Real Estate in Katy & West Houston, Texas

Keller Williams takes highest overall satisfaction among home buyers for two years in row as reported by JD Power & Associates, in their anual rankings of real estate companies across North America. More proof that the Keller Williams approach to home buying and selling is the stable, hassle-free solution for clients, even in today’s turbulent market.

When a home owner is behind on payments and owes more on their property than the property is worth, the seller can ask the bank or lender for approval to do a short sale.  The home owner should then hire a realtor who is experienced with short sales to represent them and to communicate with the lender through the process.  Once a contract offer from a buyer is accepted by the seller, then the contract must be sent to the lender for final approval.  Getting the final answer from the bank can take from 60 days to a year.  To sum it up, short sales can take a long time to close.  Buyers should also have a realtor exprerienced in short sales to represent them and to educate them on the process.  It can become a stressful event for the buyer if they become anxious or are in a hurry to close.  Buyers who are in a hurry to buy should not consider a property that is under short sale.      

Local Market Monitor, which forecast the real estate market in the US, released its latest Home Price Forecast, covering well over 300 US local markets. The forecast, which predicts local market behavior over the next 12 months, identifies markets where home prices will continue to drop as well as stable markets with opportunities for growth. The Houston area is looking pretty good according to the press release. Texas has 4 areas that made the top 10 list for the best outlook. Dallas is #1, while Houston is actually #2 for the best performance outlook in the country. California and Florida dominate the top 10 list for the worst expected performance. Here is a copy of an excert of the press release:  

 "According to the forecast, among the largest US markets—identified as those with populations greater than 600,000—the 10 markets with the best expected performance in home price are:

Baton Rouge, LA
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
Columbia, SC
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA
Pittsburgh, PA
San Antonio, TX
Syracuse, NY

These top markets, where home values are expected to remain level, are among those markets that did not have a big housing boom and have had relatively small job losses over the past year. Home prices in these areas are generally below the US average and reflect where the recession has so far had a relatively mild impact. Dallas, San Antonio and Omaha have all experienced a 1.6 percent job loss over the past year, and jobs have actually increased in Baton Rouge.

"While home building activity nationally is down 35 percent from last year, some of our top markets are doing relatively better,” said Ingo Winzer, president of Local Market Monitor. “Building permits were off only 20 percent in San Antonio and Omaha, and they were up 10 percent in Buffalo."

The 10 largest markets with the worst expected performance in home price are:

Fresno, CA
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL
Orlando-Kissimmee, FL
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA 
Bakersfield, CA 
Stockton, CA
Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, FL
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL and Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL

These markets, which are expected to have the largest declines in home values over the next year, are also among those that previously had the biggest price booms. This was attributed in large part to speculative buying, including the repercussions of inflated housing construction on the local job market and investor portfolios.

"Right now, a good market is still one where home prices aren't going down,” said Ingo Winzer. “However, this will change as the recession eases. Next year we'll see good price increases in many markets."

 

Picture this- a $1 dollar bill that is clean and one that is dirty, old and wrinkled. They are both worth exactly the same. Which one would you rather have? The clean, crisp $1 dollar bill, right? Same goes for your house when listing it. People want the staged house because it is presented well, it shows well, and it is much more appealing. We understand just how important home staging is. That's why we are accredited home stagers. We offer FREE home staging with all our listings.