Archive for July, 2008

This week in residential real estate in Georgetown, TX

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

26 offers were accepted over the past seven days in MLS areas GTE and GTW. The average price of these homes was $262,600. That’s up significantly from the homes that sold this week, which averaged just under $195,000 in asking price, a bit lower in sales price. That tells me that we’re building some momentum with the higher priced homes. In fact, 8 of the 26 homes in pending status are priced at over $300,000. That’s nearly a third. The homes that sold this week generally went pending three or four weeks ago (though longer and shorter pending periods are common), and only 2 of the 30 were priced at over $300,000. MLS activity in GTE and GTW for week ending July 27
20 of the homes that sold this week - two-thirds - were priced between $100,000 and $200,000. These homes sold after an average of 58 days on the market. Two months, not bad. A manufactured home in Sunny Acres wins the prize for fastest sale, having spent just 3 days active on the market before going under contract. Two of this week’s new listings are already in pending status, one in Serenada, and one in Oakcrest Estates. Both of these areas are very appealing, with large lots and winding roads shaded by mature trees.

Another choice for low maintenance living

Saturday, July 26th, 2008

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I love the Oaks at Wildwood, a maintenance-free living community right here in Georgetown. Recently, the Oaks’ residents elected to become an age-restricted community. So where can I take my younger clients who are looking for the same carefree lifestyle?

Yesterday, I visited with the staff at the Gardens at Teravista. Granted, they’re located in Round Rock, but it took me all of ten minutes to get there from my office at 823 S. Austin Avenue, just off Georgetown’s historic square. (Although I live in Georgetown, I help clients buy and sell real estate all over Williamson County. Please call me at 512-876-6544 if you’re planning to buy or sell a home. I’d be happy to chat about what I can do for you.)

I am very impressed by the Gardens. The Garden homes are detached condominiums. What does that mean? Essentially, each condo is a single family home, but because the legal ownership is set up as condominium ownership, the HOA takes care of all exterior maintenance of the home, as well as most of the landscaping. Each homeowner is responsible only for the upkeep of his or her own lovely courtyard. The courtyards are fantastic. An outdoor fireplace comes standard. Imagine sitting outside in the flickering light of a fire on a brisk autumn evening. Talk about luxury.

The homes start at just $225,000, with HOA dues of $166 per month. Imagine how much you’d have to pay for regular landscaping services plus service call fees on exterior maintenance on your home. These dues cover not only those services, but also full access to all the amenities that Teravista has to offer - golf course, exercise facilities, walking trails, multiple swimming pools… Teravista really would be a fun place to live.

The neighborhood is extremely well situated. Within a five-minute drive, a resident can reach Round Rock Premium Outlets, IKEA, JC Penney, restaurants galore, the Round Rock Higher Education Center, and of course the incredible new Seton Medical Center Williamson. In fact, several SMCW nurses have purchased homes at the Gardens at Teravista. With a nurse’s hectic schedule, low maintenance living and a super-quick commute must be very appealing. SMCW is still in the early stages of its development. As they grow, I’m sure more staff members will discover the Gardens. In addition to that, I expect that residents will include folks from the soon-to-be-built A&M medical school and the Texas State nursing school, both of which are due to break ground within the next month or so right there in the fast-growing Round Rock medical corridor.

If what I’ve written intrigues you and you’d like to see the Gardens at Teravista for yourself, please give me a call so I can show you around. Even if you’re not ready to buy just yet, I’d be happy to take you out there. I write this blog for multiple reasons - to educate myself, to provide useful information to the public, but most of all to make connections with future buyers and sellers. So please don’t hesitate to call or email. You can reach me at 512-876-6544 or Jenel@HometownGeorgetown.com. I’m here to help!

Yesterday, I kissed a giraffe

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

What do these three pictures have in common?

Zebra

 Trailer dumping trash
Giraffe
Give up? These pictures were all taken at the Texas Disposal Systems (TDS) landfill/exotic game ranch. I’ve been exposed to a lot of slashes in my life. Bar-slash-restaurant. Gas station-slash-convenience store. Actress-slash-model. But when I heard that the Georgetown Chamber was presenting members with the opportunity to tour a landfill-slash-exotic game ranch, I couldn’t resist. That has got to be the oddest slash out there.
Turns out, it might just be the coolest slash, too. Bob and Jim Gregory, brothers who founded TDS in 1977, opened the state’s first integrated recycling, composting, and landfilling facility in 1991. Their goal is to recycle or reuse about 90% of the waste that comes into their facility, leaving just 10% to be buried. Their composting operations are especially impressive. They separate out anything that can be composted, such as untreated wood. They get produce from Whole Foods and other local stores and add all that natural material to the piles. The composting piles need lots of liquid. One great liquid is the water used to wash out vats at a milk factory. That fat-filled water waste had been causing problems with the Austin sewage system, so the city brought milk company executives to TDS to see if anything could be done. The solution was win-win-win. The city of Austin no longer had to deal with the sewer problems, TDS got some excellent liquid for their compost piles, and the milk company ended up paying about 50% less for disposal than they had been. TDS bought Garden-Ville to serve as a retail outlet for the rich, organic compost and soil mixtures they create. The smallest Garden-Ville branch is right here in Georgetown, at 250 W.L. Walden Road.
TDS honors its commitment to the environment in numerous creative ways. For example, they have a couple of repairmen on staff who try to return broken appliances and gadgets to working condition. If they’re able to do so, TDS sells these items back to the public in their resale center. Some people buy the items for pennies on the dollar at the TDS resale center and then resell them at flea markets for a profit. Whatever the public buys stays out of the landfill, at least for the time being.

