Mike Browning

Tag: North Texas real estate

  • Maybe You Don’t Want Their House.

    Maybe You Don’t Want Their House.

    Maybe you want your own.

    If you’ve been looking in Bridges at Preston Crossing, you already know what’s happening.

    There are new lots coming.

    But most of those are tied up with production builders.

    That works for some buyers.

    Other buyers want more control than that.

    They want to choose the builder.
    Control the design.
    Build on their own timeline.
    Not pick from three floorplans and a design center menu.

    That narrows the field pretty quickly now.

    1148 Stonebridge Pass just dropped to $195,000.

    At that number, it’s probably the best value currently available in the subdivision if your goal is still to build custom.

    Golf course lot backing near the 7th tee.

    .35 acres.

    Bring your own builder.

    No required timeline to start construction.

    Both neighboring lots are already built, so you’re not sitting there wondering what eventually gets dropped beside you.

    That matters more than people think.

    Especially in subdivisions transitioning away from purely custom product.

    This is one of the few remaining spots where you still control the process.

    You either care about that or you don’t.

    If you do, this one deserves another look.

    Photos, aerials, and property details are below.

    MLS #20995494

    If you’d like to walk the lot or discuss the neighborhood, text me at 214.354.3583. Or have your agent reach out.

  • Maybe It’s Time For Another Look

    Maybe It’s Time For Another Look

    If you’re ready to build, this may be the spot.

    H2 Deerwood is back on the market.

    And the math has changed.

    This is the one-acre lot in Waterstone Estates northeast of McKinney. Minimum 3,500 square foot build requirement. Higher-end neighborhood. Custom home product.

    If you’re a builder in Collin County, or an agent working with buyers looking for this type of area, you already understand the appeal.

    The previous asking price was $308,900.

    It’s now listed at $285,000.

    At that number, it’s currently the best-priced lot in the subdivision.

    That doesn’t suddenly make it “cheap.” That’s not the point.

    Most serious lot buyers are not reacting emotionally to land right now.

    They’re running numbers.

    Interest rates being what they are, the monthly cost of a custom home is materially higher than it was a few years ago. The less somebody spends on the lot, the lower the overall project cost and the less money they have to borrow.

    Also don’t ignore lot prep costs.

    A heavily treed lot may look beautiful finished, but it can also cost substantial money to clear and prep before construction even starts.

    This lot is flat, open, and straightforward.

    That matters more right now than it did when money was cheap.

    This is also one of those properties where the right buyer probably knows fairly quickly whether it fits or not.

    You either need a build site in this type of area, or you don’t.

    If you do, this one deserves another look.

    Photos, aerials, and property details are below.

    MLS #21278541

    If you’d like to walk the lot, text me at 214.354.3583 and I’ll give you the gate code. Or have your agent reach out.

  • It Happens To Me Too

    It Happens To Me Too

    There’s a reason I don’t want people to feel cornered. I know how it feels.

    I write on here often that the reason many people don’t check into their land’s value isn’t because they don’t want to know or don’t think it’s smart business to know.

    It’s everything that tends to go with it.

    You just want to know what’s happening, and next thing you know you feel like you’re in a timeshare presentation. Where you feel like the thing isn’t going to end until you say yes, no matter how many times and ways you say no.

    It just happened to me.

    There are a couple commercial real estate platforms that sell subscriptions with various marketing and data tools. I’ve tried both over the years. For what I do, they usually aren’t worth carrying full-time.

    If I need exposure for a particular property, I can just pay to promote that listing specifically and be done with it.

    What they really want to sell is data.

    Buyer information.
    Seller information.
    Mailing lists.
    Contact databases.

    All of that could theoretically be useful to me.

    So they call me. And call. And call.

    I generally ignore the calls. But sometimes one slips through because I think it might actually be somebody calling about property. Like the other day.

    The guy complimented me on the number of listings I have, started talking about how much local buyer and seller information they had access to, and wanted to meet and show me the platform.

    I told him it was probably going to cost more than I was willing to spend.

