Katy’s Tortoise, Hare and a Seagull

I love this photo and immediately thought it would be a great analogy for the recovering real estate market. Steadily and most assuredly the Katy real estate market is making great strides.

Katy real estate market

Certain areas of Katy, especially those houses south of I-10, are experiencing a very competitive market. In most sections of Cinco Ranch, it is not a buyers market.

Public perception seems to lag behind the current market movement. Sometimes a buyer has to lose several houses when they make low-ball offers before they enter into competitive negotiations.

To tour Katy homes and work with a Realtor who can assist you in selecting a home, navigate repairs and negotiations, call me at 713-818-2404. I have sold Katy real estate for over 21 years. Experience does count!

Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling | Discussion: No Comments »

Major National Builder Comes to Cinco Ranch

M_I Homes exterior in Katy's Cinco RanchIt’s been way too long since I posted to my blog. Business has been booming and I have been spending my time with sellers and buyers. I sure hope I haven’t lost any of my regular readers! Today’s post is about a new builder who has entered the Cinco Ranch market.

Katy’s reputation as the nation’s number one “most notable high-growth area” has attracted a major national homebuilder, Columbus, Ohio-based M/I Homes. This top national builder is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (MHO).

M/I Homes now has a model home under construction in Cinco Ranch. It plans to open the model in early April to showcase all-new floor plans and architectural designs created especially for the Houston market after extensive research with local homebuyers. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Houston Real Estate Market Concludes 2010 With a Further Appreciation in Home Prices

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The Houston real estate market put the wraps on 2010 with signs of improvement despite six consecutive months of declining sales. Prices of single-family homes across Greater Houston continued their upward march in December while sales volume sustained the smallest reduction since the declines began last July following expiration of the homebuyer tax credit. The average price achieved an all-time high for a December in Houston and the second highest level for all of 2010.

According to the latest monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), December sales of single-family homes throughout the Houston market slipped 3.9 percent when compared to December 2009. Positive sales activity was recorded in three of the five segments of the housing market, with the $150,000 to $250,000 segment experiencing its first growth since last May.

Luxury home sales again helped push the latest pricing gains. Read the rest of this entry »

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Google Eliminates Real Estate Listings

google drops real estate listings

Compliments of Inman News

Search giant Google will no longer support real estate listings uploaded to its classifed listings site on Google Maps, the company announced today.

Consumers will no longer be able to find for-sale, foreclosure, or rental properties through the search function on Google Maps, and real estate professionals will no longer be able to upload their listings to Google Base, the company’s classifieds site, which is being replaced by Google Shopping APIs and will not support real estate listings.

Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling | Discussion: No Comments »

Keller Williams Premier Dominates Katy Real Estate

Keller Williams Premier Dominates Katy Real Estate

I’d like to share a very interesting announcement with you.

Keller Williams Premier has been named by the Houston Association of Realtors as the #1 Katy real estate office for closed units sold in 2010.

Keller Williams Premier has also been recognized as #1 in Katy for closed dollar volume in 2010.

Keller Williams Premier is located in Cinco Ranch in the Villagio Shopping Center at the intersection of Peek and Westheimer Parkway. The address is 22762 Westheimer Parkway, Suite 430.

If you are considering a career in real estate, Keller Williams Premier is where you want to be! We are known for exemplary education and we even have profit sharing! For more details and an introduction to our Team Leaders, contact me at 713-818-2404.

Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling | Discussion: No Comments »

Houston Home Prices Reach a November High While Sales Volume Remains Cool for the Fifth Consecuctive Month

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For the fifth month in a row following expiration of the 2010 homebuyer tax credit, sales of single-family homes across Greater Houston declined in November while the prices of those homes rose. Despite the lingering sales chill, the market enjoyed boosts in both the average and median price, achieving the highest levels ever seen in a November.

According to the latest monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), November sales of single-family homes throughout the Houston market fell 22.0 percent when compared to November 2009. However, on a year-to-date basis, 2010 single-family home sales are off just 5.6 percent from 2009 levels. Positive sales activity was recorded in the low and high ends of the housing market, with declines affecting homes priced between $80,000 and $500,000.

Luxury home sales helped drive the latest pricing gains. The average price of a single-family home increased 11.8 percent from November 2009 to $219,560 while the November single-family home median price—the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less—edged up 1.7 percent from one year earlier to $152,500.

Foreclosure property sales reported in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Read the rest of this entry »

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My Favorite Column: Ugly MLS Photos Don’t Sell Houses

I’m not allowed to identify the agents who took these hideous photos for the HAR.com website but they are sure worth a look. Enjoy!

ugly mls photos houston tx

rotten mls photos houston tx

ugly mls photos houston tx

rotten mls photos

Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling | Discussion: 2 Comments »

The Five Secrets of Buying a Katy Foreclosure From a Certified Foreclosure/Short Sale Specialist

Cinco Ranch Foreclosure --$224,900

Westfield Foreclosure-$115,900

Foreclosed and foreclosing properties dominate many of today’s U.S. real estate markets–more than four years after the sharpest observers saw the market shift coming, and more than two years after the reality hit home for millions of American home owners.

While Katy is not suffering like other areas of the country, the number of foreclosures in our hometown has grown substantially. (Pictured above are two foreclosures  currently on the market.)

First-time home buyers make up almost half of all buyers of bank-owned foreclosures and soon-to-be foreclosed short sale properties. They’re followed closely by investors seeking rental properties, and a third important group—homeowners who find they can move up to a bigger or better home they previously could not afford.

The truth is: These markets demand most of the same things an ordinary Read the rest of this entry »

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Houston Home Prices Show Continued Stability Even as Sales Tumble for a Fourth Straight Month in October

The Houston real estate market staged an encore of its post-tax credit performance in October with a decline in sales volume but continued stability in pricing. Despite the fourth month of down sales, the market enjoyed another boost in the average price and a nudge in the median price of single-family homes.

According to the latest monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), October sales of single-family homes throughout the Houston market fell 23.3 percent compared to October 2009. However, on a year-to-date basis, single-family home sales are off 4.0 percent from 2009 levels. Declines were recorded in all but the lowest pricing segment.

The average price of a single-family home rose 5.6 percent from October 2009 to $208,459 while the October single-family home median price—the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less—edged up 0.7 percent from one year earlier to $150,000. Both average and median pricing achieved the highest levels for an October in Houston.

Foreclosure property sales reported in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) declined 13.4 percent in October compared to one year earlier. Foreclosures comprised 21.9 percent of all property sales in October—unchanged from the month before and generally consistent with the levels they have maintained for much of the year. The median price of October foreclosures dropped 8.5 percent to $80,550 on a year-over-year basis.

Sales of all property types in Houston for October totaled 4,404, down 23.8 Read the rest of this entry »

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HAR MLS September Market Report: Houston and Katy Real Estate

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September brought the Houston housing market its third straight month of declining sales volume following the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit. However, despite the drop, pricing continued to demonstrate strength with a boost in the average price and a slight uptick in the median price of single-family homes.

According to the latest monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), September sales of single-family homes throughout the Houston market fell 18.6 percent compared to September 2009. Declines were recorded in three of the five pricing segments.

The average price of a single-family home rose 5.0 percent from September 2009 to $215,250, primarily due to continued strength in the upper end of the market. The September single-family home median price—the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less—edged up 0.2 percent from one year earlier to $156,250. Both average and median pricing achieved the highest levels for a September in Houston.

Foreclosure property sales reported in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) declined 6.9 percent in September compared to one year earlier. The median price of September foreclosure sales slid 5.2 percent to Read the rest of this entry »

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