The Persian New Year

March 15, 2017October 20, 2017Micki McClelland

Goldfish for Luck, the Wild Olive for Love, and Nuts to Problems* Whether pagan or Christian, Jew or Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist, atheist or Pentecostal, Confucian or Zoroastrian, spring is the time when the nose on each human face wakes up to smell the roses. Look close, and you will find...

New Construction Trends

February 15, 2017October 20, 2017Cameron Ansari

We regularly tour new construction in River Oaks, West University, Memorial, Tanglewood and other upscale Houston neighborhoods, and we have noted several trends. Among them:

Size Really Counts

January 23, 2017October 20, 2017Cameron Ansari

But, as the adage goes, it’s not just about size. The most particular characteristic of the large-lot market in River Oaks is that, in addition to the absolute size of any given lot, other qualities of the property are critically important to a prospective buyer. Buyers willing to pay $4 million...

Make It Official: Is Your Home Historic?

January 23, 2017October 20, 2017Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Did you know that the City of Houston has 22 Historic Districts? On a map, these districts appear clumped, mostly in The Heights, as well as the east Montrose area, the Boulevard Oaks/Broadacres area north of West University and just west of downtown in the High First Ward and Old Sixth...

Countdown to 2017

December 19, 2016October 20, 2017Cameron Ansari

It’s been a contrary 12 months in the River Oaks real estate market. Here’s a quick recap in advance of our twice-yearly print publication, the River Oaks Market Report that will be published in January. January The price of a barrel of oil dips below $30. Only the bold are buying...

A Chat with Gregg Thompson of Thompson + Hanson

December 19, 2016October 20, 2017Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Thompson + Hanson, the high-end nursery with the dreamy retail shop located on West Alabama at Joanel, first sold Christmas trees in the early 1990s, about a decade after its founding in 1981. However, the surprise success of the nursery’s on-site restaurant Tiny Boxwoods subsequently required so much space that partners Gregg...

River Oaks Market Update: Year-End Sales

November 28, 2016October 20, 2017Cameron Ansari

With Thanksgiving out of the way one might assume it would be appropriate seasonal behavior to wind real estate business down for December and jump ahead to thinking about the new year. Nothing could be further from the truth for those of us working in the River Oaks market. In past...

A Peek at Peckerwood

November 17, 2016October 20, 2017Teresa Byrne-Dodge

After years of benign neglect, several of Houston’s major public parks and gardens are being transformed. The Memorial Park Master Plan, for example, is a complete revamp of the city’s most-used and largest (nearly 1500 acres) urban-center park. The plans were approved by Houston City Council in April 2015, and work...

Tick, Tick, Tick …

October 18, 2016October 20, 2017Cameron Ansari

One could be forgiven for assuming that it’s a time bomb you hear, but, thankfully, it’s the early telegraph quietly signaling that there is life in the River Oaks real estate market as we approach November 2016. And it’s not a moment too soon, for it has been rather gloomy of...

10 Nosy Questions with Too Cheap Blondes

October 7, 2016October 20, 2017Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Jen Meneely and Pippa Williams tell the story of Too Cheap Blondes this way: It was March 2013, and both women happened to be shopping in the same Goodwill store when Pippa recognized Jen from a recent Houston Chronicle article in which Jen had been featured. Pippa introduced herself and told Jen...