Why A National MLS Would be a Mistake

There has been much discussion lately about eliminating the local MLS (ours is Bryan-College Station MLS) and going with a national MLS. The proponants of this claim that it will eliminate worries about finding properties online and allow agents to show properties beyond their boundries.

I for one will stick to selling Bryan and College Station homes (and the surrounding areas). I feel like the pundits have some very solid points and a lot of negative points. I believe that the people that are for this measure (most of them are fellow Realtors) have a very minimal understanding of what a real estate agent truly brings to a transaction. A move to a national MLS will make us simple door openers, nothing more and nothing less.

I don't sell in Austin or Houston or Huntsville for one very good reason...I don't know the area. I would hate to sell a property to folks and then find out that it's in an area that's known for foundation failure (Houston and other areas have actual fault lines), or that there is a sewage treatment facility nearby that we didn't happen to smell that day, but that one or two months out of the year it's quite noticable.

Real estate is local. I've blogged before about the need to realize that the news in real estate is on the national level and that it looks very different here in Bryan/College Station. The same can be said for what sells here. In Michigan, where I came from originally (but, as they say, got down here as fast as I could...), it was desirable to have the master bedrooms upstairs. Heat, after all, rises and it was a nice way to maximize that and keep your bedroom cozy. Not so here as that feature all but sometimes kills a sale. In Huntsville, just miles from College Station, it is extremely common for slab failures to occur, and it doesn't affect the price that the home sells for. Not so in Bryan or College Station, with those listings even with a corrected issue taking much longer to sell and accepting typically, a much lower price per square foot compared to homes without issues.

How would you like a real estate agent to show you a house in College Station and not mention that the upstairs master will be an issue for resale? How about one from Austin that doesn't know that south College Station has traffic issues (currently being resolved) and that it could take double the time to travel to the university from one location compared to another? What about listing a house with a Houston agent, who doesn't understand the impact that proximity to Texas A&M University plays in home pricing and fails to price the house properly costing you thousands of dollars?

Real estate is a local venture and keeping it local is the best plan. Now, that isn't to say that a property in Caldwell shouldn't have some presence on the Austin MLS, or a property in Anderson shouldn't be listed in Houston MLS. For this I think a simple plan of cooperative listings would work well.

When buying or selling ensure that your real estate dollars work to your advantage! Use a local Realtor!!!

Existing Home Sales Up

Both in our Bryan and College Station market, as well as the national market existing home sales were up in September by a significant 7.5%. This was unexpected as the economists were predicting furthur slowing.

Unfortunately this news was almost lost in the landslide of almost apocoliptic news in other fronts. For those of your that are news hounds, however, remember that bad news sells good or average news seldom does.

Headlines that splash are "Economy is hitting rock bottom" not "Our economy isn't growing as much as hoped, but is on the rebound".

We get many phone calls both from potential buyers and potential sellers asking about the market. We do have many people sitting on the fence but overall its still a very strong market.

It is especially important to have an agent that is experienced in Bryan and College Station real estate right now as there are some potentially rough waters to negotiate in the loan, appraisal and closing phases. It is just as important to have an excellent local lender on your side, as they are much more aware of potential issues than your larger, out of area, lenders.

In short our market is still moving. Prices are up modestly (that's typical for our market) and loans are still available.

Call today to start your own personal search or click on our MLS search and enter your criteria, price range and whether you are looking for Bryan or College Station or one of our outlying areas and we'll keep you up to date with all the new listings. If you're ready to search call and we'll arrange a time when we can meet (yes, weekends are always a possibility with advance notice) and arrange appointments to see the homes that either best suit your needs, or you are most interested in if you would like to pick. My Buyers Agent and I will show you a variety of different homes within your criteria and aren't the type of agents that show you 3 or 4 and encourage you to pick.

If you are interested in selling your Bryan or College Station home call today for a free market analysis.