Yvette Kirkland is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Properties Unlimited in Brenham.

Every week, we ask a Houston real estate professional for their thoughts on the top three stories from the week before.

This week, we talked with Yvette Kirkland, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Properties Unlimited who has been servicing the real estate needs of Brenham for 24 years.

Houston Agent (HA): Houston’s housing market, as we’ve written about, has overcome adversity and is now one of the top housing markets in the nation. Have you seen similar demand for housing in your market?

Yvette Kirkland (YK): Texas is one of the fasting growing areas in the country, and Brenham is located in the middle of the Texas Metroplex. We have been blessed to have a continued strong market in Brenham. Buyers have found it to be centrally located, a good place to invest their money and a great place to enjoy family and friends.

HA: Another topic that always generates interest from our readers is syndication, and how agents can use it in their business. Have you found much success using syndication sites (such as Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com), or have you found other marketing efforts to be more effective?

YK: Yes, I enhance my listings on Realtor.com, Trulia and Zillow, along with HAR, ColdwellBanker.com, Lands of Texas and the Texas Listing Service. These sites auto populate to other sites, which greatly enhances the exposure that I’m able to provide to my seller’s properties. I find that these sites are a great place for buyers and other agents to find me as well.

HA: Finally, though the nationwide trend has been for smaller and smaller homes, with land being as inexpensive as it is in Houston, larger homes are still popular with homebuyers. Is that consistent in your market? What kinds of homes have you found to be the most popular with your clients?

YK: Lot and land prices are at a premium, and quite a few builders are building on smaller lots in order to stay closer to the average buyer’s budget. Younger families are always looking for more square footage, but often have to compromise on that if they want space for their children to run. Retiring or retired buyers are usually looking for a one story home with at least 2,000 square feet and a low maintenance lot. Brenham offers buyers a rural lifestyle with in-town homes on traditional lots, or rural homes on one or more acres.