Katy Fire Department & EMS Host Fajita Dinner & Auction

For the 28th year, the Katy community can look forward this Fajita Dinner and Auction. The Katy Fire and EMS Association will host the festivities Oct. 19. It will be held at the Katy VFW Hall on George Bush Drive. The event is the department’s major fundraiser for the year. 

Serving will begin at 5 p.m. Dinner includes fajita, rice, beans, drinks and dessert. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for children. Raffle tickets are $1. Tickets are available from any Katy firefighter, medic or at the station on Avenue D.

For details

Has The Market Stabilized?

METROSTUDY: HOUSTON POINTING TOWARD ECONOMIC RECOVERY

HOUSTON (Metrostudy, Houston Business Journal) – Houston’s economy is showing signs of recovery, according to a recent Metrostudy report.

The annual 2009 Census Household survey showed that the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area added over 140,000 to its total population, a 2.5 percent increase over one year.

“The continued arrival of people in Texas fuels demand for housing markets,” said David Jarvis, director of Metrostudy’s Houston division. “This, coupled with a more optimistic employment outlook, signals continued stability in the Houston housing market.”

For the 12 months ending in June 2010, the Houston region lost 17,100 jobs. As recently as December, the 12-month loss exceeded 100,000 jobs. By year’s end, year-over-year comparisons are expected to show moderate gains.

Houston ranked tenth among major U.S. metros for high-salary jobs, according to employment website TheLadders.com.

“We’re seeing hiring in the energy (oil and gas) sector,” said TheLadders.com Editor-in-Chief Matthew Rothenberg. “Considering the makeup of the local economy, it is not a surprise that there are a large number of engineering and consulting positions opening in Houston as well."

The Houston housing market has continued to show stability through 2nd quarter 2010. Home starts for the quarter were at 5,942, a more than 12 percent increase over the first quarter. And home closings have outpaced new supply, indicating a higher housing demand and reducing total inventories of homes. At current absorption rates, the level of housing supply stands at 6.1 months.

But, all Real Estate is local…..Order a Market Report for your neighborhood…..

http://www.homeinsight.com/Widget/default.asp?NR1LADNO01ZC

Good News

News Flash!! 

Prudential Real Estate Ranks Highest for Seller Satisfaction in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2010 Home Buyer/Seller Study 

PREA Center in the J.D. Power and Associates ToolKit. You can access this from the Quick Link on the home page.  

J.D. Power and Associates today announced that the Prudential Real Estate Network ranked “Highest Overall Satisfaction for Home Sellers Among National Full Service Real Estate Firms” in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2010 Home Buyer/Seller Study. This marks the second time in three years that the Network ranked highest in seller satisfaction. 

The annual study measures customer satisfaction of home sellers and buyers with major national real estate companies. Overall satisfaction is determined by examining four factors for the home-selling experience: agent (44%); marketing (30%); office (15%); and services (11%). Among home sellers, Prudential Real Estate achieved a score of 760 on a 1,000-point scale and received particularly high ratings from customers in the marketing and agent factors. 

PRERS Chairman Jim Mallozzi said the award speaks for the quality and consistency of the Prudential Real Estate Network. “Affiliate to affiliate, our sales professionals are the local-market experts who market and price homes right, while providing attentive service,” Mallozzi said.

PRERS has secured complete marketing rights for the study and for the Network’s favorable ranking. The company will promote this distinction through national advertising and other media, including a J.D. Power and Associates’ micro-site with exclusive marketing materials and comparative analysis showing its position in relation to competitors. Marketing guidelines, eCards and other marketing materials are on

Leftovers

 What do you fix for dinner the night after you have prepared and served a gourmet (it's subjective) meal?  Left overs of course.  That's exactly what we had for dinner last night.

How does that relate to Real Estate you ask…..

Recently, we were working with an out of town buyer relocating to Katy.  We had been showing house over a period of several months. The buyer was specific about what they wanted and we were concentrating on homes that had recently come on the market. Why would we do this….unfortunately some buyers and many agents assume that if a house has been on the market for a long time, there is something wrong.  We found a house and as we looked at comparable homes to determine pricing, we found the perfect house. It had been on the market over 300 days….what was wrong?  We checked it out, there was nothing wrong.  It had just been shoved to the back of the refrigerator and forgotten.  There's nothing wrong with leftovers and sometimes they even end up better than the original….. Don't ignore a possibility just because it's been around awhile.

 

Is It A Buyer or Sellers Market?

 According to The Real Estate Center,  this is how select Texas cities fared in March (data current as of July 26, 2010):

	Sales	Change from Last Year	Median Price	Change from Last Year	Months' Inventory
Austin	2,216	down 2%	$202,800	up 4%	7.2
Brownsville	50	down 14%	$96,000	up 11%	na
Dallas	4,554	down 3%	$170,100	up 2%	6.8
El Paso	736	up 53%	$132,600	down 1%	6.8
Fort Worth	833	up 5%	$111,800	down 6%	6.9
Houston	6,175	up 3%	$158,100	down 3%	7.5
Kerrville	30	down 35%	$151,400	down 13%	22.8
Lufkin	56	up 2%	$120,000	up 9%	na
Odessa	131	up 87%	$125,300	down 6%	7.9
San Antonio	1,924	down 1%	$151,700	down 3%	8.2
Texas	21,717	0%	$153,300	down 1%	7.8

 

Is it a buyers or sellers market?  It depends….all Real Estate is local.  Depends on where you are selling or buying.  Let me know and I'll send you a report on your area.