Buoyed by a record-breaking third quarter of 2020 in which home sales increased 18.4 percent in Texas, the Lone Star State looks set to remain a seller’s market for quite some time. With the worst of the pandemic disruption and job hopefully over — touch wood — any Texas homeowner may rightly be asking, “Should I sell my house now?” A number of factors, including high demand, low borrowing rates and quirks in Texas real estate inventory suggest that the answer is a resounding [...]

Each Friday, Robbie Briggs, president and CEO of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, writes about luxury, trends, business and more in the advertising pages of the Mansion section of The Wall Street Journal. Below is his letter of March 26, 2021.

FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

Except for a couple of angry thunderstorms, we’re having a heck of a beautiful spring in North Texas. You know, Texas has a reputation for being so hot almost all year round — but I’d put our [...]

When it comes to Texas, there is so much more than ranches. Though the long, low ranch-house style is arguably the most-recognized style in the Lone Star state, it’s definitely not the only option out there. From Craftsman to Midcentury Modern, Texas architecture is filled with different styles, offering something for everyone. If you’re moving to Texas or staying in-state but looking for a change, consider these other popular styles to find the perfect home for [...]

Each Friday, Robbie Briggs, president and CEO of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, writes about luxury, trends, business and more in the advertising pages of the Mansion section of The Wall Street Journal. Below is his letter of March 19, 2021.

FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

As places to escape, ranches and land are hotter than ever. Since this same time last year — right as the pandemic became a pandemic — we’ve seen a real upswing in people buying ranches in Texas and [...]

Each Friday, Robbie Briggs, president and CEO of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, writes about luxury, trends, business and more in the advertising pages of the Mansion section of The Wall Street Journal. Below is his letter of March 12, 2021.

FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

A pandemic may have surprised us, but our agents didn’t.

The numbers are in from Sotheby’s International Realty® and there are some eyebrow-raisers: The entire network — that’s 24,000 agents [...]

From working to socializing, people are doing more at home than ever before because of shifts from the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, how people interact with their spaces has changed more in the last year than — well — a very long time. Because of the evolving nature of home life, what people are prioritizing in their home search is also changing. Instead of favoring open floor plans and easy access to public transit, new — and sometimes unexpected — features are taking [...]