Realtors love the power of the Internet.  Hey, who doesn’t?!  Here’s the problem though when it comes to homes for sale.  Whenever an agent puts a listing into the MLS, that listing is syndicated out to the various websites.  Tons of them.   Great for Realtors- they get many opportunities for a potential buyer to find their listing and maybe buy it.  Even better for home sellers as their home gets more exposure and along with that comes a better chance of someone finding it online and writing an offer.  Buyers love it because no matter where they turn, they’re finding plenty of inventory.

So where’s the rub?

The challenge is this.  These “portals,” like Google Base, Edgeo, Yahoo! and tons of others that you may have never even heard of, are quick to pick those listings up from the local MLS’s however, when the status of that listing changes meaning, it sells, is withdrawn from the market, becomes an expired listing, or for whatever reason, many times the portal does not pick the information up.  Consequently, a home that was sold 3 months ago, may still be showing up on the website a homebuyer is looking on.  I have literally heard of homeowners who’ve been living in their home for 3 or 4 months having a well intentioned homebuyer stop by their home to see it.

One way to find a real estate agent who is able to give you access to the public side of their MLS.   This way, you’ll get your information straight from the proverbial horses mouth.

Search for your favorite Clear Lake home here.  This site has a direct feed from the Houston MLS and is accurate!

The good news is that you don’t have to pay significantly more than you did last year.  The average sales price last year was $145,417.  You might have to move a little quicker however with the average market time this year of 45 days.  Compare that to 58 last year.

33 homes in Middlebrook sold last year so the market there seems to be on an even keel.  Overall the number of single family homes sold in Clear Lake this year is off by 10%.  The typical home in Middlebrook has 3 or 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths, a 2 car garage and about 1600 to 2200 square feet.

If you’d like to know more about the Clear Lake homes in Middlebrook, just give me a ring at 281-336-3175 or as always, feel free to search for Clear Lake Homes on our website.

One thing to keep in mind about a foreclosed home is, if the homeowner couldn’t make the payments, then they weren’t able to maintain the property either.  Frankly, some deals are good.  Some aren’t so hot.  The one today?  Well, it ain’t on top of my list for the Better Homes and Gardens Get it Sold show.

This one needs all flooring replaced, completely painted in and out, most of the siding on the garage needs to be replaced as well as the garage door.   The pool pump and motor have seen their day and will likely have to be replaced too.  In addition, the range top in the kitchen has been removed and the oven is original.  The home has the original yukky wallpaper that was popular in those days.  The roof has been replaced at some point, however it appears there may be some water stains on the ceiling in some areas.

Homes in Meadowgreen sell between $125,000 and $170,000.  Recently one sold that was in excellent condition, included a pool and a roof that had been replaced just last year.  It sold for $147,500.  Again it was in move-in condition and even the flooring had been replaced this year.

Look at your budget.  Is the purchase of a home draining your cash?  If so, you might want to consider something that has all the work done so that you don’t have to spend your weekends running back and forth to Lowes.  On the other hand, if you have the cash, it can be a great way to purchase a home and have it look like YOU want it to when you’re done.

Consider financing.  In this new world of mortgage lending, getting a loan is tougher than ever.  And it’s changing on a daily basis.  For example, legislation has been introduced that would increase the current 3.5% down payment on FHA loans to 5%.  Now that might not sound like much but on a $150,000 home, that’s an increase of $2,250 in upfront costs.  This may come about as early as next month.

Search ALL Clear Lake Foreclosures

Pipers Meadow is one of the areas prime first time homebuyer neighborhoods.  It provides easy access to both downtown Galveston and Houston- great for families who need to commute to both.  It’s literally 2 minutes from Interstate 45.

Pipers Meadow homes range from about 1,200 square feet to 2,000.  A small handful are more.  Current price ranges are from the $90’s to about $150k.  For the period ending today, 12/7/09, there have been 30 homes. The average home in Pipers Meadow has been selling for 98.1% of list price.  The average price has been $123,594 this year.  Contrast that to $121,449 last year during this same time frame.

This community boasts a low tax rate of $2.64; one of the lowest in the Clear Lake area.

The number of sales are off by 25%, with 41 homes being sold in Pipers Meadow last year.  What’s even more astounding especially in todays economy is the average market time.  TWENTY days! Yes, you read that correctly.   A home in Pipers Meadow has stayed on the market for less than 3 weeks before being snapped up.  This is similiar to another first time homebuyer neighborood; Camino South.

If you’re curious what your Pipers Meadow home may be worth, just request our free Pipers Meadow House Prices report.

Or, search ALL Clear Lake Texas Homes for sale.

If you’re a market watcher, soaking up the information overload across news media and Internet websites, you’re probably overwhelmed with confusion by now. Is the housing market getting better? Is it getting worse? Was there really, when it gets down to it, a housing bubble collapse? And, if so, who popped it?

First, the quick answers. Yes, the housing bubble collapsed, and everybody had a hand in popping it: the government, the lenders, the investors and the general public. Now the hard answers: it’s getting better – and worse.

The truth is that market predictors are all on the fence. With the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) giving first time homeowners some incentive to buy homes for sale [in city] and elsewhere, there has been a steady increase of sales. However, once the tax credit deadline hits at the end of this month, the numbers are once again expected to drop.

Again, though, it’s better and worse. While the housing market is still dropping in some areas, such as the southeast in Mississippi, Alabama and so forth, there are definitely some strong markets in the country.  The Clear Lake area is one of them.

For instance, Boulder, Colorado holds 60% of the share of increasing home values. The average value is about $350,000, but there’s a limit in place on the amount of homes allowed in the area. In Binghamton, New York, the average value of a home is around $112,000. They also have a housing limit, which means a small supply, so prices probably aren’t going to plummet.

