New construction has crept west across Chimney Rock Rd. and onto this Richmond Plaza street south of Bissonnet. Plans for this builder-owned ladder-to-little-loft property, however, may have changed recently. Last week it was relisted with an asking price of $299,000. That’s a big, big price reduction from the $799,000 sought in the previous 6-month listing — perhaps for something new built on the site? (Back in 2010, the 1950 home hit the market at $328,000.) Meanwhile, the lot remains listed by Blum Custom Builders as a potential new home site.

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05/20/13 10:00am

Somewhere within this newly listed 1964 Hunters Creek home in the Tara Oaks neighborhood, a plain-old white ceiling or 2 has evaded upgrades. Most of the rooms, however, cap their decor with what the description dubs “carefully chosen finishes,” be they color, exposed beams, soaring vaults, more color, skylights, or some combo thereof. (No glass ceilings or debt ceiling, however — the Memorial Villages asking price hovers at $2,395,000.)

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05/17/13 10:00am

A sheered-up 1968 Modern home in Meyerland relies on its unadorned clerestory windows for natural light to play across the lighter shades of pale finishes found in many of the decoratively restrained rooms. The only-been-one-owner home, north of Brays Bayou near Hillcroft, listed this week with an asking price of $329,000.

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05/16/13 10:00am


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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05/14/13 3:00pm

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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05/13/13 1:00pm

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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05/10/13 3:45pm

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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05/07/13 4:35pm