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“Of 41 Houston-area regions tracked by the Houston Association of Realtors, sales of single-family homes in June were up in seven and down in 34 from a year earlier. The median home price was up in 18 of the 41 regions. The median home price overall in the Houston area was $162,000, up 1.3 percent from a year earlier.” [Houston Chronicle]
Read more about: Houston Data, Price Trends
Mattress Mack’s home in Northgate Forest sold back in April for $815,000, reports Jennifer Dawson in the Houston Business Journal. That’s more than a 50 percent discount off the home’s original asking price.
The McIngvales’ 7-bedroom, 6,840-sq.-ft. home at 3002 Pine Lake Trail originally went on the market in May of 2007 for $1.75 million. Three months and a $250K price cut later, John Daugherty Realtors decided that marketing the pad as “The Home of Mattress Mack” might help. But it didn’t, apparently. The price cuts spiraled from there.
Jim and Linda McIngvale’s new home is a 2,000-sq.-ft. apartment on the grounds of their Westside Tennis Club on Wilcrest near Briar Forest, but that’s not necessarily a step down, says Dawson:
While the couple may have a lot less house, right outside the door is a resort-styled pool, family fitness center, lighted soccer field and one of the city’s largest yoga facilities.
Photo of 3002 Pine Lake Trail: HAR
Read more about: 77042, 77068, Buying and Selling, Northgate Forest, Price Reductions, Price Trends, Real Estate Marketing
February 7, 2008 – 11:30 am
We now have the scoop and an update on Gallery Furniture owner Jim McIngvale’s mansion in Northgate Forest, and it’s a doozy. Yes, it’s still on the market. Yes, the price has been cut. But didja know the extent of the damage?
When last we left the Mattress Mack Pad, it was still soaring at $1.25 million. Well, now it’s down to . . . $885,000. Here’s the timeline:
- May 5, 2007: 3002 Pine Lake Trail goes on market for $1,750,000
- July 5, 2007: Price reduced to $1,499,000 — saving you 14%!
- September 4, 2007: Price reduced to $1,250,000 — saving you 17%!
- October 15, 2007: Price reduced to $975,000 — saving you 22%!
- November 13, 2007: Price reduced to $885,000 — saving you 9%!
Total savings overall: Almost 50% . . . if you buy now!
And here comes the Houston real estate cliche: You can take the mansion way out of the Loop, but you can’t take the “way out of the Loop” out of the mansion.
Or something like that.
Read more about: 77068, Buying and Selling, Homes for Sale, Northgate Forest, Price Reductions, Price Trends, Real Estate Marketing
January 7, 2008 – 10:56 am
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 >
Read more about: 77493, Buying and Selling, Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Katy, Lakefront Property, Price Trends, Real Estate Marketing
September 5, 2007 – 10:59 am
Speaking of fame and real-estate listings, we may have an answer to our earlier question about the power of endorsements by celebrities—or local celebrities—to sell houses quickly and at a premium price.
The Northgate Forest estate of Gallery Furniture owner Jim McIngvale—written up here a month ago—is still listed for sale! And the asking price has dropped a quarter of a million dollars.
Read more about: 77068, Buying and Selling, Homes for Sale, Northgate Forest, Price Trends, Real Estate Marketing
Houston’s housing market will slow, UH economist Barton Smith told homebuilders, real-estate agents, and a Chronicle reporter at his annual spring symposium:
Smith cautioned builders that this area is not immune to the national housing market correction just because housing remains affordable and fixed-rate mortgages are still low.
A national crackdown on subprime loans because of increasing foreclosures will significantly shrink the number of households that qualify for homeownership.
Combined with interest rates that are slightly higher today than two years ago, Smith estimates that the reduction in subprime lending will eliminate nearly 100,000 Houston households from the owner-occupied home market.
On the other hand, real estate experts have seen an uptick in sales of higher-priced homes.
“You’re just seeing the high end of the market going wild,” said Mark Woodroof of Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors.
More than ever before, builders are creating homes valued in excess of $500,000 in places other than the silk-stocking neighborhoods where they’re traditionally found.
“Today, they’re in The Woodlands, Fort Bend, and it’s not because prices are skyrocketing, but because we’re building bigger, more luxurious homes,” Smith said.
Of course, it’s difficult to compare last year’s prices to this year’s—because the house that sold last year is in the landfill, and the new one that replaced it is three times the size. In Houston, that’s your growth in the residential market. So maybe Dr. Smith’s just calling for a little less Foyer.
Read more about: Forecasts, Housing, New Construction, Price Trends
Texas boasts six of the top 12 residential real-estate markets in the country, says Money magazine. Houston is ranked number 12, behind San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth/Arlington (yeah, they broke them out), El Paso, and that southern juggernaut McAllen. They predict a 3.2 percent increase in home prices here over the next year.
Money’s handy chart gently reminds readers of the 9.6% drop between 1984 and ’85, but it includes another statistic that suggests any downturn here won’t be as catastrophic as it might in Los Angeles, for example: the median mortgage here is only 15 percent of a homeowner’s income. In L.A., that figure is 57 percent.
Read more about: Home Prices, Price Trends
Some highlights from the Chronicle’s annual housing-price survey extravaganza, published Sunday:
- Yeah, prices were up again last year, growing steadily since 1992 (a good year to start with if you’d rather forget Houston’s big busts). But price increases slowed down in the second half.
- Anyone needing proof that Houston is still a donut need only glance at this map of sales activity inside and around the Loop and Beltway. We love that creamy filling as much as anyone, but there’s more dough to be made at the edges (eighty percent of sales are outside Beltway 8).
- The front-page graphic, which at first glance appears to show steeper historical price growth for inside-the-loop homes (and a better rate for them this year), is a little misleading: Except for last year, average percentage price increases since 2001 have been highest outside the loop.
As usual, specifics on last year’s neighborhood price trends are hidden in the Chronicle’s Homefront section.
Read more about: Homebuying, Housing Data, Housing Prices, Houston Data, Neighborhood-Sales-Data, Price Trends
