Tom's Newsletter

Tom's Newsletter

 
 
www.grisak.com
972.359.1553
 
 
Don't forget our 2nd Annual Movie Night in the Park on the last day of school. Last year the kids had a great time and we're adding to it this year!
 
Fed Rate Watch
 
We were hoping the rates would continue to drop but that's not to be. From the high 6's last report date there has been a slight increase to 7.125% (with a 780 credit score and 5% down). The national average for 30 year fixed is 7.44%
 
Need Help Contesting Your Property Values This Year?
You Only have TWO WEEKS to get it done!
You have already received the Collin County property assessment and now have less than two weeks to contest it. Bottom line, the more your property is valued the more you'll pay in property taxes. If you decide to do so, we might be able to help. We'd be happy to visit with you online, plug into the MLS, and search for sale comparables that might support your opinion. This is a free, no obligation service we provide every year. Here's the link to the signup sheet. One of our agents will call you to set up the appointment.
 
A Little Dose of Reality If You're Selling
 
If your home has been on the market for 30 days without good showing activity and at least one reasonable offer, it's overpriced. It doesn't matter how many times or by how much you've dropped the price from the original listed price, the starting price was just too high.
 
I realize that sounds harsh, but it's our job as professionals to keep people informed about the real estate market. If your home doesn't sell within the next 90 days there's about a 50/50 chance it won't sell until next year's buying season starts.
 
We're seeing more homes on the market with fewer offers than we have experienced in many years. With the first quarter behind us, we can now make an educated prediction of how this year is going to turn out.
 
We are always careful not to base our opinions about market conditions solely on our listed portfolio. For all we know, there might be another team out there knocking it out of the park. So we decided to find out.
 
 
Sean Elliott, our team leader, took the initiative to personally call every agent who has a listing in Fairview and Lucas within our general price point to find out what their activity is right now. These are all homes priced between $850K and $1.6 million. Of course, we redacted the agent names and addresses of these listings ...
 
Home 1 - 14 days on market - We've had 1 showing, our price is high per the seller, and we'll be re-evaluating this week, definitely slower than we thought it would be.
 
Home 2 - 18 days on market - Slow man, weather has been horrible last 2 weekends, we had 4 showings over the weekend and 1 today, so better than our first weekend, but still not gangbusters, we did get an offer that is contingent on the sale of a home...trying to work through that but want to find a non-contingent buyer.
 
Home 3 - 22 days on market - It has been slow, I think this price point is just slower right now.
 
Home 4 - 26 days on market - I truly believe it's due to so many options right now, I have had between 1-4 showings per week, last week was only 1, I am disappointed as well because I am only receiving positive feedback for the price and the house, so it doesn't make sense to me why we don't have offers. 
 
Home 5 - 18 days on market - We have had a lot of activity, I checked out your listing at 1200 Ramsay and it's very nice, maybe the 2.5% buyer's agent commission could be part of the problem.
 
Home 6 - 22 days on market - Very little activity, same with my listing further out
 
Home 7 and 8 (same agent) - 12 days on market for one home, 60 days on market for the other home, We've had decent showings on one but not even one call on the other. I'm not super surprised to be honest given the level of inventory, We had an open house on one which was fairly busy but no showings, most of our homes are starting slower than we expected, good offers are hard to come by for sure, flaky buyers, lower offers, just crazy.
 
Home 9 - 47 days on market - Getting tons of showings consistently, have received 3 offers actually but unfortunately significantly under list price, looks like we might be executing one today, it's a tough market to be honest, total transparency I was receiving offers lower than where you are priced with one of your homes, my clients purchased this home in 2022 and will be taking a huge loss unfortunately, best of luck to you and your clients.
 
Home 10 - 26 days on market - Been on market for 25 days with 12 showings, five the first week then trickled down from there, only 1 last week, think we'll be executing an offer soon though.
 
Home 11- 55 days on market - We've had showings, 23 in April but not offers yet, the whole area has been slow, another two listings near mine are still on the market too but the activity is picking up so hopefully we get under contract soon.
 
Home 12 - 13 days on market - We got a few showings but no offers yet, the market is a bit slow.
 
Home 13 - 28 days on market - No response from the agent.
 
Home 14 - 32 days on market - Hey there, it has been slower than expected for sure, I get about 2 showings a week, my open houses have been more productive than showings, I am actually looking at connecting with agents in the area to do a tour of open houses, just to see if we can get more traction that way, let me know if your sellers might be interested. 
 
