Sitterle Homes Opens For Sales In Prospect Creek At Kinder Ranch
September 26, 2008
Sitterle Homes has opened for sales in Prospect Creek at Kinder Ranch, a new family community nestled in the peaceful, rolling Texas Hill Country.
This gated community offers the unparalleled beauty of the Hill Country, while remaining close to San Antonio. Located only eight miles north of 1604 at Borgfeld and Bulverde Roads, Prospect Creek features 11 new traditional single-family home designs ranging from 2380 to over 4000 square feet. Many one story and two story plans are available, and each plan has many options to personalize the home for one’s family’s needs. Different plans offer a variety of unique spaces, including a hobby center, large master walk-in closets, a sunroom, a game room, library with a separate study, or extra storage in garages or on second floors. Plans with standard 3-car garages and up to 4 and 5 bedrooms are available. Imagine customized Hill Country living without the hassle of drawing plans.
Children who live in this community will go to Comal ISD schools, including Smithson Valley High School, as of this writing. Prospect Creek residents will enjoy a community amenity center, complete with a swimming pool and clubhouse, due to begin construction next spring.
“This community is truly an opportunity for Hill Country-style living without being far outside the city,” Jeff Buell, Partner, said. “These homes will allow families to enjoy fine living among numerous native trees, rolling hills and breathtaking beauty, while only being minutes away from Highway 281 shopping and Comal ISD schools.”
To visit Prospect Creek at Kinder Ranch, travel north on Highway 281 from Loop 1604. Turn left on Borgfeld Road. Turn right onto Bulverde Road, and make an immediate left into the Prospect Creek at Kinder Ranch Sales Center. Homes currently start from the $270’s.
For more information on building a Hill Country home with Sitterle Homes in Prospect Creek at Kinder Ranch, go to www.sitterlehomes.com
San Antonio Real Estate Market Report August 2008
September 25, 2008
August 2008 MLS Report |
||
| Sales | Sales Year Ago | % Change Year Ago |
| 1,710 | 2,317 | -26% |
| Average Price | Avg Price Year Ago | % Change Year Ago |
| $189,509 | $188,897 | 0% |
| Median Price | Med Price Year Ago | % Change Year Ago |
| $153,300 | $153,500 | 0% |
| Price Per Sq Ft | Price Per Sq Ft Year Ago | % Change Year Ago |
| $89 | $92 | -3% |
| Days On Market (DOM) | DOM Year Ago | % Change Year Ago |
| 83 | 68 | 22% |
| New Listings | Active Listings | Pending Sales |
| 3,224 | 13,067 | 1,461 |
| 7.8 Months of Inventory | ||
Source: SABOR
Forbes Least Expensive U.S. Cities For Homeowners
September 23, 2008
Behind the Numbers
To determine America’s most and least expensive places to own a home, we used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey, released Tuesday. It reported the 2007 median monthly home ownership costs in the country’s metro areas with a population over 65,000. Home costs include monthly mortgage payments, real estate taxes, various insurances, utilities, fuels, mobile home costs and condominium fees.In some areas of the country–particularly in big cities on the coasts–the costs of owning and maintaining a home are higher than ever before.
10. Cincinnati, Ohio – $1,353 a month
9. Charlotte, N.C. – $1,336 a month
8. St. Louis, Mo. – $1,299 a month
7. New Orleans, La. – $1,296 a month
6. Nashville, Tenn. – $1,256 a month
5. Indianapolis, Ind. – $1,232 a month
4. San Antonio, Texas -$1,216 a month
This area boasts solid employment figures and affordable home prices that continue to rise.
3. Pittsburgh, Pa. – $1,187 a month
2. Columbus, Ohio – $1,060 a month
1. Cleveland, Ohio – $978 a month
Read the full story at Forbes.com
San Antonio Builders Expo Starts Friday September 26th
September 20, 2008
The Greater San Antonio Builders Association will host the Builders Showcase Expo 2008 from September 26-28, 2008 at the Alamodome.
The event, goes from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
The expo features hundreds of exhibits and booths, where businesses will show off their doors, pools, decks, closet organization systems, flooring, sheds, countertops, gutters and green building products.
