Archive for May, 2008

When to water

Saturday, May 31st, 2008

The city of Georgetown has asked residents to water our lawns no more than once every five days throughout the summer, in order to conserve water. To further alleviate problems during peak times, they’ve asked us to water on specific days, based on the last number of our street addresses. My address ends with a “1,” so I can water tomorrow, June 1, and then every five days thereafter throughout the summer. Check the schedule to see when the city would like you to water your lawn.

Which price range is selling fastest?

Friday, May 30th, 2008

This morning, I ran a search for homes that had sold after 30 days or less active on the market here in the MLS areas of GTE and GTW. So far this year, 113 have met those criteria. During this time period, there have been a total of 412 sales, which means that more than 25% of the homes that have sold so far this year have sold after less than a month active on the market!

Not only that, but those quick sales have been picking up as the months go by. I think that trend is going to continue. The average price per square foot for these homes was $101.40, compared to the average price per square foot of homes that sold after more than a month on the market: $109.16. And the average price of the homes that haven’t sold (i.e., that are still active on the market) is $128.77. Hmm… do we see a correlation between price and speed of sale? It all comes down to motivation. A seller has to really want to sell the house in order to price it aggressively and bring a buyer in quickly. Number of sales per month of homes that sold after less than a month on the market
Number of sales by price range of homes that sold after less than a month on the market The hottest price range is still $100,001-$200,000. Buyers in this range are out shopping in force. Now is an excellent time to sell your home if it’s priced in this range.
If you’re curious about what your house is worth, give me a call. I’d be happy to do a comparative market analysis on your home. I really enjoy digging into the numbers, looking at comparable properties, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each home and coming up with a number at which I believe a house will sell. It’s like a very complicated mathematical puzzle with a strong emotional element, and it’s a lot of fun for me. You can reach me at 512-876-6544.

This week (and then some) in Georgetown, TX real estate

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day. With record high temperatures here in Central Texas, I imagine a lot of you spent the day on a lake or river, enjoying nature and maybe a margarita or two. I also imagine that quite a few of you are sporting sunburns this morning. I showed some houses in Round Rock and helped my buyer clients determine a fair price for one they liked. We’ll be writing an offer today. Other than that, I stayed home all weekend, working in the yard, tiling my bathroom, and relaxing by the pool. I ate as much fresh corn on the cob as my stomach could handle. Life is good.
I may have relaxed a little too much - I neglected to write my Sunday “This week” article. So today, the numbers are for 9 days instead of 7. During that time period, 32 homes went pending, an average of 3.5 homes per day going under contract here in GTE and GTW. Not bad. Even more exciting than that is that a third of those homes are priced at more than $300,000. Five of the new listings are already under contract. 9 days of home sales in Georgetown, TX
The 26 sales that have been reported so far ranged in price from $110,000 to $535,000, for a total of about $5.6 million dollars. (It’s likely that additional sales haven’t been entered into the system yet, although they are supposed to be reported immediately.)
Median home price comparison for past 9 days in Williamson County The median price of the past 9 days of sales in GTE and GTW was $182,000. Over the same period last year, the median price was $191,200. Last year, a quarter of the homes that sold during those 9 days were priced at more than $300,000. This year, just 4 of the 26 sales were priced in this range.
By contrast, the median price of homes sold in Round Rock over the same period has risen since last year, from $178,250 to $185,500.

El Patrón es un restaurante magnífico

Monday, May 19th, 2008

On Saturday, my husband and I tried out one of Georgetown’s newest restaurants, El Patrón. I hesitate to admit this, because I’m having lunch there with one of my subscribers, Janis Shields, Branch Manager of the brand new Stewart Title office here in town. However, the food was so delicious that I am delighted to eat there twice in the space of three days. And if my husband wanted to have dinner there again tonight, I’d be tickled by that, too. My only problem is that I’m going to have a hard time not ordering the enchiladas verdes every time I go there. I loved them! I’m worried that if I order anything that I don’t like quite as much, I’ll feel disappointed and sad. (My emotions are all tangled up in food.) It’ll probably be fine - my husband loved his meal, too (tacos and beef enchiladas), and the salsa was wonderful.
El Patron restaurant in Georgetown, TX I wouldn’t say that El Patrón is better than Dos Salsas, but I do think it stands equal with the very popular Mexican restaurant nearby. I think there’s enough business here in Georgetown to keep them both filled to capacity. Dos Salsas’ location near the square will work in its favor. El Patrón’s location at 603 West University Avenue means that parking will probably never be an issue for them. Even if every customer drove there in a separate car, I think the parking lot could handle the traffic.
Like Dos Salsas, El Patrón has a full bar. They’ll have Monday through Friday Happy Hour Specials from 3 - 6 p.m. They also offer catering services, including for office parties.
Welcome to Georgetown, El Patrón! Glad to have you here.

This week in residential real estate in Georgetown, Texas

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Home sales in Georgetown, TX
Price ranges of pending home sales in Georgetown, TX
29 residential properties went into pending status this week in the MLS areas GTE and GTW. Very exciting for both the buyers and the sellers. I was very interested to note that a significant portion of these homes - 14% - are priced at over $400,000. If you’ve been reading my articles, you know that this market segment has been languishing more than homes in lower price ranges. In fact, only 30 homes listed for $400,000 or more have sold so far in 2008, an average of about 6 per month. There are currently 166 homes active on the market in this price range, which means we have a current inventory of 27 months. None of the homes that sold this week were listed at more than $400,000.
So I see the four pending properties as very good news. Let’s keep an eye out in weeks to come to see if this is a blip, or if buyers of high-end homes have finally realized what economists nationwide have been saying all along - Central Texas is the place to be, as far as the economy goes. Our outlook is good. Homes have continued to appreciate in value. Now is a fantastic time to shop for your new dream home.
One word of caution: Pending sales don’t always make it to the closing table. If you go to the top of this page and enter “this week” in the search engine, you can scroll down to see the trends since I’ve started tracking the MLS numbers regularly. Take particular note of the number of homes listed as “Back on Market” each week. Most of these homes were in Pending status and then the deal fell through for some reason. We’ll have to wait and see if any of the current Pending deals of high-end homes make it to the closing table. I remain very optimistic. Hometown Georgetown search box

