Harris County officials approved new building code regulations for all construction projects within the 100-year floodfloodplain that require a permit. This new code, which was unanimously approved and will be effective January 1, will require homes and businesses located within the 100-year floodplain to be built two feet above the 500-year floodplain to mitigate future flooding.
Although many people think that the “years” of the floodplains are the “time frame” or frequency of floods, they numbers correlate with the probability of a flood occurring on an annual basis. According to the Harris County Flood Control District, the 500-year floodplain is the area of land that has a .2 percent chance of flooding each year. A 100-year floodplain is the area that has a 1 percent chance of flooding each year.
While FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) will likely update federal flood maps, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said that editing the building code is a preliminary measure as the county waits for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Detention and flood mitigation requirements are based on the FEMA floodplains. However, it took seven years for FEMA to edit the floodplain maps after Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, leaving the county seeking more immediate solutions, Emmett said.
“The maps are going to change, but we can’t wait for FEMA to redo all of the maps,” Emmett said. “We can use what we have. That’s why we’re erring on the side of caution. We’re getting people well above what we think the water is going to be at in the future.”
While this change will likely increase costs for developers and builders, it has been reported that they have responded positively to this regulation.
Imagine hosting your friends + family for a BBQ on your rooftop deck with fabulous skyline views. Enjoy the convenient location + walk to Dynamo, Rockets, and Astros games, as well as TONS of bars and restaurants! This beautiful 2 bed, 2.5 bath townhome has 1,726 sq. feet of living space and is ready for you to move in. Call to set up a tour, or contact your Real Estate Agent today.
Join us on Sunday, December 3rd from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM to take a look at this gorgeous home!
Lovingly maintained and conveniently located, this EaDo townhome offers a great location for you to call home. Entertain in style with your open first floor living, dining, and kitchen area. Upstairs, you’ll appreciate a split floor plan with private dual-master bedrooms, both with en-suite bathrooms, jetted tubs, and walk-in closets.
Happy Tuesday!! Can you believe there are only 34 more days left in 2017!? I’ve spoken with a lot of people lately on the right timing for listing their home for sale. While your personal situation my vary (job transfer, holiday travel, moving across the country, new home under contract, moving across town…), I’d like to touch on FIVE items to consider when debating on when to list your home.
Buyers are still out there.
Winter buyers are serious.
Buyers want to buy!
You’re in control.
Inventory will increase.
For a more in-depth look into these items, check out our video below:
Home sales generally drop slightly in January & February (when everyone else is listing their homes), but December is historically still a busy month!!
If you’re thinking about selling, let’s chat! I’d love to share a customized marketing strategy to market your home to sell for the highest possible dollar in the shortest amount of time!
Coldwell Banker United, Realtors – Greenway Plaza
MOVEMETOTX – Katie Day Team
2 Greenway Plaza #150 Houston, TX 77046
Phone: 832.317.6006
Email: katie@movemetotx.com
Web: http://www.katiedayteam.com | http://www.movemetotx.com
Reduce your morning commute and live in the Historic East End, just minutes from Downtown Houston, I-10, and I-45. University of Houston and Texas Southern are less than fifteen minutes away.
Enjoy easy-to-clean hardwood throughout your new apartment (tile floors in the bathroom) Plus, separate living and snoozing areas – something you don’t find in most studio apartments! (Dedicated spaces, but no doors).
Completely renovated apartment with brand new kitchen and bathroom, plus utilities are included.
Join us on Sunday, November 12th from 12:00 – 1:30 PM to take a look at this cute studio.
We were out in the TMC area this week and checked out 3347 Kilgore. This newly built 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom town home is gorgeous!
This three-story home sits inside a gated community in a prime location, just off of 288. You’re minutes from the Medical Center and about 10-15 minutes from Downtown. The living-dining-kitchen area flow well together, and are perfect for entertaining! There’s also a patio off of the living area.
If you’re ready to tour, reach out today! We’d love to assist you in finding your new home.
Coldwell Banker United, Realtors – Greenway Plaza
MOVEMETOTX – Katie Day Team
2 Greenway Plaza #150 Houston, TX 77046
Phone: 832.317.6006
Email: katie@movemetotx.com
Web: http://www.katiedayteam.com | http://www.movemetotx.com
I keep repeating the same thing to myself as I think about Coldwell Banker’s GenBlue in Las Vegas this week: Man, WHAT A WEEK! I’ve had the opportunity to network with 5,999 of my peers affiliated with Coldwell Banker around the WORLD. I’ve had the opportunity to learn best marketing, listing, negotiating, and real estate-ing tips to help to improve my business and better serve my clients.
