyers a better idea of how the home can look when decorated for them...not you, by showing them the house as a canvas to be finished in their style. 

We have an ASP (Accredited Staging Professional) degree to help give our buyers and sellers the tools necessary to make the right choices when it comes to the listing or purchasing of a home. The ASP degree is the foremost staging degree. ASP's have been recently featured on Good Morning America and the Today Show.

The August numbers for the Master Planned Community of Cinco Ranch are out and they remain very strong!

AVG List Price $299451          AVG Sales Price $293829        Sales to List Price  98%

AVG Size of Home  3042sqft            AVG Dollars Per sqft - $96.59

 Cinco Ranch and the entire Katy area south of I-10 has experienced a very strong market in 2007. Homes with pools are an even stronger sub-section of the market and are in very limited supply. We would be happy to answer any questions about present market conditions, and can be reached by phone or e-mail!

I spoke to a Realtor on Friday...she told me she turns off her phone at 5pm...and turns it on at 10am. She went on to say her time is her own when her phone is off!

As I spent some time thinking about her statements I wondered; could this work for me? After all...don't many of our clients get to turn their phones off at 5pm, take the weekends with the kids, think about anything BUT work until Monday morning!!!

We as Realtors must realize we have chosen this path and it is not a 9-5pm job! Many of our clients can only handle the purchase of the home they are interested in when they are not a work! If you do not like the hours, or do not feel that your time is being respected because your clients call you at all hours, you need to decide if this is the right business for you!

We must be on our "A" game 24/7. If it is a family night we have another Realtor cover for us, but we never leave our clients out in the cold! As a Realtor we own our businesses and we must run them as such. If you owned a restaurant you would not abandon your clients when they got hungry!

Schedule your time off...stick to it...and make sure you have competent coverage. Set yourself up for success, don't turn yourself off to your clients...let them know you...or your working partner will always be available for them.

You will sell more homes if you have a policy of always being available to your clients!

We are always asked...what is the right time of year to sell? Is one season better than the next? What months should I NOT be on the market?

These are all good questions, but it is hard to give any kind of definite answer. First: any time of year can be a good time...we sell homes all 12 months, and buyers buy in all 12 months. Many buyers want to purchase right before the year ends to take advantage of Homestead Exemptions, Some want to get the kids in before school starts, and relocation buyers come in whenever the company they work for tells them they need to fill a need!

Generally speaking we have more buyers and more homes available in the spring and summer months, and fewer buyers...fighting for fewer homes in the fall and winter. If you put your home up for sale in October you will likely see fewer showings, but the buyers will have less to look at so it will increase your chance of sale with each individual showing. 

In the end the real answer is that time of year should not be your deciding factor in selling. A good Realtor can do a market analysis for you that shows what the specific market conditions are, and how you can maximise your exposure.

The Internet works 24/7 so make sure you have a Realtor who will use technology to its fullest...this is what will separate your home from your neighbors!!!

Spring Green Blvd in the master planned community of Cinco Ranch is now open all the way to FM1093. This route will give easy access to the Westpark Tollway from the sections of Cinco Ranch that surround Cinco Ranch Blvd in the western part of the subdivision. Spring Green should help ease traffic congestion on Fry Rd and help shorten the commute time into Houston! It will also allow easy access to the yet to be built Shoppes at Cinco Ranch.

It seems that every new client we have starts out by asking us two things...how is the real estate market in Katy, and how have the mortgage issues effected the market? First, the mortgage issues are a problem for every area of the country and almost all price categories. In Katy the effects are felt in the first time buyer market at well as the very high end our our market. The first time buyer market is hit hardest here because we no longer have mortgage companies willing to speculate on buyers who have no previous history of paying back a loan of this type. They higher end of the market is having issues because many traditional lenders are not willing to do large (known as jumbo) loans. These type of loans are very risky in other areas of the Country like California and Florida.

Fortunately in Katy, especially in the area of Katy south of I-10, the majority of the loans do not fit into either category. We only have a few small first time buyer neighborhoods...and they do very well because few risky loans occurred in this area, and most of the jumbo loans done in Katy are for relocation clients who have guaranteed bank financing with input from the company they work for. THE MARKET FOR KATY SOUTH OF I-10 IS QUITE STRONG!

Area's of Katy north of I-10 have many more first time buyer issues because a majority of the neighborhoods fit into this category. The risky loans and poor practices (especially those used by some of our new construction builders to put people in homes they really could not afford) will have a negative effect on the northern of I-10 area for some time to come.

 Like the rest of the Country, a shake out of bad mortgage agents (like many mortgage brokers) and bad real estate agents will in the long run help correct this situation. It also will be a good time to buy a home, as we will likely have a ready supply of homes, some offered by banks and foreclosure companies available at very attractive prices.

As always it will be important for you to have strong representation from your Realtor, Mortgage Company, and Title Company.