Plano Texas Real Estate Blog - Local Plano Real Estate.

OPEN HOUSE
SCHEDULE

Here's this weeks open house list for 75093.  This is a MLS
list of open houses entered by agents. A photo, basic
information and times are included in this PDF file. If you'd
like to see other zip codes let me know.  These homes are
open for this Sunday, 3.2.08.  If your tired of winter and ready
for Spring- this is an easy way to start your hunt.

Like Foreclosures? post below has link for zip codes 75023 and
75075, current on the MLS.

[where: 75075]

75075 and 75023 Foreclosures

Every week we post foreclosures in different Plano zip codes,
This week it's 75075 and 75023.  This is basic information
if you're considering purchasing a foreclosure. Every
REO (real estate owned) property has different conditions
to buy and it's a difficult process, but if successful you can
make a very good investment.  You can drive by these properties
and see if the location fits your criteria.

Foreclosures in Plano zip codes 75075 and 75023

[where: 75075]

Cafe Bakery at The Shops

Right at the end of February is when Texans can't stand winter any more.
Even if it's not too harsh!  Spoiled by warmer weather most of the time.

The shot above is Cafe Bakery's outdoor sidewalk cafe.  Can't wait!
It's also an excellent place to meet and start your real estate search.
Over a bite to eat and a great way to see the neighborhood.  Of course,
there's a Starbucks too in case you need a wireless connection.

Will post foreclosures and open houses available for your weekend hunt
next couple of days, so check back.

What's the better deal?
Foreclosure or Short Sale?

There certainly isn't a shortage of short sales or foreclosures
(no pun intended).  But when it gets down to crunching the
numbers which one is the best buy?

Automatically, you think that you're going to get the buy of
the decade.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

In this market, I've seen foreclosures and short sales
priced as if they're perfect properties and most are far
from it.

The main difference is a short sale is a pre foreclosure,
so property taxes and liens on the title could exist and the
bank or lender most certainly will get you to pay.  So unless
the property is priced correctly for the condition and circumstance,
an extra 2%+ is going to add to the bottom line.

Shout out of the day!  Sometimes it might be better to wait
for the property to go into foreclosure. Depends on the situation.
And patience can be a virtue, for those who wait.

How's the Market?

Well, basically it's a buyer's market.  Shopping for houses is fun.  No rush, take
your time.  That's how it is right now but things can change quickly.  The only
way to know is by keeping up with weekly trends to see where real estate is
headed.  Take a look at the charts below on inventory and days on market for
zip codes, 75093,75024 and 75025.



This shows you how inventory has decreased in these zip codes since last April.
Typically, the low point was January and now each zip code is showing signs of
life.  75093 (black line) is showing  the most upward trend.  Watch for inventories
to increase with spring upon us.  There are a lot of not so great properties out
there, meaning some if not all need lots of work.  The A+ homes will go first.



Average days on market has decreased since Dec. All zip codes are leveling out.
75093 and 75024 right around 100 days and 75025 is 80 days.  Looks like it will
be an interesting spring season.  With inventories down and days on market down,
be prepared to write an offer if you love the home.  If you'd like a detailed reports for
more zip codes including, everything you'd want to know click here.
info will be emailed to you, no hassle.

OPEN
HOUSES

Ready to start your house hunt?

Or know someone that is?

Well, here's a head start before you jump in the
car and start driving around like a maniac. Maybe
save some gas.

This open house list is provided weekly to help
get a feel for the neighborhoods and preview
homes of interest and really just to help get
the word out about available Plano real estate
in zip code 75093.

The list is from the MLS for this Sunday, 2.24.08.
I think the weather is suppose to cooperate.

Happy Hunting!

Here's an open house PDF file for Sunday in 75093

Foreclosure Finds

As promised, you'll find updated foreclosures each
week here.  There are some new ones that have
only been on the market for a couple of days.

The link is from the MLS and is a customer brief
report with photo, basic info, etc.

There are a couple in Lakeside that could be interesting.

As always, info is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Fresh Foreclosure Finds in 75093,75024 and 75025
for  2.21.08

Plano Market Update

I know many of you are following the market and really want to
know what's going on in your communities.

The national real estate news is not local, so here's some Plano
current data for days on market and list to sale price from the Collin
County Association of Realtors.

Below are a couple visual charts to show the pulse of the market.

If you're thinking about buying real estate now - this information is
good to know.



Down 2.2% from January last year.  Sellers are making more concessions
on price than a year ago.



Days on market is 19.5% longer than a year ago.  I think that says enough.

There are other factors to consider, but this is a snap shot of current market
conditions in Plano.  If you'd like more info, you can see real estate indicators
on the right sidebar, it's a one page graphic of different cities updated monthly.

