I Love Quotes

Knowledge is power!

“What consumers see in the newspapers and online is based on the view of the national market from 50,000 feet. Those numbers don’t reflect the true story in any single marketplace.”

and,

“We have to get localized and start showing consumers that real people just like them are successfully buying and selling homes in this market. The price range has nothing to do with it; it’s all relative to what you do with it.”

and,

"For the people that have been in their homes for four years or longer, the possibilities of what they can do in this marketplace are tremendous – especially if they look in their own market.”

and,

“I always urge consumers to talk with a professional, and to look at their individual situation. You never know what you can do until you ask and investigate.”

Dallas Still One of The Strongest Metros in U.S. for Real Estate

Sixty-one percent (or 19) of the Top 31 "core based statistical areas" saw price declines from September 2006 to September 2007. Dallas was not one of these and rounded out the Top 10 major metros to see a rise in sales prices during this time period. Texas represented by having 4 out of the Top 10 cities to see price growth. Another reason why Texas is better than every other state.

Thanks to Top Producer for linking to the Inman News article that you would otherwise have to subscribe to.

Hollywood Here I Come

After Wick Allison of D Magazine linked to my blog last Wednesday morning, I received a call from local news station CW33 asking if they could interview me for a real estate piece they were going to air that evening on their 9 o'clock news. I happily obliged and think it turned out well, if I do say so myself.

Click Here to watch the clip.

Listen to Frontburner. They're Smart.

The DMN's Steve Brown strikes yet again perpetuating national real estate doom and gloom. "U.S. home sales will hit 5-year low in 2007", ugh. That may be true but how does that apply to Dallas/Ft. Worth? Oh, that's right, it doesn't. Brown even writes "[Housing analyst, John Tucillo,] agreed that market conditions vary dramatically by city.” Brown obviously disagrees with this assessment. I mean, is he trying to give Jim Schutze over at the Observer a run for his money by being such a muckraker? Publisher and editor of D Magazine, Wick Allison, takes Brown and the DMN editors to task on Frontburner for his incessant prattlings about how the real estate boat is sinking faster than the Titanic. (A big thanks to Frontburner and Wick for linking to my blog post about how Dallas/ Ft. Worth real estate is on track to have the 2nd best year in real estate sales ever.) And then I stumble upon this article by Brown that reluctantly tries to take a positive spin on our local market using many of the same statements and stats from the doom and gloom article referenced earlier. I think I can actually feel him squirming as he lifts his pen to write something positive about our local real estate market. He references how Realtors have largely blamed the media for our real estate woes but quickly gets his revenge by ending the article with a nice jab by making sure Realtors take part of the blame as well. I don't know Steve Brown personally but I'm not sure where all this negativity is stemming from? I mean seriously, did you have a bad real estate experience back in the day? What I do know about Steve Brown is that when you drive by his East Dallas home it looks like his yard hasn't been trimmed in ages and is literally trying to eat his house. Honestly. The fence is leaning, the trees haven't been trimmed since 'Nam and forget about actually using the detached garage as, well, a garage. I'm not saying this to be (completely) vindictive but our Dallas/Ft. Worth real estate columnist is responsible for swaying our city's opinions and has a honest-to-goodness “tear down” that looks as though it is uninhabitable and certainly not up to city code by a long shot. The irony of this is not lost on me. So my challenge to Mr. Brown would be to either 1. Start talking about LOCAL real estate issues and numbers or at least put our market into perspective with California and Vegas; or 2. Clean up your yard and maintain your house. Because why should we listen to what you say about real estate when you can’t even take care of your own.

Selling Solo is a No, No!

There is an awesome article in the Park Cities People about For Sale by Owners. Part of the reason I think it is so awesome is because it includes some insightful snippets from yours truly. So go here, take notes and pass this along to your friends who are thinking about selling their homes by themselves.

Keep Your Friends Close and Your Personal Assistants Closer

I heard about the terrible story regarding an immensely successful Realtor in New York who was murdered in a Park Ave. apartment. Apparently the culprit was arrested. Note to self, give personal assistant a pay raise and show more appreciation.