Welcome to the DFWmark Blog!

Welcome to the DFWmark Blog! This is a collection of content by Mark M. Hancock, a REALTOR with Keller Williams North County in Celina, Texas. I'm a U.S. Army veteran based in Frisco, Texas to best service the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

To browse the most useful content or when you have a specific question, please visit the blog index (also linked as "I've Got Your Six!" in most posts). It organizes information by categories.

To search for a new, preowned or lease home anywhere in the United States, please visit my website: DFWmark.com. My site is tied directly to the multiple listing service (MLS). You have no-cost access to the most accurate, safe and up-to-date information available.

For your real estate needs, please call, text or email.

I've Got Your Six!

Mark M. Hancock, GRI, MRP, AHWD
REALTOR, New Build certified
214-862-7212
markhancockrealty@gmail.com
DFWmark.com

Ready to sell your property? Please watch this short video!

#REALTOR #DFWmark #ArmyVeteran #NotaryPublic #CommercialDronePilot #AwardWinningPhotojournalist #Buy #Sell #Lease

Price Adjusted Condo in RISD

Price Adjusted!
Condo in Richardson ISD
Skillman St., Unit 304
Dallas, Texas 75231
Listed at $175,000
MLS# 21181034

This ground-level condominium in a gated community in Dallas has 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a wood-burning fireplace, a clothes washer and dryer, a refrigerator, and a covered and fenced patio with outside storage.

It’s ideally located near shopping, transportation, employment, dining and entertainment inside the desirable Richardson ISD. Ceramic tile flooring in common areas. The carpet in the bedrooms was recently installed. The kitchen features white appliances, a large stainless-steel sink, loads of storage space, a pantry and a window for fresh air. The community mailboxes are located at the front of the building, and the community pool is to the back, with sidewalks connecting to both. The Lake Highlands Trail and Jackson Branch Creek are located behind the complex. The trail connects to White Rock Trail about a half mile from the complex. This is a perfect property for first-time buyers or for your investment portfolio since the refrigerator, washer and dryer will convey.
See the listing. 

I’ve Got Your Six!

Mark M. Hancock, GRI, MRP, AHWD
REALTOR, New Home Certified
214-862-7212 (call or text)
DFWmark@kw.com
DFWmark.com

#DFWmark #REALTOR #condominium #PriceAdjusted #Dallas #RichardsonISD #DallasCounty #condo #LakeHighlands #ForSale

McKinney Open House in FISD

Open House in Frisco ISD
Sunday, 27 Sept. 2026
From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
5817 Liberty Hill Dr., McKinney
Listed at $570,000
Listed by Lynlee Li
MLS# 21323119

Price Adjusted in Frisco ISD!
This 2,516 sq. ft. home in the Liberty Hill community of McKinney has 3 bedrooms, 2-and-a-half baths, open-concept living, a loft flex space, plus a covered front porch and back patio in the award-winning Frisco ISD.

Built in 2019 by Normandy Homes features a gourmet kitchen with a 5-burner gas cooktop, convection oven, quartz countertops, and a spacious breakfast-bar island perfect for meal prep, casual dining, or gathering with friends. The open floorplan connects the kitchen seamlessly to the living and dining areas. The primary suite has dual closets and an ensuite bath designed for relaxation. Two additional bedrooms and a loft flex space are upstairs. The covered front porch welcomes guests, while the covered back patio and fenced yard offer privacy. Liberty Hill residents enjoy access to the community pool merely steps from your door. Located minutes from shopping, dining, entertainment, and thoroughfares.

I’ve Got Your Six!

Mark M. Hancock, GRI, MRP, AHWD
REALTOR, New Build Certified
KW North Country
214-862-7212 (call or text)
DFWmark@KW.com
DFWmark.com

#DFWmark #REALTOR #OpenHouse #FriscoISD #McKinney #CollinCounty #LibertyHill

Free CE: WDI Reports

Free CE: WDI Reports (Wood Damaging Insects)
Please join us on Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m.
The class will be taught by Garrett Hand of Elite Inspection.

An untreated Wood-Damaging Insect infestation can derail a real estate transaction. A WDI report is required in Texas for any VA loans. This report should be part of any residential inspection in Texas.

This class qualifies toward a Home Evaluation Specialist certificate through Elite Inspection. The certificate requires eight CE hours within the program.

All agents from any brokerage are welcome to attend for free CE credits. All others, including investors, are welcome to attend to get this valuable information at no cost.

Classes are held in the upstairs Training Center at:
Keller Williams North Country
1212 S. Preston Rd. Celina, TX 75009
972-382-8882

I’ve Got Your Six!

Mark M. Hancock, REALTOR
214-862-7212 (call or text)
DFWmark@kw.com
DFWmark.com

#DFWmark #FreeCE #WDI #RealEstate #Inspection

Texas Football Culture

Football in Texas isn’t just a sport — it’s a way of life. From Friday night lights in small towns where the whole community packs the stands, to the massive stadiums of high school programs that rival college facilities, football is woven into the state’s identity. Rivalries span generations. Here, “Friday Night Lights” is reality. Whether it’s high school on Friday Nights, college on Saturdays, or the Cowboys and Texans on Sunday, football in Texas is about pride, community, and tradition passed down from one generation to the next.

