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Preliminary Tax Values have Arrived - "Let's Get Ready to Rumble!"

Saturday, May 7, 2016
by Christie Cannon

Well the dreaded letter arrived; the good news, the market is up; the bad news, your county appraiser knows it...

So what comes next?

  1. Key things to keep in mind
    1. There are generally no costs in contesting your tax value (if you do so on your own), 
    2. There is no separate penalty for protesting your taxes but not succeeding,
    3. Some counties allow for an "informal review" & even encourage such a review prior to an ARB (Appraisal Review Board) hearing,
    4. County procedures differ for the request of a review or protest (some allow mail or electronic methods, others require a scheduled appointment conducted in person),
    5. Like most "government" services, there is a processes that appears much more complex than it actually is,
    6. Your fellow citizens & residents serve as part of the final Appraisal Review Board,
    7. You have a right to review the information that the appraisal office used in determining your value.
  2. Thoroughly review your Notice of Appraised Value
    1. Have you taken full advantage of tax exceptions for which you qualify (Homestead if owned before Jan 1st, Over 65, etc),
    2. Is the information on your appraisal about your home correct?,
    3. Is the information on the CAD's (Central Appraisal District) website correct (bedrooms, SqFt, etc)
    4. Did your appraised value increase greater than 10%, if you have a homestead exemption & no new improvements.
  3. Understand what you can protest
    1. Proposed value,
    2. Denied exemptions for which you believe you qualify,
    3. Incorrect information regarding the scope or use of your property,
    4. Incorrect owner,
    5. Incorrect taxing units (authorities),
    6. Defects of the home or property that would otherwise affect the value.
  4. Understand how value is derived in Texas for the property tax assessed value
    1. Appraisers look for homes that sold closest to Jan 1st in the tax year assessed
    2. Homes that are closest in size, year built, location, age, & construction style are given the greatest weight.
  5. Be Prepared - Bring organized data whether you are meeting "informally" with an appraiser or for an ARB hearing
    1. If you purchased or refinanced your home recently (especially close to Jan 1st) and your tax assessed value exceeds your sales price, bring your signed HUD-1 (Closing Disclosure) &/or a copy of the appraisal conducted for your mortgage
    2. Bring Sales Comps for comparable properties (see 4.2) & include: address, sale date, sale price, supporting docs, names of owners, MLS information, etc.
    3. Proof of defects of your home, functional or economic obsolescence
  6. Know your Dates, Deadlines, & Procedures
    1. File on-time or you may miss your chance
    2. In most cases your protest must be filed by May 31st (*BE SURE TO CHECK with your CAD!)
  7. READ YOUR COUNTY's PROTEST INFORMATION CAREFULLY - if you don't understand something, give them a call!
    1. Denton CAD (click for info)
    2. Dallas CAD (click for info)
    3. Collin CAD (click for info)
    4. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (click for info)

 - Good Luck & please let me know if you have any questions - Christie Cannon

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The Latest National Real Estate Trends

Thursday, March 10, 2016
by Christie Cannon

Looking for the latest in national real estate numbers?  Here Christie Cannon of Keller Williams Frisco TX discusses some of the latest in real estate trends & real estate market information from the latest National Association of REALTORs reporting. 

Looking to find out more about your local market & your specific community?

Please give Christie Cannon & The Christie Cannon Team a call at 469-951-9588

or find us at www.christiecannon.com 

4783 Preston Rd #100 Frisco TX 75034

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SmartAssets.com's Top 10 Boomtowns in 2015

Wednesday, December 30, 2015
by Christie Cannon

Once again, Texas (and especially North TX) boasts strong standing in a natioanl "Top 10" list.  

Smartasset.com just published their list of 2015 top 10 Boomtowns, with Texas holding 5 of the top 10 spots!

Holding top honors for Texas, the list finds:

 

  1. Richardson
  2. McKinney
  3. Austin
  4. Frisco
  5. Odessa
The entire list can be found here, as well as their methodology!
 
 - Keller Willams Frisco - Christie Cannon - 469-951-9588
 
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Real Estate News: November Home Sale Drops

Wednesday, December 23, 2015
by Christie Cannon

The National Association of REALTOR has recently published their latest report on existing homes sales for November (likewise, they revised their October numbers).  The most recent report Existing Home Sales offers that preowned home sales:

“…fell 10.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.76 million in November (lowest since April 2014 at 4.75 million)…”   The report reflects that November was the slowest in 19th months for existing home sales.  This was displayed in a 10.5% decrease in month-over-month sales. 


While there are still many hypotheses for the reasons of the drop, many industry insiders are placing a large portion of the blame on real estate’s adjustment to the latest changes in mortgage lending laws.   With these adjustments, the industry has seen an overall increase in the amount of time it takes to close a traditional loan.

The numbers may seem miniscule on paper, the three day average increase reflects a whopping 15.7% of available banking days in November.  Traditionally, most homes close in the last 3-days of the month, as such even a 2-3 day average increase “pushes” closings into the following month. 

When we compare both written contract volume & anecdotal experience from the industry, most indications are that the sales are not lost.  December reporting will be critical to see if the decrease was simply due to delay, or if November's numbers are a foreshadowing of a deeper market shift.

Christie Cannon - Keller Williams Frisco TX

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Mixed Use & Urban Living Invades North TX

Wednesday, November 11, 2015
by Christie Cannon

While single-family housing continues to "rule the roost" in Frisco & North TX, we face an invasion of exciting mixed use & upscale "urban living" projects.  As our city sees the $5 Billion Mile, and projects like the Frisco Market Center, continue to develop, I am increasingly delighted with the new choices in housing.  The diversity of these new developments fills a void that has long been lacking in our market!

