Real Estate Recap and What To
Expect in 2019
By Maureen Griffin, Tara Stark Real Estate Group - Keller Williams Realty
What do you think is the first ques-
tion that real estate professionals are
asked at a holiday gathering? If you
guessed, “How is the market?”, you’d
be correct! Of course, that inquiry
is always followed up by, “Is now a
good time to buy or sell?”, to which
our answer is always, “Yes!”. Wait,
always yes? Absolutely, and we’d
love to explain why in our 2018 Real
Estate Recap and 2019 What-to-Expect
report.
Real Estate Recap – 2018
32
The latest numbers available for Parker
County, as we write this, end with October
31, 2018. The North Texas Real Estate
Information Systems, Inc. (NTREIS) Lo-
cal Market Update, shows a decrease of
only 5 less listings versus the same time
period last year. Those 3,121 new listings
created an increase of closed sales that
was 5.8% higher, to date. What do those
numbers tell us? So far, 2018 has been
a healthy real estate market for Parker
County. Tara Stark, owner of Tara Stark
Real Estate Group, advises, “This is why
it’s imperative to work with a local expert
for your real estate needs. If we listen to
national reports, they can differ from your
local area. Our team are experts in the
Parker County market and being in busi-
ness with the largest real estate company
in the world, Keller Williams, gives us
insight into worldwide markets.” There is
a 3.1-month supply of inventory available,
meaning that if no other homes came onto
the market for sale, it would take only 3.1
months to sell off the remaining inventory.
As of October 31 st , the average days on
market was 59.
Interest Rates – No Crystal Ball
Does anyone remember what mortgage
rates looked like back in the late 1990’s?
When we were all worried about the
computer crisis of Y2K, consumers didn’t even blink at mortgage
rates that averaged 6.79% - 7.91% in 1999. Fast forward almost
20-years, and the fact that our 30-year fixed rate mortgage aver-
ages 5.10%, that’s prompting buyers to get serious about finding
something now. Kyrstin Zimmerman, Senior Loan Officer with
Benchmark Mortgage, anticipates we’ll see some movement
soon, “The Feds are expected to raise rates again in December,
then there’s talk of three additional rate hikes possible in 2019.
Now is a good time to get locked into a lower rate. By the end
of 2019, analysts predict we’ll see an increase of a whole basis
point, bringing the 30-year fixed rate mortgage up into the 6%
range.” Of course, nobody has a crystal ball to predict our eco-
nomic future, but economists are certain the days of extremely
artificially low mortgage rates between 3-4% are long-gone.
Current rates are a sign of a healthy economy and housing mar-
ket, both good news for Parker County!
To Believe or Not to Believe – Is That the Question?
Turning on the nightly news, we might be prone to think that