As I sit on an airplane from Vegas back to Houston, I’m attempting to review some of my notes & find the common themes and takeaways from the week. I’ve narrowed it down to about four general thoughts. While my application for these is Real Estate Related, they really could be applied to any business.
Know your why.
Do what you love.
Persistence and urgency will win.
Try harder.
Know Your Why
While almost every person you speak to (Realtor or otherwise) has goals, those that are hyper focused and successful know their why. Your “why” may be intrinsic or extrinsic, it may be a future trip, future goal, a better future for your kids… or you may just need to save more money.
Take some time to think about WHY you want to get to $X million in gross sales, or WHY you need to make $X in gross commission a year. Once you actively focus on “why” you’re in business (and not just on the “what” you need to do), you’ll find yourself pushing each day to get closer to that goal.
Also — are you thinking big enough? Travis Robinson spoke about how your goals should excite you, but also should scare you a little bit. Think about this for a second: Everything you don’t have is sitting outside of your comfort zone. Don’t set goals that you know are attainable, set goals that will push you outside of your comfort zone, something that will cause you to work harder each day.
Do What You Love
Tom Ferry had a quote up on the screen while he spoke – “Do what you love, serving clients you love, for the people you love. That’s a great business.” Far too often, we interact with people (or things) we don’t love. We settle, perhaps because we think we don’t deserve more, or perhaps because it’s just easier.
Life is far too short to compromise our personal goals, beliefs, and comfort on things that we don’t love.
Persistence and Urgency Will Win
Throughout the week, I attended seminars on how to optimize my real estate business. We examined ways in which we can improve our relationships with our prospects, clients, former clients, and business partners. There are far too many “break points” in our customer cycle — places where we can optimize, but far too often, drop the ball. Most agents only follow up with a new prospect 1.3 times. Studies have shown that most “conversion” comes during the fifth to twelfth follow up. How do you stack up?
Not only do you need to be persistent in your follow up (and in your pursuit of your goals), you’ve got to be quicker. Clients are looking for a seamless, full-service experience, with no wait time. 42-45% of buyers and sellers expect to be contacted immediately when inquiring about a Realtor’s services.
Figure out how to immediately contact your clients and leads. A crazy stat: when prospective clients wait more than thirty minutes, your odds of contacting them decrease by 1,000x. Let’s get more efficient!
Try Harder
In a constantly evolving industry like Real Estate (or just in a constantly evolving world), you’ve got to try harder than the competition to survive. Do you create an experience for your clients, or do you just react to things as they come up? The people that are massively resourceful are successful. They look at holes in their business and customer cycle and determine ways to proactively assist their customers. Take some time to figure out how you can leverage tools, people, and processes to streamline your business and create a seamless customer experience.
Should you be presented with the opportunity to network and interact with leaders in your industry in any shape or form, do it! GenBlue was an immersive experience — learning alongside 5,999 of my Coldwell Banker peers.
If you’re another agent that wants to network, let’s get in touch! If you’re thinking about renting, buying, selling, investing, or “real estating” in some way, call (or text… or email) me now!
Coldwell Banker United, Realtors – Greenway Plaza
MOVEMETOTX – Katie Day Team
2 Greenway Plaza #150 Houston, TX 77046
Phone: 832.317.6006
Email: katie@movemetotx.com
Web: http://www.katiedayteam.com | http://www.movemetotx.com
HOUSING MARKET PROVES IT IS ‘HOUSTON STRONG’ AFTER HARVEY
A month after the devastating storm, September sees home sales rebound and rentals surge.
HOUSTON — (October 11, 2017) — Battered by Hurricane Harvey during the final week of August, the Houston real estate market demonstrated its ‘Houston Strong’ resiliency during the four weeks that followed with a rebound in home sales and the strongest rental activity of all time.
According to the latest monthly report produced by the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), single-family home sales climbed 4.2 percent compared to last September, coming back from a nearly 24 percent plunge in August. All segments of the housing market enjoyed gains except for homes priced below $150,000, with the greatest sales volume reported among homes in the $500,000 to $750,000 range. On a year-to-date basis, home sales remain 2.3 percent ahead of the 2016 volume despite Harvey’s rampage.