The future of Georgetown’s parks

Saturday, May 17th, 2008

Georgetown’s city parks are terrific amenities, very well used. My personal favorite is the Bark Park because my puppy can run around with his new buddies au naturel - sans leashes. However, I also make good use of the incredible hike & bike trails, and I’m never alone. I always pass (or am passed by) at least a dozen other people when I’m out for an hour. (Confession: I haven’t actually counted. “A dozen” is sort of a rough guess. Suffice it to say, I always see a lot of people when I’m out on the trails.)

San Gabriel Park is another favorite, mainly because of the interesting cultural events held there. Recently, San Gabriel Park was the site of the grand finale of the Hill Country Wine & Food Festival. Coming up, the 3rd annual juried art show, Art in the Park, will take place at San Gabriel Park on May 31 and June 1, overlapped by Mendelssohn in the Park from May 31 through June 8. Where else can you get high quality original artwork, world class symphony music, and ducks?!

On May 22, we all have an opportunity to let the city know how much we appreciate our parks, and to have a voice in how the parks develop in years to come. The Parks & Recreation Department will hold an open house from 5 until 8:30 p.m. at the community center in - where else? - San Gabriel Park. The staff presentation will take place at 6:30 p.m. Hope to see you there!

New eye doctor in town

Friday, May 16th, 2008

Patel Eye Care in Georgetown, TX At the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce business network lunch on Tuesday, I met an eye doctor who has just moved to town and set up shop. Dr. Bhavesh Patel has opened Patel Eye Care at 1102 S. Austin Avenue. According to his business card, he is a therapeutic optometrist. Sounds like he’s on the cutting edge of vision care. Go to him if you’re interested in high-definition vision, in the form of iZon high resolution eyeglass lenses. They sound very promising. I was especially intrigued by their promise to help drivers see better at night.

Get a bird’s eye view of a home before you buy

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

By now, you probably know about Google Earth, a wonderful (free!) program that allows the user to see the world from above. But did you know that Microsoft has introduced a similar utility? On Microsoft Virtual Earth, you can toggle back and forth between the standard road view and a very cool bird’s eye view. Below is an image of one of my listings, 415 Allen Circle in Fountainwood Estates. This picture shows that the fabulous 1.13-acre lot borders a greenbelt. And take a look at the incredible tree right behind the house. This enormous live oak shades the covered porch in back all summer long.

415 Allen Circle, Georgetown, TX

When Google Earth first came out, or at least when I first learned about it, I was hoping that I would be able to watch the progress of my home being built. However, the images are satellite images, not real-time, and in fact, 16 months after my home was completed, it still doesn’t show up on Google Earth.

But Microsoft has it! It’s still probably cost-prohibitive to update the images frequently, but at least the pictures they do have are more recent than those of Google Earth.

Virtual Earth isn’t without flaws. There is no bird’s eye view available for my listing at 6720 FM 972, but you can get an image of their place on Google Earth. Check it out:

6720 FM 972, Granger, TX

As you can see, the Virtual Earth image is much clearer and crisper. If you’re shopping for a new home, I highly recommend using the Virtual Earth bird’s eye view to check out the neighborhood. And I also highly recommend that you give me a call to help you with your search! 512-876-6544. Hope to hear from you soon!

This week in residential real estate in Georgetown, Texas

Sunday, May 11th, 2008

Georgetown TX home sales for week ending May 11 Happy Mother’s Day! I would imagine that at least a few mothers here in Georgetown moved into a new home this week, seeing that we had 19 sales close. With 45 new listings, I suspect that more than a few mothers got a “For Sale” sign in the yard as their gift. The promise of a new home… how exciting.
In truth, the numbers don’t tell the whole story. I was surprised to note that one listing agent had four sales listed on this week’s hotsheet, so I dug in a little further. Turns out, the sales didn’t all close this past week. The agent simply didn’t get around to entering them into the system until this week. These particular four sales all took place in April, as a matter of fact, so none of them happened this week. Any database system is only as good as the people inputting the data, and with the MLS, we’re relying on thousands of agents to do their jobs in a timely manner. It’s disappointing but not shocking that not all agents are conscientious about this.
On May 7, I compared April sales for the past five years. These four sales the agent didn’t enter on time now bring the 2008 number of sales up to 102, equal to the number of sales in 2006. If there were any other sales that still haven’t been entered into the MLS system (very possible), then 2008 sales fall behind only the record 2007 numbers.
You can count on the number of new listings being correct. If an agent doesn’t enter a listing into the MLS right away, then no one will know about it, so that’s a pretty good motivation. There’s “zero” difference between the least expensive and the most expensive homes that came on the market this week in Georgetown - just add a “zero.” The new listings range in price from just shy of $100,000 to just shy of $1,000,000.

How do you say “Coming Soon” in Thai?

Sunday, May 11th, 2008

Color me excited. I went to the courthouse yesterday to vote. 7th and 8th Streets were blocked off between Austin and Main because the Second Saturday Market Days vendor stalls were set up (and doing a lively business), so I swung around and parked on 7th Street between Main and Church. There, right behind Romeo’s, on an empty storefront was a sign that said “Dia - Authentic Thai Cuisine Coming Soon!” Another restaurant choice is always a good thing. Now, if only they would deliver…

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