The housing market across North Texas may be on fire, but nowhere is it as hot as in Watauga, where realtors are bracing for another wild year in 2018.
The website Realtors.com recently labeled the Tarrant County city the No. 1 housing market in the country.
Angel Hallman, a realtor with Century 21, said many houses are selling within days – with buyers paying above the asking price.
Hallman was a teacher until she traded her classroom for selling houses about three years ago.
"Right away everyting was hot, hot, hot, and I didn’t think it could get any hotter,” she said. “Here we are in 2017, and houses are selling for more than they were 3 years ago."
On Tuesday, she was helping Angela Davis look for a new home.
But it isn’t easy.
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"It is crazy,” Davis said. “Multiple offers. It's like you've got to jump on something right away if you like it."
Davis, who owned a home in nearby Grapevine, works for an insurance company and is downsizing.
She recently offered $10,000 above asking price for one house, and still didn't get it.
"It's a good time to sell," Hallman said.
Especially in Watauga, where the housing market is booming because of low taxes, good schools, and prices still considered low per square foot.
Sean VanCura said his Watauga home has doubled in value since he and his wife bought it 15 years ago.
"We're thinking we need to get out because the market is so hot right now,” VanCura said. “Everything is selling in two to three days."
The small business owner said he’s been watching neighbors sell their homes and decided he and his wife can't afford not to put theirs on the market.
"We're looking at paying off some credit card debt,” he said. “We can still purchase another home."
According to realtor.com, millennials are attracted to Watauga because there are still bargains, relatively speaking. The median price of a new home in Watauga is $137,000. That’s 48 percent less than in the rest of Tarrant County.
