The Woodlands Real Estate Blog

Plans to extend Woodlands Parkway east of FM 2978

Kayelin Wright — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:25:41 +0000

Source: Community Impact New (Brian Walzel)

March 16, 2012

Plans are in the works for the primary east-west corridor in The Woodlands to be extended into Tomball. Montgomery County is purchasing land tracts west of FM 2978 in order to extend Woodlands Parkway to Hwy. 249.

According to Patty McDaniel of the Montgomery County Attorney’s Office, the county needs only to purchase two more parcels of the approximately 40 tracts between FM 2978 and Dobbin-Hufsmith Road to complete all land acquisitions for its part of the project.

Precinct 2 County Commissioner Craig Doyal said the extension of Woodlands Parkway has been on the county’s major thoroughfare plan since 1985.

“I just felt like the right-of-way that was in place would never be less expensive and never more available than right now,” Doyal said.

There is no time frame on construction of the extension, he said, but the goal rather was to purchase the land ahead of any future developments.

“We’re not pressed for time, there’s no urgency,” Doyal said.

Both he and the county took a similar approach to the extension of the Fish Creek Thoroughfare, which connected FM 1488 to FM 2854.

“Fish Creek was much more easily done because of the right-of-way that was in place as opposed to having to acquire land like [FM] 1488 [expansion],” he said.

McDaniel said the county has been purchasing tracts of land west of FM 2978 for about the past three years in anticipation of the extension. But should the Woodlands Parkway extension ever come to fruition, the county won’t be able to complete the project alone, Doyal said.

A large portion of land west of Dobbin-Hufsmith is slated for a housing development, Doyal said, and he is hoping whoever develops the project can also include a portion of the Woodlands Parkway extension.

“What happened on Fish Creek Thoroughfare was that, as Sendera Ranch was developed, the developers donated the right-of-way and built portions of the right-of-way as part of their plan and donated the balance [to the county],” Doyal said. “Then we went in and filled in gaps, built the bridge and we had a major thoroughfare.”

According to data compiled by the Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner’s Office, an average of more than 67,000 vehicle trips per day were counted in 2011 along Woodlands Parkway.

The Woodlands Market Snapshot as of 3/1/12

Kayelin Wright — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:37:47 +0000

Just a quick update about how the market is performing in The Woodlands so far in 2012.

Below is a chart broken down by price range showing you the current available listings, pending sales (under contract) and closed sales. The “months of inventory” is a measurement of how much inventory is available and how quickly it would take to deplete what is available IF no new listings came on the market.

The Woodlands has only 3.6 months of inventory – that is just 90 days. Yes, inventory is low, and buyer’s are having a difficult time finding homes to buy.

When comparing February 2011 to February 2012 check out these stats:

17% decrease in new listings (inventory)
25% increase in pending sales (contracts)
0.64% increase in the final closed sales price to list price ratio (currently homes are selling for 95% of LP)
6% decrease in total days on market (with an average of 91 days)

If you or someone you know is considering selling a home, now is a great time. Buyer’s are out looking, they want to take advantage of the low interest rates and great value of homes in the area. I’m just a phone call or click away….713-471-3689 or kwright@cbunited.com.

Just Call Kayelin!

The Woodlands Real Estate Snapshot as of 2/1/12

Kayelin Wright — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:23:58 +0000

2012 is underway and the market is picking up. One of the most interesting characteristics of today’s market is that the overall inventory is low with an average of only 3.6 months of inventory. That means that if no new listings came on the market it would take just 3.6 months to sell the available inventory. That’s just 90 days!!

Buyers are ready and they are having a very hard time finding anything to look at and some have looked at everything that’s available and nothing fits their needs. This is a sign for home sellers that times are improving and this could very well be a great opportunity to sell your home and quickly! Make sure your home is market ready….buyers are still very picky, are educated about market values and look for a very clean, well maintained and updated home.

It’s

Buyer’s notice homes not ready for market

Kayelin Wright — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:07:51 +0000

Over the past few months while showing homes to home buying clients I find it VERY interesting to see their reactions and listen their comments when we see homes that are ‘not ready’ for the market.

Consistently, they remark that the home is dirty, smells (often like cat or dog), furniture is too big or there is too much stuff (cluttered). They immediately make a decision about the house and usually it’s an unfavorable one. Both the buyer and seller at this point have both lost out on an opportunity.

Stats show that over 94% of buyers begin their search online and look at tons of homes in hopes of finding a handful they want to go out and look at in person. They typically look at the photos and video’s several times and look forward to stepping inside….to be totally disappointed when they step in the front door. Many remark that “the pictures looked so good, what happened”!

