By Tom Branch, on February 7th, 2013  One of my agents was out working in our Lexington Park sales office today. A potential buyer and his agent walked in to see one of our floor plans. After walking it, they “hated it.” We have several different townhomes available and so they were shown two other floor plans. They absolutely loved one of them. All seemed right with the world.
They walked back in the sales office and were discussing price. The model they like is just a little over $200k. They told my agent they wanted to purchase it for $150k! When asked why the offer was so low, they responded, “It’s a buyer’s market.” My agent politely told them that this was not going to happen and they went on their way.
Attention Buyers…You missed your chance to steal!
The buyer’s market in the greater Dallas area ended in January 2012. Prices have been on the way up and inventory levels are at record lows. Multiple offers are back as well.
The good news is that interest rates have remained low (they are creeping up) and you still have a chance to get a great home with low payments.
While you missed the bottom of the pricing cycle, you can still take advantage of the low interest rates to purchase a home.
Click here to search for homes for sale in the North Dallas Suburbs.
Photo licensed from iStockPhoto
By Tom Branch, on January 22nd, 2013 
Is this a good time to sell our home? This is a question we get quite often. Local data have indicated a Sellers Market since January 2012.
I just received the results of survey conducted by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) that shows that the trend is actually nationwide.
According to the NAR report, “Demand continued to expand faster than supply. The Buyer Traffic Index rose to 56 from 36 in the same period last year, while the Seller Traffic Index barely moved, ending at 38 from 37 last year. REALTORS® reported numerous cases of multibidding resulting in “properties selling above the list/asking price” or “distressed sales selling close to market price.”
In our local market, 2012 was a great year for sellers. Home sales outpaced home listings by almost 10 to 1 and we don’t see that letting up in 2013. We have many sellers waiting for the “spring sales season” to list their homes.
If you want to get your home sold, get on the market as early as possible to take advantage of the lack of inventory!
Click here for more information on selling your North Texas home.
Click here to request a Market Analysis of your North Texas home.
Contact us at 214-227-6626 if you have any questions.
Graph: Copyright 2013 National Association of REALTORs® | Base Photo: Licensed from Buffini and Company
By Tom Branch, on April 7th, 2012 
The Dallas Business Journal released the 2011 Top Residential Real Estate Brokerage List on March 23, 2012. RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs ranked number 15 in 2011 with 1134 closed sides and over $270 million in sales.
RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs agents averaged 14.9 sides and $3.55 million in sales volume per agent. Among the national brands in the Metroplex, RE/MAX agents outproduce all other brands by a 3 to 1 margin.
Tom and Gina Branch, The Branch Team, closed 112 sides with a total sales volume of over $17 million.
Source: Dallas Business Journal, March 23-29, 2012, Page 14
By Tom Branch, on February 26th, 2012 
The past couple of months have been crazy! Homes that are in good condition, show ready, and priced right are flying off the greater Dallas market. It’s almost like the good old days. Two of our recent listings had multiple offers within a week of going on the market and several of our buyers had to pay list or above in order to secure a contract. The buyer’s market in north Dallas area is over in the under $200k price range.
There’s been a lot of speculation as to the reasons but many first-time home buyers have been sitting on the fence waiting for rates to bottom out or the economy to stabilize.
This may last well into the normal spring sales season unless something bad happens to the economy. The run-up in oil prices and the impact on fuel prices could send them back on fence.
If you’ve been thinking about selling your home and moving up this may be one of the best times in history to do so. Homes under $200k are moving, prices are likely at the bottom, and interest rates are insanely low. We closed a home a couple of weeks ago with a 15 year mortgage at 3.00 percent and another recent closing had a 30 year FHA mortgage at 3.875 percent.
We have many resources on our website:
Home Value Request – What’s my home worth?
Seller Tips
Are You Show Ready?
Looking for an experienced team of agents with a proven track-record to sell your home? Click here.
Feel free to contact us if you have questions or need more information.
By Tom Branch, on January 25th, 2012 
Wow! It’s hard to believe but it’s raining in North Texas. With Stage Four Water Restrictions looming, this is a welcome sight.
Last year’s drought left our lakes and reservoirs dangerously low. People living on Cedar Creek Lake and many of the local lakes could not get their boats in the water. A positive side was that it was a good time to do any repairs or maintenance on their retaining walls.
While low lakes may seem like an inconvenience, there’s a much larger implication for those of us living here. Those lakes and reservoirs are also the source of our drinking water. When the levels are low, cities begin the various stages of water restrictions in an effort to insure we have water to drink.
The droughts also have an impact on our homes. The vast majority of our foundations are slab foundations. These foundations are sensitive to changes in the water content in our expansive soils. Last year we saw a dramatic rise in homes with foundation issues due to the drought. This cost north Texas homeowners millions of dollars.
Let it rain!
Photo Copyright 2012 Imaged2Sell
By Tom Branch, on January 21st, 2012 
Over the past couple of months we’ve seen lots of first-time homebuyers entering the market. They are enthusiastic, pre-approved, and ready to buy a home. The problem is a general lack of good homes under $150k.
Gina and I are currently working with four first-time home buyers looking in the Allen Texas area and we have only been able to find one of them a home. Don’t get us wrong, there are homes on the market in this price range, but the vast majority of them are foreclosures, short sales, or are in poor condition.
If you are a home buyer, you need to move quickly when you find a home to view. You simply cannot wait because the good homes are moving quickly. Homebuyers can click here to sign up for home alerts on The Branch Team website. This free service sends you an alert as new homes come on the market that meet your needs.
If you are considering selling your home this may be a great time to list it as homes that show well and are priced right are going quickly. Further, plenty of qualified buyers and low inventories present an opportunity to sell quickly. While prices are down in some areas, Collin County and DFW in general have weathered the storm well. Click here to read “Internet Marketing – The New Curb Appeal” and click here to read “Are You Show Ready?“
Please feel free to contact us at 214-705-2470 if you have questions or need help buying or selling a home.
Photo licensed from iStockPhoto
By Tom Branch, on October 16th, 2011 
We get this question all the time from potential new home buyers. Do you really need one? No. Would retaining an agent to represent you in the transaction be a good idea? Yes, it would.
Some people believe they can get a better “deal” on a new home by working directly with the new home sales staff.
Most of the builders we know will not lower the price of the home simply because you don’t have an agent. Agent commissions are usually paid from a different fund that is not related to the sale of the home. Further, real estate professionals often know about unadvertised discounts and close-out pricing on new homes.
More importantly, there are many pitfalls in the buying process that are not related to pricing! Real Estate Professionals have the experience and knowledge to negotiate and guide you through the new home buying process.
Looking for a great deal on a new home?
Photo: Licensed from ShutterStock
New Home Rebate
Purchase a new home through us and we'll help you with your closing costs! We'll give you a credit of 1.5% of the price of the home at closing to use towards your closing costs.
Click here for our New Home Rebates page.
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