Southlake Real Estate Blog

I was very excited to open my mail this morning and see a letter from Century 21 Real Estate-I had known that my Southlake Real Estate Team had preformed very well this year; however, until I opened the official letter I didn’t realize quite how well we had done.

Not only were we the #1  real estate team for January 2010, with sales over $1.0 Million and listing over $8.2 Million,  we are also up 92.87% from this time last year.

All of the Southlake Real Estate Agents are extremely proud and happy all of our hard work this past year has paid off for our Southlake home sellers, as well as all of the wonderful Southlake home buyers we work for.  We are all blessed to have such wonderful clients.

Southlake Texas Real Estate

Are you looking for a Southlake Texas real estate agent? Why trust the Southlake TX home buying or selling  Southlake Texas real estate to just anyone-especially in such a slow market?

Team Hodnett Southlake real estate is currently ranked as the number one Team in a two state region for the Century 21 System. We have been recognized by Texas Monthly as one of the “Super Agents”,  named “FIVE STAR REALTOR – “BEST IN CLIENT SATISFACTION” per the Fort Worth Business Press and have an eight member team of Certified Relocation Specialists and Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialists.

Ready to search Southlake Texas homes for sale? Only trust the experts; let Team Hodnett take care of you and all your real estate needs.

Until next time,

Sharon

I recently had the pleasure of speaking at the at the “Night Of Champions”, sponsored by C21, as part of Diwali, the 5 day New Year’s celebration for Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Diwali is also known as “The Festival of Lights” because part of the celebration involves lighting small clay lamps with oil to signify good over evil within an individual. The celebration is quite breathtaking and I was honored to be a part of it.

So you may be asking, why is a Southlake Real Estate Agent speaking at a New Year’s celebration? Another big part of Diwali is the start of the financial year, and celebrating business offers business owners good luck in the following year.

What gems of wisdom can Team Hodnett Southlake and Colleyville  real estate offer? Since I have been licensed for 20 years, a Hud agent for 5 years, raised 5 children and enjoy 5 grandchildren, I offered a bit of advice to anyone wanting to become a Southlake, TX REALTOR by touching on topics many starting out in the Southlake and Colleyville real estate market may not realize:

• You will need constant education to stay on top of the game and actually make money. Just like Tiger Woods has a coach even now that he is a pro player, an expert Colleyville real estate agent needs to constantly study his or her chosen market.

• Stay positive. There will always be ups and downs in the market. Don’t stress if the market is doing badly; just do your best, stay on top of your game; and provide outstanding customer service-the clients will come.

• You have to spend money to make money. I know it sounds cliche, but it is true. Take people to lunch, net work, reward referrals immediately, do newsletters, use your database, and make yourself stand out as a trust worthy  professional Southlake Buyers and Sellers real estate agent.

• Take a look at some of the real estate agents you admire or would like to mimic. Many years ago I took a look at what the top REALTORS were doing and tried to see what the common denominator was. I quickly realized that all the big agents had builders and did build jobs, so I quickly worked towards teaming with a Colleyville real estate builder. Sales shot through the roof after I was able to land my first production builder account.

• WORK, WORK, WORK. Though I have been a Colleyville and Southlake REALTOR for 20 years and Team Hodnett real estate is doing very well in our not so great economy, I still work 12 hour days, with only Sundays off. Why? Because that is what it takes to be the best.

To find business success in Selling Colleyville property, you must constantly study, analyze, and market Colleyville homes for sale. I must put in the leg work and the time, but it all pays off because when a Southlake home buyer or Colleyville property seller comes to Team Hodnett, there is no question I can’t answer, and no situation I can’t handle for them. That is the key to superior customer service in Colleyville real estate; let your clients enjoy the ride while you take care of everything else.

I was so honored to take a part of the Diwali celebration and to share my business advice with everyone there. It was truly a very special and fun night. Should you find you have questions about Southlake  home buying, Southlake and Colleyville relocation, or want to browse the Southlake and Colleyville MLS home search, feel free to contact me, Sharon Hodnett, your Southlake and Colleyville expert REALTOR.

Until next time,
Sharon

Wimbledon Estates

Have you heard about the new subdivision in Grapevine on Roberts Road!  There will be approximately 23 lots. The dimensions will vary- 70 ft – 80 ft wide by 125 ft  - 150 ft deep.  This neighborhood will be located in the Grapevine – Colleyville ISD.  Heritage will be the high school connected with the community. Lot prices will range between $180,000 to $190,000.  Plans are to have the nieghborhood gated, but that has not been officially approved yet. The developer would like to work with builders and take 4 lots per year for 2 years or 2 builders taking 2 lots each year per year for 2 years. The address will be Grapevine.  The closing should be around the beginning of October.
 
Please call Sharon Hodnett for additional information on deed restrictions, plats and builder guidelines. Sharon can be reached at 817-994-7152.

