Inside San Angelo | A San Angelo Real Estate Blog

After several months on the market I have received an offer on one of my listings. It was a listing I inherited from a fellow agent that left our office. The listing was horribly overpriced and did not generate any showings for months. Finally the seller calls me and asks me to take it off the market if we don’t get any offers by the end of the week. I asked them why they think we might get offers if no one is showing it. They shrugged and asked me what we should do. I said “drop the price to $xxxxxx.” He said thats fine but we feel like that is too low.

The next day after lowering to MY price, the property is showing at least once a day. Needless to say I was satisfied but my clients were growing evermore impatient. Still wanting to take it off the market at the end of the week, Mr. Seller tells me to get the paperwork ready to terminate the listing. Well, providence shined its light upon me and the day he was supposed to sign the termination, another agent brings me an offer.

After negotiating, we come to a standstill where the seller has made a final verbal counter offer and will not budge. The other agent needs to see if her client can afford to pay for the closing costs not paid for by the seller, which requires contacting the lender for a re-approval. Evidently the lender was too busy to call her back because we waited for a WEEK to get word back from them. Luckily my client had to go out of town for work and could not sign the termination.

Finally! The agent calls and says its all good and we have a deal. We signed the papers yesterday and are waiting for inspections. Only God knows what the next weeks will bring. Patience is a virtue! Say a prayer for us and I will update later. Thanks for reading.

Andrew

Many homes are sitting on the market unsold for months at a time. It is proven that the longer the home is on the market the less likely it is to sell. I’ve talked to many sellers who are eager to sell their home here in San Angelo and they all say the same thing:

“Why don’t we put it on the market for $xxx and see if we can get it. We can always reduce the price later right?”

This is the fatal flaw of most unsold listings. Pricing is one of the key elements of marketing and selling a home. Several factors go into pricing:

1. Recently sold homes of a similar nature. A good agent will factor in these homes as well as a few other factors including homes currently for sale in the same price range and neighborhood as well as homes that did not sell in the same category.
2. The condition the property. Preparing your home for sale is vital to selling it in a timely manner and for a good price. A Realtor who knows what they are doing will tell you that your home may be great for you, but not always for potential buyers. Your collection of priceless figurines and family photos can make buyers uncomfortable. Neutral colors allow people to see themselves in the home and not the pink walls in your daughter’s room.

There are also several factors that do NOT affect the price of your home:

1. How much you paid for the property. The real estate market moves in cycles and can go up or down. That was then, this is now. Trust your Realtor.
2. How much money you need to buy a new house. I know you are seeing dollar signs but you have to remain focused and let the market dictate the price.

The bottom line is that buyers are comparison shoppers. If they can get a bigger better home for the same price or less they will go for the better deal. Homes that are over priced will sell every other house on the market. Homes that are priced competitively WILL attract buyers and WILL sell. In fact, the ultimate buyer attraction is to price the home slightly under market value and let the buyers fight over the property. It seems counter-intuitive but if you price low, chances are you will either sell faster or for a better price.

And remember, mortgage companies and appraisers are more conservative with their valuations. It is in nobody’s interest to have an appraisal come up short. Buyer’s feel ripped off and seller’s either lose the sale or just eat the difference.

Price low - Sell high!

In San Angelo, rentals are all the rage. What with the burgeoning population of Angelo State University and Goodfellow Air Force Base. We constantly receive inquiries from people interested in renting a home in San Angelo. However we must turn most away because our property manager has absolutely no properties for lease. So as an investor, one could fill a desperate need for affordable homes to rent. Investing in such a property has many benefits for both the renter and the landlord. The price of rent remains high in San Angelo with many rental units having very low vacancies. Interest rates are dipping at the moment but don’t expect them to stay low. Here’s a situation to illustrate:

You buy a house for $50,000 on a conventional loan at 5.5% interest for 15 years. Your house rents for $700/month and the tenant pays all utilities. The approximate payment on the loan is $575.

At that rate you will have paid down $12,000 in 5 years with an additional $7500 from the difference between the rent and the loan amount plus any appreciation in value.

San Angel has a strong demand for rentals and a small supply. If you’ve got an interest in investing in real estate but want to know more about the twists and turns of a transaction, send me an email and I can gladly give you more information.

OK! OK! Here is where you can find listings for rentals. The Standard Times website is a major source of rental listings with a whopping 28 adds with 5 or 6 being commercial property.

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Houses are selling fast in San Angelo. There is a large demand for quality houses in good neighborhoods. Sometimes our lives take a turn that requires us to change direction. When you need to move and sell your house fast, there is nothing like the reassurance you get from knowing your Realtor is working hard for you. The spring and summer months will bring a new wave of buyers and if you are condering selling your home, now is the time to do it. The average marketing time for a home is around 90 days. If your home is priced correctly, it WILL sell. As a Realtor, my job is to do an analysis of the neighborhood to calculate the correct price. If your home is priced too high, buyers will move on to a better deal. There are endless examples of homes that are priced too high and sit on the market for months. If you are considering selling your home in San Angelo or anywhere in the world, contact me for a free no-pressure consultation.

