The 2nd city in our series about What 300K will get you in Dallas Fort Worth Real Estate is about Richardson, TX. Todd breaks down 2 different homes in East Richardson and West Richardson and what you can typically find in the $300,000 price range. 

Todd examines the luxury real estate market in Dallas Fort Worth and finds that its actually in a buyers market which far different than the general trend in DFW Real Estate.

The question this week is sort of an age-old question and a really good one: Is it better to buy and sell a home when school is out? Right now in North Texas the typical timeline to find, get under contract and fully close and fund on a home is about 90 days. It can definitely be done faster, but it wouldn't be smart to plan for a lot less.

It might take you two, three, four or five weeks to find something. Then it's definitely going take you four-to-six weeks to get it closed and funded unless you may be an all-cash buyer. So I would plan on that being attended 12-week process in all. So you give yourself the time and the freedom to find a home you love, not be pressured into buying something, overpaying for something or settling for something that you didn't want.

So that being said, let's go back to the original question, is summertime when school's out the best time to buy and sell? My short answer is no, but I'll say this, it's still a great time to buy and sell. It's not necessarily any better because of real estate reasons. It might be better for you for personal reasons. It certainly sounds like a good idea to move when the kids are out of school.

Now here's the deal: If you're moving far enough that the school that your children would go to is changing, then this certainly makes more sense, or maybe during the winter break or the summer break. I typically prefer the winter break, but the summer break is fine too when the kids are out and you can transition them from one school to another, one campus to another, during that type of break.

Other than that, if you're moving within the neighborhood or within the district area where you're going to stay at the same school, I've counseled many clients over the last 20 or so years through the idea that moving while your children are in school is actually really helpful. The kids can be at school all day while you're managing the details of what can be a stressful situation even if it's not super stressful. It's a detailed, time consuming and energy-consuming process.

So the reason I say “no” is not because it's definitely universally the best. It's important to think about whether you’re doing this because you personally thought through what is best for your family and finances, or are you doing this because it's something people have sort of always said you should do? People have always said that's the best time.

My philosophy around this is if people have “always” said it, I want to question it. I found some of my biggest gains, improvements, growth, and success have been when I did something different than everybody else in our business. We don't want to be like every other real estate agent. We want to be world-class. We want to be more like a world-class surgeon than the normal agents.

So just think about that for you and your situation. Summer's a great time to move. There's nothing wrong with that. We go back to school in North Texas in mid-August, which means you really need to be closed and funded on a house by mid-July so that you have that the 30-day period of living out of boxes and figuring out what goes to what closet and drawer before. Kind of the craziness of back to school and heading into the fall season starts again.

Now a lot of people would prefer to get into that new house early summer so they can enjoy the new home, the additional space, the backyard, the lower expenses or whatever it may be all summer long. And in order to do that right now, mid-March is the best time to get started.

So you give yourself the wiggle room, you have that full 90 days, mid-March to mid-June. 90 days gets you to mid-June so that you can give yourself plenty of time to shop, not be pressured into buying something, get it negotiated, leave time for any repairs or any potential delays, and then still get into that home and be able to enjoy the whole summer.

So is it the best time to buy and sell? Depends on your family situation. There is no real estate market reason to think that the summer is better. Summer can be actually an expensive time to buy for buyers. If you don't have a great strategy in summer, it can be a highly competitive time to sell for sellers.

If you don't have a great strategy if you're looking to put together a great strategy, click one of those links below and let us know how we can help you. We'd love to earn your trust and your business.

Today we're talking about Garland, Texas. Garland is a really cool city that there's a lot of information that kind of surprises people. Despite Garland being the second-largest city in Dallas County, a lot of people think of it as a smaller town. There are about 240,000 residents in Garland. It's actually the 12th the largest city in Texas as of the last census.

Off to the northeast of Dallas, Garland has been thought of in the past as an industrial type of city. There's some manufacturing in Garland, but there's a lot more. Actually, it's one of the best employment markets in the country.

Residential property wise, there's a wide array of property. It's one of the areas where that entry-level first-time home buyer property can still be had under $200,000. There's not much of that left in Garland, but there's a little bit of that left and parts of Garland. There are also some high-end parts of Garland, especially around the Firewheel area, which features Firewall Town Center, a great huge retail development, as well as the Firewheel neighborhood near Firewheel Golf Park. This public access golf area features multiple highly-regarded courses.

Garland Independent School District, has really come onto the scene lately as a technology-focused school district. There's been some change in the district staffing, and there's a lot of positive momentum moving forward. Garland is an interesting school district because it allows you to apply to send your student to any campus in the whole district. So if you have a high school student, you can choose which high school your student goes to. Typically you will be accepted to go to the school of your choice. Students can be bussed to the school that's nearest to their home, but as long as parents are willing to take care of transportation, they can go to other campuses. There are a number of magnet campuses and some advanced study options throughout the different campuses.

