Real Estate Marketing

Condos
01/08/08 10:05am

That Fishy Tanglewilde Condo

by
Home Decor, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Real Estate Marketing, Tanglewilde
No Comments

3780 Tanglewilde St. #609, Houston

Here’s a great idea: Let’s deck out a 1980s two-bedroom, two-story Tanglewilde condo. It’ll look really sophisticated and sell fast, too! First, add the sleek blond leather furniture. Then build a dramatically lit aquarium into the dining area, so you can see the back of it . . . from the kitchen! That’s gotta help this baby sell for big bucks.

Except sixteen months later, it’s still on the market. The asking price has dropped from $129,900 to $109,900, but it’s been sitting at that last number for more than 10 months. And more reductions seem inevitable: Just a few doors down, an unstaged version popped up for sale 8 days ago, and has already reduced its price to $99,000.

After the jump, more pics of the Tanglewilde leather-and-aquarium bachelor pad!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , ,
Buying and Selling
01/07/08 10:56am

Katy, Texas: At $210K, Still Cheaper than East L.A.

by
Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Katy, Price Trends, Real Estate Marketing
No Comments

Pool and Lake at 24315 Lanning Dr., Katy, Texas

Honey, stop the car! 2300 square feet, new construction, in-ground pool, spa, game room, on a man-made fake lake. $209k. Bonus: The Relitter actually typed in “HONEY STOP THE CAR!!” as a description.

That’s blogger Lou Minatti’s punchline, after a brief tour of tiny, chain-linked-fenced, or apparently leaning homes available at similar prices in Los Angeles.

Also in the description of the Katy home is this paradox:

POPULAR LENNAR FLOORPLAN! . . . A ONE OF A KIND GEM!

After the jump: more pics, plus the sad news about this some-of-a-kind Katy home.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , ,
Buying and Selling
01/03/08 11:40am

Welch St. Townhouse: The Holiday Premium Is Over

by
Homes for Sale, Montrose, Real Estate Marketing, Townhomes
No Comments

705 Welch St., Montrose, HoustonSome curious price fluctuations on this 2006 turreted Montrose townhouse: Last week the asking price was reduced from $525,000 to $350,000. Which is pretty dramatic, though only slightly more dramatic than the $140K increase recorded on MLS the day after the property was listed, in early December.

, , , , , ,
Buying and Selling
01/02/08 12:02pm

How To Give Your Home a Greener Lawn Virtually Overnight

by
Homes for Sale, Landscape, Lawn Care, Memorial, Real Estate Marketing
No Comments

Front Lawn of 10926 Leaning Ash Ln. in Ashwood, Houston

This three-bedroom, three-bath, 3,504-square-foot home on a half-acre lot in Memorial is notable for three reasons: The asking price was dropped to just below $650,000 only a few days after it went on the market, shortly before Christmas; it sits on a street whose name Susan Vreeland-Wendt probably wouldn’t approve of (foundation problems and fires generally aren’t the kinds of connotations you look for these days); and its main MLS listing photo features a remarkably bad Photoshop hack job.

What is it that’s been covered over on that front lawn with a hundred rubber-stamp-tool grass plugs? Is it just that the real sod isn’t taking underneath all those pine trees? Or is this a photo from heavy trash day? After the jump: more (presumably undoctored) photos of the house on Leaning Ash Lane.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , ,
Master-Planned Communities
01/02/08 8:41am

Why Those Street Names in The Woodlands All Sound Alike

by
Real Estate Marketing, Streets, The Woodlands
No Comments

Woodlands Street View

Nancy Sarnoff’s short interview with the woman responsible for naming new streets in The Woodlands is just too rich:

We use a lot of words that are just appealing, pretty images, like Peaceful Canyon. That neighborhood sold really well and I think it’s because of the name. We even did radio commercials that played off the name and it really helped market the area. Others are Racing Cloud, Amber Glow and Destiny Cove. We even have ones from Star Wars. That day I was really desperate. Nothing was popping into my head. We have lots of nautical names around Lake Woodlands like Outrigger’s Run.

Woodlands Operating Co. marketing director Susan Vreeland-Wendt confirms every cliché about the origins of subdivision street names, from the historical revisionism (“One of our presidents is Alex Sutton, and we have a street named Sutton Mill”) to the what-I-drank-for-dinner-last-night story (“I’ve been known to pore over wine bottles looking for inspiration”) — except the one about suburban names coming from geographical features that were demolished or removed so the place could be built. Fortunately, The Woodlands does carry on the proud Houston tradition of naming places after imaginary or wished-for amenities:

We’ve got Arrow Canyon, Kayak Ridge, Arbor Camp and Rocky Point.