What to Offer or Not

Most of the time when you start looking for a home, you search
by price range and neighborhood.  And when you find the right home
your first question is "What's it worth?"

You probably already have an idea of what you want to offer?

Right?..But how accurate is it?

When I'm out with a client and you get that warm and fuzzy feeling,
you want to know what to offer.  I don't answer right away until some
analysis has been done.

Like a 6 month review of a neighborhood.  In Dallas, home prices have
fallen in general and prices are lower across the board.  Location and
neighborhoods do make a difference.

You need to break down by area, location, maybe even street, sq ft
bedrooms, baths and amenities.  If you are looking at condos you need
to just look at the specific building to determine value.

You will also want to investigate the tax records and speak to the listing
agent to find out what you can about the property and sellers circumstances.
As much as you can.  Also researching how many MLS numbers a listing
has had can tell the torrid history of a property the seller is not even aware of.

When you're done with this review, you'll know if the property is priced
correctly.

Why is this do important?  Because you don't want to pay too much!

If it is priced well above the market your chance of making a deal is slim,
unless it's been on the market for let's say 150 days, you can use that
as leverage.

Also, if it's never had a price reduction and it's way overpriced it will be
harder to buy. But that does depend on the seller. period.

So as a buyer each offer you place on a property should have a strategy
and price range for you to buy.  In this market, be prepared with several
home choices.

Why?  Because some sellers are chasing the market and aren't willing
to concede on price just yet.  Chasing the market down means sellers
think their property is worth more than you're willing to pay.

Be prepared to try a few times especially if a home is overpriced.

The list to sale price 6 months ago used to be around 96-98%, now it's
93-95%.  Make sure you know the total stats of a neighborhood to see
if your offer is realistic and sellers pricing is in the ballpark.

That will determine if you can make a buy.  The best way to negotiate
with sellers chasing the market is with cold hard facts.  You can't
dispute sold properties but a seller can unfortunately chose to ignore
the truth and hope for a better offer to come in.  Sadly, that's why it's
called chasing the market down, their next offer will be lower,  I can
almost guarantee that.

So for those sellers it's best to take your home off the radar and wait
for the market to come back and meet your expectations.  It's gonna
be a while...

And for buyers...Next home, please...

OPEN HOUSES

If you're in the market for a new home, trading up or
just starting your house hunt, open houses are the best
way to see what a neighborhood and homes look like.

These downloads are PDF files for viewing or printing.
You can see a photo of the property, general info plus
times and directions.  This is a weekly blog feature so you
can always find the new open houses every weekend in Plano,
75093.  These reports are from the MLS and all information is
deemed reliable but not guaranteed.  Have a great weekend!

Open Houses for 75093 on 2.17.08

More Plano Foreclosures

If you are interested in foreclosures, here's a list from the North
Texas Real Estate Information Systems, MLS.

This week the foreclosure list includes Plano zip codes 75024
and 75025. The link is a PDF file to view or download, this is not
all the foreclosures but some that are available on the MLS.
Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Inspections will reveal whether to buy or not.

There are 19 foreclosed properties for your review.

Pricing Trends for Real Estate

Lately there's been a lot of searches for pricing trends, I call it real estate rumbling,
pricing really is local in real estate and you can't go by the news sources.

Here's a chart that tracks the time lines from last April till now to give you an idea
of where things are headed.  Good to know - if you're thinking of selling or buying.



You can see all of Plano (black line) has fallen from it's high but gaining ground
and has been steady despite all the doom and gloom about real estate.
Median Price around $270K.

Zip code 75093 in Plano (orange line) has a steady pattern but has bumped up in
last few weeks.  Median Price around $565K.

You can find homes above and below these prices, but this gives you an idea by
city and zip code.  If you liked to see another Plano zip code let me know and
I'll post it here.

Go Ahead - Reduce it now!

....cause it'll cost you more later.

This weekend I looked at over 30 homes with 3 different clients, all in Plano
zip codes 75023, 75025 and 75074.  When you go in that many homes you
get a clue to what's going on in the market.

Here's what I saw:

• over priced homes
• homes that needed updating or lots of work ($$$)
• foreclosures
• homes that have been on the market over 200 days
  

The few homes that were nice were priced too high!
Sellers often think that their home is worth more than you do
and it's very common in this market.

For January, Plano Real Estate sales were only down 9%, better compared
to other cities in the DFW area.  But, pending sales (haven't closed yet)
were also down 29%. Active listings are up by 6% and a 4.1 month supply
of homes is almost up 19% from a year ago.  Days on markets has
increased to 80 days a 33% increase from last year.

Now, to be honest I have seem the inventory much higher than this
in Plano, but there are homes just sitting because of price.

The only way these homes will sell is a price reduction or take it
off the market.