The School Board will meet Monday to discuss various issues. When: 5:15pm. Where: The Administration Building at 1621 University.

There was a case of staph infection at Central High School….no not staff…

Several CHS Choir students have made it to the highest choir in the land, the Texas All-State Choir. As a former Bobcat Singer myself, I am very proud of them. It takes alot of practice and dedication. Sic ‘em Cats!!!

Wall Lady Hawks secure a seat in the playoffs!!

Most real estate consumers are concerned with how the market is doing here in San Angelo. I, Andrew Master of the InsideSanAngelo.com Domain, will galdly give you an overview of how our real estate market is doing. One indication of a market’s strength is the amount of homes for sale and the amount of homes that are being bought. The amount of homes for sale at a given time is what we call “inventory.” More homes for sale equals less bargaining power for sellers. Less homes for sale equal more power for the the buyer. So to calculate the inventory we take the amount of homes for sale today, and divide that by the amount of homes that have historically sold in one month. The numbers for San Angelo is as follows:

Active Listings: 349

Average # of Sold Homes* : 129

 * Calculated based on one year avg. starting Jan. 1 2007

Amount of Inventory: 2.7 months

So at this rate, assuming there are no new listings, we will exhaust our inventory in just under 3 months. This is a healthy rate for a market of our size. So put away your fears of a market meltdown in San Angelo. The bubble has not burst here and is in fact growing. If you are interested in looking at homes in the San Angelo area please contact me or visit my website. Thanks for reading.

San Angelo’s Sunset Mall  is getting an Aeropostale store. What a blessing for our struggling economy. Maybe this is exactly what we need to spice up our semi-newly renovated mall atmosphere. The mall, typical hang out for preteens and elderly walking enthusiasts, has struggled to reinvent itself here in San Angelo. They recently overhauled the look of the interior and shelled out doubtless millions for this and new signage. So where is the appeal. It’s not the dizzying patterns of the the carpeting….is it the dull mismatched colors? Aeropostale has announced plans for a new store between The Buckle and Wet Seal. Just the piece of prime mall real estate they’ve been looking for I’m sure. Forgive my cynicism. I’ve been disenchanted with the mall for a while now. I am a man after all. Women seem to go crazy for shopping and the mall is that place where they can go to forget all their worries and get away from the trappings of their lives. This is a phenomenon that has been going for decades. And it doesn’t show any signs of stopping (present economic “situation” notwithstanding). So if you feel like getting away from life or just need a new pair of purposefully tattered jeans or maybe an oversized cookie, pop on into San Angelo’s Sunset Mall.

With all the doom and gloom and negative energy floating around in the media these days, I want to clear the air about San Angelo’s real estate market. The market follows a delicate cycle that usually follows the seasons. Other than this the market has historically risen steadily. I have made a chart and graph to illustrate my data.

Keep reading →

Recently, the San Angelo City Council has weighed a massive city-wide zoning change that will affect many San Angelo residents and business owners. The proposed zoning change is concerned with the classification CG/CH which is short for Commercial General/Commercial Heavy. This classification has been historically broad, allowing many different uses. The change will dissolve the CG/CH zoning in favor of a more narrow three tier commercial zoning. The San Angelo Board of Realtors were onhand at the City Council meeting to voice concerns over property owners rights. Will property owners be notified? Is there an appeals process? These are the questions that most were asking at the meeting. Due to the large show of support from the community, the City Council have decided to hold an ad-hoc committee meeting to hear appeals from property owners. In the meantime, Council members have assured everyone that property owners will be notified in a timely manner.

In terms of city planning, allowing such a broad category as CG/CH gives rise to unsightly industrial buildings bordering a residential neighborhood or a light commercial district. Here is a pamphlet from the city that discusses the proposal in more detail.

Some people are not very happy about the change saying it will devalue land and limit potential uses of the property. District 2 Councilman Dwain Morrison was quoted in this Standard Times article as saying “It is condemnation and devaluation of property, which is eminent domain.”

For more information, here are some contact pages:

San Angelo City Council

Planning Committee

San Angelo Board of Realtors

Do you know what your FICO Score is?

Are you SURE that no one has opened accounts in your name?

Can you afford to buy a new home?

I don’t have to tell you that credit is extremely important in today’s market. Credit card companies tempt us with low teaser rates and then one missed payment your rate goes to nearly 30%!  There are companies out there that are advertising debt counseling or debt relief but who knows if you can trust them or if their methods work. The best solution to debt management is be reasonable about your finances. Make a budget. Stick to it. Don’t let salespeople or flashy new products rule your life. You have complete control over what you do or don’t do. If you can’t afford it….don’t buy it. Hopefully people that have gotten into trouble will be able to get back to normal. If you need help, reach out to someone.