BELL COUNTY, TX — The housing market in Bell County is on the rise. As school is almost out and the summer season quickly approaching many are looking to sell their homes and move into new ones.
It can either be a buyers market or a sellers market. A sellers market means more people are buying and a buyers market means more people are selling.
Right now in Bell County it looks to be a sellers market as many houses are being bought at top dollar and offers being made within almost a week of being listed.
"It's good if you're a seller for sure because you can get the most bang for you buck. People are for the most part getting top dollar for what their homes are worth," said Quinton Locklin, realtor for KW Realty.
Locklin has been able to sell homes and receive a deal within 4 days of posting the sale. This is a common occurrence for this type of year but at this same quarter last year Bell County increased its sales by 2.6 percent. The median asking price is $160,000 with about 54 percent of the houses at that rate.
Right now the housing inventory is also at 2.6 percent meaning if houses were to stop being listed there is only about two and a half months they can sell before running out completely.
"It just seems like its [the housing market] has gotten better and better over the last five years," Locklin said.
Jeanie Barnhill-McCullough is seeing both sides to being a buyer and seller. Recently selling her house and now looking for a new one isn't as easy.
"The hard work was getting it ready the easy work was our real estate agent putting it up for sale. We were sure, or I was sure it would take a while and it only took three days," Barnhill-McCullough said.
Understanding what a sellers market really means she had two competing offers for her home, but she hasn't found a home as quickly as she sold hers.
"There are things that we didn't have in our old house that I absolutely want to have this is the last house I ever expect to buy so I want to make sure we get everything we want," Barnhill-McCullough said.
That's because it being a sellers market, from a buyers standpoint, there is less to choose from. Although the rate that houses are selling is quick.
"Seventy-two days is the average days on market, but that includes the time that a house is under contract," Locklin said.
The average time a house is listed before being signed is around 30 days.
In Killeen, the median asking price for a home is $140,000 that's up by 6.8 percent. Harker Heights is up by 5.4 percent and the asking median price is around $218,000. Temple's median price on most homes is $166,000 and up by 4.4 percent from this time last year.
Below are tips and tricks to selling and buying your home.
Selling your home
Buying your home