As expected, property flooding and continued consumer demand for homes lowered inventory levels. While housing inventory grew from a 3.9-months supply to 4.1 months year-over-year, it was down compared to the 4.4-months supply immediately preceding Harvey’s arrival.
Lease Property Update Driven primarily by consumers displaced from housing as a result of Hurricane Harvey’s widespread destruction, demand for lease properties across Houston soared to record levels in September. Single-family home leases rose a staggering 83.6 percent while townhome/condominium skyrocketed 92.2 percent. The average rent for single-family homes was up 7.9 percent to $1,886 while the average rent for townhomes/condominiums climbed 5.4 percent to $1,601.
Market Observations and Pricing “I don’t think anyone expected to see home sales in positive territory this soon after a natural disaster of Harvey’s magnitude, but the September report speaks volumes about the incredible resiliency of the Houston real estate market,” said HAR Chair Cindy Hamann. “We are still mindful of the terrible property losses suffered across the region and continue to urge anyone who may have housing available for those in need (for up to 12 weeks of occupancy) to please post it on our Harvey Temporary Housing page at www.har.com/temporaryhousing“.
Pricing never skipped a beat during or after Harvey. The single-family home median price (the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less) rose 5.5 percent to $232,000. The average price increased 5.4 percent to $291,767. Both figures are record highs for a September.
September sales of all property types in Houston totaled 8,150, an increase of 3.4 percent versus the same month last year. Total dollar volume for properties sold jumped 10.2 percent to $2.3 billion.
September Monthly Market Comparison
With surprising but welcome improvement from the Harvey-influenced August report, Houston’s September housing market indicators provided positive readings across the board as single-family home sales, total property sales, median and average pricing, total dollar volume and inventory were all up compared to September 2016.
Month-end pending sales for single-family homes totaled 6,606, an increase of 13.1 percent over last year. Total active listings, or the total number of available properties in the marketplace, rose 7.4 percent from September 2016 to 40,848.
Single-family homes inventory edged up from a 3.9-months supply to 4.1 months year-over-year. However, that is down from the 4.4-months supply that prevailed before Harvey struck, as consumers scrambled for available housing. Housing inventory across the U.S. currently stands at a 4.2-months supply, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Single-Family Homes Update
Single-family home sales staged an impressive post-Hurricane Harvey rebound, rising 4.2 percent to a total of 6,913 units sold versus 6,636 in September 2016. That follows a devastating decline of 23.8 percent in August that interrupted 10 consecutive months of positive sales. All housing segments experienced gains except for homes priced below $150,000.
Home prices continued their upward march in September. The median price increased 5.5 percent to $232,000 while the average price rose 5.4 percent to $291,767. Both figures are record highs for a September in Houston.
Days on Market (DOM), or the number of days it took the average home to sell, edged up from 53 to 54 days. Inventory rose year-over-year from a 3.9-months supply to 4.1 months, but that is below the healthier 4.4-months supply that existed during the two months leading up to Harvey.
Broken out by housing segment, September sales performed as follows:
$1 – $99,999: decreased 20.7 percent
$100,000 – $149,999: decreased 23.2 percent
$150,000 – $249,999: increased 6.0 percent
$250,000 – $499,999: increased 14.8 percent
$500,000 – $749,999: increased 20.4 percent
$750,000 and above: increased 4.2 percent
HAR also breaks out the sales figures for existing single-family homes. Existing home sales totaled 5,783 in September, up 3.8 percent versus the same month last year. The average sales price increased 8.1 percent to $282,528 while the median sales price rose 6.8 percent to $219,000.
Townhouse/Condominium Update
The townhome and condominium market was slower to recover from the effects of Hurricane Harvey as sales fell 5.8 percent in September with a total of 533 units sold. This follows August’s nearly 30 percent sales decline. The average price rose 3.5 percent to $208,215 while the median price jumped 8.4 percent to $159,950. Inventory expanded from a 3.7-months supply to 4.1 months.
Houston Real Estate Highlights in September
Single-family home sales staged an impressive post-Hurricane Harvey rebound, rising 4.2 percent year-over-year with 6,913 units sold;
On a year-to-date basis, single-family home sales remain 2.3 percent ahead of the 2016 volume, despite Harvey’s effect on Houston housing;
Total property sales rose 3.4 percent with 8,150 units sold;
Total dollar volume jumped 10.2 percent to $2.3 billion;
At $232,000, the single-family home median price rose 5.5 percent, achieving a September high;
The single-family home average price increased 5.4 percent to $291,767, also a record high for a September;
Single-family homes months of inventory rose year-over-year from a 3.9-months supply to 4.1 months, but that is below the healthier 4.4-months supply that prevailed during the two months leading up to Harvey;
Townhome/condominium sales fell 5.8 percent, with the average price up 3.5 percent to $208,215 and the median price up 8.4 percent to $159,950;
Leases of single-family homes shot up an unprecedented 83.6 percent with average rent up 7.9 percent to $1,886;
Volume of townhome/condominium leases surged 92.2 percent with average rent up 5.4 percent to $1,601.