Surprisingly not on Vreeland-Wendt’s list of inspirations: Harlequin romance novels. But she does consult the internet, because it’s full of useful resources.

Photo: Flickr user kaatiya

, , , ,
Crown Oaks
12/27/07 11:31am

The Leaky Lakes of Crown Oaks

by
Environmental, Flooding, Hazards, Homeowners' Associations, Lakes, Land Development, Landscape, Master-Planned Communities, Montgomery County, Real Estate Marketing
No Comments

Lake at Crown Oaks, ConroeThe charms of gated acreage near Lake Conroe: large, wooded lakefront homesites, plus only a 25 minute commute . . . to The Woodlands! Oh, and if we’re talking about 1400-acre Crown Oaks in Montgomery County, lots of lawsuits, too!

Last year, the Crown Oaks Property Owners Association, along with individual homeowners, sued Affiliated Crown Development LTD, citing poor structure of the two manmade lakes in the development, located outside Montgomery.

But so much has happened since then: After new board members decided the developer would finally work with them to solve the lakes’ problems, the property owners association dropped its suit this fall. But now two groups of 10 individual homeowners have hired separate legal teams to continue their lawsuit against the developer. And in turn, the developer is now suing the engineering and construction firms it hired to build the dams on both lakes.

But there’s even more lawsuit fun:

“The POA tried to get out of the suit as a plaintiff, so my group has also sued them,” [homeowner attorney Kevin] Forsberg said. “The individuals were not satisfied. … Even though the POA started working with the developer in the hopes that the lakes would be fixed, nothing has actually been done.”

What’s it like to build your home on a lake that doesn’t bother to show up? Thanks to the amazing power of the internets, you can experience all the highs and lows of manmade-lakefront real-estate investing yourself — from the comfort of your own computer! Watch videos and read details of the whole dam story . . . after the jump!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Galveston
12/26/07 2:45pm

Official Recognition of the Galveston Real Estate Renaissance

by
Real Estate Marketing
No Comments

Detail, Contestants Bathing Girl Revue, Galveston, May 13, 1923

From the Chronicle front page:

Long known for its vibrant bar scene and raucous Splash Day celebrations, Galveston in recent years has become home to a growing gay and lesbian professional class. Now, real estate agents say, the city is poised to become a retirement haven for graying gays who, like their heterosexual counterparts, succumb to the lure of sun and surf . . .

Phil DeMarco, owner of the gay-oriented Lost Bayou Guesthouse, noted that at least four other homes within two blocks of his bed and breakfast are owned by gays. And real estate agent V.J. Tramonte confirmed that sales to gays and lesbians have speeded up in the past two or three years.

We are shocked! What’s going to come out next? That Jean Lafitte was gay?

Oh . . .

The pirate and privateer Jean Lafitte was the hero of the War of 1812, and the country really didn’t care that he plundered the enemy ships after he defeated them. But after the war, piracy was not as politically correct, so he was forced to set up shop outside the U.S. He picked an island in the Gulf under Mexican rule called Campeachy, later to be named Galvez Town after the Viceroy of Mexico, Bernardo de Galvez; in time the name mutated into “Galveston.” Lafitte spent almost 10 years in Galveston, living most of his adult life with a man named Pierre. It was said that Pierre was his half brother, but Jean never confirmed that and there is nothing to suggest they were related. They built a large house, entertained lavishly, and were connoisseurs of fine food and wine, antiques, art, and fashion. They ordered their clothes directly from Paris through New Orleans. There is no evidence that I could find that Lafitte ever had a long-term relationship with a woman.

Photo: Detail of 1923 Galveston Bathing Girl Review panorama by Joseph M. Maurer, Library of Congress

,
Buying and Selling
12/19/07 3:31pm

The Best Day of the Week To Post New Real Estate Listings

by
Real Estate Marketing
No Comments

Internet real-estate upstart Redfin has it all figured out: If you’re trying to sell your home, add your listing early on Friday morning:

“It’s an article of faith to debut a listing on a Thursday,” Kelman said.

