ROWLETT, Texas — The temperatures aren’t the only thing that’s scorching hot. The Texas housing market is still seeing serious buyers, despite rising interest rates and low inventory.
Buying a home in North Texas is also competitive, especially for first-time home buyers who never expected how fast they would have to make decisions.
“We often didn’t have more than 24 hours I’d say to look at a house, decide if we want it, decide how much we’d like to bid,” said Blayke, a first-time home buyer.
From renting to owning a home in Rockwall County, Blayke and her husband,, David, said they’re the lucky ones.
“This is bigger than what we had planned to get, but it worked out well. Yeah, we feel blessed,” the couple said.
The newly-married couple planned to start their search this summer, but rising costs and competition forced them to look in January.
“Interest rates were going up by a lot. I didn’t think they would go up this much, but wow,” David said.
Expanding their search
Over three months, they expanded their search to Carrollton, Irving, Wylie and Richardson. These areas were further away from family, but they still fit the budget and goal of buying a home.
They put in 10 offers, most over asking price, but all were declined. At one point, it was time to hit the brakes.
“We were making social plans at night, so we couldn’t go look at houses and we’d get this anxiety, FOMO, we would get that and say no we have to have a life outside of looking for a house,” David said.
Making sacrifices
However, the drive to homeownership went into full gear, and they made more sacrifices.
“If we don’t want to compromise on our house, then we have to compromise on what does our spending look like, what does our budgeting look like, and how much are we willing to show the sellers we want this house,” said Blayke.
They saved up more for a house, cutting back on expenses. For every home they made an offer, Blayke said she wrote love letters to explain why they wanted it and pushed the envelope by viewing homes virtually.
Taking a road less traveled
“This house… we put in an offer sight unseen,” Blayke admits.
It was their 11th offer, an unconventional one, not the biggest offer, yet it was accepted. They never felt more at home.
“For people who expect it to be I have time to consider and that’s ok, they can take that time, but they’re going to lose a lot of houses on the way,” said Blayke.
Throughout the process, Blayke and David said they learned these three things as a first-time homebuyer: find a good agent, get your financial priorities in order, and be prepared to sacrifice some wants.