TDS is also a big player in Austin’s Green Building program, in which builders earn credits for taking environmentally sound steps during the building process. Some disposable building items, such as drywall, are an effective addition to the compost piles, and rebar and other scrap metal can be recycled.

 What we can recycle in Georgetown TX
How did exotic game enter the picture? The Gregorys wanted to be good neighbors. They wanted to put a buffer zone between the landfill and the surrounding homes. They approached the neighbors with the idea of building a golf course, but the neighbors didn’t want their property values to skyrocket. So the Gregorys decided to go for an ag exemption in the buffer zone and somewhere along the way, they got a couple of zebras. Now they have 1300-1500 animals running around free, including (among others), antelope, gazelles, emus, and of course, the giraffe that I kissed. On the mouth. A four-year-old friend was very excited when his father said I would kiss a giraffe, so I couldn’t disappoint him. And yes, I do have a picture, but pictures have a way of hovering on the internet forever, and I don’t want to be an eighty-year-old haunted by a picture of myself in a compromising position. If you email me privately at Jenel@HometownGeorgetown.com, I will share the photos with you.

This week in residential real estate in Georgetown, TX

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

When I run my hotsheet, I first look at MLS areas GTE and GTW (Georgetown East and West, respectively), and then I move onto the other cities in Williamson County. (Although I live in Georgetown and write about Georgetown in this blog, I sell real estate all over Williamson County and some in Travis County.) Over the past 7 days, we’ve had 43 new listings come onto the market in GTE and GTW with an average price of about $258,000. Compare that to 83 new listings in RRE and RRW with an average price of about $221,000. Round Rock’s new listings sit on an average of .18 acres, whereas in Georgetown we have a lot more elbow room, with an average of .83 acres per house for this week’s new listings. MLS activity in Georgetown, TX for week ending July 20
It’s been pretty clear to me that real estate here is moving more slowly than it was a year ago… or so I thought. Just for fun, I ran a search on sales from January 14 through the 20th, and then another on July 14 through the 20th of last year.
Georgetown TX home sales comparisons I expected sales to have picked up from six months ago, but I was surprised by how much. What really took me by surprise, though, was that we had more sales over the past week than we had over the same time period in 2007, and the homes took just 11 days longer to sell, on average.
Homes that sold over the past week sold for an average of about $212,000. Six months ago, the average sales price was a whopping $310,000, and one year ago, $223,000. That one week in January must have been a blip, because the average sales price for the entire month was about $231,000, much more in line with what we might expect.

8th Street Studios is too much fun

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

A couple Sundays ago, my stepson and I went to 8th Street Studios to try our hand at painting pottery. We had a wonderful time! On Sundays, they offer a special family rate; up to four family members can paint for the price of one. They had plates, bowls, cups, platters, vases, and even figurines available for painting. The staff member inside was very helpful and friendly. He got us set up with our paints, let us choose our own colors (no limit), and then gave us helpful advice on how to get started. Beyond that, he worked on his own projects at the side of the room, available if we had questions, but not hovering. Plate painted at 8th Street Studios in Georgetown, TX

Original artwork by master plate painter, Scott Looney
Not for sale
You’ll notice Scott’s plate is pictured. Mine is not. We worked with the theme “something to remind me of this summer.” Scott chose an armadillo to represent his trip to Texas, and I chose to paint a driveway cucumber. (My husband is growing cucumbers alongside our driveway, so we’ve been having driveway cucumbers in our salads.) When I went to pick up our plates, the staff member thought my cucumber was a zucchini. I’m so embarrassed, I can’t share the artwork with the world.
Scott and I spent about two hours in 8th Street Studios, and we had so much fun that we may just make a complete set of dishes to commemorate each of his visits. Another fun idea: Paint your own Christmas plates to give cookies to your friends and neighbors. What a lovely, personal way to show them you care. Lots of kids would enjoy the opportunity to create art, too. This would make a wonderful location for a birthday party for an artistic child.

Couple wins home in Sun City Texas

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

Who knew - Pulte is giving away houses at Sun City, Texas! A couple won a sweepstakes here in Georgetown, and will soon move into their brand new 1896-square foot home. What a fantastic prize for retirement!  

Montana Mike’s was worth the wait

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

For months, I’ve been watching from afar the construction of Montana Mike’s Steakhouse on the I-35 access road near Wal-Mart. Yesterday, I discovered that they’re open for business. (They didn’t open it yesterday; I just discovered it yesterday. Why didn’t anyone tell me?!)I had lunch there with a couple of friends from Independence Title, just across the street. We had been planning on going someplace else, but when I saw that Montana Mike’s was open, I had to go there. Since we were already in the car, we drove.

