P
ublished December 16, 2025 7:30pm CST
AUSTIN, Texas – Nationwide, more than half of all homes have lost value in the past year, Zillow reports. In Austin, the decline is steeper: nearly 89 % of properties have fallen in worth. As listings linger, local agents warn sellers against accepting risky deals.
Tanya Kerr, founder of T. Kerr Property Group, explains that slower sales and excess inventory push owners toward offers they would normally reject. “When inventory sits on the market, sellers become desperate and may accept terms they’d otherwise avoid,” she says. She lists several warning signs: contracts that waive the seller’s right to an agent or attorney; agreements that transfer ownership to a buyer who promises to keep the mortgage in the seller’s name; clauses allowing the buyer to advertise the property before ownership is finalized; provisions that let the buyer resell or reassign the property; unusually long or extendable option periods that lock the seller; one‑sided termination or closing‑date extensions; and any offer that lets the buyer record the agreement, cloud the title, or act as attorney‑in‑fact.
Kerr notes that such predatory terms are increasingly common. She recounts a recent offer that granted the buyer attorney‑in‑fact status, allowing them to place a title cloud indefinitely and preventing the seller from selling elsewhere. “It was a classic predatory scenario that the seller didn’t realize they were entering,” she says.
Her advice is simple: if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Sellers should scrutinize every clause or enlist a trusted professional to review the paperwork. Even in a buyer’s market, success is possible by ensuring the home is move‑in ready, staged well, and marketed effectively.
Micaela Remmert, another agent at T. Kerr Property Group, stresses the role of data in pricing. “Pricing must reflect current market values; that’s where we see the most success,” she says. Mortgage rates in Texas hover around 6–7 %, higher than the pandemic lows but lower than a few years ago. Realtors believe that a drop to about 5 % would attract more buyers and ease pressure on sellers.
Source: Interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin’s Bryanna Carroll, Austin Real Estate.
