Discussing Dallas’ Luxury Market with Realtor RoseMarie LaCoursiere


We heard from one of Dallas’ top realtors, RoseMarie LaCoursiere of Engel & Volkers, about the typical buyer for the area, her outlook on the current market, and much more!

 


How would you describe the typical buyer profile in Dallas?

There really isn’t a typical buyer per se, in that our pricing bands and neighborhoods span several mindsets and lifestyles. Motivation drives results for buyers more than anything else. By this, I mean being pre-qualified or even pre-approved, and having a particular month in mind they want and may need to close on a home purchase. This ‘goal month’ is achievable by having a current home listed on the market with an anticipated selling period or lease term with a few months out. Some may say the typical buyer is savvy yet the reality is they are more informed than ever. Regretfully, many agents sidestep the importance of explaining the different agency relationships with new prospective buyers out of concern they may scare them away. That in and of itself is a disservice to consumers. 

I will say buyers in today’s market have very high expectations overall and have different definitions of luxury. In the luxury market, it’s typical for a property to sell a few to several hundreds of thousands of dollars below tax assessed values, some even a few million below. Luxury buyers have tremendous choice for the number of properties available. Regardless of what is in the ceiling of a buyer’s budget, they will consider homes well above their ceiling knowing that in finding the property poised to sell for being perhaps vacant, with the seller(s) motivation growing to get their property sold, there is formidable real estate to be made theirs in working closely with their chosen real estate advisor.

 


What is your outlook on the current housing market in Dallas?

Dallas remains a normalizing marketplace with our luxury market fully transitioned into a buyer’s market. It may surprise you to know that October’s MLS data reports that there is 15 months of inventory for homes priced $4,000,000 to $4,999,999 while there’s a 13.14 month inventory of homes priced between $2,000,000 and $2,999,999 with 92 properties active for sale and only 7 closed in the month of October. Whereas for properties priced between $600,000 and $1,000,000 inventories range from a 6.31 months supply to 8.33 months supply. In a normal marketplace, there is a 5 month inventory of homes, meaning it takes an average of 5 months to sell a home + 1 month to close. This is one reason why most listing agreements are for 6 months. When the Dallas marketplace was hot with multiple offers received in the first hours and day(s) of a new listing, Dallas ranked in the top 5 hottest marketplaces in the US for volume of sales. We simply have a great supply of luxury homes, that reflects a highly successful life and business environment. Homeowners always take a while to understand the impact of cycles on their homes and how a hot market enjoyed over a period of years will affect property values and property taxes accordingly.


For someone looking into the area for the first time, what are a couple of your favorite restaurants and things to do in the neighborhood?

I am a Foodie and always say, if you were to dine in a new restaurant nightly, you’d have a different favorite spot each evening and wouldn’t make it to every great restaurant we treasure. My favorite is a hidden gem tucked away in Highland Park Village called Fachini.  It’s located directly next to the movie theater bracing an old brick wall that leads to a posh ambiance and great open air terrace above the entrance to the movie theater. A close second is Bistro 31, and Al Biernats. The Dallas Arboretum is also a must walk during the holidays!

 

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