Posted by Chris Tesch on Wed, Jul 28, 2010
Our community currently is in a holding pattern. It's almost as if no one will exhale until Texas A&M University announces which people will be laid off. The university has been, traditionally, the job mecca of College Station.
Now look at Forbes best places for business and careers. College Station, Texas ranked #20 in the nation for small metro areas that will attract jobs and businesses to the area. For Texas College Station is the #5 small metro area for this distinction. All this in spite of TAMU's preported lay off.
Despite some doom and gloom for the very short term College Station and Bryan are in an enviable position and by extension so are the residence.
What does this mean for now, and for the future with regards to College Station real estate? A huge changing pattern. Currently we have a 9.1 month supply of homes, definately swinging to a strong buyers market, low interest rates and potential incentives for people to invest currently in College Station homes, duplexes or condos. What an advantagous time to buy, but unfortunately people just aren't taking advantage for the most part. On the horizon we see lots of hope. Growth is everywhere from the new Lowe's, Scott and White Clinic and HEB to Bryan's phenominal business explosion. As jobs come pouring in to our market incomes will rise, as incomes rise so will the ability to buy homes, especially in the luxury range. This will mean that both College Station real estate and Bryan real estate will be affected. Ladies and Gentleman start your engines. It's going to be a fast ride while Aggieland races to the top. While other communities are facing horrific job cuts we have, in the long term, nothing but good news.
Posted by Chris Tesch on Mon, Jul 26, 2010
Does it always feel like you're a day late and a dollar short? Are you a buyer who needs College Station Real Estate or Bryan Real Estate? Did you miss the April 30th deadline for finding a home and reaping the $8000 tax benefit? Fear not! Stimulus money is still there!
More than $28 million dollars is availabe through the Brazos County Housing Finance Corp. You might qualify to receive a 35% credit on your income taxes for the lifetime of your loan capped at $2000 a year. The best thing about this is it's not quick BUT it potentially is a lot more money over the lifetime of the loan. On a 30 year mortgage there is a potential savings of $40,000.
Maximum income limits do exist, but are fairly generous. One or two member households can have a maximum income of $58600. Three or more in the household qualify with an income up to $67,390. Some areas will actually qualify with more income.
You must use an approved lender for this homebuyer credit.
This credit includes any counties within Brazos County.
Call to find out more. We'll walk you through the process and find you the perfect home as well!!!
Posted by Chris Tesch on Mon, Oct 26, 2009
Thinking of selling your Bryan or College Station home? Choose your College Station real estate agent carefully. Don't simply rely on word of mouth (though that can be a good beginning point) but check out the agent that you're thinking about dealing with. There are many myths about homesales that carry a bit of truth but a create a lot of hype. Let's look at a few of them.
1) Hire a Realtor who's been in the market for years.
Sounds like a winner...doesn't it? Just hire a real estate agent that's been around in Bryan or College Station for years and you'll have made the right choice. However what you have to look at is not necessarily length of career, but achievements within their career. Someone who's been a College Station real estate agent for 30 years but only sells 3-4 homes a year is probably a worse bet than someone who's been in real estate for 5 years and sells 50 homes a year. Their knowledge is more up to date, so they can price your home more accurately and they have a ready pool of potential buyers.
2) The agent with the lowest days on the market is the right one to choose.
There are many reasons to dispute this myth. In general days on the market might show you something about the agent, but not necessarily that their marketing skills are spectacular. Some agents artificially keep their days on the market low. How do they do this, you ask....Well there are several ways to make it possible.
The first is that the agent may take only listings that will sell quickly (I know a real estate agent that is part of a husband and wife team, somehow one of them always gets the easy listing and the other one the tough listings).
The agent may price their listings too low, making everything they sell an absolute bargain. You don't want to get less for your home even if it has less days on the market unless you really need to move it immediately.
These are just two of a long line of other reasons why days on the market may not be the indication of a good agent.
3) The Realtor is with brand X, a nationally known company so they've got to be good.