    To his credit, he at least admitted pricing was somewhat dynamic instead of pretending there was one magic number for everyone. I eventually got a rough range out of him anyway.

    It was more than I wanted to spend. As expected. I told him I didn’t want to waste his time.

    Didn’t matter.

    He still wanted to meet. He suggested a day that was already blocked out on my calendar. When I told him that, he just pushed it back a week.

    Eventually I just said okay because I was tired of the conversation and figured at least I’d get a free cup of coffee out of it.

    Now I’m probably going to have to say no several more times later.

    And eventually I may have to be rude about it.

    I don’t really blame the guy. I understand why companies sell that way. It must work often enough to keep doing it.

    But it also reminds me why so many people avoid talking to agents, salespeople, and brokers in the first place.

    It’s not that people hate buying things. And it’s usually not even that they hate being sold.

    They hate the feeling that they are no longer fully in control of the conversation.

    There’s a difference between staying in touch and trying to corner somebody.

    If you ask me for a valuation, am I going to follow up lightly from time to time?

    Of course. It only makes sense to.

    But am I going to make you feel trapped in a process you can’t comfortably back out of?

    Never.

    You should always feel like you can say no.

    The minute somebody feels like they can’t comfortably say no anymore, the entire interaction changes.

    PS – Most landowners are not planning to sell today.

    But situations change. Sometimes gradually, sometimes all at once. The people who already understand what they own usually make better decisions than the ones trying to figure it out under pressure.

    That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for.

    It looks at nearby sales, current competition, development activity, utility considerations, and the things affecting value that most people never think about until it matters.

    You don’t have to do anything with the information.

    But is it a bad idea to know where things stand?

    Get yours here.

    PPS – If you’re not ready for a Land Reality Check but enjoy reading about land, markets, negotiation, and how this business actually works, you can sign up below and get these posts in your inbox.

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  • It’s Not Free To Try

    It’s Not Free To Try

    At least not on my end of the deal.

    One thing that makes land different from houses is that having it sit on the market a little while usually doesn’t damage it the same way.

    A house sitting unsold starts raising questions pretty quickly.

    Land is slower by nature.

    So after a Land Reality Check, sometimes the conversation becomes:

    “Okay, if you think this is worth around $8,500 an acre, why don’t we just throw it out there at $14,000 and see what happens?”

    And within reason, that’s not necessarily crazy.

    If somebody is willing to sell around market value, but wants to push a little first just to make sure we’re not leaving money on the table, fine. I understand that completely.

    You’ve probably noticed if you’ve read any of my Land Reality Checks that I tend to lean conservative anyway.

    I’d rather be slightly conservative than explain later why fairy tales didn’t happen.

    But there’s another side to this too.

    If you’re selling a small residential lot, it usually doesn’t take much more than a yard sign and an MLS listing. Which isn’t free, but usually doesn’t involve substantial upfront expense either.

    If somebody wants to throw one of those out there at an unrealistic number “just to see,” I might play along.

    Maybe.

    But marketing a larger tract correctly usually costs real money up front.

    Larger signs.
    Drone photography.
    Aerials.
    Professional brochures.
    Landing pages.
    Targeted marketing.
    Industry websites.
    Paid Google ads sometimes.
    Mailers sometimes.

    It adds up faster than people think.

    A decent custom sign can easily run $500 to $1,000 depending on what’s needed. Drone photography might be another few hundred. Professionally printed brochures are expensive if you want them done correctly.

    And that’s before getting into the less visible costs, the platforms, memberships, advertising accounts, and all the little things that make the marketing possible in the first place.

    Depending on the tract, it’s not unusual for me to spend $1,500 to $2,000 or more getting a property positioned before anything even happens.

    When I take a listing, I’m basically betting a substantial amount on my ability to get it done for you.

    That doesn’t mean every listing sells.

    Markets change.

    Sometimes sellers change their minds. Sometimes buyers disappear. Sometimes a property just sits there longer than expected.

    That’s business.

    But there still has to be some reasonable overlap between where a seller is realistically willing to sell and where the market is realistically willing to buy.

