HAR MLS Market Report: Houston and Katy Real Estate

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Today, August 24, the National Association of Realtors issued the following  statement, “Existing home sales drop 27% in July; effects of expired homebuyer tax credit add turbulence to the market.”

Following the national trend, an anticipated property sales slowdown set into the Houston/Katy real estate market in July following the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit. The credit had propelled local home sales for four straight months beginning in March, however home sales suffered a double-digit decline in July. Despite the drop, the average price of a single-family home still managed to climb to a two-year high.

The southside of  I-10 had a 26% drop in sales for July compared to 2009 levels. The northside  of I-10 experienced a 42% drop in July closings.  As many first time homebuyers purchased on the northside, this is reflected in the slowing sales. Despite the downturn, average prices rose slightly on both sides of I-10.

According to the latest monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), July sales of single-family homes throughout the Houston market fell 25.1 percent compared to July 2009. Sales volume faltered in all single-family home pricing segments Read the rest of this entry »

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Cinco Ranch’s Greenway Village: Open Houses August 21 and 22

Beloved Greenway Village in Cinco Ranch is one of the most popular sections of Katy’s grand master-planned community. This weekend, August 21 and 22, I will be hosting two open houses in Greenway Village. Please come by and tour these remarkable homes; if you can’t make it, just contact me for a private showing.

Saturday, August 21, 2 to 4 p.m. at 23211 Fallmist Court: Fantastic location in beloved Greenway Village. Lowest priced 4/3.5/3 in Cinco Ranch! Greenbelt culdesac location! Open back gate to 10 acres of contiguous play area including school playground, gazebo park, greenbelt! Walk to school, pool, park out front door OR back! Recent roof, double pane windows, covered back patio, garden deck area, wood laminate floors, study w/French doors & private access to master! All Cinco amenities, low tax rate, highly acclaimed exemplary Fielder El/Cinco HS! $244,000.

23211 Fallmist in Cinco's Greenway Village

Sunday, August 22, 12:30 to 3:30 at 23203 Winding Knoll Drive: Charming traditional in tranquil parklike setting on quiet culdesac street in beloved Greenway Village Cinco Ranch. Walk to school/pool/park, nature trails, lakes! 2nd BR down option w/full bath, 20 inch porcelain tile floors all wet areas! H2O htr, roof, upstairs HVAC all replaced! New fence 06/10! Stunning 2 story brick FP & 18 ft ceiling in gorgeous den, usable 3-car detached gar! Peaceful private backyard w/small pond, flagstone, garden. Low tax rate & zoned to triple exemplary school track! $219,000.

Winding Knoll  Greenway Village Cinco Ranch

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Katy Homebuyers: It’s Time to Move! Part Two

Katy Homebuyers--It's a Great Time to Buy!Unique tax benefits apply only to homeownership; mortgage interest and property taxes are deductible. Moreover, for married couples, profits of up to $500,000 on the sale of a principal residence are exempt from capital gains taxes. For single taxpayers, $250,000 is excluded from tax on capital gains.

When buyers purchase a home, they receive the full benefit of homeownership via a cash down payment that is only a fraction of the total purchase price.  This is called “leveraging”. It makes the rate of return on a home purchase greater than on other purchases with the same value, such as stocks, where the buyer must put up the entire money.

For most Americans, their home is a primary source of net worth; this is an important step in accumulating personal financial assets over the long term. Home equity represents the largest Read the rest of this entry »

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Why this is a Great Time for Katy Homebuyers, Part One

time to buy Katy real estate

Home ownership is an important and defining part of the Katy lifestyle. Now that the tax credits for first-time and repeat homebuyers have expired, many people are wondering if this is a good time to buy a Katy home. The answer is yes!

Even without the tax credits, there are many opportunitites in today’s Katy housing market including affordable prices and low mortgage rates. Market conditions may change and these opportunities may not be around for long, so homebuyers shouldn’t wait.

