Texas Real Estate Blog & Market News - May, 2013

How to Stage your Home for a Quick Sale

If you want to sell your home quickly – and who doesn’t? – there are many things you should do to prepare your home and draw buyers in. But perhaps the best way to increase the odds of selling your home fast is to stage it. Staging is the art of preparing your home to look as attractive as possible.

If you want to stage your home, you must consider what buyers are looking for in a home and transform it to reflect this. Here are some tips for making sure your home is staged and ready to sell:

First Impressions

The first impression buyers will get of your home is the exterior as they drive past, so you will want to catch their attention the minute they pull up to the curb. You will want to make sure your home is not in need of painting or repair,…

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Uptown Dallas Action Makes it a Top Market in Dallas

Uptown Dallas wasn’t the most shining example of real estate health during the recession, that’s for sure, and no one had to look further than the Stoneleigh condos to see this. After its developers ran out of money in 2008, it just sat there, abandoned, a sorry looking reminder of the real estate debacle that rocked not only Dallas, but the majority of the country.

But the cranes started moving again just a few weeks ago at the Stoneleigh showing, once again, that Dallas – particularly, Uptown Dallas - is a great example of Dallas’ knack for being quite tenacious.

The Centurion American Development Group, which is in charge of the Stoneleigh project, expects the 75-floor condominium tower’s exterior to be completed within the next 12 months.  This…

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Houston’s Inner Loop: Why it’s Great to Live Here

There are so many reasons why downtown Houston living is fantastic. Urbanites flock to this beautiful area of the city because it affords them the convenience of living and playing in one area. The professional opportunities are abundant, and life here is upscale and exciting. However, for those who desire urban living, with a little more suburban feeling, they must consider Houston’s Inner Loop. And here are the top reasons why Houston’s Inner Loop is drawing in buyers every day:

Montrose

Montrose, which was named as one of the top 10 Great Neighborhoods in the U.S. by the American Planning Association in 2009, is one of the most culturally interesting areas of Houston. With its eclectic combination of old and new real estate, it attracts many…

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Houston Mansion Sales Garnering Attention Once Again

The recession hurt Houston’s real estate market in a bad way. But perhaps the segment of the market where it hurt particularly bad was the mansion market. River Oaks Houston homes were sitting on the market, and no one was begging to gobble up those homes priced over $500,000. But River Oaks Houston homes are singing an entirely different tune today. In fact, some are even speculating that mansion sales of 2012 will rival those from the 1980s.

Those pricey homes in River Oaks, Memorial and West University Place are no longer sitting on the MLS, hoping for a taker. Instead, homes priced over $500,000 are making up the strongest segment of the market; and home sellers here couldn’t be happier.

In fact, the Houston Association of Realtors recently…

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Do you Have What it Takes to Achieve Success in Real Estate?

Achieving success in real estate is about determination, hard work, and perseverance, for sure, but it may also be as much about letting go of your doubts and trusting yourself enough to make a difference and achieve a high level of success in the real estate field.

Here are a few ways to begin achieving your real estate dreams by changing your perceptions about what you want and what you can accomplish:

• Be clear about what you want to avoid.

In order to build your framework for success, you must first identify everything you want avoid at all costs. Take the time to write these things down and actually visualize them. Your list may include: long work days; difficult clients; and avoiding feeling defeated. We often talk a lot…

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Important Questions to Ask your Custom Home Builder

Austin is certainly experiencing a surge in new home sales, thanks to the top Austin home builders that build here. But even the top home builders understand that building a new home requires a lot of research and homework on the part of the home buyer. In other words, it should be expected that home buyers will have many questions for their home builder. If you are considering building a custom home, there are some questions you should be prepared to ask – and your San Antonio home builder should be prepared to answer:

What makes your company a great custom home builder?

A home builder should be able to rattle off a list of reasons why they are a good choice for your home building needs. They should have statistics and examples to back up their…

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Great new Home Communities in Houston to Check Out

Houston is certainly experiencing an energy boom, thanks to the lifting of the moratorium on deep-water drilling and shale exploration. As a result, the economy is moving right along and job opportunities are pouring in quicker than they have in quite a few years. There are plenty of new home communities in Houston taking shape, and residents are finding the options to be quite attractive. Many of the new home communities boast plenty of recreation amenities, thereby drawing in families of all sizes. Here are some of our favorite new home communities in Houston:

Fairfield (Northwest Houston)

The new home community of Fairfield features 3,200 acres and will include 5,600 homes at the time of build-out. Homes here will appeal to a wide variety of…

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Southlake Real Estate New Home Communities

We love Southlake because of its prime position in the center of the Dallas-Fort Worth area; its upscale, residential living; its highly acclaimed Southlake ISD; and its amazing surroundings. So it’s no wonder that the South Lake new home communities have impressed us just as much. Here are some of the newest home communities in the highly desirable Southlake area:

Estancia

Estancia enjoys a beautiful location along a wooded creek, which makes this home community a gem in terms of natural surroundings. The stunning homes here, which are priced from $499,900 to $635,990, boast 3,003 to 5,234 square feet, and the home sites are spacious and picturesque. The home designs of Estancia include:

• Kessler: $499,990, 3,003 square feet, four bedrooms and…

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