    Otherwise everybody is mostly participating in a very expensive form of wishful thinking.

    PS – Most landowners are not planning to sell today.

    But markets change, family situations change, and sometimes opportunities show up when you aren’t expecting them. The people who already understand roughly where they stand usually make better decisions than the ones trying to figure everything out under pressure.

    That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for.

    It looks at nearby sales, current competition, development activity, utility considerations, and the things affecting value that most people never think about until it matters.

    Is it a bad idea to know where things stand?

    Check it out.

    PPS – If you’re not ready for a Reality Check but enjoy thinking about land, markets, negotiation, and how this business actually works, you can sign up below and get these posts in your inbox.

    Register to Receive Posts Via Email!

    By submitting, I understand I will receive marketing emails and blog posts from Mike Browning Realty and/or associated companies. Unsubscribe at any time.

  • Don’t Get Your Feelings Hurt

    Don’t Get Your Feelings Hurt

    I’d rather be slightly conservative than tell you fairy tales.

    When people ask for a Land Reality Check, sometimes they’re disappointed in what I tell them.

    That’s just part of it.

    A lot of times they heard about some property up the road that sold for X, so naturally the question becomes, “Why are you telling me mine is worth Y?”

    Well, because every tract is different.

    The other property may have had water or sewer. Maybe the frontage was better. Maybe the topo worked better. Maybe more of it was usable. Sometimes one side of the road is simply more desirable than the other. There are a hundred little things that can move value around.

    But the bigger thing to understand is the approach I take when I do these.

    I generally don’t ask ahead of time what your motivation is.

    Whether you want to sell immediately, inherited the property, are under pressure, or wouldn’t sell at all unless somebody got aggressive, I generally don’t build the analysis around that.

    Instead, I make a basic assumption.

    If you were what I’d call a sensible seller, meaning you are not under pressure to sell but you would sell at a reasonable market price, what would the property likely bring?

    That’s the framework.

    And all the comparable sales are there in the report. The relevant ones anyway. I try to show what sold, what didn’t, and explain why I came to the conclusion I did.

    Not a desperate seller.

    Not somebody demanding fantasy pricing either.

    Just somebody willing to make a reasonable deal if the numbers make sense.

    On a million-dollar transaction, that usually means you’re not going to blow the whole thing up over six hundred dollars on a survey when everything else is lined up correctly.

    Most legitimate transactions happen somewhere in that world.

    Does that mean somebody more aggressive might test the market higher?

    Sure.

    Does a more motivated seller sometimes take less for speed or certainty?

    Of course.

    That’s not really the point.

    The point is giving you a baseline grounded in what buyers have actually been willing to pay, instead of just whatever number happens to sound good that day.

    Then you decide whether you want to sell, wait, push harder on price, or ignore the whole thing for another five years.

    PS – Most landowners are not planning to sell right now.

    But situations change. Sometimes gradually, sometimes all at once. The people who already understand what they own usually make better decisions than the ones trying to figure it out under pressure.

    That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for.

    It looks at nearby sales, current competition, development activity, utility considerations, and the things that quietly affect value one way or the other.

    Is it a bad idea to know where things stand?

    Check it out.

    PPS- If you’re not ready for the Reality Check but like this kind of thinking, you can sign up below to get these in your inbox.

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    By submitting, I understand I will receive marketing emails and blog posts from Mike Browning Realty and/or associated companies. Unsubscribe at any time.

  • God Still Gives First (And Last)

    God Still Gives First (And Last)

    He gives, we screw it up, and He gives some more.

    The last couple of Sundays I’ve been writing about how God gives first.

    With Solomon, the wisdom and wealth came before the instructions on what to do with them. With Israel as a whole, God repeatedly delivered, restored, protected, and provided before they promptly drifted again.

    Once you see it, the same thing shows up lots of places you hadn’t considered.

    Like with Moses.

    Moses didn’t earn his position. God chose him, sent him, empowered him, and used him to bring Israel out of Egypt. The miracles, authority, provision, all of it was given first.

