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Our Houston area real estate market is hot and has been for some time now.  With limited inventory and an influx of home buyers into our market, the average sales price of a single family home is up 22% over the same time last year.  The total number of active listings is down 15.9%, and the months of inventory is just 2.6%.  Wow!!!  New home starts are on the rise but had previously been so lagging that it will take some time for them to impact the demand in the housing market.  

With all of that being said, now is the time when you really need an experienced Realtor - whether you're buying or selling a home.  

For Buyers - If you're a buyer, you will want to:

• Have your pre approval letter ready to submit with any offer you make.  Home…

I realize that by now, everyone looking to purchase a home is aware of the fact that a pre-approval letter is a must-have.  But some of you may not understand exactly why you have to have one, and why it should be from a local lender.  Here are some reasons:

1.  You should only look at homes you can afford and are comfortable making the payments on.  Why in the world would you want to torture yourself looking at homes that you cannot afford or frustrate yourself looking at homes that are well below your price point and don't meet your expectations?

2.  Realtors® are self-employed and only get paid when the transaction closes which is sometimes 6-8 weeks after a contract is accepted.  Many hours and money goes into helping you find your dream home.…

With the Houston market as hot as it is and inventory at near record lows, pocket listings are becoming more an more common. So, you might be wondering just what is a Pocket Listing?  A Pocket Listing is a listing that doesn't show up on the MLS. 

The homes are sold by real estate agents in private, off-market transactions and are never seen by the buying public.    It's not a new term, the practise has been around for years and is usually requested by the sellers for privacy reasons.  The listing agent enters into a listing agreement with the seller and then the agent tells other Realtors about the listing.  The home gets shown and a contract is offered without ever being offered publicly.  Once the home is under contract, the agent posts it for…