River Oaks Demographics in the First Half of 2023

June 15, 2023June 16, 2023Cameron Ansari

With just one more transaction scheduled to close in the month of June – that makes a grand total of two, both of which are lot sales – we can give you a preview of the demographics of buyers and sellers of River Oaks real estate for the first half of...

Take a Look at Two New Listings

June 15, 2023June 15, 2023Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Attention, lovers of fab architecture: We have two new listings, and they are both outstanding examples of their styles. One is a Prairie home with a strong Mid-Century Modern accent. It whispers Frank Lloyd Wright, but without his leaky roofs, itty-bitty closets and wretched kitchens. The other is an exuberant homage...

Snapshot of the River Oaks Market at Mid-May 2023

May 21, 2023May 21, 2023Cameron Ansari

It has been a confounding year so far in the River Oaks real estate market. And, when perplexed, there is a tendency for the market participants to grab at headlines in an attempt to make sense of it all. On everyone’s lips are phrases like “high interest rates,” “recession coming soon,”...

Ask the Agents #27 – Old Roof, New Roof

May 21, 2023May 21, 2023Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Question: My shingled roof is 15 years old. When should I replace it? Answer: We touched briefly on this subject last fall in 9 Things to Ready Your House to Sell. At that time we advised that, if you’re putting your home on the market, you should probably replace a shingled...

Ready for Your Home’s Close-up?

April 16, 2023April 16, 2023Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Let’s say you decide to put your vacation home on AirBnB or VRBO. You’ll want professional-quality photos to show it to its best advantage, right? Or maybe you’re fluffing your River Oaks home in advance of a magazine photo shoot. (Congratulations!) Or your real estate agent has hired an architectural photographer...

April Showers

April 16, 2023April 18, 2023Cameron Ansari

Let’s get something cleared up right away: It is always quiet in River Oaks in the first two weeks of April. We have theorized in the past that rich people just get grumpy ahead of Tax Day, whether or not they actually file and pay their taxes in mid-April. And grumpiness...

Let’s Watch Birds

February 20, 2023June 15, 2023Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Our favorite gift for people these days is a birdfeeder, a bag of black oil sunflower seeds and a bird guide. Crazy, right? It works as a house-warming gift to new homeowners or birthday present to a young child, as a present to someone in the suburbs or living in a...

Ask the Agents #26 – Is homeowners insurance required?

January 17, 2023January 17, 2023Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Question: Is homeowners insurance required? Answer: There is no Texas law that requires you to buy homeowners insurance. But no mortgage company or bank will offer you a mortgage without it. You can roll the payments into your monthly note to your mortgage holder, or you can pay it yourself. Even...

The Old and the New

December 21, 2022December 21, 2022Cameron Ansari

We’ve dusted off this old graph from mid-2021. Regular readers will recall that we used it in August 2021 to explain why sales in that year were occurring at twice the typical rate and what that meant for the market for the final months of 2021, as well as the outlook...

Nosy Questions with Thomas Kligerman

December 21, 2022December 21, 2022Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Architect Thomas Kligerman was in Houston in December for a book-signing and presentation to a crowd of enthusiastic fans at Greenwood King’s Lobby. His local appearance was sponsored by the Institute for Classical Architecture and Art. Kligerman is known for a robust architectural style that draws from English traditions as well...