Just because this is a buyer’s market, doesn’t mean you’ll get the exact price you’re looking for. If you want to buy a home and you’re waiting around for the prices of homes to plummet into a “sweet deal,” make sure you don’t wait yourself into an expensive mistake.

Instead of checking market forecasts, potential homebuyers need to look at things the way we always should have. Do I want to buy a house? Can I afford one of the homes for sale [in city] the way things are now? By researching, crunching numbers and answering the important questions, you’ll find the sweetest deal you could ever have: a wonderful house you can afford.

If you’re looking for a place to call your own, I can help. Call me at 281-336-3175 or email me at homes@searchclearlake.com for more information. 

Links: 

ARRA
http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx 

Strong markets
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/08/0811_strongest_housing_markets/1.htm

Can I afford one of the homes
http://www.hsh.com/calc-howmuch.html

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Meadowgreen house prices remain relatively stable with an average
sales price this year of $148,657.  This compares to $149,297 last
year.  The average days on the market is just under 2 months compared
to 64 days in 2008.  No big change there.

The number of foreclosures in the area is unchanged as well.  2 of the
34 homes sold in Meadowgreen this year were foreclosures.  Same for last
year.  Clear Lake as a whole in the last 12 months has had fewer than
3% foreclosures. 

Homes in Meadowgreen did sell closer to their listed price last year
at a 98.6% list to sales price ratio while the figure this year is
97%.

Currently there are 11 homes for sale in Meadowgreen; 2 of those are
under contract.  That lines up well with the Clear Lake homes market
now as approximately 20% of the homes for sale here are under contract.

Meadowgreen homeowners may want to take advantage of the $6,500 tax
credit available to families who elect to buy another home.  Homeowners
must have owned their home for 5 years or more to qualify.

If you own a home in Meadowgreen and are curious what your home may
 be worth, you can request our free Meadowgreen house prices  report.

Meantime feel free to search ALL Clear Lake homes for sale .

Camino South has been a hot item this year.  These Clear Lake homes don’t stay on the shelves long.  33 homes have sold this year but the amazing thing is the number of days on the market.  Would you believe 16 days?!  It’s no wonder with average sales prices of $123,224.  The average home in Clear Lake
sells for a little less than $220,000.

This community might be the perfect place to take advantage of the $8,000 homebuyers tax credit.

Last year during this same time, there were 41 homes sold with an average
sales price of $120,750.  Again as typical for the area this year, this
represents a modest gain of a little more than 2%.  Homes in Camino South
have also sold for closer to list price at an average of 98.3% as opposed to
last years 97%.  That makes perfect sense with the shorter number of days
on the market.

Camino South home sellers paid buyers closings costs on 16 of those 33 sales.
Last year, buyers closing costs were paid on 21 sales.  Again, almost exactly
one half of the buyers there had their closing costs paid by the seller. This
is quite often done in cases where homebuyers have the credit to qualify for
a home purchase but lack the necessary funds to close on a home. 
Inventory in the Camino South neighborhood is quite low with a total of 9 homes
on the market- 3 of which are pending or under contract.

Search ALL Clear Lake homes.

By the way to clarify, when I say Clear Lake homes are off this year, I mean
that the numbers are off, not the prices.  Prices remain stable- not up, not
down- relatively flat.

The average home sold in Bay Pointe this year was $188,933 compared to $185,413
last year; up just about 2%  Contrast that to some parts of the
country and we’ll take it all day long!  The number of days on the market
is higher at 50. Last year Bay Pointe homes were on for about
35 days.  In 2008, they did sell a little closer to list price with a “list to
sale” ratio of 97.8%.  This year the list to sale ratio is 97.2%.

Currently about 20% of the active homes for sale in Clear Lake are under
contract.  Bay Pointe is right in line with 2 of the 10 homes currently for
sale having contracts.

It will be interesting to see what the market does with the tax credit
being extended for first time homebuyers.  Even more so with the addition of
the $6,500 tax credit for those families who already own and are buying again.

If you own a home in Bay Pointe and are curious what your home may be worth,
you can request our free Bay Pointe house prices report.

Meantime feel free to search ALL Clear Lake homes for sale.

Bay Glen- If you own a home in Bay Glen and are selling it, the news is good.  It’s a little tougher for buyers right now however as inventories are somewhat off.  As of October 31^st, there have been 53 sales this year while last year this time, there were 66 last year; even with our friend “Ike.”

Prices are holding their own at an average of $82.42 this year and $81.81 last so a modest increase of a little less than one percent.  Homes are spending almost 20% less time on the market with the average number of days to sell a home in Bay Glen of 45 days as compared to 54 last year at this same time.

Seven of the nineteen homes currently on the market in the Bay Glen subdivision are under contract.  This is a very good number; especially for this time of year.  Keep in mind it’s not unusual for Bay Glen to have 35-40 homes to choose from- not so this year.

You’ll be pleased to note that only 3 sales this year in Bay Glen were foreclosures.  Two have closed, and the one at 14515 Circlewood Way is under contract scheduled to close this month.

Contrary to popular belief, less than 5% of the homes for sale in the Clear Lake area are foreclosures.  That number is higher in most of Houston.

The bill for the $8,000 tax credit extension is waiting for President Obama’s signature.  This would allow first time homebuyers (as well as those who have not owned a home in 3 yrears) to receive a tax credit of $8,000.  In addition the bill would allow current homeowners who’ve owned their home for 5 or more years to qualify for a $6,500 tax credit.  We’ll see how it shakes out.

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