How is Texas High School Football Different?
🏈 Friday Night Lights are king: High school football in Texas draws crowds of 10,000–20,000+ in some towns. Entire economies (restaurants, gas stations) adjust their schedules around game nights. Other states care about high school football, but the scale in Texas is unmatched.

🏈 Stadiums on a different level: Texas high schools have built facilities that would make some college programs jealous. Allen’s Eagle Stadium is a $60M venue that comfortably seats 18,000 fans. McKinney is Allen’s next-door neighbor. The main McKinney ISD Stadium cost $70M and seats 12,000. Frisco ISD has a $50M indoor facility at The Star. It expands to seat 20,000 and doubles as the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility. That doesn’t happen anywhere else.

🏈 No state championship by classification: Most states have one champion per class. Texas has seven tiers for 11-man football plus six-man divisions with two 6A championship game divisions (2,215+ enrollment). The competition depth is absurd.

🏈 It’s a multi-generational identity: Families in Texas track their lineage through Friday night history. Grandpa played for this school, dad did too, now the kids wear the same jersey numbers. In most states, that’s college talk — in Texas, it starts in 9th grade.

🏈 The culture is everywhere: Even in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin (huge cities), high school football dominates local news and water-cooler talk. In other big-city states, high school sports usually take a backseat to pro teams.

SMU running back Zach Line (48) forces his way
across the goal line against Tulane in Dallas
on Nov. 5, 2011.
Mark M. Hancock & The Dallas Morning News

Texas College Football History
🏈 Texas has produced more NFL talent than any other state for decades running. Texas has produced 12 Heisman winners, from Davey O’Brien (1938) to Johnny Manziel (2012). It’s not just a sport here — it’s the sport.

🏈 The University of Texas played its first football game against a club team in Dallas in 1893.

🏈 The Heisman Trophy itself has a Texas connection. John Heisman coached at Rice University from 1924–1927.

🏈 Doak Walker, Namesake of the Doak Walker Award given to the nation’s best running back, played for Dallas’ Southern Methodist University in 1948.

🏈 Earl Campbell, “The Tyler Rose,” bulldozed his way to the Heisman and led the University of Texas to a national title in the same season in 1977.

Texas Pro Football Fun Facts
🏈 The Dallas Texans were the AFL’s first champions: In 1962, the Texans beat the Houston Oilers 20–17 in the longest pro football championship game ever (77 minutes, 54 seconds). A year later, owner Lamar Hunt moved the team to Kansas City, where they became the Chiefs.

🏈 The “Hail Mary” was coined in Texas: With 16 seconds left in a 1975 playoff game, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Drew Pearson to beat the Vikings. Afterward, Staubach said, “I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary.” The term stuck forever.

🏈 Houston Texans are the youngest NFL franchise: They began play in 2002 as an expansion team after the Oilers left for Tennessee in 1996.

🏈 The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable: According to Forbes’ 2025 valuation list (published December 2025), the Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable sports team on the planet at $13 billion. Not just American football - all sports, worldwide.

The Cowboys have held the No. 1 spot since 2016 and are roughly $2 billion ahead of the No. 2 team (the NBA’s Golden State Warriors). They also generated $629 million in operating income last season alone. And all this despite not appearing in a Super Bowl since 1995. The brand is simply untouchable.

Texas football is a different beast entirely. High schools draw thousands of fans to multi-million-dollar stadiums each week. That same pipeline has produced 12 Heisman winners and more NFL talent than any other state. The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable sports team on the planet at $13 billion.

Y’all can download my newest book “Welcome to Texas” for free! Print a copy for your coffee table and share it with friends. It is a great starter guide for new Texans and proud Texans who love the state. View or download the new book or my other books for free at this link.

I've Got Your Six!

Mark M. Hancock, GRI, MRP, AHWD
REALTOR, New Build Certified
214-862-7212 (call or text)
DFWmark@kw.com
DFWmark.com

#DFWmark #REALTOR #football #WelcomeToTexas #western #Texas #culture

Mastering a Growth Mindset

Mastering A Growth Mindset
Unlocking Your Unlimited Potential
14 Sept. 2026 @ 11 a.m.
KW North Country
1212 S. Preston Rd, Training Room (2nd floor)
Celina TX 75009
972-382-8882 (for more information)

Please join us at the KWNC Training Room for “Mastering A Growth Mindset” with Aryan Jafarzadeh and Christopher J. Cuellar. This event allows agents from any brokerage to learn core values, passion/enthusiasm, environment, and deeper relationships. The 1-hour course provides Free CE for licensed Texas real estate agents.

The course takes a holistic approach to help you improve your decision-making, strategic planning, and unlock your unlimited potential to help you take your real estate career to the next level.

The series welcomes any licensed agents and brokers from any brokerage. All others welcome for no CE credit. No strings attached. Go to this link to see the entire schedule.