Palomar Estates Neighborhood of Southlake

Available Palomar Estates Lots for Sale

 Lots Available: $200k- $250K

• Palomar Estates Site Map
• Palomar Estates Address Plat
• Palomar Estates Final Plat
• Palomar Estates Final HOA Document
• Palomar Estates Lot 33 with Graphic and Dimensions 

Directions to Palomar Estates of Southlake

Off Randoll Mill, one mile N of 1709, subdivision on right. To schedule your personal tour of the Southlake neighborhood of Palomar Estates, please contact a member of Team Hodnett today!

Southlake’s Palomar Estates Offer an Excellence in Texas Living

Looking for an exclusive Texas neighborhood with lots of open space, parks and ponds? If so, you will find it all at Palomar Estates in Southlake, Texas. This Southlake neighborhood will welcome you with an impressive entrance and make you feel right at home. Located close to many businesses, Palomar Estates is perfect for anyone wanting to live just minutes from daily conveniences. You will be assured of a custom home with the new concepts being offered from custom builders on these 33 half-acre lots.

Palomar Estates: Location, Location, Location

It is always important when deciding to relocate to a new home to think about how close or far away you are from everyday conveniences. Palomar Estates is close enough, but far enough away to still offer quick trips to everything you need. The things that are local or a short trip away include:

• Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and Alliance Airport (less than 10 minutes)

• Downtown Dallas and Fort Worth (just 19 miles away)

• Lake Grapevine (great for boating)

• Challenging golf courses

• First-rate tennis facilities

• Parks and Green Spaces (for hiking, biking, picnics and more)

• Texas Motor Speedway

• Business Corridor of Alliance, TX (approximately 15 minutes away with over 200 businesses)

• Bass Performance Hall

• Dallas Aquarium

• Noble Planetarium

• Botanical Gardens and Zoos in Dallas and Fort Worth

• Six Flags over Texas and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor

• Family Water Park

• The Ball Park at Arlington

• Dallas Meyerson Symphony

• The Grapevine Opry

• Art, Science and History Museums

• The Science Place

• Grapevine Mills Mall

• The Fort Worth Stockyards

An Exemplary School District is Available to the Younger Palomar Estates Residents

Located in the Southlake Carroll school district, Palomar Estates residents of a younger age will benefit from a top-notch education. The Carroll ISD public school system consists of 11 schools in grades K-12. The district has earned the Texas Education Agency’s top rating of “Exemplary” and all schools met the No Child Left Behind Federal Guidelines. The U.S. Department of Education has named 5 of the 11 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools. This Texas district is also home to the renowned Southlake Carroll football program for those interested in football.

The Time is Right For Choosing Palomar Estates As Your Next Neighborhood

With custom-built homes in the million-dollar range, you will live at an exclusive address, which also features tranquil beauty. As an expert Southlake REALTOR, I am ready to help place you in the home of your dreams. There is no better time than now to make one of the 33 lots in Palomar Estates yours, before they are all sold. Contact me, Sharon Hodnett, and my team of Texas real estate experts at Team Hodnett, and we will get started on your search immediately.

Southlake Community Information

I have always felt Southlake, TX was a standout among other Metroplex ares, but now I have proof! A recent June article in the Fort Worth, Texas magazine selected Southlake as one of the “The Great Eight”  places to live, based on an in-depth review of the state of residential real estate in 55 neighborhoods and towns in Tarrant  County.

Southlake Real Estate News

My pride over the amazing community of Southlake, Texas doesn’t stop there, either. Forbes.com named Southlake community as THE MOST affluent neighborhood in the United States based on the average median household income estimates. If you are looking for a beautiful, peaceful community for your family, close to shopping, dinning, entertainment and employment, then a great place to start your hunt is with our Southlake MLS Home Search.

Southlake Neighborhood Community Lifestyle

Known for the “Southlake Town Square Project”, a marvelous shopping and dinning experience located on the corner of State Highway 114 and Southlake Boulevard, Southlake real estate is famous among local Texas residents as THE place to enjoy peaceful, yet entertaining life. The City of Southlakeis located in both Tarrant and Denton counties and offers amazing, beautiful homes to fit every amenity you could dream. To learn more about the Southlake Community, Search Southlake MLS Listings, or Relocate to Southlake, feel free to contact me anytime with all your questions.