Plentiful Katy real estate inventory provides a great choice of homes in all prices, styles, locations and ages, including new construction. Many existing home owners who postponed trading up, downsizing or relocating due to market conditions are now ready to sell. Houses in Katy, both south and north of I-10, go on the market daily with many of these being more affordable than they were in the recent past. Foreclosures still exist, too.

Like Katy inventory and pricing, mortgage rates are at very favorable levels; some weeks Read the rest of this entry »

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HAR Report: Home Sales Edge Up in June as Effects of Homebuyer’s Tax Credit Wane

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Closings of properties purchased through the federal homebuyer tax credit combined with the seasonal spring-summer uptick in consumer activity kept Houston-area single-family home sales in positive territory for a fourth straight month in June. However, expiration of the homebuyer tax credit slowed the brisk pace of sales volume that the market enjoyed in recent months.

Congress extended the time necessary to close on homes purchased with the tax credit by three months to September 30, provided the property was under contract by April 30. The May and June decline in pending sales—property listings that are expected to close within the next 30 to 60 days—was expected, as homebuyers rushed to take advantage of the tax credit and is considered an indicator that sales volume will slow in July.

According to the latest monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of Realtors® (HAR), June sales of single-family homes throughout the Houston market rose 2.9 percent compared to June 2009. That follows increases of 11.3 percent in March, 27.8 percent in April and 18.2 percent in May. Sales volume showed gains in all single-family home pricing segments except the $150,000 to $250,000 market. The largest increase took place among homes priced from $500,000 and above. Sales of all property types combined climbed 4.1 percent in June on a year-over-year basis.

The average price of a single-family home edged up 0.9 percent from June 2009 to $222,767, Read the rest of this entry »

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Keep Your Katy Home Sale from Falling Apart

katy real estate deal

By: G. M. Filisko, Guest Author

After finding a buyer, all you have to do to make it to closing is to avoid these five traps.

Finding a buyer for your home is just the first step on the home selling path. Tread carefully in the weeks ahead because if you make one of these common seller mistakes, your deal may not close.

Mistake #1: Ignore contingencies

If your contract requires you to do something before the sale, do it. If the buyers make the sale contingent on certain repairs, don’t do cheap patch-jobs and expect the buyers not to notice the fixes weren’t done properly.

Mistake #2: Don’t bother to fix things that break

The last thing any seller needs is for the buyers to notice on the pre-closing walk-through that the home isn’t in the same condition as when they made their offer. When things fall apart in a home about to be purchased, sellers must make the repairs. If the furnace fails, get a professional to fix it, and inform the buyers that the work was done. When you fail to maintain Read the rest of this entry »

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You are Invited to Tour Two Outstanding Homes in Cinco Ranch, July 24 and 25

Please join me for this weekend’s Open Houses in Cinco Ranch; I will be hosting a tour of two fabulous homes on Saturday and Sunday. Would love to meet you!

2030 Crystal Downs in Cinco Ranch North Lake Village, Saturday, July 24, 2-4. $390,000. Very tastefully updated with new paint inside and outside. Granite counter top, Jennaire cook top, stainless steel kitchen sink, kitchen faucet. Wood flooring in living room, dining room and family room. The house has rich marble in entry. Two story foyer, plus carpet and other amenities suitable for Cinco Ranch Golf Course community life style. Five bedrooms, large library and game room.

Directions: I-10 West. Exit Mason Rd. Left on Mason. Right on Highland Knolls. Left on S. Peek. Left on North Lake Village. Right on Tryburn Trail. Left on t-junction onto Crystal Downs. House on left.

Pictures below of beautiful 2030 Crystal Downs in Cinco Ranch North Lake Village:

Crystal Downs in North Lake Village Cinco RanchCrystal Downs Interior Shot in North Lake Village Cinco Ranch

3226 Markstone Court in Cinco Ranch Town Center, Sunday, July 25, 2-4. $215,000. Beautiful on a quiet culdesac with huge pie-shaped lot in the heart of Cinco Ranch. Walk to everything including Beach Club, Lakes, Tennis, Fishing, Park, YMCA and exemplary Williams Elementary! Recent flooring and fixtures. Low tax rate. Save energy $ with double pane windows. A++ curb appeal, elegant two-story appeal with popular diagonal tile entry, recent paint and updates. One of the best houses currently on the market for premium lot, location, amenities and triple exemplary school track.

