Archive for June, 2008

City council mandates kindness to dogs

Saturday, June 14th, 2008

I’m not even going to try to sound unbiased on this one - HURRAY! The Georgetown City Council has banned chaining dogs in the yard. This is fantastic news for our four-legged citizens. I’m of the camp that says if you don’t have time to spend with a dog, then don’t get one. I just can’t see anything good coming of leaving a dog chained in a yard all day. Of course the dog will turn aggressive - it’s bored out of its skull and if it feels endangered, it can’t flee. Dogs need interaction, activity, and interesting things to see, smell, and taste.

 The ruling will become official if approved at a second reading later this month, and will go into effect just before Christmas. This will give residents time to build dog runs or fences.

Cheers for the City Council!

May sales in Georgetown, TX

Sunday, June 8th, 2008

So far, 96 sales have been reported in the MLS areas of GTE and GTW for the month of May. These sales total over $21.5 million. That is a lower number of sales than we had in April (although it’s possible that not all May sales have been entered into the MLS yet), but a higher total value. In April, 102 sales totaled $20.3 million. There’s a more startling contrast when you look at what was happening six months ago. In November, we saw just 83 sales which totaled just over $18 million. When someone tries to hand you a plate of gloom-and-doom nonsense, you can tell them with confidence that we’re on the upswing.
Home sales in Georgetown TX for the month of May One-fifth of the sales in May were for more than $300,000, and seven of these were for more than $400,000. The homes sold for an average of 97.5% of their list price after an average of 78 days on the market. (They sold for an average of 95.9% of the original list price. Many of the sellers had to reduce their price before any buyers made acceptable offers.) Six homes sold within their first week on the market. The home that spent the longest time on the market languished for 661 days before it made it to the closing table. The average price per square foot of these homes was $109.58. Last month, the average price per square foot was just $101.88. That doesn’t mean that homes are increasing in value by $8 per square foot per month, but it does show that the higher priced homes are beginning to move. Let’s hope to see that upward trend continue throughout the summer.

This week in residential real estate in Georgetown, Texas

Sunday, June 8th, 2008

MLS Activity in Georgetown TX for week ending June 8 The new listings this week in GTE and GTW range in price from $65,000 up to $1.65 million, with the bulk (26 of the 53) falling between $100,000 and $200,000. 16 of these new listings aren’t really “new” at all; they’ve already been on the market for some time and then, when that listing period expired, they were re-entered into the MLS as a new listing. One house has been on the market for a cumulative period of 440 days, but it’s listed as a new listing this week.
Three of the sales this week - about 11% - sold for more than $300,000. The average sales price was $208,385, and the average size was 1945 square feet. Eight of the properties that sold are located in Sun City Texas. The average sales price for these homes was slightly higher: $210,688, while the average size was significantly lower at 1750 square feet. When you purchase in Sun City, you will pay a higher price per square foot than many houses outside of that neighborhood. There’s a premium on the lifestyle. A lot of people love that lifestyle. One Sun City resident told me recently that Sun City’s reputation for safety is a big draw for a lot of seniors. Most women will outlive their husbands, he said, so the husbands want to move somewhere they know their wives will be safe.
One house that sold near Old Town is very interesting. In the tax appraisal records, it’s listed as a 900-square-foot structure being built in the 1930’s and is appraised at less than $100,000. In the MLS, it still shows that it was built in the 30’s, but the home is now 2900 square feet, and it sold for more than $400,000. In fact, after about three months on the market, it sold for more than the asking price. I truly do believe that the less desirable areas of Old Town are ripe for this kind of revitalization. Buyers are willing to pay for the luxury of living within walking distance of the square.

Old Town sales trends

Friday, June 6th, 2008

Old Town is my favorite part of Georgetown. Of course, I’m biased because I live in Old Town. (For those of you who don’t live here - yet - Old Town is the area surrounding our charming square, the streets of which are lined by beautiful historic homes.) By clicking the link above, you’ll see the official Old Town area; for the purposes of this report, I simply drew a rectangle around the downtown area. Search area for report on Old Town sales trends in Georgetown TX
I ran a search for sales within this area over the past five years, and then I looked for properties that had sold more than once in this time. I did this in order to analyze whether property values have increased in this time, and by how much. In December, I wrote a similar report about Georgetown Village. Frankly, that report had more validity in terms of resale value because of the unique character of Old Town. Many, if not most, of the Old Town homes that sold twice within five years appear to have been significantly renovated during that time. In other words, the first buyers bought the house, fixed it up, and then sold it for a profit. Or at least, profit was their goal. How do I know this from the numbers alone? Well, the average annual growth rate of the homes that sold more than once was 61%. One property sold for $45,000 and then 9 months later sold again for $246,000, which gives it an annual growth rate of 596%. As I said, I love Old Town, but I’m highly skeptical that homes increase in value by an average of 61% per year. If they do, I might just retire next year at the ripe old age of 40.
There were 50 properties in this area that sold more than once through the MLS system over the past five years. Most sold twice, but a couple sold more than that. (A caveat, as always: I try to provide accurate information, but it’s entirely possible that while wading through the 400+ sales, I missed some of the properties that sold more than once. It’s impossible to simply sort by property address because the two REALTORS who entered the information on the different sales may have typed the address in with slight variations, such as Tenth Street versus 10th St.)
I deleted the properties that had shown an annual growth rate greater than 50%. The properties that remain are more likely to have been sold in similar condition the second time they sold. These properties had an average annual growth rate of 12%. This is still fantastic, but much more reasonable.
Should residents in this area bank on the fact that their homes have increased by 12% per year? You probably know the answer to that. Of course not. In fact, not all of the houses went up in value. One house went sold the second time for $40,000 less than it had sold for the first time. I don’t think this report really answers the question about the rate of increase of property values in Old Town, but I do think it shows that there are opportunities out there for investors who are willing to work to renovate a home. Old Town is a very desirable area of town. Even so, most buyers are scared off by a property needing work. Investors who are willing to spend the time and put in the work can come out with a tidy profit on the other end.

Gyros and grape leaves and things I can’t pronounce

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

I’ve been hearing wonderful things about the new Greek restaurant in town, Plaka Greek Cafe, so I headed over there for lunch yesterday. Opa! Everything I’d heard was true. The experience was different than I’d expected, but in a good way. I had thought this would be a sit-down restaurant, with waiters and waitresses coming to the table. Instead, it’s a casual dining experience. You grab a menu and a tray on one side and then move down the line to place your order. Then you bring your own food to the table (and yes, you can sit down.) Plaka Greek Cafe opens in Georgetown, TX
I ordered the mixed plate, on which I got the meat of my choice plus three sides. Everything was delicious, especially the gyro meat. Wow. I got enough food for two meals, so I asked for a to-go box and brought lunch home to my husband. I’m delighted that the folks at Plaka have joined us here in Georgetown, and I hope they’ll be around for a long, long time.

Update: Watering schedule in printer-friendly format

Sunday, June 1st, 2008

After yesterday’s post, I decided that it would be helpful to have the complete summer watering schedule in a one-page format. You’ll need the free program Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to open the file. You can save the schedule to your computer, print it, even forward to your friends. Let’s help Georgetown use water wisely this summer!

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