10 Things to Know About Celina Before Moving To Celina

Thinking of moving to Celina? That’s fantastic news because Celina has a TON to offer.

Why? With decent housing prices, excellent schools, tons of employment opportunities, and access to a great network of tollways and freeways, what’s not to love about living in Celina?

In addition, Celina offers delicious food, tons of entertainment options, and a fast growing economy. You’ll enjoy a high quality of life in Celina and meet plenty of incredibly friendly people.

If you’re planning on buying a home in Celina or if are moving to Celina to buy a home in one of the master planned communities in Celina, then here are 10 things you need to know about buying a home in Celina.

1. Celina is an Extremely Hot Housing Market

Last year, Neighborhoods.com ranked Celina as the number one hottest housing market in the country.

The Texas city reached the number one spot because it had the highest year-over-year gains over any other city.

This means that construction is increasing the total housing supply, which is good news for a Celina first time home buyer.

With more new construction developments throughout the city, buyers have the advantage of their pick of neighborhoods and properties. It also means that the value of their new home isn’t going to depreciate anytime soon.

In fact, the appreciation value of homes in Celina is one of the biggest factors attracting new homeowners to the area. It’s part of what’s making it such a hot housing market. But, we’ll get into that a bit later.

2. There Are a Variety of Housing Choices

As a new homeowner, price is a pretty important deciding factor in choosing to move somewhere new. Lucky for you, moving to Celina means having a lot of variety when it comes to homes and pricing.

On average, home prices in the Celina area average around $400,000. However, what’s so great about choosing to live in Celina is the variety of styles and community amenities available.

If you’re looking for a fairly-priced home that you’re aiming to rent out as an investment property, you can find properties in the low $300,000s. The median price point for homes in Celina is $459,500.

If you are moving to Celina and are in the market for a luxury single family home, take a tour in neighborhoods with residences that create an aspirational lifestyle with homes on the golf course in gated communities. Or visit subdivisions with mansions built with contemporary styles or stucco homes with tile roofs! Whether you want a traditional home or a patio home, Celina will offer you a number of choices.

3. Attorneys Are Not Involved When Buying A Home in Celina

One major difference in the Celina real estate process that you may be surprised to learn when moving to Celina is that the resale homes in Celina, Texas are generally sold using promulgated forms provided by TREC (Texas Real Estate Commission) and these contracts are well understood by real estate agents in Texas. But you can always hire an attorney for guidance when you are buying a residential resale property.

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4. Homes in Celina Are Selling Quickly

As mentioned, there’s a lot of new construction going on in Celina. Families moving to Celina usually are pleasantly surprised at the amount of new construction going on in Celina at any given time. This, combined with affordable home prices (as compared to the states like California and New York), means that well priced properties are selling fast.

While a healthy real estate market is good for both buyers and sellers, what it really means is that you need to act fast if you find a home you like.

This means that you have to act fast on a home for sale in Celina you want to buy when moving to Celina. It also means that you can’t lowball the seller. They have a lot of other offers on the table.

So, when you’re ready to purchase a property, enter negotiations with a fair offer and prepare to act fast. It’s best not to put an offer in on a home if you haven’t got all your finances and documentation in order.

5. Master Planned Communities Are Becoming More Popular in Celina

A master-planned community in Celina is a large-scale residential neighborhood with a large number of recreational and commercial amenities, such as golf courses, tennis courts, lakes, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, and even stores and restaurants. Some master-planned communities may have schools, office parks, large shopping centers and other businesses. They offer all the amenities and facilities to families and have become very popular as families moving to Celina can relax and enjoy the luxuries of life within the community.

6. Celina Homes Have HOAs (Home Owner Associations)

Learning about HOAs is one of the most important things you need to learn before moving to Celina.