You’ll be able to learn about everything from landscaping to staging your home for sale during the seminars. And dozens of builders, remodelers and real estate professionals will be on hand.
One of the highlights for this year’s expo is the Extreme Dream Kitchens – Three of San Antonio’s top builders – Double Diamond Custom Homes, Elegance in Design Custom Homes, LP, and Mike Hollaway Custom Homes – will dazzle show visitors with one-of-a-kind kitchen designs. Each kitchen, which will incorporate green building elements, will have a different design and feel.
Saturday is the Build San Antonio Green Day, and there will be green-related events throughout the day.
Here’s a sampling of the expo’s events at the Expo Theater:
- Energy efficiency and conservation panel at 10:50 a.m. Saturday
- Water saver seminar at 1 p.m. Saturday
- Steve Watson, host of HGTV’s “Don’t Sweat It” will give home improvement tips at 1:30 and 5 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.
- Chef Melissa Guerra will give cooking demonstrations throughout the weekend.
- Seminars on kitchen design and landscaping throughout the weekend
Expo Marketplace – Expo Marketplace will provide a large retail area for visitors.
Dining in the Dome – Dining in the Dome will offer plenty of food choices for visitors.
Tickets for Adults 12 & older are $5. Children 11 & under are FREE. Tickets are available at the Alamodome.
For more information, visit www.sabuildersexpo.com.
America’s 10 Hottest Labor Markets
September 18, 2008
Bizjournals analyzed private-sector employment patterns in America’s major metropolitan areas, using data from the past five years.
Bizjournals used a nine-part formula to analyze employment trends in the nation’s 100 largest labor markets. The formula was fueled by midyear data complied since 2003 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
#1 Houston
#2 Austin
#3 Dallas-Fort Worth
# 4 Raleigh
# 5 Seattle
#6 San Antonio
Here’s another Texas entry in the top 10. San Antonio’s key accomplishment has been keeping its unemployment rate steady: 4.5 percent in mid-2007, 4.6 percent in mid-2008. That’s especially impressive because the national rate has climbed to 5.7 percent during that same time.
Quick Stats
Private-sector jobs as of mid-2008: 703,500
Unemployment rate as of mid-2008: 4.6%
Private-sector trend since mid-2003: Added 89,400 jobs
Five-year growth rate: 14.6%
Private-sector trend since mid-2007: Added 13,200 jobs
One-year growth rate: 1.9%
#7 Charlotte
#8 Oklahoma City
#9 Durham, N.C.
#10 Salt Lake City
Yon can find the entire story here.
San Antonio Market Ranks 15th On The Best Performing Cities Index
September 17, 2008
The Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners Best Performing Cities Index ranks U.S. metropolitan areas by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth. The components include job, wage and salary and technology growth. The full report can be downloaded here.
This year’s rankings of where America’s jobs are being created and sustained shows the impact of a broad rebound in the technology sector, along with strong activity in exports and energy production.
Several metros that once dominated the rankings fell due to a sharp downturn in their housing and construction markets; locations in Florida and California took particularly sharp hits. Cities that depend on industry and manufacturing also continue to show a steady long-term decline. The lowest performers on this year’s index once again come from the industrial Midwest, with nine of the lowest-ranked cities found in Michigan or Ohio.
The San Antonio, TX MSA moved up to the 15th spot from 43rd last year. San Antonio Market economic scores are below:
San Antonio, TX MSA
Overall Rank: 15
MSA Population: 1,990,675
Texas Real Estate Continues To Fare Better Than Many Other Parts Of The Country
September 13, 2008
RealtyTrac®, today released its August 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 303,879 U.S. properties during the month, a 12 percent increase from the previous month and a 27 percent increase from August 2007. The report also shows one in every 416 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month.
“In August the total number of U.S. properties that received foreclosure filings as well as the national foreclosure rate were both the highest we’ve seen in any month since we began issuing our report in January 2005; however, the annual increase of 27 percent was actually substantially lower than in previous months this year, when it was hovering around 50 to 65 percent,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “The lower annual percentage increase this month is due to a big spike in activity last August — particularly in default activity. Over the past few months we’ve seen annual increases in default activity and auction activity moderating, and that trend continued in August, with default activity up just 10 percent from a year ago and auction activity up 7 percent from a year ago.