This is a very common myth. The fact is that real estate companies don't hire people, they recruit them. There are good and bad agents at just about any company. Yes, the national exposure will definately help but don't assume that the agent has been screened carefully. Real estate agents are self employed and pay franchising fees to work with a company. There are many companies out there who are agent mills. They will take anyone who can fog a mirror into their firm. If they prosper then the company has made money. If they don't do well the company hasn't lost much.
4) The Realtor is going to advertise in the paper so we'll get lots of exposure.
As an agent I use all of those tools, absolutely. However, in the years I've been selling College Station real estate I've found them to be less and less effective. There was a time when Sunday and Monday the phones would ring off the hook for the latest property listings in the newspaper. No more! The buyers we get now are going to the internet to look. Over 94% of buyers start their search on the web. It's increasingly important to have a large web presence, not necessarily for the company, but for the agent themselves. Which leads us to Myth #5.
5) My agent has a great looking website so I'm getting exposure.
Early in my career when I established my website I heard a saying that's always stuck with me. A website that isn't advertised and optimized is like a sign on a road with no traffic. Web traffic is essential to getting exposure for your home. Not just any web traffic either, but targeted traffic with buyers that are actively looking for homes. Many agents put up their website and forget about it. They then pull it out during the listing presentation like it's a huge benefit. Check your agent out on the web before hiring them. Google their names. If they can't even rank as one of the highest results with their own names they certainly won't rank highly in competitive key words. Then put your "buyer hat" on and search for what a potential home buyer would look for. Some popular terms are College Station real estate or Bryan Texas real estate. See how they rank. There will be national company websites that come up first that they simply cannot compete with, but in which your home will be one of thousands. Look for the actual agents and how they rank.
Ask the prospective agent how much they spend on their website per month. Good websites and excellent exposure don't come cheaply. My website runs around $2500 a month between advertising and administration with the lions share going to advertising.
Join me for more College Station buyer and seller myths in the near future. In the meantime choose wisely! Your home is one of the largest investments you'll ever make!
Posted by Chris Tesch on Fri, Oct 23, 2009
November 3rd is a day that Bryan and College Station homeowners, or people who ever hope to own a home need to mark on their calendars. The propositions we're concerned about affect the entire state of Texas, so even if you are moving to a different area within the state or located elsewhere in the state, please make plans to vote! Early voiting began October 19th and ends October 30th.
Voting yes to these four propositions will affect homeowners in the state of Texas by amending the constitution to protect homeowner rights.
Proposition 2 ensures that a residential property is appraised as a home, not a value based on "highest and best use". Imagine that the field next door to your home had the zoning change and suddenly was a commercial property. If this amendment isn't passed it is possible for the appraisal district to come along and say that your property also could be a commercial property and tax it based on that usage. Some homeowners would find themselves in true financial binds as many counties search for more revenues. Keep in mind that already properties that are used as farms or timberland already are exempt from the arbitrary "highest and best use" appraisal. Our homeowners need the same protection.
Proposition 3 allows the state to have oversight of central appraisal districts ensuring that there are uniform standards for appraisals. No longer would appraisal districts be able to set their own standards, artificially lowering their appraisals in certain parts of the state to take advantage of state monies while other homeowners pay the lions share.
Proposition 5 allows two or more adjoining appraisal district to have a combined appraisal review board. Basically it is difficult to get qualified and knowledgable people to serve on the appraisal review boards in rural areas. To speed up the appraisal review process, should you need to protest your taxes, this would allow board members to cross the county lines to ensure that qualified, knowledable board members are available.
Proposition 11 affects eminant domain. This will set standards for what purposes a county can take a property for eminant domain. In the news fairly recently we've heard of situations where peoples homes were taken away for economic development in the city, thereby enriching a developers pocketbook at the expense of the homeowners. This proposition would strictly prohibit that type of condemnation and only allow eminant domain in the cases where it will truly benefit all residences, such as roadways and other essential intrastructure.
Protect your own Bryan or College Station property and vote yes in the upcoming election. The highly controversial College Station red light camera issue will also be on the table.
See you at the polls!!!