Most of the homes in Celina fall under a HOA. While most people refer to them as "homeowners' associations" or "HOAs," the term that Texas law uses is "property owners' association." In most cases, HOAs provide maintenance for shared public areas that may include swimming pools, parks and green space. They may also enforce covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) regarding the appearance and proper maintenance of each property in the neighborhood. HOAs have rules about the exterior appearance of your home, parking regulations, landscaping guidelines etc. HOA dues can vary from $40 per month to $300 per month depending on the amenities provided by the HOA. The HOAs in Celina can also restrict the ability to lease a home after purchase.

7. Expect Celina Property Values to Appreciate

It doesn’t look like Celina is slowing down any time soon, and according to Zillow, the property market is likely to continue to heat up well into 2021 due to tons of people moving to Celina.

And, if you analyze the real estate market forecast, the average property value is set to appreciate at least 3%. This is on top of the 7.5% that homes appreciated in 2020.

Realtor.com confirmed these statistics by noting that Celina real estate prices are set to be some of the fastest growing this year.

Overall, they ranked second in the nation in terms of fastest growing home values. The time to buy is now.

8. Celina is Full of New Businesses

The population of Celina is rising as a large number of families are moving to Celina from around the country. This is in part due to new construction homes in master planned communities with world class amenities and in part due to the perfect mixture of housing style, real estate market, and general economic growth.

So, what happens when all of those factors combine? They create healthy environment for businesses that attracts top companies and talent. Celina has attracted a number of Fortune 500 companies that are generating excellent employment opportunities for residents. This is positive in two ways for those looking to purchase property here.

First of all, it means that if you’re looking to relocate to Celina, then you’ll be able to find a top job with a well paying company. It also means that if you’re interested in purchasing a property as part of a rental investment, then the booming effect of this economic growth will benefit you, too.

Think about all of the job-seeking individuals that are going to be flocking to Celina in the next two to five years. Think about where they’re going to need to live. In your property!

9. You Have To Get Creative with Your Offers To Buy A Home In Celina

Due to the demand of homes among families moving to Celina right now due to the highly rated school district (Celina ISD), you might need to get creative with your offers and your search in general if you want to snag the home of your dreams.

A couple of Celina buyer tips:

Offer to pay for the closing costs (don't ask the seller to credit you for closing costs)
Work with an experienced and highly reputed real estate agent
Be willing to offer over ask
Ask for a shorter “option period”
Offer to pay for owner's title policy
Pay for the home warranty policy instead of asking the seller to pay for it.

These are all some tried and tested that can help ensure that your offer is the winning bid on your dream Celina home. However, the idea, in general, is to just get as creative as you can. Learn more about how to win in a multiple offers situation in Celina here.

10. Take Advantage of Zero State Income Texas in Taxes

Depending on where you currently reside, you’re likely tired of the state income tax. As a potentially new Texas resident, you’ll definitely enjoy the lack of state income taxes.

Yes, you heard that right. Moving to Celina means that if you’re an individual or a corporation, then you won’t have to pay state income tax.

Property taxes in Collin County are current between about 2.5%. When you factor in the lack of state income tax, this is a good deal.

And, you’ll also need to factor in the exemption programs for certain individuals including primary home owners living in Celina, Texas. This includes homestead exemption for all Texas residents and additional exemptions from paying property taxes if you’re a disabled, a veteran or the spouse of a military member who died or is disabled.

Celina, Texas is one of the prime destinations for families running away from high tax states like California and New York. We work with families moving to Celina from California. Just contact us!

Moving To Celina And Buying a Home in Celina Can Be Easy

The most important thing you need to know about moving to Celina and buying a home in Celina is that it can be an easy process if you have the right team behind you which includes a top Celina real estate agent.

It’s important to set a budget, figure out what kind of home you’re looking for, and then go into the process ready to make a deal.

Consider your options, look for the right real estate team to help you when moving to Celina, and get creative with how you’re preparing and presenting your offers.

Ready to buy when moving to Celina? Reach out today and we are ready to help!