By Tom Branch, on December 17th, 2013  We’ve been watching an interesting trend over the past few years—wine has become very popular. While fine wines have always been popular among the well-to-do, recent trends show that it is now popular with all economic groups.
Not surprisingly, an entire industry has evolved to cater to those new wine connoisseurs. Browse any store or online specialty shops and you’ll find all kinds of things for sale. Corkscrews, glasses, decanters, napkins, coolers, racks—the list seems endless.
That trend is now influencing Plano Texas housing–wine cellars. Although we do see the occasional wine cellar under the home, most of them are spaces dedicated to wine or entire refrigerated wine rooms. Some are minimal while others are quite extravagant with wet bars, seating, dim lighting, and walls of wine racks.
Click here to see all homes for sale in Plano TX with wine cellars.
Contact us at 214-227-6626 if you have questions or need additional information.
Photo: Licensed from iStockPhoto
By Tom Branch, on December 16th, 2013  We can’t speak for all areas of the country, but we can tell you that locally lot sizes have decreased over the years. There are a number of reasons for the decrease but the major reason is that land costs have climbed dramatically and smaller lots allow the builders to keep the overall costs down.
Many buyers prefer large lots so they are not on top of their neighbors, have room to put in a pool, build a larger one-story home, or simply room to enjoy the outdoors. While the average new home in Frisco Texas sits on a one-eighth acre lot, there are homes for sale on larger lots (one-half acre or larger) in Frisco Texas.
While many of these homes are higher priced, there are homes available at more reasonable prices.
Click here to see all Homes for Sale in Frisco Texas on Larger Lots.
Have questions or need more information? Contact us at 214-227-6626.
Photo: Copyright 2013 Imaged2Sell
By Tom Branch, on November 16th, 2013 
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By Tom Branch, on November 5th, 2013 I was talking with some potential buyers yesterday. They have been sitting on the fence for a couple of years watching the market. With rising home prices and interest rates, they now realize they missed the best time to buy.
While prices and rates are up, they still have more buying power today than at almost any time in history. And rates are only going to go up. They have to go up in order to get the private sector to invest in mortgage back securities.
Let’s take a look at a typical move-up buyer in our market. The couple makes $135,000 per year or $11,250 per month. Let’s also assume that the maximum front-end qualifying ratio is 35% or a $3937.50 monthly payment.
The chart below depicts the amount of buying power this couple has at a number of different interest rates.
As rates climb, the amount of home they can purchase decreases rapidly. A 3 percent increase in interest rate results in a 21 percent reduction in buying power. This assumes that housing prices remain stable. Rising prices over time further dilutes their buying power.
There is still time to take advantage of the historic low rates and relatively low housing prices.
Click here to search for Dallas area homes for sale.
Photo: Base photo licensed from iStockPhoto
By Tom Branch, on November 1st, 2013 The housing market in Frisco, Texas continues to shine. Median home prices have climbed and are up 8 percent over the past 12 months.
At the same time prices are increasing the Months Supply of Inventory continues to drop. At the end of October there was 2.4 months of inventory. We have not seen this level since January 2007.
The Percent of Original List Price represents to amount of reductions a seller has to take to sell a property. Frisco is now seeing 96 percent of list price, a gain of 2.2 percent of last year.
Want to know what your Frisco Texas home might sell for? Click here to see your value instantly.
Click here for a complete list of Homes for Sale in Frisco, TX.
Data Source: NTREIS Trends on November 1, 2013.
By Tom Branch, on September 13th, 2013  The Branch Team recently re-launched CollinHouseValues.com.
CollinHouseValues now offers completely automated valuations of properties. Simply input an address, ZIP Code, and an email address and the system will calculate a value based upon recent sales in the immediate area.
If you need a more detailed analysis, one can be requested. Detailed valuations are done by hand and will usually be delivered via email within 24 hours.
Home values are estimated values based upon comparable sales and the results are not an appraisal of the property.
By Tom Branch, on July 12th, 2013 
4 Bedrooms | 2.1 Baths | 2 Car Garage | 2484 SF per Tax
Wow! This fantastic San Antonio Ranch home is available for sale ($298k) or for lease ($1895 monthly). This custom home was built to take advantage of the elevation and the dramatic views of the canyon to the south. The zeroscaped lot is heavily treed with mountain laurels and other natural vegetation.
View Larger Map
Great Room
View from Main Deck
Kitchen
Master Suite
Virtual Tour
Contact us at 214-227-6626 for more information or to schedule a showing.
Photos and Media Copyright 2012 – Used with Permission
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