Apex Properties Blog and News:

I am looking forward to seeing the new Fresh Report next week, but in the meantime, I am so proud to announce that we helped 20 families change their address in the month of August.

This is no accident. We work every day at our office to get our listings sold.

We help our clients prepare their home for market so they will ultimately achieve their highest possible sales price.

We have extraordinarily high standards for photography and video tours that we create for every listing.

We proactively call around our listings and look for buyers.

We tell our sellers the truth about pricing...market data...and showing traffic to make sure we're getting our listings under contract in a timely manner, and then most importantly....seeing them through to the closing table.

Success in a Real Estate transaction is all about finding a Realtor that has a track record of getting people where they want to go, getting good advice from that person, and trusting the process. We have an excellent process that we believe is second to none at helping sellers achieve the goals they've set.

If you're thinking of making a move at any point in the next year or two, feel free to reach out to me anytime with ANY questions. Seriously! Call or email me anytime!

I've dedicated my working life to helping people make the best possible decisions with their Real Estate.

I spent this last week at the Mike Ferry Organization's Super Star Retreat at the Venetian in Las Vegas. It was special because it was also the 50th year celebration of their company, and the 40th year that Mike has been hosting this seminar.

Every January and July, Mike hosts a training event where the most productive Real Estate agents in the country gather to go over the fundamentals of building the best customer experience a Real Estate Agent can provide.

I ALWAYS pick up 5-10 new thoughts or ideas and I come back so excited to help more clients get what they want.

This pursuit and involvement with this coaching company is absolutely what has helped me serve so many people.

If you ever had a thought to go into Real Estate, feel free to arrange to come to my office any day and shadow us while we make calls! I guarantee within 5 minutes I'll be telling you about Mike Ferry and what he's helped me build.

If you want a Real Estate professional that will never stop looking for ways to serve you better, I am your person.

One of our favorite phrases here at Apex Properties is:

"The way you do anything is the way you do everything."

When you hire an agent you want someone who is a professional, that treats their operation like a REAL business.

We've introduced you to the team at Apex before, but today I want to introduce you to some folks that help our small business run monthly bookkeeping, employee payroll, withholdings, balance sheets, and detailed expense reports.

Perhaps you are a business owner and you would benefit from knowing this company!

We've been using them for over 2 years.

>> https://howencpa.com <<

Josh Howen and his team work closely with us every month to provide all of the above services and track the total financial picture of our company.

Their fees are reasonable but it's still a significant monthly commitment that most small business don't make, in fact 90%+ of Real Estate people aren't running P/Ls, balance sheets, and many aren't even paying their quarterly taxes.

This isn't something we're required to do, but because we run our business like professionals, we have hired professionals to work with us.

We want to introduce you to this resource if you need a great CPA and also show you that when you hire a Real Estate agent, all the ways they treat their operation matter.

In the past 12 months, Houston has moved from a 3.9 month supply to a 5.2 month supply of inventory. This explains the first monthly year over year decline in pricing we have seen in over 3 years.

The good news is many properties are still selling. With the increased inventory we were able to sell 400 more properties than we did in May 2024.

The city is growing. People are still moving here, and despite the growth in inventory and interest rates that seem hell bent on making housing less affordable, demand is still showing up.

Our listing inventory is reflecting this interesting market with some homes getting offers the very first weekend still, and others sitting for extended periods of time.

In this market, it is CRITICAL to prepare your house for sale and know what buyers are looking for in order to help you get a contract.

This is the first time in more than 3 years that the Fresh Report has been published where we are seeing an average sale price SLIGHTLY DECLINE from the previous year.

I will say, this day arriving is not a "surprise". The total housing inventory has been growing consistently for months and so we've seen this approaching on the horizon. Only time will tell if this will turn into movement that is more significant, but at the moment we're still essentially flat from last year's values.

Our average monthly sell rate in Houston is about 9-10,000 properties so to see more than 18,000 new listings hit the market last month, that is an indicator that inventory is still growing and the market could be shifting to favor buyers in the next year or two.

My theory about selling now versus 1 year from now is still in play. Now is the time if you need to go!

I am here to serve you when you have a Real Estate need. Give us a call when you are ready to talk about real estate.

HAR has released the full April Numbers report.

The highlights are below.

Total inventory is still growing and we're now sitting at a 4.9 month supply of homes. This is definitely creeping into the "stable market" territory on the whole. There are of course pockets of Houston with more demand than others, and it couldn't be more important to make sure your listing stands out amid the growing competition.

The average sale price is still hanging on at a half percent up from last year. We have a ton more pendings (over 1,000!) this month than last year so this should be a big May for closings.

Call me today if you're thinking about moving and you'd like to know how to maximize your home's value!

After spending most of my adult life in corporate sales, I went into Real Estate 10+ years ago.

In 10+ years of selling real estate, the thing that bothers me most is Other Agents Lying...

I tabulated my numbers for the last 5 of those 10 years:

I have made more than 200,000 phone calls.

I have spoken to just over 22,000 people on the phone or at their door.

I have helped 250+ clients change their address.