    Then came the responsibility.

    But God also promised to be with Moses in a way most of us can barely imagine. God met with him face to face, spoke to him directly, and answered his questions.

    Most of us think that if we had an advantage like that, obeying would be easy.

    By now you’re probably seeing the problem with that assumption.

    By the time you get to the incident with the rock, Moses is worn down. The people are complaining about water again, which by that point had become a recurring theme.

    God tells Moses to speak to the rock.

    Instead, he strikes it. Angrily, while telling the Israelites what ingrates they are.

    Water still comes out. The people get what they needed. If you judged strictly by outcome, it wouldn’t even look like much of a problem.

    But God had been clear.

    And Moses did something else.

    That was enough.

    He was told he would not enter the Promised Land. After everything else, after leading Israel for decades, that was the line.

    We struggle with that because it feels disproportionate. We immediately start grading the sin ourselves. It wasn’t murder. It wasn’t idolatry. He didn’t steal anything. He got frustrated, lashed out, and did something he wasn’t supposed to do.

    Sound familiar?

    But the Bible doesn’t treat sin the way we do. Moses knew what God had said, and he did something different. That was enough.

    And there wasn’t a way for Moses to fix it himself.

    No second attempt. No chance to go back and do it correctly the next time. He led Israel to the edge of the land, and stopped there.

    But don’t overlook something that happens later.

    At the transfiguration, Jesus Christ is seen speaking with Moses and Elijah.

    I used to glide right over that part. If you’re talking about the most important figures in the Bible, Moses is obviously one of them. Of course he’s there.

    But then it hits you.

    He’s in the land he was told he would never enter.

    Moses never fixed what he did.

    But somehow it was fixed anyway.

    By God.

    The consequence still happened. Moses did not walk into the land with Israel. But it wasn’t the end of the story.

    Same pattern over and over. God gives. We fail. God restores.

    Which is fortunate, because if the arrangement depended on us fixing ourselves first, none of us are getting very far.

    It’s never too late.

    Until it is.

    P.S.- If you’ve been meaning to spend more time actually reading the Bible instead of just hearing pieces of it secondhand, you can join us at His Word Together.

    No commentary.
    No arguing denominations.
    No pretending to have every answer.
    Nothing to buy.

    Just a steady habit of reading.

    You can start here.

  • Sometimes Things Go Sideways On You

    Sometimes Things Go Sideways On You

    You can never say for sure which way it will go. Or how fast.

    When people ask me for valuation help, or are thinking about selling, one of the things they often want to know is how much the property is going to be worth in the future.

    My answer is always the same. I don’t know, and neither does anyone else.

    Now historically, land and lot values around here have generally gone up over time. As long as North Texas keeps growing, people keep moving here, and the economy stays relatively strong, there’s a decent chance that continues over the long run.

    But there’s no way to know how fast.

    Or whether it goes up at all over any particular stretch of time.

    Sometimes things go sideways on you.

    Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, land values ran up very quickly during the savings and loan era. A few years later, some of those same properties sold out of receivership for less than the commission paid on the earlier sale.

    A few years before that, acreage in southwest Sherman was trading around $20,000 to $25,000 per acre because people thought a GM plant was coming.

    The plant ended up going to Tennessee.

    I worked on a deal in that same area years later at exactly $6,500 per acre.

    Then there were the lot markets around 2006 to 2008.

    I saw subdivision custom home lots in Collin County selling for over $75,000 during that runup. A few years later after the financial crisis, some of those same lots were changing hands around $20,000.

    In 2020, many people thought the lot market was going to freeze up completely.

    Instead, it got hotter than anything I’ve personally ever seen. In some areas values doubled between roughly 2020 and 2023.

    Since then? Not so much.

    Here are the prices on a lot I have seen trade three separate times:

    October 2023 — $310,000
    May 2024 — $330,000
    May 2026 — $315,000

    Pretty flat.

    That doesn’t mean the market is collapsing. And it doesn’t mean land is bad.

