Housing is called a bargain

Realtor disputes company report, saying numbers are misleading
07:20 PM CDT on Tuesday, June 15, 2004

By KATHY A. GOOLSBY / The Dallas Morning News

Bargain hunters looking for a good deal on housing might make a beeline to Colleyville after reading a report by Location Inc. The real estate consultant, based in Rhode Island, recently listed the city among the five most undervalued communities in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

Not so fast, said Realtor Michael Brady. The city might not be as undervalued as the report suggests.

"If I have a custom builder in Colleyville's Westchester, and he builds the exact same house in [Southlake's] Timarron, the price is going to be the same," he said.

According to the company's Web site, www.Neighborhood Scout.com, undervalued towns have good schools, low crime rates and lots of owner-occupied single-family homes, with lower median home prices than in similar communities. The other area cities making the list are Richardson, Plano, Lewisville and Allen.

Colleyville has the features of the undervalued towns, said Mr. Brady, who for 15 years has sold property in Colleyville, Southlake, Highland Park and other upscale communities. But Colleyville's median home price, which he estimates at $215,000, is misleading.

The numbers are skewed by the trend to buy a house just for the lot, he said.

"I've got some property listed in Tanglewood where it costs $265,000 for a half-acre lot," Mr. Brady said. "But Colleyville still has old neighborhoods where homes and lots sell for $150,000, and the new owner comes in and bulldozes the house to build a bigger one. So mathematically, Location Inc.'s numbers may be correct, but they're not looking at the reasons behind the sales."

That's a valid point, said Scott Welmaker, Colleyville's economic development manager. He said a 5,246-square-foot home built in 1996 was demolished in 2002 to make way for a 13,109-square-foot home.

Mr. Welmaker said the number of permits being issued for new housing does not reflect a weak market.

Since January, 143 permits for new singe-family residential houses have been issued in Colleyville, compared with 161 for all of last year and 138 in 2002.

He said a check online at www.realtor.com listed 27 Colleyville homes on the market with selling prices of $1 million or more. In some cities that might indicate that anybody with money is trying to get out, Mr. Welmaker said, but not in Colleyville.

"If there were 127 on the market and nothing new being built, that would indicate a real problem with the market," he said. "But in Colleyville that just shows a robust market for high-end housing."

But even if Colleyville isn't as undervalued as the report indicates, Mr. Welmaker said, the city's homebuyers are getting a bargain nonetheless. Just compare Colleyville with North Dallas, Plano and other cities with an abundance of upscale neighborhoods.

"Colleyville is well-known as a place with lots of these neighborhoods, and when you compare traffic and tax rates this probably does represent a good value," Mr. Welmaker said.

Remaking the mold

Lisa Tanner
Staff Writer

A strong business background, a detailed business plan and dogged determination are the hallmarks of many of today's newcomers to the residential real estate game.

Unlike the real estate career path of many of their predecessors, these new residential sales agents often already are accomplished business people. Or, if they haven't already built a solid business career in another field, they are young self-starters who are driven and dedicated to achieving business success, according to executives at several top area firms.

Years ago, people entering residential real estate were often women who did so because of a change in circumstances, perhaps a divorce or the death of a spouse, said Robbie Briggs, chairman of Briggs-Freeman Real Estate Brokerage in Dallas. "They were successful primarily because of who they knew and their connections," he said.

But although connections are still helpful, the rising stars of today often are coming from other businesses or already have a strong business background in the technology, financial or even commercial real estate fields, Briggs said. (See profiles of some of the new stars of residential real estate beginning on page 27.)

"They come in raring to go," he said.

Yet good people and organizational skills -- characteristics of successful agents for decades -- are still important, Briggs said.

Successful newcomers are comfortable with technology and embrace marketing strategies to create a sphere of influence for themselves, he said. Some approach the business from the marketing angle from Day One, creating a position for themselves through letters, e-mails and other strategies.

Briggs-Freeman, for example, has several very successful agents who have business backgrounds in retail sales, which translates well to home sales, he said.

"They offer tremendous service and follow-up," Briggs said.

Some of the agents who achieve strong success early in their careers are those with the most detailed business plans, said Lori Arnold, president of Coldwell Banker Apex Realtors.

"They are more business-minded and have real business skills -- very different from agents 10 years ago," Arnold said. They're still active in the community, but the younger agents are more willing to embrace database marketing and other strategies, she added.

The amount of people contact needed in the job cannot be downplayed, and new agents can't be afraid to prospect and make sales calls, she added.

Those who climb to the upper ranks very quickly often face challenges they are not prepared for, Arnold cautions. That is where company executives must step in to see that they get the support they need to handle the volume of business.

Sometimes the new agents are getting four or five years' worth of experience in one year and may be overwhelmed, she said.

Still, Arnold is seeing a "better caliber of agent, more serious business people who are not looking for weekends off or to work part-time.

"They're looking at a long-term career," she said.

At Virginia Cook Realtors, the most successful young agents usually are well-educated, very articulate and very focused on their career, said Sheila Rice, executive vice president.

"They are aware it's hard, hard work," Rice said. They also are aware that people care very much about their homes and are enthused by being involved with something so important to their clients, she added.

It doesn't hurt that those who succeed often come in with the mindset that they will work as many hours as it takes, Rice said.

"They have an entrepreneurial mindset," she said, and are aware of the challenges of living on commission rather than expecting a paycheck twice a month.

Goals for the first year would be $1.5 million to $2 million in sales, and $2 million to $3 million in the second year. If they only sell $1 million in homes the first year, they'll only make $15,000, which few would find acceptable, she added. But after the first few years, the numbers can rise significantly.

"That's where the talent really comes in, as they begin to do more and more business," Rice said.

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