BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“Welcome in,” said local real estate agent, Keishla Gonzales.
This is the greeting that over 15 families have gotten to hear in Bell County when purchasing a home with Keishla Gonzales.
Gonzales is from South Florida, and she's been a part of the completion of 4,000 homes sold in Bell County in 2024.
“People want nice homes, they want space," Gonzales said.
"A lot of people have pets and so they are paying attention to the yard."
As Gonzales took 25 News through this 2,500-square-foot home built by Stylecraft, she says the best time to buy is now — whether you are looking at existing or new construction.
“Waiting... waiting for rates to come down or prices to come down — truth is prices don’t seem to be coming down," she said.
"Can you find houses like this in Florida?", asked 25 News reporter, Epiphany La'Sha.
"100 percent you can find them, but the prices are going to be different," Gonzales said.
"Higher or lower?", La'Sha said.
"Very much higher," Gonzales said.
The average home price in October 2024 was over $300,000 — but in November, the average dropped by almost $4,000.
Gonzales says that the arrival of more residents and new developments in the community are contributing to the ups and downs in the local market.
She says that Bell County offers more square footage per housing dollar — people are choosing to live in Central Texas and commute to larger cities.
"Home insurance and property taxes — it's one thing to know what the condition of the home is before you buy, that way you know what you need to maintain after and part of that is making your payments,” Gonzales said.
"This home costs $350k — do they have any that are under $350k?", La'Sha asked.
"Absolutely — they are in Turnbo Ranch, and a three-bed two-bath actually starts at $259,999," Gonzales said.
For any Central Texans looking to buy land, keep in mind the tax rate at the time of purchase will be based on the land without the home.
Once a house is built, the property value increases and the tax rate is likely to go up as well.
Gonzales tells 25 News that duplexes are selling, and the younger population especially our military is doing what they call a "rinse and repeat method" buying the duplex living on one side, and renting the other — staying for a few years and then moving on to the next investment.
Gonzales says real estate agents are the ones who go to bat for you to the owner, so sometimes it's cheaper to buy resale while other times you can work out interest rates and down payment with the builder while getting your dream home built.
Gonzales also says she takes her time to explain property tax, escrow, insurance, and more to each one of her prospected buyers.
She can be reached at 407-252-2331 or on Instagram here.