Across the street.

I’m sure if anyone saw us, they thought we were the laziest people on earth.

 Montana Mike has hot, tasty buns
When you go to Montana Mike’s, don’t be intimidated by a full parking lot. I thought we’d be in for a long wait in the lobby, but we were seated immediately. As we waited for our drinks, a friendly man introduced himself as the Montana Mike. When we asked for his autograph, he confessed that he’s actually Buzz Wilson, the manager. I still wanted his autograph. How cool that the manager is so present at the restaurant. Very friendly, personal service. The restaurant feels homey, with chunky wooden booths and outdoorsy decor. We don’t dress up very often here in Georgetown, TX, and we won’t have to when we go to Montana Mike’s.
I ordered a burger and fries (from the kids’ menu - and they didn’t make me prove that I was under 10 years of age!). They were delicious, especially the fries. Next time, I plan to order the stuffed mushrooms because Buzz raved about them. He made a believer out of me. They’re stuffed with cream cheese and then battered and deep fried. I’m from Wisconsin, where cheese is always appropriate. Every morning, prep cooks get the mushrooms ready to go, but they don’t batter them until they receive your order. All food is fresh at Montana Mike’s. Fresh vegetables and fresh hamburger buns made on site.
Next time, I’m going to go with more of an appetite because I’m dying to try one of their steaks. I have a take-out menu, although Buzz said they won’t do take-out until they get all their systems in place on the floor. They’ll probably begin doing take-out in August. Another wait. But again, I know it’ll be worth it.

This week in residential real estate in Georgetown, TX

Monday, July 14th, 2008

MLS activity for Georgetown, TX for the week ending July 13 47 new listings came onto the market this week in MLS areas GTE and GTW, priced between just under $124,000 to $865,000. 26 homes went into pending status, and 25 sold. The homes that sold spent an average of 66 days on the market.
Homes with price changes have spent an average of 116 days on the market so far.
I took a closer look at each of the sales this week to find out how long the properties spent in Pending status. Believe it or not, according to the MLS, one house sold the same day it received a contract! I kind of don’t believe it. I suspect the agent who entered the Pending and Sold dates made a mistake, although this particular house was vacant at the time. The next lowest number was four, which is still surprisingly fast but seems doable. If anyone out there knows of an instance in which a house went under contract and closed on the same day, please post a comment about how it worked. I’m very curious! Elapsed time between contract and closing date
On average, homes were under contract for 24 days before all parties headed to the closing table.

Road and parks improvement up to you

Saturday, July 12th, 2008

The widening of Williams Drive is a done deal; funding has already been approved, and in fact, Sun City residents told me yesterday that the work has started. (They were mourning the loss of some beautiful trees at the entrance to Sun City. I hope the trees can be relocated rather than written off as a total loss. Georgetown’s trees are precious.) Because of cutbacks from TXDOT, the city and county are working together to fund the Williams Drive project.

Other proposed projects will be up to the city to fund. Come autumn, a bond proposal for roads and parks will be put to citizens for a vote. Those cutbacks from the state have forced the city to reduce the amount of work they can do under this proposal. (The alternative would be to do the work, which each of us would pay for with a substantial increase in property taxes.) To see a full list of what will be covered under the revised bond proposal, click here. On July 22, the City Council will discuss the proposal and how it will affect future tax rates.

A closer look at Fountainwood Estates

Friday, July 11th, 2008

One of my current listings is a beautiful custom home in Fountainwood Estates, so I wanted to do some research into how homes in that neighborhood hold their value. I searched for all MLS sales in Fountainwood Estates from July 10 of 1998 until today. During that time, there were 156 sales through the MLS. 39 properties sold more than once, and 8 of those sold three times. I wouldn’t have been surprised by much higher numbers, as the neighborhood is a pretty good size. However, I think a lot of the people who live there love it so much that they don’t want to move. This neighborhood has a lot going for it - huge, established shade trees, winding roads, private back yards, close to all the shops and restaurants on Williams Drive, and all at a reasonable price.
My clients are the original owners of the lovely house below. They still love their house and are very proud of it, rightfully so. A lot of thoughtful consideration went into the design and planning of this Jimmy Jacobs home. After they bought the homesite, they spent weeks visiting the lot at different times of day, and they’ve situated the house so that the enormous oak in the back yard provides afternoon shade to the covered porch. Even in the hottest time of the summer (such as NOW), they can sit outside in comfort.
The Fountainwood Estates homes that sold more than once over the past ten years saw an average 12.5% increase in sales price between sales. The average annual rate of return was 3.57%. Not like winning the lottery, but evidence that you can feel comfortable that you’re getting a good, solid investment when you buy in this desirable neighborhood.
If you’re interested in viewing 415 Allen Circle and other properties in Fountainwood Estates, please give me a call at 512-876-6544 or email me at Jenel@HometownGeorgetown.com. I’m here to help!

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