A buyers tip: Banks do not know how to sell homes (meaning
foreclosures.) Have several homes to chose from and don't fall in love
with the home until you close. And believe or not some banks don't
want to sell. (that's another story)

A sellers tip:  If your home has been on the market for 90 days
and you've had no offers, consider a price reduction and repairs.
As the season picks ups and from the stats above there's going to be
more competition.  Sometimes you just have to get on with your life,
so go ahead get on with it...remember, buyers determine value.

And the homes that are selling are priced correctly for the market.
Congratulations!  It's a win win.

source: North Texas Information Systems

Open Houses for Sunday-75093

There's lots of open houses for Sunday. Here's a list that agents
post on the MLS for 75093. This isn't all open houses but quite a
few to review. Open houses are an excellent way for buyers to get
to know a neighborhood  and see how homes compare.

List of Open Houses for 75093 on 2.10.08

The link is a PDF file with info, photo, directions and time.
Looks like the weather going to be nice to start your hunt.

Willow Bend 6 Months Comps

Every 6 months I post the dollar per sq ft of some West Plano neighborhoods.
These stats are for August 2007 through January 2008. They are by square
foot so you can get an idea of what buyers are willing to pay.  The market
started to change the end of July so these stats are going to be more accurate
based on the current trends.

SQFT                SOLD             $PERSQFT

<2499               
2500-2900
3000-3499            1                  $121.
3500-3999            5                  $141.
4000-4499            9                  $146.
4500-4999           10                 $160.
5000-5499            4                  $169.
5500-5999            7                  $184.
6000-6999            4                  $206.
7000 +                 4                  $287.

Of course, it depends on updates and location for a final analysis, the
best thing a seller can do is go in your competition to see how you compare.
See more neighborhoods on the page.            

Plano Market Pulse

Activity for most recent month (Dec.) in all of Plano is below:
You can see new listings were down 3.1% and sales down
a disappointing 26.5%- although this number could be lower
due to all real estate information not being posted by years end.



Plano year to date sales were down 12.5% but average sales
price was up 4.2% which shows the value of this marketplace.

Two other factors to note is the sales to percent of list price is right
around 95.7% and days on market has fallen from 72 days in 2006
to 61 days in 2007.  The current inventory in Plano is 1339 homes
on the market, new listings have decreased but that is also typical
for the time of year.

Although this gives a glance into the market, the days on market
has increased to 84 days by the end of Dec.  January stats will be
out next few days and from my rough estimate - days on market
has increased to 115 days and sales will probably be down around
19% from a year ago.  Prices are still coming down and market
activity is starting to pick up for the selling season.

If you would like stats for other cities please see the monthly
real estate indicators on the right sidebar.

Real World Foreclosures

Here are a few photos of a foreclosure that's for sale in a nice neighborhood.
Everything looks good from the front, but as soon as you enter there's disturbing
visual clues.  Most of the time you think you can get a good deal on a foreclosure
but it really depends what needs to be done or undone in a property.  You can tell
on this one that the homeowners were distressed and angry about something.



One thing about real estate is you usually always have a place to go to the bathroom.
Not so here, they took the toilet, sink, tiles and everything.  What's up with that.



Looks like a hammer or fist went through the cabinets...notice that a painting
project was started.



The only thing that was left in the kitchen was the sink and faucet.



Looks like they needed help with color selections.  All foreclosures are different
but most are vacant and have not been taken care of.  Even though this property
was priced $40K under appraisal, it needs a lot of money and updates to fix it.
It's not a good deal. They even took the door knobs, door bell ringer and upstairs
toilet.  Can't figure out why they left the chandelier.  There were some beautiful
plantation shutters across the front windows.  Make sure you do a complete
inspection on foreclosures like this because there are probably more problems
then you can see in these photos.

Neighborhood Street Tours

If you are not familiar with the Townhomes at the Shops at Legacy,
here's a street view virtual tour of the first phase townhomes at
Lundsford and Parkwood. A short walking distance to Bishop
where most of the shops and restaurants are. You can see EDS
and the beautiful grounds with fountain. Now, thanks to google
maps you can see virtual neighborhoods of many properties,
what a great way to sell your home!  To start the tour click the
right arrow and go anyway you want.  Cool, Huh!



Below is the intersection of Legacy and Parkwood, you can see how
"Shops at Legacy" has been developed, there are more townhomes
on the North side of Legacy.  There's also a couple of foreclosures.

Open House Schedule

Looks like the weather is going to be better this weekend,
So here's a list of open houses for Sat.and Sun. in West Plano
for 75093. Times are on info sheets.  This isn't all open houses
but what has been entered on the MLS.  Click the link below
for the list.  Happy Hunting!

Open Houses in 75093 for 2/2 and 2/3.