With the ongoing real estate news being reported by CNN, MSNBC and FOX NEWS about the state of the real estate market, buyers are arriving at Fort Hood with high expectations of getting a real bargain. 

According to the news outlets, there SHOULD be huge numbers of stressed sellers at Fort Hood who will accept any offer you throw at them!   There SHOULD be street after street of foreclosed properties that lenders are letting go for a song!   Builders SHOULD be dumping new construction at a fraction of market value in order to survive! 

Wow, if all that were true, I'd be out investing every dime I have in Fort Hood real estate, just waiting for the market to turn around! 

The reality is, though, when you get here and start looking at homes, you are going to find a great inventory of well priced homes and a very stable real estate market.  We have not suffered the pains of the so called real estate "bubble" here in Central Texas.   Texas has been named as a "recession proof" state, and real estate is still perking along nicely, thank you! 

According to a report issued by Texas A & M University (TAMU), the Killeen Fort Hood area is on track for approximately 30% growth from 2000-2020.

Fort Hood area Sellers are not highly stressed and are not willing to accept extremely low offers.  Sellers ARE offering to pay most if not all of your closing costs. And they will do repairs on the home for you prior to closing.  But they are NOT in a position to take a low ball offer. They might be able to take a LOWER offer, but no offer significantly below market value as a rule.

Keep in mind that the majority of homes that are for sale in the Killeen Fort Hood area were purchased with a no money down VA loan. This means that if someone has only owned their home for two or three years, they do not have any equity in the house to speak of.   They can not even consider taking a lowball offer.   You might really love the house and really want it, but a really low offer can upset and offend a seller, who may refuse to negotiate ANY price with you.  Ask your Killeen Texas real estate agent to show you what similar homes are selling for in the area.  You should adjust your expectations and make a reasonable offer if you have your heart set on a particular home.     

Foreclosures are another area where lowball offers are not having much success.  Since the market is so stable here, unless the property has been on the market for a very very long time and needs major repairs, the banks that own these properties are not willing to lower prices below market or to complete cosmetic repairs. 

The best tip for bargain hunters looking at foreclosed properties is that CASH is king in foreclosure sales.  If you can pay cash, you can get a much better or even bargain price on a foreclosed property.    Some foreclosed properties are in such poor condition, like the one pictured here, they can not qualify for a government insured loan (VA or FHA), so if you are going to use your VA loan to buy a home at Fort Hood, be sure you ask your real estate professional if the foreclosed property would qualify for the VA loan program based on its condition.

New Construction is the other area where I'm seeing buyers set on making a low ball offer.    Buyers are arriving with the notion that the homes are priced way above market value (because prices, they assume, are crashing) and that builders are expecting a low offer and will negotiate with them.   The reality for bargain hunters is that the new home market is the strongest segment of the Fort Hood real estate market.   Most builders are in great shape and their homes are selling well.  There is no need for them to cut prices or to offer any extra incentives to buyers.   Most real estate professionals in the area are aware of this and will advise you as to what to expect when you make your offer.  

Please don't get offended if you make a low offer and the builder counters at full price.   You didn't do anything wrong, and your agent didn't do anything wrong.    The builder knows the value of his/her product in the market and knows that if you don't want to pay the asking price, someone else will.  The best tip for a new Fort Hood home bargain hunter is this:    If the house has been on the market a long time, the builder will be more willing to negotiate with you. 

Bargains can be found in any type of market.  It takes time to understand what constitutes a bargain and how to locate a bargain.   Your Experienced Fort Hood real estate agent should be able to help you analyze the local market and to help you locate the bargain you are looking for if it is out there!

Mary Ann Daniell is a licensed Texas Realtor specializing in new homes and resale homes in all price ranges in the cities of Killeen, Harker Heights, Copperas Cove and Kempner, Texas.