Location-wise in the far northeast, Garland is a great entry point to the extended eastern part of the DFW Metroplex where it is still easy to get back into Dallas. Highway 78 is a straight shot in, and then 190 George Bush Tollway allows you to get back and around the metro flux to just about wherever you want to go.

Garland's has an older feel near the downtown area that's being revitalized. There are some older feed stores and some history there, but as well as some new development and quite a few different areas. It offers some great food and entertainment options in Garland and some new things popping up.

There's a new residential development in the south and western parts of Garland where some land has been there for a long time and is now being developed on a large scale.

My last thought on Garland is that, for a long time, Garland has been overlooked by some of the booming development around it. Really Garland has caught up a lot in the last several years. So for a 2019 viewpoint on Garland, there a lot of positives, and the opportunity to get into Garland at the current prices probably are not going to last long. The opportunity in Garland comes from that fact that you can get the same house in other communities for a higher price. It's more affordable in Garland. Again, I don't think that's going to last very long. It’s a highly desirable place to live because it's so close in and the affordability is still there. So get it while you can, cause I don't think that it will last.

Rowlett, Texas is partially located in Dallas County and partially in Rockwall County. Don't get it confused with Rockwall, a neighboring town But Rowlett, Texas is a great community known as a down-to-earth family-oriented area with just about everything that you could hope find in the world of residential real estate.

There are some homes on land and larger acreage properties as well as lakefront properties on Lake Ray Hubbard. The town gets its name is Rowlett Creek, which is kind of a fork of the Trinity River that pours into Lake Ray Hubbard. Rowlett used to sit on the edge of the Metroplex and felt a little bit more country than it currently does.

Rowlett feeds into Garland schools, which we address in greater detail in other blogs and videos. The big thing to know about Garlard ISD is that families can choose which campuses that their children attend.

The city as a whole is generally thought of as well-run city. It plays host to a some great city events and has a number of quality parks. This gives it a neat community feel.

The location makes it pretty easy to get around the metroplex as it sits fairly close to 190 and the George Bush Tollway. This can cut into Dallas, or you can go the other way to 75 Central. It is on the far northeast side of the Metroplex, but because of the location to major roadways, it’s a pretty nice spot to be in and still, be able to commute to most parts of the Dallas side of things.

Lake Ray Hubbard is a big draw for the community. The marinas make the lake accessible to boats. It’s also a highly-regarded area for fishing. It draws all sorts of ranges of individuals and families.

Homes are priced from a reasonable entry point just under $200,000. Other properties stretch well into the millions with some of the larger acreage properties and development communities. So you've got kind of a nice range from open land to lakefront and just about everything in between.

There are some neat things happening in downtown areas where urban development is bringing new dining and entertainment options.

In the past, you may have not thought much about Rowlett because it was thought of as a pretty small town on the edge, but now it's getting up to around 70,000 residents. It's a decent-sized community with a lot of really great city services and events to offer the community.

After resolving some of the development issues with a previous contractor, the city of Rowlett is ready to restart some of the development of their new Lagoon!

What is the State of the Real Estate Market in DFW in 2019 so far? Todd breaks down what you can expect for the rest of the year for agents, home buyers, and home sellers. 

Is it right to worry about missing your chance to get into a home before school starts? Todd is joined by his son Carter to answer these questions.

Did the seasonal changes and the weather patterns in our North Texas market actually impact the real estate market? This question is one that we get a few times a year. And the answer, of course, is yes. I say of course because it's so obvious to me even though I see all sorts of real estate agents making really bad mistakes on behalf of their clients around this topic, just ignoring the weather and how it can impact your house, your home and the offers you receive.

During the heart of spring, and the weather warms up enough that some of those grasses and flowers are fully coming into bloom. Things just look better, especially with some of the storms we get. The yard starts to fill in, looking rich and green.

Whether you like to believe it or not, photos with nicer yards look better. Buyers are more optimistic as they walk from the curb to the house. Many of these homes they simply think of more highly. They're more interested in buying them, and they're willing to pay more for them. So yes, the weather does impact the housing market.

When we have a hailstorm or a windstorm or even just the forecast of one of those things, the activity in our market really does taper off. Fewer buyers get out, and fewer sellers put their home on the market. Obviously, weather can change day-to-day, and as we get into seasonal shifts we need to prepare accordingly. Seasonality allows us to leverage, the plants, flowers , and trees to really impact our marketing in a positive way.

We are still in a seller's market in the Dallas Fort Worth Real Estate market, and Todd breaks down the data for what that means for agents, home buyers, and home sellers.