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Buyers Can Still Take Advantage of Huge Buying Power

I was talking with some potential buyers yesterday. They have been sitting on the fence for a couple of years watching the market. With rising home prices and interest rates, they now realize they missed the best time to buy.

While prices and rates are up, they still have more buying power today than at almost any time in history. And rates are only going to go up. They have to go up in order to get the private sector to invest in mortgage back securities.

Let’s take a look at a typical move-up buyer in our market. The couple makes $135,000 per year or $11,250 per month. Let’s also assume that the maximum front-end qualifying ratio is 35% or a $3937.50 monthly payment.

The chart below depicts the amount of buying power this couple has at a number of different interest rates.

Home Buying Power

As rates climb, the amount of home they can purchase decreases rapidly. A 3 percent increase in interest rate results in a 21 percent reduction in buying power. This assumes that housing prices remain stable. Rising prices over time further dilutes their buying power.

There is still time to take advantage of the historic low rates and relatively low housing prices.

Click here to search for Dallas area homes for sale.

Tom Branch, Broker, CDPE, SFR

Photo: Base photo licensed from iStockPhoto

Frisco Texas Market Report For October 2013

The housing market in Frisco, Texas continues to shine. Median home prices have climbed and are up 8 percent over the past 12 months.

 frisco-tx-median-prices-october-2013

At the same time prices are increasing the Months Supply of Inventory continues to drop. At the end of October there was 2.4 months of inventory. We have not seen this level since January 2007.

 frisco-tx-months-of-inventory-october-2013

The Percent of Original List Price represents to amount of reductions a seller has to take to sell a property. Frisco is now seeing 96 percent of list price, a gain of 2.2 percent of last year.

 frisco-tx-list-to-sale-october-2013

Want to know what your Frisco Texas home might sell for?  Click here to see your value instantly.

Click here for a complete list of Homes for Sale in Frisco, TX.

Tom Branch, Broker, CDPE, SFR

Data Source: NTREIS Trends on November 1, 2013.

New Homes for Sale in Plano TX

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With the city of Plano being just about built out, we often get inquiries about new homes in Plano. While the number of new home starts in the city is down, new homes are still being built with a number of new subdivisions popping up on a few of the large remaining tracts of land in the city.

Click here for a list of new homes for sale in Plano, TX.

Searching for new homes online is limited. While some of the inventory is posted online, much of it is not.  Contact us at 214-227-6626 for an updated list of available new homes in Plano.

Tom and Gina Signatures

Photo: Copyright 2012 – Imaged2Sell


New Home Rebate

Purchase a new home through us and we'll help you with your closing costs! We'll give you a credit of 1.5% of the price of the home at closing to use towards your closing costs.

Click here for our New Home Rebates page.

The Branch Team Launches CollinHouseValues

CollinHouseValue - Your Home Value OnlineThe Branch Team recently re-launched CollinHouseValues.com.

CollinHouseValues now offers completely automated valuations of properties. Simply input an address, ZIP Code, and an email address and the system will calculate a value based upon recent sales in the immediate area.

If you need a more detailed analysis, one can be requested. Detailed valuations are done by hand and will usually be delivered via email within 24 hours.

Home values are estimated values based upon comparable sales and the results are not an appraisal of the property.

Tom and Gina Signatures

Golf Course Homes For Sale in Allen Texas

Golf Course Homes in Allen Texas

While the Texas weather in mid August is sizzling, the 100-plus degree afternoons give way to more reasonable temperatures in the early evening. As the temperatures drop, we see the golfers out hitting the links.

The Golf Club at Twin Creeks, in Allen, TX, is an Arnold Palmer designed course that opened for play in 1995. The award-winning, 18-hole championship golf course meanders around two natural free flowing, tree-lined creeks helping to create a peacefully scenic setting.

The City of Allen also owns The Courses at Watters Creek. Watters Creek consists of three unique golf experiences for all levels of players and provide an outstanding environment to learn and practice all phases of the game with first class practice facilities. The Courses at Watters Creek was designed to have something for everyone.

Click here to see Golf Course Homes in Allen Texas.

Tom Branch, Broker, CDPE, SFR

Photo: Copyright Imaged2Sell

Pool Homes in Frisco Texas

Pool home in Frisco Texas

It’s that time of year again! Afternoon temperatures are over 100 degrees and everyone is looking for a way to cool off. While there are municipal and community pools, many homes in Frisco, Texas have in-ground pools. Personal pools offer privacy and a much quiet and relaxed atmosphere.

While some home buyers will opt to put in a new pool, we strongly encourage potential buyers to look for a Frisco Texas home where the pool is already installed. Installing a new pool is very costly and those owners never recoup the cost at the sale. It would be far more cost effective to purchase a home with a pool and remodel the kitchen and the baths.

Click here for a list of Frisco Texas Homes For Sale with Pools.

Tom Branch, Broker, CDPE, SFR

Photo: Licensed from Imaged2Sell