All North Texas communities including Frisco, TX have a strong competitive housing market. With the influx of Toyota, Liberty Mutual and other big companies relocating here it has become almost challenging for buyers to get the house that they want. Here are 5 common mistakes buyers should avoid when searching for their new home.

Delaying
The term “dragging your feet” is relevant to this situation. Buyers must be ready and have all the necessary paperwork such as a pre-approval letter from the day they begin house-hunting. That way they can act quickly with an offer on the home they like. Not having these things ready could cost them the deal.

Making an offer for the pre-approved amount
Showing your financial strength is a must. When submitting an offer, especially in a multiple offer situation buyers need to make sure their pre-approval letter is for more than the offer price if approved by the lender. Bringing a pre-approval letter for the exact amount can make the listing agent nervous because it creates no wiggle room to negotiate and the buyer may not qualify if interest rates rise.

Submitting a lowball offer
Lowballing usually backfires especially in the seller’s market we are currently experiencing in Frisco and surrounding areas. If the lowball offer is not backed up by comparable data the seller will feel offended and cause the buyer to miss out on the property and/or make seller not want to work with them at all. It is important to listen to a professional Realtor for advice on what to offer.

Waiving Inspection
Always get a home inspection! During the Option period buyers should have home inspected to make sure it is in good shape. This gives buyer an out without losing earnest money.

Being too nitpicky
In a seller’s market, buyers should take certain steps to make sure they look good in the eyes of the seller. Listing agents determine which buyer will be easier to deal with in multiple offer situations. Buyers may want to avoid pointing out every defect or questioning the seller’s tastes. Buyers should act and be reasonable which in turn can rub off on the seller to do the same in return. Remember there are more buyers out there than homes for sale, you must stand out!

One of the biggest mistakes is not having a professional, local Real Estate Agent by your side! Call the Stacey Feltman Group today for all your real state needs!

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As Realtors, our group has helped many people relocating to the DFW area. We have helped people from California to New York and everywhere in between. Many of these people have different views on our DFW housing market. Most from California are excited by the fact that they get more house for the money here and those from other parts of the country have a tougher time grasping the reality of our market thinking, “Can I trust it will sustain?” “Is this a good investment?” The answer to these questions is YES! Many economist and analysts predict that there will not be another price bubble.

First let’s talk about the current market then on to what is to come regarding population growth.
The biggest problem DFW faces is the lack of inventory of available homes. This includes both
pre-existing and new build homes. Along with that, add lots of well qualified buyers to the equation resulting in the basic rules of supply and demand. Lower Home Inventory + Higher Number of Buyers=Increase in home prices. This is simply the current state of our market in DFW. Some areas of DFW including Bedford, Hurst, Garland, Richardson and Mesquite are the tightest areas with less than a 30-day supply of homes listed.

So why is this happening? DFW has the perfect ingredients to sustain this type of market due to the job growth. You have many companies moving its headquarters and/or expanding its current presence in North Texas. The most recent one being NTT Data’s acquisition of Dell Services. They will be expanding their headquarters in the Plano area soon.

With the boost in our economy here, the people in their current homes are more financially stable and are staying put longer. Homes used to sell every 5-7 years and now it is every 8-12 years. Also, people have refinanced at low interest rates and are not that inclined to sell and borrow to buy a new home at a higher rate.

Job relocation and/or people looking for jobs in the DFW area are the cause of the population growth. One of the many predictions states that DFW is looking to add around 2 million people by 2020. According to the American City Business Journals, DFW’s population is expected to rise 53.3 percent which would put the total population at almost 11 million people by 2040! These are simply predictions, but it is expected that our population will grow by some amount. This factor is why many are stating that there will not be a bubble in our housing market.

In conclusion, the shortage of homes on the market last year has pushed prices to record levels. Median home prices have shot up and we are seeing a lot of appreciation. With the rise in interest rate we have recently seen, it has pushed many buyers to get off the fence and buy but with not many homes to choose from. Many homebuyers have to adjust their budget to account for the increase. Buying a home now rather than later is still a sound investment.

If you would like more information regarding our DFW market or if you are interested in buying or selling, please contact the Stacey Feltman Group at 214-356-8368 or visit us on the web at staceyfeltmangroup.com.

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