READY, SET, GO!

January 17, 2020January 17, 2020Cameron Ansari

The market in River Oaks took off like a shot, even before the starter’s signal marked the beginning of the new year. The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day was not just busy with the usual logjam of closings ahead of the year end, but showings and negotiations were also...

The Market Sleeps Through October

November 15, 2019November 17, 2019Cameron Ansari

The week after Labor Day is the traditional start of the Houston real estate market’s second wind, especially in River Oaks. All was going to plan until Tropical Storm Imelda hit the city in the third week of September. Then the market curled up and went into a deep sleep. A...

Ask the Agents #14: Home Staging Services

November 12, 2019November 17, 2019Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Question: What do home staging services do – and are they worth the money? Answer: The point of staging a home is, simply, to make it more appealing. You know about getting rid of clutter, touching up paint and replacing the dead shrub by the front door. Staging takes that “fluffing”...

New Construction in River Oaks

October 17, 2019October 18, 2019Cameron Ansari

As of the third week of October, there are currently 42 properties in River Oaks owned by speculative builders. Of these, 18 are being actively marketed on the multiple listing system (MLS), including one in a pending contract awaiting completion. What do we know about them? Of the 42 spec properties,...

How to Protect Your Trees from Heavy Rains

September 26, 2019September 26, 2019Katie Dubow

Fall in Texas often means storms and heavy rains that saturate the ground. While trees in the region are accustomed to this amount of rain, too much water threatens trees’ ability to stand tall, strong and steady. Just like most living things, your plants, shrubs and trees can only handle so...

Reading the Tea Leaves

August 13, 2019August 13, 2019Cameron Ansari

Drawing broad conclusions from market anomalies in River Oaks real estate is usually a mistake. There simply aren’t enough data points to extrapolate likely future outcomes. In other words, it’s a thin market, so don’t try to be too clever by predicting what’s going to happen in the next six months...

At the Half-Way Mark: River Oaks Demographics Update

July 29, 2019March 17, 2022Cameron Ansari & Teresa Byrne-Dodge

As we wrap up the mid-year print edition of the River Oaks Market Report, here is a teaser of the demographics in the River Oaks real estate market since January 1. Origin of Buyers The trend of fewer buyers coming from River Oaks itself continues. It fell from 38% in 2017 to 26%...

Big, Bigger, Biggest

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019Cameron Ansari

While we have seen a robust number of house sales in the first half of 2019 on small and moderate-sized lots, the most striking feature of the current River Oaks real estate market has been the large number of sales of properties on half an acre or more.* In a neighborhood...

Take a Look at 2125 Troon Road

May 20, 2019May 20, 2019Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Calling all Houston architecture buffs: We have a new River Oaks listing that just went on MLS earlier this afternoon. It’s not the most expensive or largest home we’ve ever listed. But its pedigree is outstanding. If you like classic American architecture, you will love this house. Winner of the 2011...

10 Things to Say About the River Oaks Real Estate Market So Far in 2019

May 20, 2019May 20, 2019Cameron Ansari

House viewing activity got off to a quick start in January 2019. The previous two years were very slow to start by comparison. One has to ask if the sudden increase of inventory was a factor this year. Consequently, new contracts surged in March and April, and May looks promising, too....