I've Got Your Six!

Mark M. Hancock, GRI, MRP, AHWD
REALTOR, New Build Certified
214-862-7212 (call or text)
DFWmark@kw.com
DFWmark.com

#DFWmark #FreeCE #Mindset #RealEstate #Potential

Should I Buy Now or Later?

There's no clean "now or later" answer. Timing the market is a gamble, because rates could easily go higher before they go lower. Here's a practical thought: if you buy now, you lock in today's rate — and if rates fall significantly in the coming years, you can refinance to capture the savings later.

If you wait for lower rates and they never come (or home prices could climb while you wait), you've lost both ways. So, the best question is, "can you comfortably afford the payment now, and do you plan to stay in the home for several years?" If yes to both, buying now is generally a safer plan than waiting on a prediction nobody can make with certainty.

Long-term pension plans and national debt are affecting mortgage rates. Pension plans are natural heavy buyers of long-term bonds. They must match decades-long payouts. Meanwhile, 401K savers mostly buy shorter maturities while pensions shrink and pull back from long bonds. Fewer big buyers means the government must offer higher yields on long-term debt, which keeps pressure on the 30-year (above 5%) and mortgage rates (6.7–6.9%). Net effect: mortgage rates are unlikely to fall meaningfully anytime soon.

A real problem is brewing in the long-term bond market. Because the government borrowed record amounts (debt has crossed $40 trillion), Treasury yields on long-term bonds have climbed to their highest levels in nearly two decades — the 30-year has been above 5% for its longest stretch since 2007. That matters for real estate because 30-year fixed mortgages are priced off the 10-year Treasury (currently near 4.8%), and the pressure has already pushed mortgage rates to roughly 6.7–6.9%. Analysts say if the 10-year hits 5%, mortgages could climb back above 7%.

When could this hit? The risk is front-loaded: the September Fed meeting (next week) and year-end debt supply are the near-term catalysts. Expect rates to stay elevated for a while.

I've Got Your Six!

Mark M. Hancock, GRI, MRP, AHWD
REALTOR, New Build certified
214-862-7212 (call or text)
DFWmark@kw.com
DFWmark.com

#DFWmark #REALTOR #TimeToBuy #BondMarket #PensionPlans #Mortgage

Local Market Housing Statistics - Sept 2026

The weather is still hot, but the housing market is cooling down. The Total Active listings decreased in most reported counties and cities. There is a normal cyclical decline in listings after school starts in August. Almost half of the reported cities are in Buyer Market territory with more than six months of inventory. All three reported counties have inventory around five months.
Denton County increased its Median Listing Price, while each county had a different result in Median Sold Prices. Prosper had the lowest Median Percentages of Original Price at 92.7%, followed closely by Celina at 92.8%. Melissa came closest to the original price at 96.8%, which is about $16K off target on a $500K house.

Of the reported cities, only Plano remains a Seller’s Market with less than four months of inventory. Plano has the lowest reported median days on market at 21 days, while Prosper has the highest at 71 days. Van Alstyne has the highest year-over-year (YOY) inventory increase at 92.0%. Aubrey has the lowest at -16.4% from last year.

McKinney has the most Active homes at 1,218, while Melissa has the fewest at 206. Prosper continues to have the top Median List and Sold prices, as well as the highest Median Price Per Square Foot (PSF) at $230 PSF. Anna is the most affordable reported area this month, with listings at $169 Median PSF.
All three reported counties' median price PSF this month have settled near $197. Dallas County has the most Active properties at 8,051. Dallas County also has the highest median closed percentage of the original listed price at 96.3%.

Nationally, high mortgage rates and affordability are the big drivers. A 30-year fixed conventional loan is nearing 7% (6.995% APR). Consumer confidence is aggravated by the war with Iran, elevated fuel prices, and overall inflation. H-1B visa issues have an outsized effect on the Collin County housing market. The Dallas area received more H-1B approvals from 2020 to 2024 than all metro areas except NYC. Builders say international buyers — many H-1B holders — were 70–75% of new-home sales in Celina in 2021–2025 (HousingWire). One builder reports that share has dropped from about 70% to below 30% (Bloomberg). Overall, North Texas faces cooling sales, flattened prices, and a balanced market between Buyers and Sellers. Locally, Buyers have more choices and Sellers have less leverage.

If you plan to move to a select North Texas city or want to know more about your hometown, I started the Your City series on my blog. We explore the origin & incorporation, size, distances from City Hall to hubs, what it’s known for, national/notable awards, top employers, most prominent/prestigious employers, notable people, major attractions & amenities, education levels, schools, UIL breakdown & state titles, bordering cities, lakes, highways, airports, public transportation, and major future plans.

I've Got Your Six!

Mark M. Hancock, GRI, MRP, AHWD
REALTOR, New Build certified
214-862-7212 (call or text)
DFWmark@kw.com
DFWmark.com

#DFWmark #REALTOR #MarketWatch #MarketStatistics #Stats #YOY