Plano Texas Real Estate Blog - Local Plano Real Estate.

Read Below for The Very Best Way to Start House Hunting....

Do you want to know the best way to start the home buying process?  Online, of course...to do research but the process is mostly physical work.  If you're not familiar with an area or just kicking tires the best way is to preview selected areas is by open houses.  This weekend is national open house weekend - April 28-29.  So, get out your running shoes and preview as many as you like.  It'll give you much depth into a local market. Remember, the listing agent represents the seller, ALWAYS so just exchange common courtesies and keep comments to yourself.  I see too many buyers want to go direct and pay too much money because they don't understand the real estate process.  The listing agent does open houses to get you as a lead...plain and simple.  Knowing this will help you quickly tour homes and cut out all the sales pitch.  Enjoy the weekend, there's an open house link to the left...some open houses are on Sunday from 1 to 5 PM, most are only open for a two hour window, usually 2 to 4 PM.
In Plano, so far there are 57 open houses for this weekend, I imagine there will be over 100 by the time Sunday hits.

Excellent Walking Path around the Lake


If you'd like a new place to walk besides your neighborhood, The Shops at
Legacy provides a nice escape.  Right across from the Marriott Hotel is a
fantastic lake filled with fish, turtles and lots of birds.  Nice place to relax, eat
a bite or walk the dog.  You can also sunbathe on the grass if you like.  Best of
all it's walking distance to all shopping and restaurants.  Great place to contemplate
your next move.

March 2012 - North Texas Real Estate - Quick Facts
Buyers are in - Sellers are out....

In an effort to keep things simple, here's a general update for the North Texas Real Estate Market.

What does this mean? Overall sales are flat, pricing is good and holding and active inventory across the board is down 28% or more.  Of course, every area and neighborhood can have better results than this but what I can tell you is sellers are not putting homes on the market. That's why you see some homes go under contract very quick because the shopping inventory is not there, so some buyers will wait for their dream home to come on the market.

The economy has everything to do with real world real estate, so it prods along and things happen in many different ways and changes are slow, also an election year could be a reason sellers are staying put.  Kind of a wait and see approach.  Although your neighborhood might have better sales results the down active inventory situation is effecting the entire DFW region.

Low Cost Kitchen Updates:

The most important thing in selling your home in this market is price, without a doubt!  Small kitchen redo's also help but what are they?  Here's a few to try that are cost effective and can make a big difference for buyer's in selecting a property for purchase.  Listed below are recommendations most listing agents will suggest to sellers.

1. Organization: This is of course after you have removed the clutter.  Be practical with hooks, pantry baskets and drawer organizers, and stackable shelves for cabinets.  All probably under $100.
2. Hardware:  Adding or replacing cabinets hardware is a quick fix and really enhances the kitchen with style.  Don't go overboard on price. Knobs and pulls can go up to the $20. plus range...
3. Faucet:  This is a favorite, it's like jewelry for the kitchen.  Better to spend a little more here and get all brass so it lasts more than 2 years, $200. or so would be a quality faucet.  Look for height and pull out hoses.
   
4. Under Cabinet Lightening:  LED lights are the way to go and can create a custom look in the kitchen for task lighting. Around $40 bucks.
5. Countertops:  Laminates have come a long way and can look like granite, marble and other precious stones. About half the cost of granite.  Can give a contemporary look without the high price of granite, durable too.
   

My Kind of Peeps , Indeed...Happy Easter!