Ask the Agents: Our 20th Installment

July 12, 2021July 12, 2021Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

In 2017 we began a new feature on our blog called Ask the Agents. Since then, we have answered many, many questions from clients, friends and perfect strangers. This is our 20th installment of questions and answers. Question: What is a sellers’ market? Answer: Typically, a sellers’ market is one in...

In the Big House

June 15, 2021June 16, 2021Cameron Ansari

Last week, expecting a call from a writer at Mansion Global (a digital publication from Dow Jones) to share thoughts about the surge in sales of large houses across the country, we thought it best to check on the data for Houston. Sure enough, the rate of sales for large houses...

Ask the Agents #19: Who Pays for Repairs After a Home Inspection?

June 15, 2021July 10, 2021Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Question: We are in contract on a house and had an inspection done. Among the inspector’s findings: wood rot around windows, cast iron pipes under the house and missing shingles on the roof. Doesn’t the seller have to make the repairs? Answer: No. There is no requirement for a seller to...

Good Time Rolls

May 18, 2021June 10, 2021Cameron Ansari

It is often an indicator that the crest of a market cycle has been reached when everybody and their brother-in-law are offering real estate opinions and advice. And, while there is currently a proliferation of armchair quarterbacks practicing without a license – enough, you may say, to fill NRG Stadium –...

Ask the Agents #18: Renting, Buying & Hosting Open Houses

May 18, 2021May 18, 2021Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Question: Are open houses actually useful? Answer: The short answer is, yes. Oh, we’ve heard many of the arguments against public open houses: Only nosy neighbors come. It’s a weekend amusement for people who could never afford my house. Dishonest people might be checking out my stuff. Real estate agents want...

Stop ’n’ Go

April 26, 2021April 26, 2021Cameron Ansari

It is often observed that one shouldn’t expect much to happen in River Oaks residential real estate in the week or two leading up to the traditional Tax Day on April 15. It’s not that, in a normal year, many taxpayers in the top tier file their taxes by then, anyway....

Some of Our Favorite Kitchens

April 26, 2021April 26, 2021Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Guests always seem to congregate in the kitchen, right? Even if you set up the party buffet and bar in other rooms, people wander into the kitchen. And they often stay there all evening. Is it the messy informality of the kitchen? Do some shy guests need a place to hide...

10 Things to Know About River Oaks Real Estate in Mid-March 2021

March 21, 2021March 21, 2021Cameron Ansari

Things are moving fast in the River Oaks real estate market now. After a surprisingly nimble 2020, despite the yoke of Covid-19, this year has started like gangbusters (see last month’s report here). Here are some highlights so far: As of the Ides of March – i.e. March 15 – there...

5 Changes for Your Garden

March 21, 2021August 16, 2021Teresa Byrne-Dodge

It was just four weekends ago that we all emerged, kind of numb, from the mid-February deep freeze and took a look around. Even if you were among the fortunate who did not have damage to your pipes and home, you surely were disheartened to view our Houston landscape … the...

And They’re Off!

February 15, 2021February 15, 2021Cameron Ansari

If there was one main takeaway from our last River Oaks Market Report ~ 2021 Outlook it was that market momentum barely stopped over the holidays and into January. No kidding! Take a look at the level of pending contracts since the start of the year, compared with the same (pre-COVID)...