05/14/13 3:00pm


Custom in 1967, this barn-meets-barn Dutch-like home spreads across a lot of lot over in Pasadena. An early example of an upscale Kickerillo number, the listing’s interior finishes offer cavernous ceilings — some of them given an extra bit of zip by some vibrant plaid wallpaper (above) — and “built-ins galore,”  including a handy off-the-den pre-SodaStream soda fountain bar (at right). The super-sized property listed last month with an asking price of $379,210.

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05/13/13 1:00pm

The only difference between this 1981 West University property’s new listing and a previous one in mid-March appears to be the $110,000 escalation in price since its sale in mid-April, for $525,000. The current photos are a bit grainy and bleak, but they document how the unoccupied interior and lot-filling pool and deck have been faring as prices rise:

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05/10/13 3:45pm

When it sold in mid-April at $435,000, this gated property in the Houston Heights’ West Historic District came with a pair of apartment units. Now, the 1914 Dutch Colonial with swing-friendly porch is back on the market, asking $289,900 for a skinnier lot and what appears to be only the charming redo-ready main residence.

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05/07/13 4:35pm

Near Brays Bayou’s switchback just east of SH 288, this relisted, refurbished 1941 abode in North MacGregor Oaks sports a few water features: a small fountain off the front walkway’s river rock border and a grotto (with koi) beneath a pergola out back. The midblock property has a sidewalk in front (not pictured), but its immediate neighbor in Timber Crest does not — giving the street the feel of a time-warp that’s also apparent in the architectural shift from prewar 2-story homes on urban-size lots to postwar ranch-style ones on deeper lots. Last week, this recently stuccoed property with full quoin dressing returned to the market, at $315,000, after a 6-month rest.

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04/26/13 3:45pm

Updates introduced to this 1950 home in Idylwood over the past 5 years played up its midcentury roots. Listed Thursday, the compact-but-complete property is asking $223,900. Brays Bayou is a block or so up the street. Gus Wortham Golf Course and the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word’s Villa de Matel (and its chiming carillon) are also nearby.

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04/25/13 5:00pm

The rather restrained and carefully appointed front lawn of this 1980 brick-box home makes the barely tamed nature center installed on its back lot an unexpected twist. A series of wooden decks, patios, terraces, garden follies, and walkways meander through the half-acre ravine property like a theme park’s winding queue, peppered with distracting greenery. The outdoor ensemble overlooks Spring Branch Creek, beyond which a detention pond and the Katy Freeway feeder road lie:

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