January 2012 Rockwall Real Estate Market Conditions

February 8, 2012

Staging is Key

The local market conditions are usually clouded by the multitude of national news stories regarding our real estate market. The problem is during the rainstorm of negative information, consumers can't see the gold nuggets at the end of the rainbow. Local markets and even neighborhoods within those local markets can vary greatly from the national statistics.

Let's recap 2011 and compare to 2010 in the Rockwall County area, the smallest county in the state of Texas that fares better than most where housing is concerned. The good news is that our market remains surprisingly stable. Homes are moving and the pricing is not in the tank as some information out there would have you believe.

Average list price increased by .3% holding steady at about the $277,000 mark.

Number of homes for sale decreased by 11.4% to 796 making the inventory go down slightly which is good for sellers to see the inventory keep inching its way down reducing their competition for the available buyers. Closed sales increased by 3.9% to 1,184 and Median home prices fell 3.4% to $173,000 which just means probably more first time home buyers are buying in this time of fabulous interest rates so a few more lower priced homes are sold.

The moral of the story: Sellers: Spruce up and clean and then clean again. Ask your real estate agent’s advice on staging. While it may not be your style, heck, you may not like it at all once it’s done but it works! A well staged home in any price range is sticky. It stays in the minds of agents and buyers alike.

A homejeannie tip: please, please do not “unstage” the house after the pictures are taken. As I said, you may not like it, but your professional knows how to make it be the best it can be for prospective buyers and buyers like to see in person what they see in the pictures looking the same or better.

Signing off for now—the HomeJeannie

All information is provided by North Texas Real Estate Information Systems and is not guaranteed.

July 2011 Rockwall Real Estate Market Conditions

July 14, 2011

"Is Anything Selling?" This is the question I'm asked every day. The answer is YES!

The Dallas/Fort Worth metro area is ranked #4 in the ten highest performing major markets for the first half of 2011 according to a report from Clear Capital. The same report also projects the DFW market to be one of only 5 that will show some growth in the second half of 2011. Now that's definitely a positive sign of market stabilization.

In Rockwall, the total units sold in June was 124 compared to 132 in 2010; however, the average sales price rose from $213,101 in 2010 to $240,452 in 2011. As of July 14, there are 778 homes on the market . The average days on market is 101 up from 2010's average days on market of 83. Of those on the market, the median home price is $224,900 and the median home price of those sold in June was $185,000.

Homes are selling IF they are priced aggressively in the market, staged and spruced up as much as possible to get the highest price. It takes a lot of work by both real estate agent and seller to make the process smooth and hopefully fun.

For homebuyers, now is the time. Rates are still low and the inventory of homes is high so it is still a great time to move up or buy for the first time. First timers should go for it! Find a good real estate agent who will guide you every step of the way and get a home that has good future value. Buy well within your means and in a few years you will be in a good equity position to move up to a home that best suits your lifestyle.