Lochwood Market Update – December 2021

Happy holidays! It’s December 2021, so it’s time for another Lochwood Market Update!

If you’re out and about looking at Christmas lights, please come down Cheswick Street. Our neighbors have gone above and beyond decorating for the neighborhood holiday party on the 17th. We hope you and all the neighborhood kids from the party like the lights and decorations.

Now, on to November home sales! Seven sales closed, which was down from 11 sales in November 2021. Pending sales (sales that will close in December) were up from 10 to 13. Inventory fell from 17 homes for sale to 9. The median sale price was down, but that’s largely because six of the seven homes that sold were under $500,000.

The interesting year-over-year statistic (above) is the number of days a Lochwood home was on the market before going under contract. That jumped from 8 in November 2020 to 77 in November 2021! That’s quite an increase. So, what caused this increase? Check out the individual sales table (below). Only two homes sold for 100 percent or more of the seller’s asking price. Remember what I said in my letter from last month? What’s the third thing I always recommend to home sellers? Price your home correctly. Homes that are overpriced sit on the market until the asking price is in line with the most recent comparable sales. That is the cause for the big jump in Days on Market in November. These sellers went high on asking price and the market (buyers) waited for price drops before submitting offers.

Days on Market should fall back to a more “normal” number in December….based on what I am seeing from the sales that have closed or will close in December. What I’m saying is that I don’t think higher Days on Market is a trend.

On to property taxes! 2021 tax rates have been set at 2.712875 percent of your overall assessed value. Of course this doesn’t account for any of your exemptions including Over 65, Disability, or your Homestead Exemption. Speaking of the homestead exemption, Texas voters will have the opportunity to vote on a measure to increase the homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000 in May 2022. The majority of our property taxes go toward funding public schools, but the state has pledged to make up any difference in school funding with money in reserves. Michael Hinojosa, DISD Superintendent, described the additional exemption as a win-win for property owners and the district. Be sure you get out and vote!

That’s all I have for this month. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me!

I will be in touch again next year.

Happy Holidays,