Hello, friends, and happy October.

This is my favorite time of year in North Texas. 🍂🏈

I’m a football fan, so there’s just something right about having Sunday football back on TV and a crock pot full of soup simmering in the kitchen.

And yes, I have absolutely been known to plan an open house around my NFL Sunday Ticket schedule. Priorities.

After so many years calling DFW home, fall is still my favorite season. The weather finally starts to cooperate, football is back, local festivals fill the weekends, and it’s officially acceptable to make soup even if Texas decides it’s still going to be 85 degrees outside.

To me, this is one of the best parts of living in North Texas. There’s always something happening, but for this Ohio girl fall has a way of making everything feel a little more like home.

It is also the season when I hear the same question over coffee, at my weekly mahjong league, and in my inbox: will this market be recovered by next spring? Here is my honest answer. We don’t know. The market has slowed, but slow is not the same as declining. Prices are holding steady, buyers have more choices than they have had in years, and homes that are priced and prepared well are still selling. Buyers continue to wait for unrealistic rates while sellers are reluctant to drop prices and eat in to their equity that they gained during the covid years.

In this issue, I am sharing what the numbers really mean, what I am seeing in the field, and a few things worth handling before the first cold front. Pull up a chair on the porch. I saved you a seat.

State Fair of Texas · Fair Park, Dallas Now through Sunday, October 18. Big Tex is back, and this year the Fair is offering more than 200 food and drink items for $10 or less, so the corny dog budget stretches a little further.

Autumn at the Dallas Arboretum · Dallas Now through November 1. The Arboretum's fall display is one of the prettiest ways to spend a cool October afternoon.

Festival at the Switchyard Saturday, November 7th, 11am-10pm. The Festival at the Switchyard, held on the streets of Historic Downtown Carrollton, features something for everyone. Enjoy FREE concerts from Toad the Wet Sprocket, Eve 6, and Wheatus, community performances, strolling entertainers, carnival rides, face painting, arcade games & pinball machines inside the Main Event Plaza, and more at this rain or shine event. The fun begins at 11am just steps away from the Downtown Carrollton DART station and wraps up by 10pm.

Grandscape · The Colony Look for several things happening this month: Cowboys Football on the lawn on October 18th. Free concerts on the Plaza this month include LeFreak on October 23rd and Jackson Dean on October 21st. Look for the new music venue THE RUSTIC to open soon! They are hiring servers and cooks which is a good sign for a November opening! Fingers crossed and I will keep you posted! Really looking forward to live music there soon!!

Event details can change, so check each event's website before you go.

Truly we are blessed to work with wonderful clients who trust us to help them with the sale of their homes. We have several great homes on the market this fall, something for everyone. We have a few starter homes, a lake living beauty, an east facing home in a gated community, a fabulous floor plan in highly sought after 55+ community Robson Ranch, and several great investor opportunities. Call me for more info on any of these great properties.

What this means for you

Fewer homes are selling, but prices are not falling...yet. Fewer sellers are listing, too, which is keeping inventory in check. On average, sellers are receiving about 95 cents on the dollar of their original asking price. That tells me buyers are negotiating, but they are not walking away. In this market, pricing it right from day one is the strategy that wins. Fun stat: Sale price vs. original list price: 94.8% on average through August. That means the 30% in equity you gained as a homeowner during the covid boom is beginning to deteriorate as buyer sentiment toward homeownership begins to fade and interest rates continue to rise. This is not the end of the world, but we are experiencing a bit of a correction from that boom. That is what you are feeling in the market right now, and what we are hearing from every expert in the industry. A correction is on the horizon, but a crash in unlikely.

Source: MetroTex Association of REALTORS®, North Texas single-family data, report released September 2026.

Three things to handle before the first cold front

Buyers are doing their homework again. They are touring more homes, asking sharper questions, and taking their time. I have seen the same buyers come to an open house several times over several months before they make a move toward an offer. The ones who are ready to move are finding real opportunities, especially on homes that have been on the market for a month or more.

Well-priced homes are still selling. The listings sitting the longest are usually priced for the market we had two years ago, or even 6 months ago, not the one we have today.

Concessions are back in the conversation. Seller-paid closing costs and rate buydowns are showing up in more contracts. From my years in mortgage banking, I can tell you that a well-structured buydown can often do more for a buyer's monthly payment than a price reduction of the same amount.

Timing is on buyers' side. Realtor.com's annual analysis named the week of September 27 through October 3 the most buyer-friendly week of 2026 nationally, and the weeks that follow are nearly as favorable.

"My neighbor's house has been sitting for months. Is my home losing value?"

Not necessarily. Median prices across North Texas are holding steady. Homes that sit are usually priced above the market or need work that buyers do not want to take on. Your home's value depends on its condition, location, and what it is competing against right now. The market is very nuanced, and many times it comes down to neighborhood specific data. If you are curious, just call me and I am happy to run the numbers for you, or you can start with the "What's My Home Worth" page on my site.

This month, I want to introduce you to Roy & Danielle, the owners of No Sweat Experts, my go-to HVAC company when I have clients in need. My seasonal checklist for October includes getting your HVAC checked and prepped for winter months. Give No Sweat Experts a call and tell them Sherra sent you.

I am always a call or text away, but if you need me even closer, try out my app! This app was built just for me to communicate with my people. Do your home searches, send me messages about specific properties, track your own home value, get access to my list of trusted vendors, all from the app. Click the link below to download the app today!