11/26/14 2:30pm

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More a reconstruction than a renovation, extensive work on a 1938 Mandell Place property is believed to have kept only the original slab, exterior walls and roofline. The rest has been reimagined by Fisher Homes, which looks to have reduced the number of interior walls but boosted the white trim package big time. Like a line of creamy frosting, wainscoting panels finish much of the home, which is located west of Mulberry St. and north of W. Alabama St. For the rebuilt results, the seller is now asking $1.35 million. The previously updated property last sold in 2011 for $485K.  Do the modifications add up to the “90 percent new” touted in the listing, which went up earlier this month?

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All Trimmed Out
11/10/14 5:15pm

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How’d all this open land find itself around this deep-on-the-lot bungalow-like listing? This 2008 property is far from the higher density cottage communities in Houston Heights and its hinterlands. Rather, it’s in Pearland’s Colonial Estates, a neighborhood located west of Cabot Cove Lake and south of Magnolia St. The big-roofed home and just-plain-big garage (above) share an acre and a half fronting a straight-shot country road. Views from the front porch go deep, wide, and high (top). The recent listing asks $348,000.

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Watching From Afar
11/05/14 3:15pm

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Facing a courtyard and across from a waterside swimming pool, a 2006 Tuscan townhome anchors its corner of Clear Lake’s Armandwilde development. A pond roped off from Mud Lake, the final form of Armand Bayou as it flows into Clear Lake, laps at the property’s shore, which is located off Space Center Blvd. north of E. NASA Pkwy. The old Jim West Mansion, once a repository for moon rocks but now an anchor haberdashery for Hakeem Olajuwon, is nearby. This stucco-and-tile clad unit, one of the larger for the development, was listed last week at $299,000. That’s nearly $200K less than its $495,000 ask back in the heady days of 2008, but that offering expired after 4 months on the market.

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Over a Pool, on a Pond, on 2 Lakes
10/30/14 2:15pm

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If portions of this open-plan Woodshire mod look a bit like a stage set (top), that was likely the idea. The 1957 custom designed pad, by architects Dunaway & Jones, was for Joseph T. Finkelstein, the co-founder and former president of the Alley Theatre (and a former actor in New York). Although the double lot’s landscaped scenery has gone a bit shaggy between acts, the overall swank factor still appears intact. Earlier this week, a re-re-relisting dropped the period property’s asking price down to $549,500.

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Scene Stealer
10/22/14 4:30pm

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Since its purchase in August for $86,100, a 1956 Glenbrook Valley property located on one of the mid-century neighborhood’s interior streets has been zhushed for a flip. It’s now back on the market and asking $144,900. Changes are most apparent in the kitchen (above middle, with the original below it) and bathrooms. Tweaks before its listing last week included a new roof, new flooring, repairs to underground plumbing, leveling of the foundation — and home staging with careful attention to corners . . .

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Buffed Up
10/20/14 5:00pm

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It’s not the largest of the townhomes lining West University’s Northern border, but it might be the tallest — and it’s certainly the whitest. The stucco contemporary’s listing at $485K mid-month points out the home was built in 1983, not the 1973 found on HCAD. A 3-story design amid 2-story neighbors, the front loader comes with a crow’s nest view north and west that takes in Greenway Plaza. H-E-B’s Buffalo Market is across and down the street.

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Decked Out
10/16/14 5:00pm

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Dog friendly? Maybe. But cats, the listing says, are a deal-breaker for leasing this 2005 patio home in a quad-plex located one street south of the Garden Oaks section between Ella Blvd. and N. Shepherd Dr. Like a quick swipe of lipstick to attract notice, a reddish zipline tops the front porch and extends around the home’s mid-section. Lawn maintenance is included in the home’s $2,850 monthly rate. So are the baby gates, kiddie locks, and a fair amount of wainscot:

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Red-Lined
10/13/14 5:15pm

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Not many homes come with their own meat locker (top), but this one has kept its cooler from a previous life as a meat market and corner store. Located in the townhomey Magnolia Grove neighborhood of Brunner, south of Washington Ave. and east of N. Shepherd Dr., the former Laurnicella Meat Market (later Snow’s Corner Store) had living space upstairs for the proprietor. A 3-year renovation with various reconfigurations by the current owners (on top of efforts by their predecessors) converted the 1921 building into a tin-roofed home (middle) with back yardlet (above). Its listing, posted last Thursday, asks $2.1 million.

