Raylene Lewis Realtor

10/22/2026

📺🐾 Well, Phoebe and I made the news! 😂🧡

KBTX asked me to share my perspective on the proposed Savannah Oaks development in south College Station, and of course, Phoebe managed to get a little camera time, too!

It’s always interesting to see how our community is growing and what that growth could mean for our local real estate market.

Thank you, KBTX, for including us in the story!

Take a look! 👇

College Station City Council is set to consider a major development decision Thursday night involving the 1,200-acre Savannah Oaks project.

10/09/2026

10/09/2026

🚨🦆 BREAKING NEWS: THE AB-DUCK-TION HAS GONE INTERNATIONAL.

DAY 2: PROOF OF LIFE.

For those following the disappearance of Phoebe the Realtor Pup’s beloved plastic duck, we have some developments.

Tyler, who accidentally left Houston with Phoebe’s duck in his luggage after my AI conference, has apparently taken it to CANADA. 🇨🇦

Yes. Canada.

I have now received photographic evidence of the duck crossing the international border, sightseeing in the mountains, enjoying cocktails, dining at Tavern 1883, and relaxing at what appears to be a very nice hotel.

The duck even has a passport photo.

Tyler informed me that the first round of drinks was on him and the second was on the duck.

Meanwhile, Phoebe is back in College Station, completely unaware that her tiny plastic lovey is eating better, traveling farther, and having a more exciting social life than most of us.

At this point, I don’t think we’re dealing with an ab-duck-tion anymore.

I think the duck has gone willingly.

We’ll continue monitoring the situation.
🦆🐾

10/08/2026

🚨 BREAKING NEWS: PHOEBE’S DUCK HAS BEEN AB-DUCK-TED! 🦆✈️

I went to Houston yesterday to speak at an AI conference, and my friend Tyler came along.

Apparently, somewhere between the conference and Tyler catching a flight out of state today, one of Phoebe the Realtor Pup’s beloved tiny plastic ducks ended up in his bag.

I have questions….

Rather than return the missing duck immediately, Tyler has decided to document its travels and is now sending me photographic evidence of the duck living its best life.

So far, the duck appears unharmed, well-traveled, and considerably better dressed than I expected.

Phoebe has not been informed that her emotional support duck is now a frequent flyer. I’m not sure she’s going to handle this well.

Meanwhile, Tyler has apparently appointed himself the duck’s travel agent.
🦆🐾

09/11/2026

There is a lot of excitement around SpaceX Terafab, and I understand why.

I’m excited about what it could mean for the Brazos Valley too.

But from a real estate standpoint, I think homeowners need to separate future growth from today’s market.

Terafab can create meaningful long-term housing demand without immediately changing what a Bryan or College Station home is worth today.

That is the part I do not want sellers to miss.

Right now, buyers still have choices. Homes are still competing against other homes. Pricing, condition, location and current demand still matter.

A big economic-development announcement does not automatically mean every seller should raise their price or wait for a future buyer who has not arrived yet.

I actually had this conversation with a South College Station seller before Terafab was formally confirmed.

She wondered whether waiting a few years might make more sense because of the future demand the project could bring.

We looked at the market she had in front of her instead.

Later, when the home needed to be repositioned, we adjusted the strategy.

Once it was positioned correctly, it sold and closed.

That experience reinforced something I believe very strongly:

You price a home for the buyers competing for it now, not for the buyers you hope a future economic development will bring later.

I absolutely believe Terafab will matter.

I just think its housing impact will build over time as construction, hiring and relocations happen in stages.

And for the people moving here because of Terafab, the housing decision will not simply be, “What is closest to work?”

It will be about commute, budget, schools, healthcare, groceries, restaurants, family life and long-term resale.

That is why I think Bryan, College Station and surrounding communities will all be part of the conversation.

Terafab is real opportunity for this region. The timing of that opportunity matters.

If TerraFab is bringing you to the Brazos Valley, I’d be glad to help you understand the area before you start narrowing down where to live.

Where you work helps define the search. Where you want to live defines the decision.

https://aggielandexpert.com/spacex-terafab-bryan-college-station-housing-market/

09/11/2026

“The tenant will take care of the yard” is not a complete maintenance plan.

I once worked with a rental home that had a beautiful yard but no sprinkler system. During an extreme drought, the soil became so dry that the cracks were deep enough to swallow a yardstick.

The house shifted. A foundation specialist attributed the movement to the severely dried soil, and the owner ended up with substantial foundation and plumbing repairs.

This is not about blaming tenants. An owner and a tenant do not always look at the property the same way. The owner is thinking about its long-term condition. The tenant may be thinking about the water bill for a yard they do not own.

Before renting a Bryan-College Station home, decide who will water, who will pay for it, and how the owner will know it is being done. Mowing keeps a yard looking neat. It does not necessarily protect the property.

That is one of several questions I use when helping an owner decide whether renting truly makes sense:
https://aggielandexpert.com/should-i-sell-or-rent-my-home-bryan-college-station/

09/06/2026

f you're buying a College Station home for your Aggie and already know you'll probably sell when they graduate, tell me that before we choose the house.

It changes what I look at.

A property can be great for your student and still create a tougher sale four years later.

I want to know:

How have homes like this performed here?

How many nearly identical properties could compete with us later?

Could new development become another option for future buyers?

How has the property or condo development been maintained?

Will the next buyer have good financing options?

And when will the next group of Aggie parents start shopping?

The goal isn't to predict the market four years in advance.

It's to make today's decision with tomorrow's sale in view.

If graduation is the planned exit, resale belongs in the purchase conversation.

09/04/2026

A contingent offer is not automatically a bad offer.

But if the buyer has to sell another home before purchasing yours, there is more to evaluate than the price they are offering.

I want to know what is happening with the buyer’s current property. Is it already under contract? Is it listed but still unsold? Has it even gone on the market yet?

If it has not sold, I want to understand why.

Is it priced correctly? Is it easy to show? How does it compare with the competition? Are there condition or positioning issues that could slow the sale?

For me, the question is simple:

How likely is that first home to sell in time for my seller’s transaction to actually reach closing?

That is why I say:

A contingent offer is only as strong as the house that has to sell first.

Some contingent offers are excellent, especially when the dependent property is already under contract and progressing normally.

Others need much more investigation before I would recommend that a seller accept the added risk.

The goal is not to fear contingencies. It is to understand what has to happen next, and how likely that entire chain is to work.

09/03/2026

If your home was on the market and did not sell, the next step is not automatically a price reduction, new photos, more advertising, or a new agent.

The first step is figuring out why buyers passed the first time.

When I take over a listing that did not sell, I start by talking with the seller.

How many showings were there?
What feedback came back?
Were there offers?
What changed while the home was listed?

Then I look at the previous listing, the photos, the pricing history, and something I consider especially important:

What sold while this home was available as a choice?

If similar homes were going under contract while yours remained available, buyers were there. They were simply choosing something else.

And that matters more to me than polite feedback like, “I didn’t love the paint.”

What buyers do carries more weight than what buyers politely say.

From there, I look at the home itself.

Some things are easy to improve. Maybe presentation is getting in the way. Maybe there is a small cosmetic issue creating a much bigger negative impression.

Other things cannot be changed, like the floor plan, room placement, or lot location. Those have to be accounted for in the way the home is positioned.

And sometimes the evidence says the right answer is to wait rather than immediately put the house back on the market.

There is no single relaunch formula.

The purpose of a relaunch is not to make the listing look new. It is to correct the reason the first launch failed.

That is how you create a genuinely different strategy instead of simply trying again.