Posted by Chris Tesch on Sat, Oct 10, 2009
An excellent article from the AP news service about home ownership. Overall real estate remains a good investment with price appreciation that typically overcomes the slumps. Owning a home for at least ten years means that you have typically gotten at least 4% appreciation per year, significant tax advantages, and a place to live. Read more here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33243863/ns/business-real_estate/
College Station real estate is still a strong investment call today for your own assessment based on your circumstances.
Posted by Chris Tesch on Tue, Sep 08, 2009
Statistics coming from the Bryan College Station Multiple Listing Service indicate that inventory is down and has been creating somewhat of a shortage of homes with first time buyers especially scrambling hard to find the right home.
Let's take a look at the chart below with the data year to date:
Looking at home inventory in the Bryan College Station area since January we see that we started the year out strong historically. In January 371 new listings came on the market, compared to '08's 379 and 07's 270.
What's particularly interesting is the spike we see in May in 2007 and 2008 actually shows a dip for this year before settling back down in June.
As inventory goes down, demand, especially amongst homes 120-140K has gone up. This is creating a situation where one segment of the market appreciates while others, namely the 300K and up market, are declining slightly.
It will be interesting to see what the rest of the year holds and how the first part of 2010 does as well.
Posted by Chris Tesch on Sun, Jul 26, 2009
Buying a home in Bryan or College Station this year? If you're going FHA (3.5% down) you might not notice a huge difference. If you are financing conventional (typically 20% down) be aware that it will take longer than in previous years.
Lenders and appraisers have been seperated out this year with the lender no longer being able to go straight to the appraiser. The process now is that the lender puts in an order for an appraisal for the property. A central appraisal office will assign an appraiser to it. Despite the fact that the central appraisal office has a copy of the contract up front we are finding in most cases the appraisers, who must have the contract in order to finish their job, must call the agent for the contract.
Expect delays as another layer of complexity is added into the equation. Closings that could have been done in days before are taking a minimum of 30 days and sometimes even 45 days. Plan accordingly.
Thinking of buying a home in College Station? Your best bet is to begin the process two months before you wish to close if you are using conventional financing. FHA regulations have not required this seperation process between the appraisers and lenders so 30 days maximum is the usual FHA closing. If you're using FHA begin looking for the right College Station home or Bryan home about 45 days in advance of your move date.
Posted by Chris Tesch on Wed, Jul 15, 2009
Buying a new home is a dream for many. To be the first to live in a home, picking out the colors, the countertops, the light fixtures is the College Station real estate fantasy for many. It does have it's advantages, but often comes with a whole host of disadvantages as well.
What you must know about buying a new home in Bryan or College Station
1) Many builders contracts give them the right to substitute material without giving notice to the buyer. You could find yourself getting T-11 instead of a Hardiplank or you may have seen a Jacuzzi brand tub in the model but find yourself getting a lower end tub.
2) The building process is frustrating, tiring and stressful. On a 300K plus home that a client was building I went in to find flat panel doors going to the garage and utility room. The defect was corrected after I lodged a complaint, but shouldn't have been an issue in the first place. Minor things can seem like major items, doorbells put in areas that don't make sense (with the brick already adjusted for it by the time you see it), faucets installed improperly and other strange mistakes can be made. The builder is relying on his contractors to do it right and may only come by your house to check a couple of times a week.
3). The warranty given with your new home may only be as good as your builder. The builder may go out of business leaving you with no way to collect.
4). The 10 year structural warranty only covers "Major Structural Damage" which can be way more limited than you can believe. In most cases one of the criteria for the structural damage to be fixed is a condition that makes the home uninhabitable, unsafe, or unsanitary. All they are typically required to do in a new home warranty if it's not one of those three situations is to patch exterior cracks greater than 1/4" in size, and patch interior cracks greater than 1/8" in size. Look at a standard ruler and think about what cracks these sizes would appear like running down your walls.
5). Just because it's new doesn't mean it meets code or shouldn't have an inspection. Defects do happen with new homes. Don't rely on your builder to have caught sloppy workmanship on the part of the contractors. Buy a home without an inspection and you might find yourself doing costly repairs when you sell that home.
I've listed many homes that were bought directly by the client from the builder. When inspections come up anything from minor annoyances to major issues have shown up. It's a shame that those clients are left to clean up the builders mess.