But Thursday’s actually the worst day, while listings debuting on the best day, Friday, get an average of 7.7 percent more Web visitors in the first week, according to Redfin’s analysis of 119,000 listings.

“People apparently come to work on Friday morning looking for brand-new properties to tour over the weekend,” Kelman said.

Ah, but it depends what market you’re targeting, adds a Seattle real-estate agent:

A teardown or fixer house, for instance, should not debut on a Friday because that would bring less attention from builders, she said, adding that her Web site gets the most hits in general on Mondays.

After the jump, more recommendations based on Redfin’s continuing research!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

,
Development Strategy
12/11/07 1:22pm

Not So Gaudi on Antoine: Barcelona Villa Boxes!

by
Home Design, Homes for Sale, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Real Estate Marketing, Spring Branch, Townhomes
No Comments

Villas of Antoine Ad

Houston is such an international city! If you’ve been here a while, you’ve probably already found Tuscany in Houston and Hong Kong in Houston, and perhaps also Charlottesville, New Delhi, Versailles, New York, Mexico City, Cairo, Dubai, Atlanta, and maybe even some Lubbock in Houston as well.

Well, here’s a new one: Now you can discover Barcelona in Houston too. And it’s in Spring Branch!

Fortunately, for those of you tired at the thought of all that around-the-world-in-eighty-themed-apartments travel, this little bit of the Spanish Mediterranean comes in the familiar form of a Houston townhome six-pack: two rows of bright yellow tightly fit stucco-coated boxes facing a bare concrete driveway.

So really, it shouldn’t seem so foreign after all.

After the jump, more pics!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , , ,
Apartments
12/10/07 11:02am

Beautiful Southwest Houston: The Golden Age of Apartment Living

by
Gulfton, Houston History, Real Estate Marketing, Renting
No Comments

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC5mvVXGGjc 400 330]

This charming period piece from the abortive early-’80s Southwest Houston apartment renaissance surfaced on YouTube late last month, to the great acclaim of chief Michael Pollack fan Lou Minatti, who has hosted an online shrine to the iconic and once high-profile Houston developer on his website for several years. Why was Pollack such a big deal?

What Gallery Furniture’s “We really will save you moneyyyyyyy!” was to the north side of town, the VCR in the Pool was to the southwest.

And really, who can forget the charms of Colonial House, at the corner of Chimney Rock and Gulfton? Writes Minatti:

Built in the late 1960s, Colonial House was in terrible shape.

Gangs and prostitutes had moved in, while basic amenities such as air conditioning had quit working. Pollack moved in and the gangs moved out. Pollack’s crew gutted and rebuilt each of the 1,800 units in just three months. But after all that hard work, Pollack had an even bigger task ahead: How was our suave, sophisticated hero going to fill those apartments? That’s where his infamous TV ads came in.

Here’s a question: Doesn’t the bench-pressing dude on the Nautilus about five seconds in look a bit . . . familiar?

After the jump: Pollack claims it was all an act! Plus, what he’s up to these days — with pix!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , ,
Harvest Bend
12/03/07 10:58am

Important Neighbors: Moving Close to People in Power

by
Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Real Estate Marketing
No Comments

Listing from Oodle.com

How important is location? Well, here’s a four-bedroom, three-bath home for sale near Mayor Bill White, and they’re only asking $137,900?! This listing found on Oodle.com sounds too good to be true!

It is.

Below the fold: the awful truth.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , ,
Homebuying
11/21/07 10:27am

The Clearest Sign of Trouble in the Houston Housing Market

by
Housing Data, Houston Data, Price Trends, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Marketing
No Comments

Map Graphic from HoustonFacts.orgSure, there’s the latest numbers out from the Houston Association of Realtors, showing a continuing decline in home sales in October, an 8 percent upswing in the average number of days homes have sat on the market, and a slight drop in the median home price compared to this time last year.

But the most blatant sign that serious problems in Houston housing have already arrived is the new promotional blitz just unleashed by the Greater Houston Builders Association — telling us all not to panic: Everything’s just rosy in the wonderful world of Houston residential real estate. Hey, everybody back in the water!

