It was a meeting of the metroplex's top real estate minds. Some of the biggest names in Dallas/Fort Worth residential real estate met as a panel yesterday to discuss the state of the metroplex market, reputed to be the biggest sellers' market the area has seen in decades. At the center of the panel's discussion were topics such as what a sellers' market means to buyers, the new-home market, and how Realtors can better assist buyers.

Sponsored by Baker Publications, publisher of Homebuyer's Guide, Destination DFW, and Custom Builders and Their Communities, the Realtors' Panel was designed to gather information for a lead editorial planned for the July/August issue of Homebuyer's Guide.

Don and Ray Baker, publishers of Homebuyer's Guide, invited Agent News Editor Blanche Evans to moderate the discussion. She will also write the lead editorial, "Top Metroplex Realtors Explode Market Myths," for the July/August issue of Homebuyers Guide.

Panelists included: Eleanor Mowery-Sheets, top agent systemwide; Georgia Clement, vice president, Coldwell Banker/Paula Stringer Realtors; Doris Jacobs, top-producing agent; Duke Jimerson, vice president, Henry S. Miller Realtors and manager of Allie Beth Allman Real Estate; Carol Blair, top producer and buyers' representative; Kathy Darrow, vice president, Henry S. Miller, Realtors; Petey Parker, director of relocation services, Ebby Halliday Realtors; Lynda Adleta, principal of Adleta & Poston Realtors; Judy McCutchin top producer, RE/MAX Preston Road North; and Marty Martinez, president, Northeast Tarrant County Realtors Association and exclusive buyers' broker, Buyer's Consultants, Inc.

According to the Dallas Morning News, virtually every new and existing home in the Dallas market has been absorbed, leaving less than a six-month supply of homes on hand. A report by American Metro/Study concluded that new homes are absorbing at an even faster rate due to more constraints on the new-home market, such as lot availability and building restrictions. Some areas, such as Colleyville in Northeast Tarrant County and the Park Cities in Dallas County, are seeing even higher increases. Eleanor Mowery Sheets reported that a home she sold for $600,000 had just been resold for $1.6 million. Doris Jacobs agreed, saying she sold a home a year ago for $1 million that had recently resold for $1,450,000.

The experts agreed that those kinds of increases are limited to the higher-end market, but real estate across the board has risen approximately 10 percent in most areas over the previous year. Lynda Adleta pointed out that while sales are rivaling the early 1980s, the economy is very different. "We don't have a speculative, inflationary economy," she said.

"This economy, which includes low unemployment, low inflation, low interest rates, and other positive factors, is likely to last another five or 10 years," Sheets added.

Buyer education was also a focus. Petey Parker suggested that particularly when buyers come to the area from out of state, they are surprised at what they find. Expecting sprawling ranch houses similar to J.R. Ewing's home on the hit TV show "Dallas," they are finding smaller lots -- topped with sometimes disproportionately large homes -- instead. Georgia Clement suggested that some agents are showing homes with substantial property as far south as Waco, an hour and a half's drive from downtown Dallas.

Another issue was price. For some time, North Texas has had a national reputation for huge homes at bargain- basement prices. Carol Blair said, "There is a disappointment factor that has to be overcome with out-of-state buyers on the issue of land and price."

"Some relocation specialists who transferred here three years ago may still be telling relocating families outdated information," Parker cautioned. "The market has changed drastically just in the last year, so we are in the sometimes not-so-pleasant position of reeducating the transferee."

Marty Martinez, a buyers' advocate, suggested that Northeast Tarrant County is the healthiest market in the metroplex in which to find new homes and developments. "Large lots are available on the west side of Fort Worth's massive Alliance development, with homes on one acre and larger lots," he said.

The panel agreed that working with a Realtor is the best protection for a buyer in a sellers' market. Clement suggested that Realtors offer value-added services, as well as numerous services for which the average buyer is ill-equipped to manage alone. Financing, market knowledge, and home values are only a few. Added Sheets, "There are so many services that a Realtor performs. One of the most important is saving the customer time. Writing the contract is only one aspect. After the contract is written is when anything can happen, and a Realtor spends many long hours working through problems so that the home will close as planned. When you work with a Realtor, your house has a 75 percent chance of closing. With a top Realtor, it has a 99 percent chance."

Sheets continued, "It is a misconception that buyers are at a disadvantage in the current market. I have them ask me daily, 'Should I wait to buy?' I tell them, 'It is only likely to get worse because the economy is strong, and there are no indicators that anything will slow down. Prices are only likely to go higher.'" Martinez added, "We don't have a crystal ball, but it does look that way."

For those buyers who are interested in new construction, Judy McCutchin offered yet another advantage of using a Realtor. "We know who the good builders are and which ones are interested in working with us. That is another area where a Realtor can offer value to the customer. Prices are pretty close to asking price, but then they are in resale right now, too."

Homes are selling within 3 percent of listing prices, or full asking price, and then some, according to the panelists. What advantages can a buyer have in that kind of market? "The best thing a buyer can do is be prepared to buy. That means being prequalified and ready to make an offer," Adleta says. Duke Jimerson observed that many homes being presented to Realtors "on tour" when they first hit the market on MLS already have one or two contracts pending. "Sellers are no longer accepting contingency contracts," he said.

Kathy Darrow summarized the issue by saying, "According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, the number-one reason why buyers and sellers choose to work with a Realtor is trust. We have to continue to demonstrate that our services are in the best interests of our customers."

Published: April 23, 1998

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