“The increases in default and auction activity could be slowing down partly as the result of new legislation passed in several states that is designed to give homeowners in distress more time before foreclosure proceedings are initiated. In addition, some lenders are adopting loan servicing guidelines that encourage more pro-active approaches to helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. The question now is whether these measures will actually reduce foreclosures or simply cause a temporary lull in foreclosure activity.”
Texas had one foreclosure filing for every 849 households, up 4.96 percent from last month but down 35.96 percent from August 2007.
U.S Foreclosure Market Data by State – August 2008
| Properties with Foreclosure Filings | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate Rank | State Name | NOD | LIS | NTS | NFS | REO | Total | 1/every X HH (rate) | %Change from Jul 08 | %Change from Aug 07 |
|
– |
U.S. |
61,903 |
57,156 |
69,693 |
24,234 |
90,893 |
303,879 |
416 |
11.65 |
26.69 |
|
20 |
Texas |
211 |
0 |
6,131 |
0 |
4,526 |
10,868 |
849 |
4.96 |
-35.96 |
Medallion Homes Tops J.D. Power New Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study
September 10, 2008
Even in the face of a challenging environment marked by declining new-home prices and notably high inventory levels, many home builders are succeeding in significantly improving overall customer satisfaction in 2008, compared with 2007, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study released today.
Overall customer satisfaction averages 779 on a 1,000-point scale in 2008, up 38 points from 7411 since 2007. Markets experiencing the largest customer satisfaction improvements include Palm Beach, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; and Albuquerque, N.M. In addition, overall satisfaction has increased in 28 of the 29 individual markets that were also surveyed in 2007.
“Home builders have adapted well to changes in the market that have necessitated a shift from an order-taking mode to an intensified focus on sales service and negotiation with prospective home buyers,” said Paula Sonkin, vice president of the real estate and construction industries practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “What is particularly impressive is that many home builders in areas where sales and home values have been most negatively impacted by local market conditions—for example, Nevada, California and Florida—fare well in the study, with the majority of markets in these states performing above the 33-market average.”
“Strong home-building companies have recognized the importance of offering superior product quality, delivering homes on time and providing skilled sales staff in order to excel in hypercompetitive markets,” said Sonkin. “With more negotiation occurring during the sales process, home buyers are receiving larger sales incentives. In addition, upgraded features that used to be considered options—such as granite countertops—are now being included as standard, which increases the perceived value of the home and subsequently results in increased satisfaction. With new-home prices on the decline in many areas, as well as larger inventories and renewed efforts of home builders to truly delight customers, it’s a great time for consumers to consider buying a new home.”
The San Antonio Market results are below:
10 Ways to Make Your Home Sell Faster
September 8, 2008
Simple fixes and staging practices can focus buyers’ attention in the right places and keep them from getting sidetracked by personal items in the home.
Here are some staging suggestions from Deborah Ehrlich-Layne of Staging Plus in Tampa, Fla., Handyman Matters, and HGTV’s The Stagers.
- Eliminate countertop clutter. A countertop covered with small appliances and utensils looks crowded, not spacious.
- Pack up the too-personal. Don’t leave toiletries on the counter. Stash family photos.
- Be prepared for snoops. Prospective buyers pull open drawers, look in closets and peek behind the shower curtain.
- Make sure items work properly. Ex. dripping faucets, burned-out light bulbs, and squeaking hinges detract from the home’s appeal.
- Think “white-glove clean.” Mop, dust, vacuum, clean baseboards, wash windows. Make sure the house looks fresh and smells neutral.
- Make sure the front door is clean and the hardware polished. Power-wash walkways.
- Store furniture that makes rooms feel crowded.
- Show every room for the kind of room it is. Maybe you’ve turned your formal dining room into a home office. Get rid of the desk and computer, and bring back the dining table and chairs.
- Clean your garage. Buyers want to see room available for a car, not stacks and stacks of boxes.
- Spruce up your curb appeal. Potential buyers judge your home before they have even seen the interior. Make this first impression count. Plant flowers, mow the lawn, put out a welcome mat, and make small repairs that you have been putting off.
If you need the assistance of a real estate professional to help sell your home, register below to schedule an appointment with a Trend Setter Realty Realtor.