The PR push, which includes a blanketing of radio and TV spots in local markets, is designed to reassure nervous would-be buyers that now’s the perfect time to buy a home way out on the latest subdivision frontier, even though lots of scary signs have been suggesting otherwise for quite a few months now. The heart of the homebuilders’ campaign is the ominous-sounding HoustonFacts.org website, which fills Houston homebuyers’ ears with fact-filled, sage advice like this:

If you try to wait and time the market until it hits rock bottom, you are likely to lose out. Just as no one can accurately predict the peaks and valleys of the stock market (name one person who sold their tech portfolio in April of 2000), the same holds true for housing. If you sit on the fence and wait for the absolute best deal, you could end up literally waiting for years. And most likely, your guess on market timing would be wrong. But if you choose to buy now, you will not only be in the driver’s seat during the buying process, you will also reap the gains of price appreciation once you become a home owner. Remember, those who purchased homes in the early 1990s during the last big economic and housing downturn came out as big winners.

There’s lots more of this kind of wisdom available on the site, but here’s a special challenge to eagle-eyed Swamplot readers: See if you can find the comparison of a home investment to a stock-market investment on the site that simplifies all those messy calculations by leaving out the cost of monthly mortgage payments and expenses!

Keep reading for a HoustonFacts.org tip on home foundations for the Houston climate!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , ,
Condos
11/08/07 11:22am

The Titan: Rocketship Condos on Post Oak

by
Galleria, Highrises, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Marketing
No Comments

Randall Davis’s Proposed Titan Condo Tower on Post Oak Blvd. near the Galleria, Houston

Now that a drawing of the Titan condo tower has been posted on the proposed Galleria development’s website, it’s clear why Randall Davis wasn’t so worried that potential buyers would be distracted by the McDonald’s that’s gonna be rebuilt next door. One look at the Titan tower poised on top of its launch-pad parking garage, and you’ll likely become more concerned about lift-off than drive-thru.

Where are the rocket boosters? And will the heat-shield tiles stay on? Don’t worry — as with most Randall Davis projects, the Titan will only reach a comic-book-level approximation of its theme. To confuse things further, Michelangelo’s statue of David appears to have been chosen as the tower’s mascot.

, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Buying and Selling
11/07/07 5:31pm

Great Moments in Houston Home Marketing: The John Staub Tie-In

by
Home Design, Homes for Sale, Houston Architects, Real Estate Marketing, River Oaks
No Comments

3740 Willowick Dr. in River Oaks by Architect John Staub

A 1955 River Oaks “country house” designed by John Staub appears on MLS just days before architectural historian Stephen Fox’s book on the Houston architect appears in bookstores. Mere coincidence? Or brilliant upper-end home-marketing technique?

There’s a slight price difference between the two: The Country Houses of John F. Staub lists for $75, though Amazon.com whacks 37 percent off of that. No telling if the sellers will accept a similar discount off the $7.495 million asking price of 3740 Willowick.

The house overlooks Buffalo Bayou and features four fireplaces, three bedrooms, and six full and one half baths — all in a single story. Yes, it looks like some ranch-house flavor got mixed in here. There’s a garden loggia and lots of trees, plus a three-car attached garage. It’s a 5,532-square-foot home on a quarter-acre lot.

The book is 408 pages long and comes in hardcover. It features photographs by Richard Cheek, and will take up just three-quarters of a square foot on your coffee table.

After the jump: the not-so-ranchy interiors.

Of the house.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , , , , ,
Buying and Selling
10/10/07 2:20pm

Attack of the Sign Bandits!!!

by
Real Estate Marketing
No Comments

For Sale Sign on Tree off 288 North

Attention billboard hobbyists: The City of Houston has temporarily lost control of its sign ordinance.

Jim Moriarty, the attorney handling the case for the city, called the current situation a “disaster.”

“Somebody could take a 200-foot banner and run it across I-10,” he said. “It could say ‘Fred’s Cleaners,’ or ‘Out of Iraq Now,’ or whatever.”

The city’s motion suggested that people already are taking advantage of the injunction. Inspectors have noticed banner signs strung casually on roadside poles and electronic signs blinking and scrolling “at a rapid pace,” according to an affidavit by Susan Luycx, division manager of sign administration.

Under the ordinance, electronic messages can only change once every five minutes, to prevent driver distraction.

“We believe the court has made an error,” Moriarty said. “That doesn’t mean that Houston should become the Wild West in regards to signs.”

Sellers of real estate (especially those of you in the ten-gallon hats): You know what to do. Now is your chance.

After the jump, another bandit sign spotted only hours ago near IAH—on wheels!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, ,
« Previous Page Next Page »