With several thousand people moving to North Texas every month, including 80 people moving to the city of Denton daily, the race is on to find homes.
Denton County’s housing market hasn’t quite cooled off enough for Nathaniel Kuhns and his wife to buy their first house.
“It’s been hard,” he said. “Luckily, we have an incredible realtor who’s been able to walk us through.”
The county’s average sales price increased 8.6% since January to $479,000 in March, according to Kuhns' realtor Joanne Condi of RE/MAX DFW Associates.
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Condi said some of the county’s hottest areas include: the Celina - Gunter corridor, Sanger, Krum, and Haslet.
“And if you drive down that corridor on 35W toward North Fort Worth, you will see the amount of warehouses that have built corporate offices, and now they’re building the residential homes to go with it,” said Condi.
The Kuhns lost out on one house after facing 55 offers, including one offering $50,000 over asking price and cash.
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“A lot of houses are just three-bedroom, two-bath going for $300,000 and up that are only 1,000-1,200 square feet,” said Kuhns. “So, it’s one of those things if you find a “pearl,” 60 other people have already put an offer in on that same house.”
Condi cautions buyers that their strategy should go well beyond just the price of the house.
You should consider: “The type of loan that you have. How much earnest money you’re putting down? How you’re going to negotiate any repairs from that seller,” said Condi.
If you’re looking for a home in North Texas, better consider soaring property tax assessments.
Hope McClure, Denton Central Appraisal District chief appraiser recently alerted homeowners in Denton County to anticipate 25% increases in home values, especially in northeastern and southwestern portions of the county.
“It makes you think twice before putting in an offer,” said Kuhns.
Inventory is down to less than a half-month’s supply, according to McClure.
A portion of the appraisal district’s 350,000 appraisal notices started going out this week in the county.
The deadline to file a protest is 30 days after the notice is mailed.
Denton CAD anticipates over 120,000 appraisal protests in 2022 ‘as real estate values continue to out-perform expectations.’
In 2021, 90,000 protests were filed.
Roughly 30% of homeowners protest their appraisals, according to McClure. ‘We estimate that between 70-80% of all protests last year (2021) had some type of reduction in value,’ she told NBC 5.
“Get a good realtor to run the [comparative market analysis] for your subdivision,” said Condi.
Homeowners who are protesting appraisal notices are also encouraged to request all data appraisal districts used to determine your assessed value.
