Denton County Housing Market

In the southeast corner of Denton County, around Lewisville, The Colony, and Carrollton, real estate broker Christy Thompson has, “A list of buyers who are just waiting, and waiting, and waiting.”

She says realty in that area comes with a rough reality for buyers: “It’s going to be tough, and if you find a house for sale, we have to go look at it today. There is no more going to look on the weekends. You can’t do that.”

In this small enclave in May, an average of 16 homes were purchased every day. The blistering pace of sales is twice as fast as the increase in the sales rate in the rest of North Texas. Why?

Location, location, location.

The area is close to big new employers, like Nebraska Furniture Mart, the planned Toyota headquarters, a new Fed Ex office building, and new Liberty Mutual campus.

But most of the buyers Christy Thompson has dealt with aren’t going to work for any of those big businesses.

“What I am seeing is a lot of investors,” she said. “A lot of investors buying up the houses, paying cash.”

Investors know the market here will likely only get hotter as workers do start to move in.

Stephen Richter is relocating to this area and has seen almost 50 properties in 20 days.

“To try to find a place that is decent to move to, it has been hell,” he said.

Richter has made offers on three homes, only to be locked out each time by other buyers upping the ante.

“It sells in a day, so if you are not there first thing in the morning, by noon you are probably too late,” he said. “By the next day, you are definitely too late.”

Melinda Gibson is getting out at a good time.

“I sold the house and I have to be out in like 15 days,” she said.

Her buyer beat other offers, paid in cash, and didn’t even have the property appraised, as far as she knows. She said the best part is, she’s not trying to move to another place nearby — she wouldn’t be able to afford to stay in the area.

Christy Thompson said that sentiment is shared by many. She said other potential sellers are holding off putting their homes on the market because they don’t think they can afford to buy another property nearby. That may be contributing to extremely low inventory.

There is currently less than a two month supply of homes for sale in southeast Denton County. Three months is considered a “healthy” amount of inventory, Thompson said.

Read the original article at WFAA Channel 8.

Hot Housing Market

May housing numbers for North Texas have been released by the MetroTex Association of REALTORS.

Rochelle Mortensen with the group said Monday in a press release that single family home sales reached 9,484 last month, up six percent from 2014 and marking a record high. The average home price was $271, 676 — nearly $7,000 higher than April and an 8 percent increase from last year.

More than 35,212 homes were sold in May, and nearly 40 percent cost between $200,000 and $400,000.

The group also release a top 10 list of the hottest markets in North Texas:

  1. Grand Prairie
  2. South Fort Worth (Everman and Forest Hill)
  3. Southeast Arlington
  4. The Colony
  5. Richardson
  6. Watauga
  7. Mesquite
  8. Fort Worth (Summerfield and Park Glen)
  9. Anna ISD area
  10. Grapevine

Mortensen says Southeast Denton County had the highest volume of sales, beating other areas by 25 percent or more.

Read original article at WFAA Channel 8.

2015 Playful City USA

The Colony is being honored with a 2015 Playful City USA designation for the 5th consecutive year. In partnership with the Humana Foundation, KaBOOM! is honoring cities, towns and counties across the country for making their communities more playable. In 2015, a total of 241 communities have been recognized as part of Playful City USA program. The Colony is one of only 19 communities in Texas chosen for recognition.

Hopscotch sidewalks, structured recess programs, mandated neighborhood play spaces, city-wide play days and mobile recreation vehicles are all ways in which these communities are appealing to residents, and attracting and retaining residents.

“Playability is crucial to the success of our future communities, and we are proud of the work these cities and leaders are doing to provide a better quality of life for all residents, and especially families,” says KaBOOM! President, James Siegal. “Play provides a competitive advantage for cities looking to attract and retain residents. With these esteemed leaders, and our friends and partners across the country, we continue to prioritize play for all kids.”

To learn more about these cities, see the full list of the 241 communities named 2015 Playful City USA honorees, or to gather more information on the Playful City USA program, visit www.playfulcityusa.org.

Happening In The Colony

Take a drive around The Colony and you’ll find exciting progress everywhere you go. A photo “journey” around town yesterday offered a glimpse of our exciting retail and restaurant projects recently completed or underway.

Nebraska Furniture Mart and the Grandscape Development have officially opened. Business  is booming at TopGolf, and other additions include Rooms to Go and the new Marriott Courtyard under construction.

High quality master planned communities like the Cascades and Austin Ranch are answering the demand for commercial and residential space with new phases. We particularly enjoyed seeing The Boat House at Austin Ranch with the cool swimming pool overlooking a large lake. (The teenager riding along even said he’d like to live there!)

Our journey ended at The Tribute, where we were reminded once again of the many reasons  The Colony was named one of the Top 20 Best Places to Live in the U.S. by CNN/Money Magazine as we viewed the trails lined with wild flowers, full lakes and ponds, and the  top-rated Prestwick STEM Academy.

We hope you’ll enjoy these photos as much as we enjoyed taking each one!