Until next time,

Sharon

My Secret Weapon for getting homes sold in this market!
     Get an appraisal before you sell!One of my secret weapons in this difficult market right now is to ask my sellers to obtain a pre-listing appraisal
The majority of the appraisals are running between $350.00 to $500.00. I have two appraisers that I like to recommend, but a client can use any appraiser that they feel is qualified.
     There are many benefits of using an appraisal in this market. There is not a lot of wasted market time. When an agent or seller guesses at the price, the up and down price game usually follows. Playing the lowering the price game over and over again makes a seller question your credentials and your experience. The price may need to be adjusted if there are multiple sales presenting lower. An accurate appraisal gets the price very close to what the actually price will be at closing. Is should not be necessary to make frequent adjustments. I like having appraisals because you get the correct square footage verified. In some cases, sellers use the tax record, which can be inaccurate. Why leave money on the table? Your home may be larger than the taxing authority shows on record.
      When offers come in, having an appraisal in your pocket is really good ammunition. Many buyer’s agents feel that in order to prove their worth as a good buyer’s agent, they have to lowball the offer and try to get their buyer the best deal that they can. The high number of foreclosures and short sales are adding to this difficulty. We are seeing that there are a lot of low offers coming to the sellers at this time. I recently had a situation where I had an appraisal done on a property that appraised for $184,000. I got an offer of $174,000 and the buyer’s agent asked the seller to pay $7,000 in closing cost. Well, for that price range, asking $17,000 off the value is a pretty big reduction! I called the agent that submitted the offer and asked him if he had reviewed the appraisal that I had posted online. He had not taken the time to do so. The appraisal was there, but he had not shared the appraisal with his buyer. I mentioned that the seller is unwilling to take this low offer. I suggested that he take the time to look at the appraisal that was posted. Look at the comparable sales and then share them with your buyer.
     The agent’s comment was very interesting. He said “I did not get that value”. “I came up with a much lower price, and I suggested and advised my buyer to offer the lower price”. I shared my thoughts with him as well. “I can appreciate that, but we do have the appraisal, it has been recently done, and you can actually take that appraisal to the lender and get a loan with it! Please go back to your buyer, share the comps, share the appraisal, and see if we can’t work out a deal”. The agent did just that! I believe that in my mind the buyer wasafraid to pay our price because he was afraid he was paying too much. Since the appraisal was available, he felt comfortable enough to go forward and we were able to work out a contract. I really feel like if we had not been able to have that appraisal, it would’ve been that agent’s opinion against mine and the seller’s opinion. It is very likely that the price gap would never have been closed. Another advantage of an appraisal is the ability to post on the MLS. Agents and buyers can refer to it in a remarks section. “This property has recently been appraised for __________. The public and the agents can go online and see that document.
      I would rather know the value up front than wait until the buyer gets the appraisal at the end of the loan process. It is so inconvenient for sellers to keep the home clean, enduring a long market time and finally getting a buyer that’s willing to pay an acceptable price, only to find out that it does not appraise for contract price. I would rather know up front if it’s not going to appraise. It is important so the seller can go forward with their plans! Many times I hear “I don’t want to sell my home unless I can get “X “amount of money out of it from the sale. A seller cannot price the property based on what they want to “net”. The price should be based on what has sold around your property.
     Appraisers will take into consideration the actual amenities in your property. They will consider the location, the condition, the landscaping, the trim, the granite and all the pgrades. Some upper end amenities such as hardwood floors, coiffered ceilings, electronics and media equipment will call for large adjustments. There are so many different things that can add value or decrease value. An appraiser is going to give you actual value and will not price your home by raw square footage. Many agents do price properties by the footage. There may be similar properties with similar footage, but if the footage is similar, that does not mean the finish out and amenities are the same! Location is a big factor. A wooded lot versus a sterile lot is important. Water features add great value. Golf lots also add a tremendous value compared to lots that are not on the course. The majority of the properties get their best activity in the first 45 days. Pricing the property right is key! Properties priced properly at the beginning gives you a jump start and gives you theopportunity to have an edge over those listings who are playing the price game.
     If you have any questions about real estate, please give me a call at 817-994-7152, or e-mail with your questions at Sharon@TeamHodnett.com
     Remember, time kills all deals.

On Friday, December 12th, Team Hodnett and other members of CENTURY 21 Mike Bowman took part in Keller history! What a treat it was when Team Hodnett was invited by CENTURY 21 Relocation Director Marion Pollard and her son, the general contractor and in charge of the entire project with Wall Homes for ABC’s network show Extreme Makeover Home Edition. We were able to observe the various phases of the construction of the Keller home of the Augustin family. What a thrill it was to meet this truly wonderful Keller family and have pictures taken.

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You may have recently read that Southlake, TX has been recognized for having the highest median income in the nation. The Dallas Morning News reported this juicy tidbit of good news in yesterday’s edition. While the West Coast may have it’s glitz and glam, Southlake homeowners are rolling in the dough!

Other North Texas Communities are in the Money!

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Back on November 20th I participated in the 2008 Southlake Real Estate Top Producer Power Panel Event which featured several of my esteemed fellow top producing real estate agents from Southlake and the greater Dallas Metroplex. This event also included a question and answer session. During the evening David Fair with Hexter Fair also discussed the economic forecast for our local real estate market.

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