Tag: Homes for Sale

77008, Buying and Selling, Condos, Foreclosures, Homes for Sale, Houston Heights, Price Reductions

Bear Creek Meadows

01/15/08 9:55pm

Bear Creek Meadows Fourclosure Sale!

Buying and Selling, Foreclosures, Home Design, Homebuilders, Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Katy

Four Homes by Legend Homes for Sale in Bear Creek Meadows

The wave of foreclosures sweeping over neighborhoods at the outer edges of town has . . . an upside!

Remember back when these neighborhoods were new — like, four years ago? Well, for buyers it’s just like those good old days all over again . . . only cheaper! That’s right: if you’ve settled on one builder model, you can be pretty picky about which upgrades and finishing touches you really want — even though the builder has moved on.

If you’re shopping for a home in Bear Creek Meadows in Katy, for example, you’ll find the four distinct residences pictured above listed on MLS. That’s right, those are four different houses. But they’re all the same model — The Cairns, Plan 509, by Legend Homes — and they’re all resales!

Which one is right for you? Clockwise from top left, the contenders are: 19411 Billineys Park Dr., 19606 Ballina Meadows Dr., 19906 Brisbane Meadows Dr., and 19510 Buckland Park Dr.

After the jump, a look at the differences between these four newish but back-on-the-market homes!

77449, Bear-Creek-Meadows, Buying and Selling, Foreclosures, Home Design, Homebuilders, Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Katy

01/14/08 11:41am

Big House on Buffalo Speedway: Not Selling for Too Many Quoins

Home Design, Homes for Sale, Interiors, West University

6118 Buffalo Speedway, West University Place, Texas

Just what is it about this West U house that’s scaring off the buyers? Is it the location on busy Buffalo Speedway? The outbreak of quoins on the front facade? The curious “custom paint” job in one of the home’s seven bathrooms that demonstrates to pooping gameroom guests how the house’s stucco surface might flake off?

Whatever it is, it sure looks like there’s a reverse auction going on: The five-bedroom, 5,119-square-foot house went on the market early last May and listed for $1,614,050. After three price cuts, it ended the year at $1,339,000. And now it’s only $1,239,000!

After the jump: a detailed look inside.

77005, Buying and Selling, Faux-Finishes, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Price Reductions, West University

Barker's Landing

01/11/08 11:28pm

Weekend Open House Tour: Fleetwood, Barkers Landing, Thornwood, Memorial Thicket

Energy Corridor, Fleetwood, Homes for Sale, Memorial, Memorial Thicket, Open Houses, Thornwood

Got some extra energy to spend househunting? Join us for a quick look at six homes for sale in West Memorial, in subdivisions huddled at the T-shaped Energy Corridor’s left armpit (between Highway 6 and Eldridge Parkway that is, south of I-10 and north of Buffalo Bayou).

You can visit them all this weekend — or just gawk as we drive by:

Location: 727 Last Arrow Dr.
Details: 3-4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, 3,051 sq. ft.
Price: $329,900
The Scoop: Lots of 1980s-era wood paneling in a gated community. Three months on the market; one price drop.
Open House: Saturday & Sunday, 2-5 pm

There’s more below the fold!

77079, Barkers Landing, Energy-Corridor, Fleetwood, Homes for Sale, Memorial-Thicket, Open Houses, Thornwood

Condos

01/08/08 10:05am

That Fishy Tanglewilde Condo

Home Decor, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Real Estate Marketing, Tanglewilde

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!

77063, Condos, Home Decor, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Price Reductions, Real Estate Marketing, Staging, Tanglewilde

01/07/08 10:56am

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

Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Katy, Price Trends, Real Estate Marketing

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.

77493, Buying and Selling, Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Katy, Lakefront Property, Price Trends, Real Estate Marketing

01/03/08 11:40am

Welch St. Townhouse: The Holiday Premium Is Over

Homes for Sale, Montrose, Real Estate Marketing, Townhomes

705 Welch St., Montrose, Houston Some 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.

705 Welch St. [HAR]

77006, Buying and Selling, Homes for Sale, Montrose, Price Reductions, Real Estate Marketing, Townhomes

01/02/08 12:02pm

How To Give Your Home a Greener Lawn Virtually Overnight

Homes for Sale, Landscape, Lawn Care, Memorial, Real Estate Marketing

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.

77079, Ashwood, Buying and Selling, Homes for Sale, Lawn Care, Memorial, Photos, Real Estate Marketing

12/19/07 1:57pm

Who’ll Take Manhattan?

Condos, Galleria, Highrises, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Lofts

Living Room of Manhattan Lofts Unit 808, Houston

This delightful unit has lingered on the market for a mere 22 months. That’s a long wait for a condo bubble that never happened. And hey, it ‘s a fun ride down the price ladder!

The grossly oversized two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath corner unit on the top floor of the misplaced Manhattan building in the Galleria was originally priced at $2.1 million, back in the swelled-heady days of February 2006. Five methodical price drops later, we’ve reached $1,695,000. That’s a lot of cuts, but we’re still not even down 20 percent: how low will the program-trading-style reductions go?

