New Home Buyer Advice

Are we nearing the end for cheap money? This week, the downtrend for interest rates hit a wall, along with the dollar rallying on foreign currency exchanges and gold trading back most of its recent gains. All these factors together are signalling higher real interest rates. There are many threads to follow about the economic direction of the U.S. and nothing is certain, but at this juncture, the consensus is December will see a .25 point rise in rates and that means interest rates most likely will increase, and plateau before the actual Federal Reserve rate hike occurs in December. The December Fed meeting will also give further market guidance concerning for rate hikes in 2018. 

There are many sources to follow concerning the economic direction of the

Simply speaking, a seller's temporary leaseback begins when you sell your home. Many times, buyers and sellers will agree, in their purchase contract, to allow the sellers a certain amount of days past their closing and funding date to move out. Leasebacks are a negotiated agreement between parties and once signed, becomes binding on both parties unless amended by the written consent of both parties.

What are the reasons for a lease back?

1. The overwhelming main reason is that sellers want to ensure their homes actually close and fund before spending thousands of dollars in expenses moving out. I have seen the horror that occurs when a seller moves out before closing only to find out their buyer could not get final loan approval, was involved in an

Collin County Real Estate Up This Spring

Collin County real estate sales came in like a lion this spring with May 2017 home sales and prices up substantially from May 2016. If you're considering buying a home in Collin County, this will give you a quick overview of the top performing towns. If your considering selling, well, it's possible real estate in your area has increased as well. Try our Property Valuation tool and find out. We're always happy to give you a comparable analysis for any Dallas-Fort Worth property.

# of Homes Sold in Collin County - May 2017 vs 2016

There were 1,639 homes sold in Collin County during May, 2017. This was an 8.40% increase from 2016 when only 1,512 homes were sold. 

Top Selling Towns: Celina: up 100%, Frisco:

Now you can view this gorgeous American Legend Model Home in Watters Branch, the newest addition to the Craig Ranch master-planned community.

Buyers will be able to choose from 14 different floor plans ranging from $378,990 to just under $500k. Sizes range from 2,156 sq.ft. to over 4,000 sq.ft with both 1 and 2 story designs.

American Legend Homes is known for it's versatility, additional options are available for extra bedrooms, bathrooms and game rooms.

Location: 6616 Sleepy River Street, McKinney, Texas The corner of Collin-McKinney Parkway and Alma.

Sales Center Hours: Monday - Saturday: 10 am - 7 pm, Sunday: 12 pm - 7 pm

Don't miss the grand opening on June 20th from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm.

Looking for a great deal on a new home in Dallas-Fort Worth? Here are the top 10 DFW new home price drops as of May 2017. You'll see they range from 19% to 12%, and if you buy from Askins Realty Group, will qualify for our additional rebate. This is just a snapshot of our favorite deals, check our DFW Price Reduction Page to get the entire list.

As unbelievable as it may sound, MLS® in Dallas Fort Worth flat refuses to recognize the existence of 1.5 Story Floorplans. What that ultimately means is, you can't search for this popular style of home in MLS, that is up until now thanks to the exclusive programming found on this website.

When you select 1.5 Story in your search input (see screenshot below), you quickly set a powerful data filter that removes 1 and 2 story listings from your results (as long as listing Realtors® inputs their floorplans accurately), making your online time with us instantly more productive. 

We believe in 1.5 Story Homes and You Don't Have to Visit "Area 51" to Discover Them!

"One and a Half Story" homes are preferred by many families who want the majority of

In the first quarter 2017 there have been almost 500 new homes sold in Dallas-Fort Worth. Below are the top selling Dallas-Fort Worth neighborhoods, starting with the highest performers of the year.

Extended List of Top Performing DFW Neighborhoods

30-50 HOMES SOLD

• Heartland, Heartland TX - 48 homes
• West Crossing, Anna TX - 33 homes
• Paloma Creek - 30 homes

20-30 HOMES SOLD

• Devonshire, Forney - 25 homes
• Inspiration, Lavon - 25 homes
• Savannah, Savannah - 24 homes
• Union Park, Little Elm - 23 homes
• Trinity Falls, McKinney - 20 homes

14-19 HOMES SOLD

• Castle Hills, Lewisville - 19 homes
• Kreymer Estates, Wylie - 19 homes
• Windsong Ranch, Prosper - 19 homes
• Phillips Creek Ranch, Frisco - 18

ARG is proud to announce a brand new uber cool website search feature that will quickly display ALL MLS LISTINGS for any DFW School name found within a specific county, city or subdivision. This new feature allows you to cut through hours of trial and error searching and find ONLY those specific listings that matter to you.

START SEARCHING DFW MLS LISTINGS BASED UPON SPECIFIC SCHOOL NAME

When you click DFW TOWNS on the Main Navigation Bar, you can quickly search for MLS Listings that report to a specific school name within a specific County, City or Subdivision only. For example, if you want to live in McKinney, but want to send your kids to FRISCO HIGH SCHOOL, you can quickly find just those MLS Listings for sale in McKinney that send students to

At the end of the day, every home has a price the market will agree with and knowing that approximate price tag is the first order of business for any successful home sale. Over the years ARG has listed and sold 100's of area pre-owned homes for our Free Move-up buyers and today, after nearly 13 years, ARG enjoys one of the highest success rates selling our client's listings and that is due to a careful understanding of value. Read ARG's Marketing Plan.

Also, many ARG clients enjoy up to a fully commission free sale of their home, meaning even if they must sell for less than list price, their NET proceeds from the sale of their home would still be thousands of dollars higher than if they listed with a traditional full cost broker charging up to 6%.   

The monthly cost of home ownership, via higher mortgage interest rates, is expected to rise later this month when the Federal Reserve convenes to review current economic activity and interest rate policy. Experts anticipate the Fed will have no choice but to raise rates again. Since September, the Federal Funds Rate has increased by 0.5%. March's increase will mean the Federal Funds Rate will rise to 1%. During the recession of 2008/9, the Federal Funds rate dropped to just 0.25%.

Historically speaking, today's mortgage interest rates are still very low, however with economic forecasts heating up, price inflation becomes a threat to economic stability and hence a higher cost of borrowing is generally the tool used to combat inflation. Experts are