    It just means markets move in cycles, and people have a tendency to mistake temporary conditions for permanent ones.

    So what’s the takeaway?

    A couple things.

    First, you’re usually better off making decisions based on what makes sense today rather than based on what you paid, what you hope happens, or what somebody confidently predicts the property will be worth years from now.

    Second, if somebody tells you with certainty what your property is going to be worth in the future, they’re probably giving you more certainty than the market actually allows.

    That’s not how this works.

    Even if you’re not planning to sell, there’s still value in understanding where things actually stand today.

    You don’t have to do anything with the information.

    But things change. Sometimes slowly, sometimes fast.

    And it’s usually better to already know what you’re dealing with instead of trying to figure it out under pressure later on.

    PS- Even if you’re not considering selling today, is it a bad idea to have a handle on what you’ve got?

    That’s where the MBR Land Reality Check comes in.

    It’s a free, no obligation look at what your property might sell for today, based on what buyers are actually doing today. Real comps with real prices.

    You don’t have to sell, but you should at least allow yourself to look.

    Take a look here.

    PPS- If you’re not ready for a Reality Check but would like to follow along, enter your info below to get these in your inbox.

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    By submitting, I understand I will receive marketing emails and blog posts from Mike Browning Realty and/or associated companies. Unsubscribe at any time.

  • You’re Better Off Knowing, Even If It Hurts At First

    You’re Better Off Knowing, Even If It Hurts At First

    Tax value is not the same as real value.

    Last week I put together an MBR Land Reality Check for a Collin County acreage owner.

    I went through the comparable sales, looked at the utility situation, and worked through it the same way I would if it were coming to market, whether it actually ends up happening or not.

    The projected value range came in meaningfully below what the county currently has it assessed at.

    That’s something I’m seeing more often lately.

    For a long time, if you saw a rural tract priced at or below tax value, it at least got your attention. It didn’t always mean it was a deal, but it was usually worth a closer look.

    That’s not as reliable as it used to be.

    In a number of cases now, especially with more rural acreage, tax values appear to have caught up to, or in some cases moved ahead of, where the market would actually transact.

    It’s likely a function of the way values moved over the last several years.

    At the same time, most of these properties carry an agricultural exemption. So while the assessed value may be high on paper, the owner isn’t being taxed on that number.

    Which means there’s very little incentive to challenge it.

    If anything, it tends to have the opposite effect. A higher assessed value feels like a positive signal, even if it doesn’t reflect what a buyer would actually pay.

    That can create a disconnect.

    And in some cases, it matters more than people realize.

    If an agricultural exemption is removed, rollback taxes are calculated based on the assessed value. If that number is higher than it should be, the exposure is higher as well.

    I’m not going to get into the mechanics of that here.

    And to be clear, I’m not an appraiser. The MBR Land Reality Check isn’t designed for use in a property tax protest. If that’s the objective, a tax consultant or appraiser is better equipped for it.

    But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t allow yourself to understand what your property might realistically be worth today.

    If nothing else, it gives you context.

    You don’t have to sell. You don’t have to even consider selling.

    But things change.

    And it’s a lot easier to make a good decision when you already understand what you have than when you’re trying to figure it out under pressure.

    So the question isn’t whether you’re planning to sell.

    It’s whether it makes sense to know where things stand.

    PS – Most landowners aren’t planning to sell right now.

    But when something changes, the ones who already understand what they’re dealing with tend to handle it better than the ones figuring it out on the fly.

    That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for. It looks at actual sales, what’s competing, and the things that quietly push value one way or the other.

    Is it a bad idea to know where things stand?

    Get yours here.

    PPS – If you’d rather just keep an eye on how this works, you can sign up below and get these posts in your inbox.

    Register to Receive Posts Via Email!

    By submitting, I understand I will receive marketing emails and blog posts from Mike Browning Realty and/or associated companies. Unsubscribe at any time.

  • Like Getting Paid In Advance

    Like Getting Paid In Advance

    We aren’t great at holding up our end of the deal. Luckily God has always known this.

