Katy City Limits

Leftovers

 What do you fix for dinner the night after you have prepared and served a gourmet (it's subjective) meal?  Left overs of course.  That's exactly what we had for dinner last night.

How does that relate to Real Estate you ask.....

Recently, we were working with an out of town buyer relocating to Katy.  We had been showing house over a period of several months. The buyer was specific about what they wanted and we were concentrating on homes that had recently come on the market. Why would we do this....unfortunately some buyers and many agents assume that if a house has been on the market for a long time, there is something wrong.  We found a house and as we looked at comparable homes to determine pricing, we found the perfect house. It had been on the market over 300 days....what was wrong?  We checked it out, there was nothing wrong.  It had just been shoved to the back of the refrigerator and forgotten.  There's nothing wrong with leftovers and sometimes they even end up better than the original..... Don't ignore a possibility just because it's been around awhile.

 

Is It A Buyer or Sellers Market?

 According to The Real Estate Center,  this is how select Texas cities fared in March (data current as of July 26, 2010):

	Sales	Change from Last Year	Median Price	Change from Last Year	Months' Inventory
Austin	2,216	down 2%	$202,800	up 4%	7.2
Brownsville	50	down 14%	$96,000	up 11%	na
Dallas	4,554	down 3%	$170,100	up 2%	6.8
El Paso	736	up 53%	$132,600	down 1%	6.8
Fort Worth	833	up 5%	$111,800	down 6%	6.9
Houston	6,175	up 3%	$158,100	down 3%	7.5
Kerrville	30	down 35%	$151,400	down 13%	22.8
Lufkin	56	up 2%	$120,000	up 9%	na
Odessa	131	up 87%	$125,300	down 6%	7.9
San Antonio	1,924	down 1%	$151,700	down 3%	8.2
Texas	21,717	0%	$153,300	down 1%	7.8

 

Is it a buyers or sellers market?  It depends....all Real Estate is local.  Depends on where you are selling or buying.  Let me know and I'll send you a report on your area.

 

Home Cooking

I love my home and I especially like to cook in my home.  My idea of cooking is to add bacon to everything......bacon is the best.  I'm hooked on all the cooking shows and I spend lots of time trying to decide what I could make out of 3 unrelated items.  Rachel Ray has a great show, 30 Minute Meals. Found a delicious sounding meal that I could throw together in 30 minutes; Chicken and Peaches (Level Easy/Cook Time 20 Min), Sweet Onion Potatoes Au Gratin (Level Easy/Cook Time 25 Min), and Cheese and Bacon Biscuits (Level Easy/15 Min).  Now I have bacon.....so last night I decided to whip up the 30 minute meal.  Must say.....the food was fabulous but, if you add all the time together get 60 minutes and it took me closer to 90.  What I learned was in order to finish in 30 minutes, you need an 6-8 burner stove and at least 2 ovens.  Looks like I need to buy a new house.

I Wasn't Born In Texas But I Got Here As Fast As I Could

  It's the thing we all know but, few (not currently in Texas) will admit.....we all want to be Texans.  Now we have the proof.

According to Movers.com, an online relocation service, people in the following eight states love to move: whether it's to another state or within the same:
1. California
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. New York
5. Georgia

6. Illinois
7. Virginia
8. Arizona

California had the most total moves, but the population remained flat because about the same number of people moved in as moved out. Texas saw the largest population increase - nearly 50 percent more people moved in than left. New York had the most significant decrease, losing 33 percent more people than it gained.

Source: Movers.com (05/24/2010)

New Listing In Heritage Park West - Katy City Limits

Small Town Living

New Listing In Firethorne - Katy TX

Move In Ready - Enjoy Tropical Living

Happy Memorial Day!

The Smith Family Team in Firethorne

Check out this great home in Firethorne.

MLS#61676994 $324,000

Smith Family Team in Austin

We're in Aistin Texas attending the Prudential Real Estate Sales Conference. We were just reminded that this may be the first time that both homes and mortages are both on sale....

Teen Chill Zone at The Katy Library

The Katy Library, 5414 Franz Rd, will have an After School Chill Zone for Teens at 3:30p.m today and also on March 10. Teens will be given the opportunity to use a laptop, watch a movie, play games, or do a craft.  The program is free and open to the public.  For more information go to Katy Library.  What a great opportunity for our kids....Thanks Katy Library.