Houston/Clear Lake Real Estate Blog: March 2011

How Hard is it to Return a Call?

Posted by Karen Sherrill at 1:15 PM

This could also be titled "Questions I Should Ask Prospective Realtors". When interviewing Realtors (and YES you should interview them) one question you should ask is "how timely will you return my calls/texts/emails?" The next question should be (especially if you are selling or leasing a home) "How timely will your return calls/texts/emails of inquiring Realtors?"

As I am helping a few clients find homes to rent I have left emails, and voicemail for three different Realtors on three different properties. Want to guess how many responses I have received? ZERO! I wonder what their client would say to find out that an interested party was communicating through another Realtor and their agent didn't even bother to call back?

As a Realtor, I know I pride myself on exceptional communication. Why? Because I like to treat everyone the way I want to be treated - whether it is my client, another Realtor, a lender, inspector or whoever - I will respond quickly. It's the right way to treat people. I am happy to say that I have met other Realtors who do the same; and perhaps these three Realtors had issues with their voicemails and emails.

So that is my pet peave for the moment - but for you the consumer I want you to ask questions, because you deserve to have a Realtor who returns calls to everyone!

March Madness and Enewsletter

Posted by Karen Sherrill at 2:38 PM

CLICK FOR YOUR ENEWSLETTER HERE http://karensherrill.housingtrendsenewsletter.com/

Welcome to March Madness. In our household the only “madness” is three out of four Sherrill children have their birthday’s in March. This month I must admit to a bit of the traditional “March Madness” as the San Diego Aztecs (my husband’s and daughter’s are alums) are actually in the hunt – who would have ever thought that would happen? Who would have thought I would be watching a basketball game? So, dare I say it, go Aztecs!

Being a Realtor, many conversations start with people asking me “how’s the market?” or “how’s business?” Those questions are actually more complicated than they appear. Simply stated the market is SLOW and business (for now) reflects that. Being slow in Real Estate is an oxymoron. I am still very busy building my business, contacting clients, staying current on housing trends and legislation that affects real estate; I continue to gain education and resources to better serve my clients…..I just don’t get paid. HOWEVER, we are just now moving into Spring and often they way we feel isn’t always reality. An example would be the most recent statistics from HAR stating that housing is down in the month of February. This is true, however last year at this time the market was flooded with anxious buyers wanting to take advantage of the generous homebuyer credits that expired the end of March (if memory serves me correctly). The truest comparison to see if the market has recovered really won’t be told until summer’s comparisons. As I have been monitoring housing in the Clear Lake area I have seen a couple of notable trends

· There are a lot of homes available in the market but the market is not oversaturated with homes like elsewhere in the country
· Homes that are priced well and are move-in ready sell quick
· Home prices have NOT taken a huge nosedive but are holding steady
· There are still some home sellers that believe they can get every dime of improvement out of their home and have unrealistically priced them this way (which is why they aren’t selling)

So if low interest rates and inventory make it a buyer’s market what can I do? I am hosting a community-wide

Homebuyers Workshop on Saturday, April 16th

from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Gateway Community Church.

This workshop is FREE as it was provided by a grant from Texas Association of Realtors Workforce Housing Initiative. My funding pays for facilities and food (yes FREE food from Chick-fil-A!) but does not include marketing. I am trying to spread the word to my clients AND hope you will help spread the word to others. I have partnered with Wells Fargo, Hometrust Mortgage, AAA Texas, Farmers Insurance, Credit Security Group and Nation Credit Federation to offer a workshop that will help current homebuyers, prospective homebuyers (to buy now or a few years from now), or “there is no way I can ever be a” homebuyers. It will provide information and resources and allow attenders to ask questions to help them on the road to home ownership. I have attached a flyer to help spread the word – print it out and send to friends. So if you, or someone you know is renting – this is the place to be!

For more information visit my dedicated website or text "ATTENDING" to me at 7138175710

It's Not a Pot of Gold - but it's Free!

Posted by Karen Sherrill at 12:37 PM

Are you currently renting? Did you know that a Realtor can help you find that next place to rent? Did you also know that it costs you nothing? That's right FREE!

I love helping people find homes to buy, but I also find great satisfaction in helping you find that great place to rent. Much of my married life was spent as a tenant and I understand the importance of finding the right place. Often renting a condo or a home will be less than rentig a similar sized apartment. Give me a call at 713.817.5710 or email me at Karen@KarenSherrill-homes.com to help you get started on your search.

Would you like to be a homeowner, but don't know if that dream will ever be possible? I am hosting a Homebuyers Workshop on April 16th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Gateway Community Church. This event is FREE as well. We'll have representatives from mortgage companies, credit counselors, insurance agencies there to answer your questions. Lots of resources - door prizes - and lunch provided by Chick-Fil-A. Interested? Let me know you can come by clicking "attend" on the Facebook event page so we will have enough resources and food!

February Housing Report

Posted by Karen Sherrill at 12:35 PM

February is a memory now and while housing fell off a bit from January, there is still good news. Read this excerpt from today's HAR's press release

HOUSTON — (March 15, 2011) — February marked a slight slowdown in the Houston real estate market following a galloping start to the new year in January when home sales rose for the first time in seven months. Despite last month's decline in sales volume, average and median home prices rose to the highest levels ever recorded for a February in Houston.

February sales of single-family homes dipped 2.2 percent versus one year earlier. The popular middle segments of the Houston housing market, consisting of homes priced between $80,000 and $250,000, experienced declining sales while the low and high ends saw increases—the most dramatic among the $500,000-plus luxury segment.

For the second straight month, luxury home sales helped boost the average price of a single-family home, which climbed 6.6 percent from February 2010 to $214,039. The February single-family home median price—the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less—rose 3.9 percent year-over-year to $151,900.

Foreclosure property sales reported in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) declined 16.5 percent in February compared to one year earlier. Foreclosures comprised 21.5 percent of all property sales in February, down from the 24.7 percent share they claimed in January. The median price of February foreclosures fell 8.1 percent to $79,000 on a year-over-year basis.

February sales of all property types in Houston totaled 3,906, down 0.4 percent compared to February 2010. Total dollar volume for properties sold during the month rose 4.7 percent to $790 million versus $755 million one year earlier.

"The February housing report is encouraging if you recall that a year ago the federal government was rolling out the first-time home buyer tax credit, and consider the fact that home buyers today face more stringent lending guidelines than ever before," said Carlos P. Bujosa, HAR chairman and VP at Transwestern. "While we anticipate growth in the Houston real estate market this year, we do not expect it to come all at once," Bujosa said. "Factors that give us cause for at least cautious optimism in the months ahead are that local employment figures have been strong and that we are about to enter the spring home buying season."

for remainder of the article click here

It's time to clean!

Posted by Karen Sherrill at 10:04 AM

The Spring cleaning bug has hit and I attacked my closet before it attacked me this last weekend. I even started to go through boxes, I usually just move around during my cleaning sprees. As I went through one box I found a floppy disk.....obviously it has been many Springs since this box had been gone through. The plus side is all the "important" items I had been saving have now been recycled. Read on for more tips

Cleaning House: Secrets of a Truly Deep Clean
Deep clean your house and you’ll brighten rooms and help maintain your home’s value. Read