HAR continues to encourage anyone who has housing available for temporary occupancy (up to 12 weeks) to please post it on our Harvey Temporary Housing page as soon as possible at www.har.com/temporaryhousing to provide housing to those in need.
If you’ve been in the Upper Kirby/Greenway Plaza area of town lately, you may have noticed Levy Park, just south of Richmond Ave (between Kirby + Buffalo Speedway), between Eastside St and Wakeforest Ave.
Recently renovated, the park offers TONS of activities hosted by local businesses, a performance pavilion, playground, dog park, community gardens, and more! Plus, just next door — Avenue Grove.
This 270-unit apartment community opened in 2016 and offers sleek one and two bedroom apartments, some overlooking Levy Park.
If you’re ready to tour, please reach out! We’d love to assist you in finding your new home.
You can browse apartment listings on our site at http://www.movemetotx.com or call/text 832.317.6006.
Coldwell Banker United, Realtors – Greenway Plaza
MOVEMETOTX – Katie Day Team
2 Greenway Plaza #150 Houston, TX 77046
Phone: 832.317.6006
Email: katie@movemetotx.com
Web: http://www.katiedayteam.com | http://www.movemetotx.com
If you’re considering moving to Oak Forest, we’ve found your new home! Just steps away from T.C. Jester Park sits 2027 Brimberry. This home is conveniently located off of West 43rd between T.C. Jester and Ella Blvd. Petrol Station, Wakefield Crowbar, Slowpokes, and Cottonwood offer dining/entertainment options… and you’re just across 610 from Shady Acres (and dining/bars like King’s BierHaus, Crisp, and Cedar Creek!)
This charming 3 bedroom, 2 bath home was not affected by Harvey! Refreshed throughout with upgrades, including: hardwood floors, granite counter tops in the kitchen, soft close drawers in the kitchen, marble in the baths, and contemporary fixtures… all in a bright living space!
All three bedrooms provide lots of natural light and boast excellent closet space.
As the weather cools down, enjoy a fenced yard out back with a covered patio on the east side, and open entertaining space on the west side.
This home is ready for YOU to move in!
This home is 1,353 square feet, listed at $379,000. For more information and photos, please visit HAR.com.
The property will also be hosting an Open House on Sunday October 15, from 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
If you’re ready to tour, reach out today! We’d love to assist you in finding your new Oak Forest home.
Coldwell Banker United, Realtors – Greenway Plaza
MOVEMETOTX – Katie Day Team
2 Greenway Plaza #150 Houston, TX 77046
Phone: 832.317.6006
Email: katie@movemetotx.com
Web: http://www.katiedayteam.com | http://www.movemetotx.com
One of the most impressive features of the Sovereign at Regent Square is the 40,000+ square foot amenity space at the property. While living at Sovereign, you’ll enjoy amenities like:
2,800 sq. foot fitness center + separate yoga studio
Massage room
Lap pool with sun lounge
Dog park out front + dog wash area
Game room (pool table, shuffleboard)
Business Center
Outdoor grills, TV’s, and fireplace
Club room with demonstration kitchen
Private dining areas
In addition to the amenity floor, you’ll also be able to enjoy the 24-hour concierge service, valet parking, and fun details like the Apartment Butler Concierge, Valet Dry cleaning, and package acceptance.
This 21-story high-rise is located within walking distance of Whole Foods (Montrose), plus the Buffalo Bayou park and River Oaks shopping district.
If you’re ready to tour, please reach out! We’d love to assist you in finding your new home.
You can browse apartment listings on our site at http://www.movemetotx.com or call/text 832.317.6006.
Coldwell Banker United, Realtors – Greenway Plaza
MOVEMETOTX – Katie Day Team
2 Greenway Plaza #150 Houston, TX 77046
Phone: 832.317.6006
Email: katie@movemetotx.com
Web: http://www.katiedayteam.com | http://www.movemetotx.com
movemetotx 