To help introduce you to some of these latest project, please peruse the links below!

In Frisco – Here

  Frisco Station (Hillwood partnership project) – more here

  The Gate in Frisco –  More Here & Here

  Wade Park -

 In Plano 

  Legacy West (same people did Shops on Legacy) – more here

There are some amazing projects in the works! Have Questions?  Please feel free to give me a call - Christie Cannon


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Home Value Predictions for the Next 5-Years

Monday, August 24, 2015
by Christie Cannon

Home Values: Where Are They Headed in the Next 5 Years? | Keeping Current Matters

Today, many real estate conversations center on housing prices and where they may be headed. That is why we like the Home Price Expectation Survey.

Every quarter, Pulsenomics surveys a nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists about where prices are headed over the next five years. They then average the projections of all 100+ experts into a single number.

The results of their latest survey

  • Home values will appreciate by 4.1% in 2015.
  • The cumulative appreciation will be 18.1% by 2019.
  • That means the average annual appreciation will be 3.4% over the next 5 years.
  • Even the experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey still are projecting a cumulative appreciation of 10.5% by 2019.

Have questions about our local market - please feel free to give me a call - Christie Cannon - 469-951-9588

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Lagging Appraisal Values

Friday, July 10, 2015
by Christie Cannon

The Impact of Rising Prices on Home Appraisals | Keeping Current Matters

The fact that residential home prices are increasing substantially in most regions of the country is music to the ears of homeowners. However, if you are in the process of selling your home, make sure you realize the major challenge a hot real estate market creates.

Each house must be sold twice; once to a buyer and a second time to an appraiser who represents the bank that will grant the purchaser a mortgage to buy the home (unless it is an “all cash” purchase). In a real market with escalating prices, the second sale may be the more difficult. And a recent survey by Quicken Loans reveals that the gap between what a homeowner believes is the value of their home compared to an appraiser is widening.

Appraisal vs. Homeowner Value | Keeping Current Matters

This could lead to an increase in the percentage of real estate transactions being challenged by a ‘short’ appraisal (where the appraiser value is less than the contracted price of the home).

The Take Away

Whether you are a buyer or a seller, you must be prepared for this possibility as it may result in a renegotiation of the price of the home.

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Home Values Today v/s The Peak

Sunday, June 14, 2015
by Christie Cannon

Bubble in the making? Seasonal "uptick"? or simply supply & demand?

Home prices continue to inch higher & higher, but in all but 7 states (those in darkest blue) the average home price has yet to reach "peak pricing." Those seven states in darkest blue reflect the state's current market is their price peak.  

At least here in North Texas, our fundamentals remain strong, inventory remains low, & for many buyers there is little relief in sight.

 

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Low Inventory Create Slowdown in Sales

Saturday, June 6, 2015
by Christie Cannon

“Lagging Supply” Leads to Slowdown in Sales | Keeping Current Matters

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released the results of theirExisting Home Sales Report. Despite the fact that properties are selling faster than they have at any other time since July of 2013, existing home sales declined 3.3% from March.

NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun explained the main reason for the slow:

"April's setback is the result of lagging supply relative to demand and the upward pressure it's putting on prices.”

One major news organization actually used this headline about the decline:

Existing home sales fall 3.3%

They certainly haven’t cratered! April marked the second month in a row that the annual sales pace remained above the five million mark (5.04 million). Year-over-year sales have increased for seven consecutive months and are still 6.1% above a year ago.

Every month, SentriLock, LLC provides NAR Research with data on the number of homes shown to potential buyers. This data is referred to as ‘Foot Traffic’ and is a great predictor of future sales and buyer demand. In April, buyer demand remained at the same level experienced in March.

Why did sales go down?

Buyers who are ready and willing to make a purchase are entering a market where their dream house may not have been listed yet. They can’t find it! Or if they find it, it happens to catch the eye of other buyers and an ‘auction like environment’ begins.

"Housing inventory declined from last year and supply in many markets is very tight, which in turn is leading to bidding wars, faster price growth and properties selling at a quicker pace," says Yun. "To put it in perspective, roughly 40 percent of properties sold last month went at or above asking price, the highest since NAR began tracking this monthly data in December 2012." (emphasis added)

The median home price of existing homes sold in April was $219,400, which is 8.9% higher than last year, and marks the 38th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains.

Bottom Line

So how do you make sense of everything that’s going on in the housing market when there are so many conflicting headlines on the same report?

John Burns, real estate expert and CEO of John Burns Real Estate Consulting gives this advice:

“The bottom line is this: don't make decisions based on newspaper articles. Read the actual press release, including the methodology, and make sure the results jive with other data points and qualitative feedback you receive.”

If you are one of the many homeowners out there realizing that now may be the time to list your home for sale, or one of the many renters debating a purchase, sitting with a local real estate professional who takes the time to find out what’s really going on in the market, should be your first step!

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Existing Home Sales Stats for May 2015!

Friday, June 5, 2015
by Christie Cannon

Buyer Demand Exceeds Housing Supply [INFOGRAPHIC] | Keeping Current Matters

Highlights:

  • Inventory Levels remain less than a six month supply - indicated an unbalanced / seller's market
  • For the last 38 straight months the market has seen gain in home prices
  • The average time on market is the lowest since June 2013
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Displaying blog entries 31-40 of 97

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Photo of Christie Cannon Real Estate
Christie Cannon
Keller Williams Realty
5933 Preston Road #300
Frisco TX 75034
972-215-7747
Fax: 972-215-7748
Send an Email
Keller Williams Frisco - The Christie Cannon Team - http://www.christiecannon.com

 

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