As an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) I help each of my home sellers about the value of home staging and preparing your home for the market, BEFORE, your home goes on the market. The return on your investment will be well worth your time, money and energy. Check out these Quick Tip’s from StagedHomes.com….you will be very grateful with the results.

https://www.stagedhomes.com/PDF/QuickTips.pdf

If you need some advice and would like an in-home assessment about preparing your house for sale, please give me a call, 713-471-3689. I would be delighted to help!!

Real Estate Negotiations Can Be Roller Coaster Ride

Kayelin Wright — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:33:17 +0000

Imagine this, over a 24-hour period buyer and seller negotiate an offer and agree upon terms of a contract. Both parties are excited and ready to go! However, within 1 hour buyer gets cold feet and is ready to walk away from everything. Seller learns about buyer’s decision and is really disappointed….so are the agents that have been working diligently to bring all parties together to an agreement.

Seller’s agent calls buyer’s agent to see what caused the buyer to get cold feet and if there was any way we could keep this together. They strategize on some ideas and agree to see if they can keep this together. Believe it or not, just hours later the deal is on again but some terms have been revised. Seller is notified and is hesitantly excited, cautiously optimistic and little worried buyer could change their mind again.

They have only just begun the transaction process as inspections, appraisal, loan approval and underwriting is yet to come. Can I say “Roller Coaster” ride?!?

Agents who are willing to collaborate, be creative, never give up and keep their clients best interest above all, do prevail.

10 Cool Things To Do Before School Starts – The Woodlands, TX

Kayelin Wright — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:16:38 +0000

There is always something cool to do in The Woodlands, TX but if you need some ideas consider these activities:

http://www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1589

My personal favorites are kayaking along Lake Woodlands and water park fun Rob Fleming Aquatic Center! Have fun!!

Okay so how is your “New Normal” going?

Kayelin Wright — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 01:52:09 +0000

Have you changed any of your daily routines or spending practices?
My husband and I recently did a major overhaul of our monthly budget and spending. A few of the greatest areas where we overspent were dining out frequently, grocery shopping and buying name brand products, services that were set-up on automatic draft (that we really never needed and forgot about) and our cell phone accounts.
• We first started by evaluating the services that were set-up on auto draft from our bank accounts. Funny how most were totally unnecessary but had a purpose for a short window of time. We quickly stopped those services and carved out $200 a month.
• We didn’t realize it but we had separate cell phone accounts and we were not a family plan. Hello…what were we thinking?!? One thing you can count on is that people in the service industry are not going to look out for your best interest – you have to. There are some that step up and do the right thing and interestingly it’s rare but OH SO appreciated. We are finally on a family plan, saving about $60 a month.
• We pay much closer attention to the price per ounce at the grocery store on many products. For instance, coffee, there are days and weeks when Starbucks coffee is competitively priced and other weeks….holy cow, they are insanely overpriced. Yep, you guessed it….I stock up when prices are good and pass when prices are high. I do this throughout the grocery store now. I also buy store brands on products that I know taste the same or nearly the same. Even better when you have a super awesome grocery store like HEB that does an incredible job at store brands that taste even better than “brand names”. We probably save $100 – $150 at the grocery store.
• The last and most important cost saving exercise was re-financing our home mortgage. This made a serious difference in our monthly budget. If you have not considered this, I encourage you to do so. If I can help connect you to mortgage lenders that can help explain your options and potential cost savings. Please let me know how I can help.
Keep me posted on your “New Normal” activities….even if they have nothing to do with spending or saving money. Sharing is a beautiful way of helping others learn and see different and better ways to make it through life. Until next time…

Welcome to the “New Normal” way of life

Kayelin Wright — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:19:20 +0000

It’s interesting to observe that so many people in society today find it saavy to save money, conserve and make due with less. This is a mindset that I grew up around but I didn’t appreciate it very much until recently. My mother is the master of conservation but I never considered her “green” or “cool” because she resued almost everything and could find a better price almost all the time. Frankly, I was often embarassed because I felt cheap. Well, today I’d like to say a huge THANK YOU to my Mom for her committment to our earth and our family budget, her smart and saavy nature and endless pursuit to save or reuse the most common of things.

Since the burst of the real estate bubble, breakbown of the national economy and seemingly ever increasing debt our nation bears – I find more and more examples of how people are creating a “new normal” for their way of life. Let’s consider grocery shopping for example….did you ever think coupons would be “cool” and we now have a trend such as “Groupon.com” that has made saving a daily part of our lives. I’m not a coupon clipper but I truly appreciate those who do and can save money doing so. What I find fascinating is that saving has become more attractive and accepted in most social circles.