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On the Corner
10/09/14 5:00pm

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A renovated and expanded Richmond Place property near the curve of S. Shepherd Dr. pairs its detail-rich cottage (middle) at curbside with a more modern garage-topper behind. Should the 11-year-old back-of-lot building be scored as tony quarters or swish open-plan townhome? Either way, the property is restricted to single-family use, as noted in the $763,250 listing posted last Friday.

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Stones and Sticks
10/08/14 4:00pm

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Over in the Mod Mecca of Meyerland, a well-tended 1960 home rolls out the red carpet — and terrazzo tile, wood paneling, and other mid-century finishing touches. In near-original condition, the tilt-topped property is located east of Chimney Rock Rd. and south of S. Braeswood Blvd. Its listing earlier this week comes with a $459,900 price tag.

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Ready To Remuddle
10/06/14 3:30pm

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One of the contemporary homes backing up to a twin on a split-but-still-large lot in Brookwoods Estates is on the market again. Its relisting last week dropped the price to $549,999. Before the previous listing expired in last month, the asking price had dropped to $614,400 from an initial $659,500 in July. The current owner paid $250K for it back in 2005. Updated since, the 1978 property is a front-loader that focuses views from 2 levels on the back lot’s pool and hot tub (above). The neighborhood is located west of T.C. Jester and just north of the North Loop near its arc to U.S. 290.

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Northern Exposure
10/03/14 4:45pm

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The Stone Age mashes with Mid-Century Modern in Friendswood, where an updated 1961 stunner designed by architect M. Bliss Alexander accents its crisp and clean lines with 12 tons of rock from Wimberly. Listed a week ago with a $1.19 million asking price, the home last sold in 2007, for $585K. It sits on 1.3 acres in the Perry Grove neighborhood, located southwest of Friendswood Dr. and W. Spreading Oaks Ave.

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Playing It Safe
09/26/14 4:45pm

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Will a mod-minded buyer be willing to commute from Brookshire? What if it means calling this “ultra-swank one-owner mid-century rancho deluxe time capsule” — priced at $275,000 — home? Located up the road a spell from the Energy Corridor, the long-and-lean 1954 custom property comes with “Mad Men” finishes, vintage tiles in the bathrooms, and mod-era fixtures and hardware. Intrigued? Grab yourself a high ball, why don’t you, and take this tour . . .

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Country Chic
09/22/14 4:15pm

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The last time this 1952 River Oaks home attributed to Staub and Rather was on the market was about a decade ago. At the time, it sold for $2.875 million to business titan and philanthropist Jack S. Blanton, who died in December of last year. The 1952 corner property features an expansion by a previous owner back in 1998 — around the time it sold for $1.08 million. In its listing earlier this month, the home’s asking price was $4.85 million. What sorts of add-ons have accompanied the rising prices?

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Still Rather Staub-Like
09/18/14 4:30pm

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Crosswalks and No Parking signs related to Reagan High School separate an updated 1920-ish bungalow from the front of campus on 13th St. in the Houston Heights. The residential property includes 2 apartments, located on 2 levels of the still-accessible 3-car garage and its extra-extra wide driveway. The tidy compound backs up to an alley that splits the block, which is located in a section of the Heights East Historic District. Against the home’s recently applied bright blue paint, the freshened exterior’s white trim brightly pops, particularly on the porch’s newish old-style columns and balustrades. Listed on Wednesday, the triplex bears an asking price of $750K.

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Compounding Interests