Home 15 - 27 days on market - No response from the agent.
 
Home 16 - 17 days on market - No response from the agent.
 
Home 17 - 11 days on market - We have had a lot of traffic at both open houses and with showings, maybe 2/3 per week, Needs a lot of work and we really need to reduce our price.
 
What's Driving The Market Right Now?
 
  • High interest rates
  • Inflation still high, making ends meet on a month-to-month basis is tough
  • Backlog of sellers from last year that wanted to sell but held off because of rising rates
  • Normal volume of sellers this year
  • Lovejoy prices have risen so high that the buyer pool who can afford to enter the district has grown smaller
  • Global economic uncertainty
  • Many people wait on large financial decisions during an election year
 
Is It Time to Panic?
 
Of course not, but this is the time to get serious about selling your home. We sell homes all year round. I've literally driven to a closing on ice but your goal should be to price your home correctly right now. These are the golden selling months of May, June, and July.
 
If your home has been languishing on the market without showings or offers, don't waste your time on small price drops. That isn't going to excite anyone. You have to get their attention, so make a statement. Talk it out with your listing agent and try to find that sweet spot where you aren't leaving money on the table but starting to get offers. If that doesn't work, make another price drop, and then another. Eventually you will find the buyer.
 
What's All This About Realtor Commissions?
 
I'll save my explanation of what's going on with broker commissions for next time. It really doesn't affect our team at all because we've always been above board on negotiating commissions. The one thing it will do is make it more difficult for buyer agents to know what and how they're going to be paid but that's a topic for next time.
 
However, Alice Robison did a little research on whether all the talk making the news is resulting in lower buyer agent commissions. You can see the results below.
Lovejoy Active and Coming Soon Status Homes:
3% Buyer Agent Commission - 52 home sales
2.5% Buyer Agent Commission - 8 home sales
2% Buyer Agent Commission - 2 home sales
 
Lovejoy Pending Status : (all sales were at 3% BAC)
3% - 11, Median DOM 8
 
Lovejoy Closed Status the last 90 days:
3.5% - 1, Median DOM 66
3% - 36, Median DOM 13
2.5% - 2, Median DOM 22
2% - 2, Median DOM 38
 
Our Recent Activity
 
Closed Today!
Congratulations Jason
5102 Willow Point Circle
Parker / Allen ISD
List Price $1,245,000
We are Representing the Buyers
 
Under Contract
Lucas / Lovejoy ISD
List Price $1,545,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Coming Soon
Lucas / McKinney ISD
List Price $942,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Coming Soon
Lucas / Lovejoy ISD
List Price $1,550,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Available
Lucas / Lovejoy ISD
List Price $1,250,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Under Contract
Lucas / McKinney ISD
List Price $695,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Under Contract
Lucas / Lovejoy ISD
List Price $1,545,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Available
Lucas / Lovejoy ISD
List Price $1,250,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Under Contract
Lucas / McKinney ISD
List Price $695,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Available
Fairview / Lovejoy ISD
List Price $2,595,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Available
Fairview / Lovejoy ISD
List Price $1,295,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Available
Lucas / McKinney ISD
List Price $999,500
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Under Contract
Richardson / Richardson ISD
List Price $459,900
We are Representing the Sellers
 
 
New Listing - Available
Lucas / Lovejoy ISD
List Price $1,395,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
 
Under Contract
Allen / Allen ISD
List Price $775,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Available
Prosper / Prosper ISD
List Price $440,000 - $420,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Available
Lucas / Lovejoy ISD
List Price $1,890,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
 
Lots For Sale
 
Available
Parker / Plano ISD
List Price $858,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Under Contract
Fairview / Lovejoy ISD
11.1 Acres
List Price $2,475,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Available
Fairview / McKinney ISD
List Price $520,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Available
Wylie / Wylie ISD
From $249,000
We are Representing the Sellers
 
Click here to see all of our exclusive listings
 
Call us any time at 972.359.1553 or email us at [email protected]. Please visit us at Grisak.com We're always posting new listings!
 
 

Work With Us

We serve our clients better than our competitors, and we have a positive impact on every community we touch, so we ask for business with purpose to ensure everyone has the best experience possible when buying or selling a home. We aim to build lifelong relationships with our clients by connecting on a personal level, protecting them, and keeping their best interests at heart.

Follow Us on Instagram