In this 10 years, one thing has become increasingly clear.

The public is being lied to on a consistent basis.

Every single day, I talk to at least 1 or 2 sellers who have had a poor experience with another agent. Their home did not sell, and now I (along with a few dozen other agents) am calling them to inquire about applying to be their next agent, should they still need to get that house sold, which happens about 50% of the time.

When I begin asking questions about their previous experience, it becomes clear that the previous agent sold them on a particular outcome as if it were a guarantee.

Then I look at their previous listing. Terrible photos. No descriptions. Pricing that never gave them a chance. It's frustrating, because the person on the phone thinks I am no different.

But I am very different.

Knowing what I know about this business, I could have told many of these people they had no chance to sell from the very beginning of their listing, but they didn't know that, and they wasted 3 to 6 months on the market, for no result.

I am on a mission to give people a completely different experience in their Real Estate Transaction.

If you or anyone you know, has a need to sell a property...

PLEASE have them reach out to me.

We know what we're doing.

We tell the truth.

We have the highest standards when it comes to presentation; whether it's listing photography and video, or simply how we answer the phone. Which is to say, I actually answer my phone.

It's a lost art, but I am holding onto it.

And the most important thing?

We get our clients the results they need.

We take people to the finish line.

HAR just released the full market report for the month of March. Property sale prices are up 3.7% from March of 2024 and we actually sold 76 more properties than the same month last year.

This upward value trend has been creeping along for the last 3 years even while the overall inventory has been slowly growing. You can see we've gone from a 3.4 month supply of homes last year to a 4.6 month supply of homes right now.

4-6 months of inventory is considered a stable market. so you can see we have climbed out of a "seller's market" a year ago into a more balanced market now. If this trend continues with more homes listing than selling, we could eventually find inventory level moving us into a buyer's market. At the rate we appear to be trending with inventory over the last year, that could still be more than a year away, but it's not hard to see it approaching in the distance.

If you have a near term plan that involves selling a piece of Real Estate, this is the best possible time to do it. If you have a long term plan to hold your Real Estate, you know I am bullish on Houston and I don't think you can go wrong there either.

But if you're considering selling now versus 1 year from now? Based on the inventory growth data, the better option appears to be right now.

Give us a call if you have a question about the market or an upcoming need. We love our jobs and can not wait to help you!

Every Realtor in Houston claims to be a "Top Producer," but the statistical truth is that 71% of all license holders nationwide did NOT sell even ONE house in 2024.

A couple more crazy stats:

Only 2% of all agents managed to sell between 11-20 homes.

A mere .014% of agents exceeded the 45 home mark. 

That's what makes me proud to tell you this group pictured above is responsible for 110-125 transactions every year, and we have produced that consistently for the last 5 years.

We started Apex Properties Group about a year before we bought the office building behind us in May 2023.

We all work there together every day. We hold each other accountable to ensure we do our daily prospecting. We spend several hours per day actively prospecting to help our clients achieve their goals. Everything we do is designed and implemented to help you sell your home for as much money as possible, while giving you great advice and making the process as smooth as possible.

Something that makes us unique is that we are in Coaching.  In a world of independent contractors with no supervisors or management, I have found it very helpful to make sure I have the systems and accountability in place to help me produce at the highest possible level. Our coaching makes sure we focus on what matters each day, making the most of ourselves and delivering the highest level of customer service.

It takes extra time and money to be involved in coaching and most agents to not do this.  We believe our clients deserve it and it certainly helps me be more productive.  

Not pictured is Rick Jackson, our door hanger delivery man that places a Monthly Real Estate Market Report on 5,000 doors across Cinco Ranch Southwest and Seven Meadows every month. You'll see him on his scooter with an Apex shirt giving everyone waves and smiles, we love that guy! 

If you want a fantastic outcome to your Real Estate goals, I encourage you to hire a true professional with high standards.

We work every day to be that kind of agent; the one I would personally want to work for me if I was doing the hiring.

HAR has published the March report detailing the latest market stats for Houston Real Estate.

Realtors entered a whopping 16,691 listings in the MLS in March so you can see that the selling season has definitely kicked off with a strong start. This upcoming quarter is typically one of the busiest times of the year and it appears we're shaping up to stay on the trend.

Total active listings is up to nearly 33,000, so buyers have quite a few options to choose from. This is why it couldn't be more critical to prepare your home and make sure it stands out from the competition. I can tell you from personal experience, its actually quite easy to make sure you are the best option in the neighborhood.

Average list price across the city is up to $444,899, more than 16K higher than the 1 year ago average price. We are so lucky to live in a growing market where we can count on stable growth.

Houston values have increased dramatically from 2000-2025.

No one has a crystal ball, and I don't believe the values will do the same thing from 2025-2050, but I do believe its possible we could see at least 50% of that appreciation. Still amazing.

So if you currently have a great mortgage rate, don't pay down your mortgage! Find some alternate investments (or rental properties!) and watch your house value increasing and adding to your equity as the years pass.

Real Estate as a long term investment is a beautiful thing.