Directions: I-10 Katy Freeway, south on 99 Grand Parkway, exit and left on Cinco Ranch Blvd., right on Peek, right on Centerton, at stop sign turn left and go to the end of the culdesac.

Enjoy the photos below of gorgeous 3226 Markstone Court:

Cinco Ranch Markstone Court

Markstone Open House Cinco Ranch

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Why is There so Much Katy Real Estate For Sale?

katy real estateKaty real estate is greatly affected by the oil and gas business particularly since petroleum tends to be a mobile industry. Compared to to other fields of employment, there are an inordinate amount of oil employees transferred in and out of our area at any time. This is the primary reason why there are always a lot of homes on the market in Katy, particularly on the south-side of I-10.

According to Ron Hanlen of Network Funding, there is another factor currently driving Katy real estate inventory levels:  Mortgage interest rates. Despite dire predictions about the impending rise of mortgage interest rates, rates have held onto historic lows, in the 4’s.

Ron said, “Once the tax credit expired, everyone expected that listings would go down.  But they haven’t…they have gone up.  With all of the negative media attention on housing it would be easy to consider that it is because the sellers are distressed in some way. Maybe they lost their job or they are trying to sell the home before it goes into foreclosure.

But here is the real reason why listings are up:  Interest rates are at an all-time low. Despite the constant bombardment of negative media coverage, the vast majority of existing Read the rest of this entry »

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Fulshear/Katy’s Firethorne Launches Tennis Program

FirethorneTennis Katy TX Real Estate

If you think Firethorne’s tennis coach is just an ace on the tennis court, you couldn’t be more wrong. Resident athlete/sports coach Chris Dante didn’t even take up the sport until he was 30, after excelling in baseball, (in 1988 he made it as far as the Olympic Trials), basketball, (City University of New York team captain), and football, as well as boxing and Taekwondo, (he has a black belt)!

“But after one too many broken noses, I turned to something less brutal — tennis,” said Dante, who helped launch Firethorne’s premiere tennis program this spring. With the new Women’s Tennis League and beginner tennis clinics now in full swing, Firethorne continues to demonstrate the Katy/Fulshear community’s commitment to fitness and competitive sports, through its hike and bike trails, swimming and running, regulation lacrosse fields and personal training at the on-site exercise facility.

During the summer, Coach Dante offers two morning clinics for resident children, (9 and 10 a.m.), and one 6 p.m. clinic for adult beginners. He also teaches private Read the rest of this entry »

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“Newsweek” School Rankings: Seven Lakes and Cinco Ranch Flip Positions

Cinco High Katy

In the annual Newsweek Magazine rankings of high schools nationwide, four Katy high schools, Cinco Ranch, Seven Lakes, Taylor and Katy, again scored high enough to make the list’s top high schools. Last year Seven Lakes scored a bit higher than Cinco Ranch but, this year, the table’s have turned and Cinco out ranked Seven Lakes.

The standards for selecting schools include the number of Advanced Placement students, and International Baccalaureate and Cambridge test scores as compared to the number of graduates.

Approximately 1600 schools made the list; of that number only 6% are public schools. Out of the 1600 schools, following are the Katy rankings: Cinco Ranch–478; Seven Lakes–689; Taylor–982; and, Katy–1387.

In comparison, last year’s scores were: Seven Lakes–403; Cinco–458; Taylor–1067; and, Katy–1458.

To tour homes districted to a specific school, just contact me. To search all the houses currently on the market in Katy/Houston see Home Search. I have sold Katy real estate for over 20 years and would be pleased to work together.

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