In an article entitled “Adjusting to the ‘New Normal’ from www.Stores.org (February 2011) they did study of consumer speading to find out what consomers consider “untouchable” (won’t live without) and “expendable” (don’t need). On the top of the “untouchable” list was internet and cell phone service and at the top of the “expendable” list was luxury items such as expensive handbags and jewelry. Seems consumers have adopted a way of more responsible spending that fits into their new budget, lifestyle and value system.

This blog is dedicated to ways in which we are adapting to the “new normal” way of life. I would love your input, thoughts and ideas since the more we share the more we learn and grow.

Here’s to the “new normal”!!

Think Twice About Trash

Kayelin Wright — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 02:02:48 +0000

I realize that our daily lives are fast and very busy and it takes a conscious effort to think about recycling. Frankly, it’s easier to just throw things away in the trash. I’d like to pose a question to you that may help you think twice when throwing away “trash”. So much we use on a daily basis is easily recyclable and it just takes a little more thought and consideration about mother earth.

How long does it take trash to decompose in landfills?

Paper: 2 – 5 months

Orange peels: 6 months

Milk cartons: 5 years

Filter cigarettes: 10 – 12 years

Plastic bags: 10 – 20 years

Leather shoes: 24 – 40 years

Plastic containers: 50 – 80 years

Disposable diapers: 75 years

Tin cans: 100 years

Aluminum cans: 200 – 500 years

Sytrfoam: never

Does your community or city have a recycling program? If it does, I encourage you to look into the recycling guidelines. I live in The Woodlands, TX and as long as I have lived here (8 years) we have always had recycling service as part of our weekly pick-up service. For The Woodlands, as of December 2010 the guidelines have expanded allowing residents to recycle even more than before. For more information check out this link: http://www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov/index.aspx?NID=185.

I have much to learn but I believe every effort is honorable and truly valuable to our planet. Think before you throw away!

The Woodlands Real Estate – September 2010

Kayelin Wright — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 02:28:01 +0000

Real Estate Update from Kayelin Wright in The Woodlands, TX

The Woodlands, TX continues to perform above average with a slow-down in the lower quartile price range and a much needed improvement in the upper-tier market, particularly homes price $900,000+. For example, in the month of May the $200,000 – $300,000 price range had 4.6 months of inventory and September it bumped up to 6.1 months; counterbalance that with the $900,000 – $1.00 Million price range with 14 months and in September it’s down to 7.7 months. As you can see the federal tax credits made their impact in Q1 and now we are back to business on our own. Here are the highlights:

Active Listings on the market for sale up 5% to 1023 units
Pending Sales (properties under contract) 0% change at 204 units
Closed Sales (Closed Escrow and Funded) during month of September down 5% to 155 units
Months of Inventory down 3% to 6.4 months

What keeps the market moving?

I’ve enclosed excerpts from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) economic outlook report from September, 2010 WASHINGTON:

Who is buying a home today?: “Qualitative REALTOR ® member survey data about homebuyers suggest that investors, all-cash buyers and buyers of expensive homes”. I would add that new jobs and changes in employment status are keeping are also keeping us moving. I’ve also observed a modest number of move-up buyers and others that have decided to “right” size (downsizing from a large property into one that fits their space and financial needs).

“Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, forecasts “fewer people in the pipeline to buy a home in the immediate months” and two key reasons are “lack of jobs and lack of consumer confidence”. Need a little boost in your confidence? Yun also comments that now may be an ideal time to buy a home because “Housing affordability could possibly reach and all-time high of near 200 (index) in the second half of this year. That is, a household making the median income would have twice the income necessary to buy a median priced home in America. He goes on to say “the principal reason….is the rock bottom mortgage rates of 4.4% on a 30 year fixed rate.” (Note: all-time high was 184 in early 2009 and all-time low during the bubble.)

National Median Income = $50,221

National Median Home Price = $216,700

(2009 US Census Bureau, www.cencus.gov)

As we enter Q4 and a time of year when the air cools down and we gather with friends and and family to celebrate the holidays I give thanks for the opportunity to give back and share my skills and service with you. I remain committed to my clients, either a buyer or seller, to work very hard – gather key facts – negotiate the best price and terms for my client and stay VERY close to the details of the transaction all the way to the end. Just the smallest detail can save or kill a deal and I work hard not to let small details slip through the cracks.

If you know someone that needs the help of a professional, personable and success-driven agent….Just Call Kayelin!