How do you protect yourself when buying a brand new home?
Hire an agent that knows the market, the area of town you're building in (some areas have very difficult soils), and knows the builders and their reputations. There are hundreds of builders out there. You need to know how long they've been in business and whether they or a third party provide the warranties.
Always get a new home inspected by a highly qualified inspector. Yes, you may be wasting your money, but it's a lot better than getting blindsided when you go to sell your home. For more inspiration on this go to HomeGauges Report about defects found in new construction. It's an eye opening experience.
Yes, buying a brand new home can be a wonderful experience. In most cases you will love your new home for years and have few regrets (there will ALWAYS be some, like "why did they put that light switch here instead of there). With some precaution and the addition of a good real estate agent on your team your improving your odds greatly.
Posted by Chris Tesch on Sun, Nov 16, 2008
Real estate sales in College Station and Bryan, Texas both declined in October. October was the second slowest month of the year (January being the slowest) and showed a total of 126 homes sold (same number of units as 2007 but sharply down from 2006) with a volume nearly 4 million lower than last year. Total sales volume for 2008 year to date is 2,239 units.
Interestingly the news isn't all bad for sellers as our average days on the market is down sharply from this time of year for both 2006 and 2007.
Our average sales price was $168,820.
In 2006 the sales flattened after September with October, November, and December having extremely low volume in contrast to other months. Interestingly in 2007 sales in October were actually much lower than sales in November and December. If this trend continues this year it could result in Bryan and College Station having a higher sales volume than in 2006 or 2007.
The take away? Homes are still selling with good homes being on the market less time total than in previous years. One of the homes I put on the market recently was on for less than 4 days before it had an offer only two percent lower than full asking price.
Posted by Chris Tesch on Thu, Oct 23, 2008
There has been much discussion lately about eliminating the local MLS (ours is Bryan-College Station MLS) and going with a national MLS. The proponants of this claim that it will eliminate worries about finding properties online and allow agents to show properties beyond their boundries.
I for one will stick to selling Bryan and College Station homes (and the surrounding areas). I feel like the pundits have some very solid points and a lot of negative points. I believe that the people that are for this measure (most of them are fellow Realtors) have a very minimal understanding of what a real estate agent truly brings to a transaction. A move to a national MLS will make us simple door openers, nothing more and nothing less.
I don't sell in Austin or Houston or Huntsville for one very good reason...I don't know the area. I would hate to sell a property to folks and then find out that it's in an area that's known for foundation failure (Houston and other areas have actual fault lines), or that there is a sewage treatment facility nearby that we didn't happen to smell that day, but that one or two months out of the year it's quite noticable.
Real estate is local. I've blogged before about the need to realize that the news in real estate is on the national level and that it looks very different here in Bryan/College Station. The same can be said for what sells here. In Michigan, where I came from originally (but, as they say, got down here as fast as I could...), it was desirable to have the master bedrooms upstairs. Heat, after all, rises and it was a nice way to maximize that and keep your bedroom cozy. Not so here as that feature all but sometimes kills a sale. In Huntsville, just miles from College Station, it is extremely common for slab failures to occur, and it doesn't affect the price that the home sells for. Not so in Bryan or College Station, with those listings even with a corrected issue taking much longer to sell and accepting typically, a much lower price per square foot compared to homes without issues.
How would you like a real estate agent to show you a house in College Station and not mention that the upstairs master will be an issue for resale? How about one from Austin that doesn't know that south College Station has traffic issues (currently being resolved) and that it could take double the time to travel to the university from one location compared to another? What about listing a house with a Houston agent, who doesn't understand the impact that proximity to Texas A&M University plays in home pricing and fails to price the house properly costing you thousands of dollars?
Real estate is a local venture and keeping it local is the best plan. Now, that isn't to say that a property in Caldwell shouldn't have some presence on the Austin MLS, or a property in Anderson shouldn't be listed in Houston MLS. For this I think a simple plan of cooperative listings would work well.
When buying or selling ensure that your real estate dollars work to your advantage! Use a local Realtor!!!