After the jump, more pics of the . . . uh, eclectic interior.

77056, Buying and Selling, Condos, Galleria, Highrises, Homes for Sale, Interior-Design, Interiors, Lofts, Price Reductions, Theming, Uptown

12/13/07 11:59am

Staub Ranchsion Sale Not Going By the Book

Homes for Sale, Houston Architects, Land Prices, River Oaks

3740 Willowick Rd., River Oaks, Home by John Staub

How’s that River Oaks “you loved the book, now try the home” marketing tie-in going?

Well, Stephen Fox’s volume on The Country Houses of John F. Staub is currently ranked #10,535 on Amazon.com, which probably isn’t so bad for a book about a dead architect. It is heavily discounted, but it’s collected several favorable reviews online.

The reviews aren’t looking quite as good for the Staub ranch-mansion at 3740 Willowick: The asking price was dropped earlier this month from $7,495,000 to $6,950,000. For a 2.3-acre River Oaks lot with Buffalo Bayou frontage, that’s a healthy step closer to . . . yes, land value. And looky at all the excitement just down the street!

3740 Willowick Rd. [HAR]
The Country Houses of John F. Staub [Amazon.com]
Great Moments in Houston Home Marketing: The John Staub Tie-In [Swamplot]
River Oaks Land Rush: $2+ Million Memorial Park and Bayou Frontage with Modern Obstacle [Swamplot]

77019, Books, Buffalo Bayou, Buying and Selling, Homes for Sale, John Staub, Land Prices, Ranch-Houses, Real Estate Marketing, River Oaks

Development Strategy

12/11/07 1:22pm

Not So Gaudi on Antoine: Barcelona Villa Boxes!

Home Design, Homes for Sale, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Real Estate Marketing, Spring Branch, Townhomes

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!

77055, Development Strategy, Home Design, Homes for Sale, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Real Estate Marketing, Spring-Branch, Theming, Townhomes

Fifth Ward

12/06/07 4:45pm

Reader Report: More New Construction Coming in the Fifth Ward

Homes for Sale, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Proposed Developments, Townhomes

77020, Fifth Ward, Homes for Sale, New Construction: Residential, Proposed Developments

Townhouse at 3421 Gillespie St., Under Construction

There’s more from our Fifth Ward correspondent, who’s been poking around properties near the MDI site:

InTown has various other project coming up in the 5th Ward/East End. The Cage/Gillespie property is now listed on HAR. They also plan on building English style bungalows at 619 Meadow St. However, they are in replatting stages now.

[Tuesday] Swamplot reported “Cline and Fall of Eight Houses“. These are about 2 blocks from the MDI site and there is a variance request up for subdivison renaming. I did some research and it seems they are owned by Lanterra Homes. They were supposed to have a project called Deca but looks like it may have been scrapped. Lanterra has built homes near InTown homes before.

Cage Gillespie Place [InTown Homes]
Deca [Lanterra Homes]
Daily Demolition Report: Cline and Fall of Eight Houses [Swamplot]
Fifth Ward: New Urbanists Meet Old Toxic Waste [Swamplot]

Photo: 3421 Gillespie, for sale on HAR

Harvest Bend

12/03/07 10:58am

Important Neighbors: Moving Close to People in Power

Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Real Estate Marketing

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.

77064, Harvest-Bend, Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Real Estate Marketing

Foreclosures

11/30/07 5:32pm

Meyerland Mystery Mod: House of Formica and Foreclosure

Home Design, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Meyerland

5103 S. Braeswood in Meyerland, Houston

Midcentury Modern Meyerland home with a distinctively shaped Living Room. In uncertain condition, on a large corner lot.

Sound familiar?

With the Carousel House reduced to rubble, Mod fans on HAIF have turned their attention to this 3,352-square-foot home from 1964 on a third-of-an-acre site at the corner of South Braeswood and S. Rice. It’s a foreclosure, and went on the market earlier this week:

I went and saw this house yesterday, and it has some amazing features. I think it’s likely that it is the House of Formica, for every surface–walls, cabinets, bars, etc.–is covered in Formica. I don’t think there’s is a drop of paint anywhere.

But . . .

the house is also really odd. I like strange, and this one is strange without being cool. Some of the design features just aren’t right. Therefore, it’s possible that we’re heading for another Moonlight. I hope not, but I doubt the house will go for anything above lot value.

After the jump, photos of some of those just-not-right design features — available free with land purchase! Plus special bonus: it’s really close to the bayou.

77096, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Meyerland, Modern Design

11/20/07 11:06am

Beneath Roseneath: A Rising Tide Trims Sales

Flooding, Homes for Sale, Land Sales, Riverside Terrace, Streets

4608 Roseneath Dr., Houston

Why has this property in Riverside Terrace been floating aimlessly on the market for almost five months? Sure, it’s being sold “as is” — and the “is” apparently doesn’t merit an interior photo. But the home has four bedrooms, contains 2,875 square feet of living space, and is apparently salvageable. Plus it sits on a 11,100-square-foot lot on a “lovely, tree-lined street” in a part of town that’s been pretty hot recently, no?