    Last week was about Solomon and how that ended. He was given everything and had every advantage. God appeared to him directly and told him what to do, which we all assume would settle it for us. It probably wouldn’t. It didn’t for him.

    But it’s worth considering how it started.

    God didn’t tell Solomon to go prove himself first. He didn’t say, follow these rules for a while and then I’ll give you wisdom, riches, and long life. He gave it to him, then told him what to do with it. That order matters.

    And it isn’t unique to Solomon.

    Look at David. Made king, established, given victory and position, and then later failed in a way that wasn’t subtle. Look at Israel as a whole. Delivered, restored, protected, and then the same pattern shows up again. Drift, idols, collapse, and eventually crying out to be restored again.

    It keeps happening, which makes it harder to treat as isolated mistakes.

    God gives first. Then people fail to hold onto what they were given. The issue isn’t that the instructions were unclear or that they didn’t have enough. They had more than enough. They just didn’t keep it.

    That includes you.

    There’s another place where the order matters.

    Through Jesus Christ, forgiveness is already there.

    It doesn’t work like clean yourself up and then come. It’s come, and then get cleaned up.

    Same pattern. God gives, God restores, and we don’t hold it together on our own, which is fortunate because we can’t.

    All that’s left is to turn, ask, and believe.

    It’s never too late.

    Until it is.

    P.S.


    If you’d like to read through the Bible this year, you can join us at His Word Together.


    No commentary.
    No telling you what to think.
    Nothing to buy.
    Nothing fancy.


    Just steady time in the Word.


    Check it out here.

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  • You Know You Should. You Also Know Why You Don’t

    You Know You Should. You Also Know Why You Don’t

    It doesn’t have to be the way you’re afraid it will be.

    If you own non-residential real estate, you probably find yourself wondering from time to time what it might sell for today. How it fits into your overall financial picture. What’s going on around it.

    You’d probably also agree it’s a good idea to know.

    Even if you’re not planning to sell. Things change. Sometimes faster than expected. And it’s a lot easier to deal with that when you already have a handle on things, rather than trying to figure it out when you need it yesterday.

    Not to sound like an NRA ad, but it’s better to have the information and not need it than need it and not have it.

    So you know you should.

    But you still don’t.

    And the reason is pretty simple.

    We’ve all had the experience of getting close to needing a new (or newer) car. You start looking online just to get a feel for things, and before you can even look at anything, a chat box pops up.

    It says there’s a real person there. You know there isn’t.

    If you get past that, you’re not getting much real information without giving them your email or phone number. And once you do, you’ve effectively signed up to hear from them for the foreseeable future.

    All the dealerships say they’re different. Experience says they’re mostly the same.

    Sounds a lot like Realtors, if we’re being honest.

    If you ask for an evaluation, you expect it to come in high. High enough to get your attention. Then adjustments get made later once you’re already in the process. And if you don’t move forward right away, you can expect follow-up. A lot of it.

    So while you know it would be smart to stay on top of things, I understand why you don’t.

    Most people don’t.

    But that doesn’t mean you’re wrong to want the information.

    It just means you don’t want everything that usually comes with it.

    So here’s the question.

    What if you could look without getting pulled into a process?

    What if you could get a realistic view of where things stand, without someone trying to turn it into a listing conversation before you’ve even had a chance to think about it?

    That’s the difference.

    Am I going to follow up with you? Of course.

    But it won’t feel like what you’re expecting.

    Allow yourself to take a look while the pressure is off.

    PS- Most landowners are not planning to sell right now.

    But when something changes, the ones who already understand what they’re dealing with tend to handle it better than the ones figuring it out on the fly.

    That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for. It looks at actual sales, what’s competing, and the things that quietly push value one way or the other.

    Is it a bad idea to know where things stand?

    Get Yours Here

    PPS- If you’d rather just keep an eye on how this works, you can sign up below and get these posts in your inbox.

    Register to Receive Posts Via Email!

    By submitting, I understand I will receive marketing emails and blog posts from Mike Browning Realty and/or associated companies. Unsubscribe at any time.