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Houston Commercial and Industrial Real Estate Is Picking Up

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

It never fails that when the price of crude oil starts spiking, the commercial and industrial real estate sectors start coming back alive with new renters, and purchasers to support the oil and gas industry. Large warehouses to store oilfield drilling related products, and facilities with large storage tanks to prepare drilling mud, and other down hole chemicals are needed to keep up the demand. Even small combination office warehouse spaces will be snapped up for branch offices that support the industry. The only downside for property owners is when the prices of oil start heading south again; those companies will pack up and leave.

The commercial Realtors in the area have become used to this revolving door effect that suppliers, and service companies seem to go through from year to year, but it also effects the housing market as well. When highly paid sales staff, and management move into town, they are only there for the duration as well. This causes a vacuum throughout all markets, and it will never cease as long as those empty facilities and office buildings depend on what auto owners are paying at the pump currently.

Ironically, when auto fuel prices go up so drastically it creates a hardship on every resident in Houston, but at the same instance thousands of jobs are create d at the same time. When a family is already paying six hundred dollars or more in gas bills each month, adding a couple of hundred to that rivals most home mortgages. Until prices go back down for many it will mean waiting on buying a home in Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties.

South of Houston there are even more shuttered industrial real estate properties for lease, and for sale, since the shuttle project has been discontinued at NASA. New opportunities should open up for these properties once space exploration gets back on track. As technology advancements shift, create, and evolve older properties can be repurposed, but for those owners, it is just not coming in quick enough to pay their monthly notes. As the Internet takes up and nullifies older technologies that were traditionally in brick and mortar scenarios, people will have to rethink, and restructure the commercial side of all real estate markets.

For the time being, the commercial and industrial property owners are grateful for that spike in what we pay at the corner gas station, as it keeps them alive a little while longer. There is one industry that is not hurting right now, and that is the apartment realty game. There are over 500,000 apartments in the Metro area, and they are at ninety percent capacity. Once developers can start borrowing money to build new rental communities landlords will have to be competitive once again.

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Social Media Is The Next Houston Real Estate Leap

Monday, April 18th, 2011

Just recently, Ron Paul, the former 2008 Presidential candidate, put his home up for sale on Facebook. Though he lives in Lake Jackson, a far reaching suburb of Houston, he is very smart in doing this since his popularity on not only Facebook, but on Twitter as well will have over three hundred thousand friends, fans, and followers seeing his home spun real estate listing online. Social media is of course a popularity contest, and the more people that like you online the more of audience you will have to sell not only Houston real estate, but also pretty much anything you want to endorse with your accounts online.

The numbers are everything on the Internet, for example, Lady Gaga has over nine million followers in Twitter, and Obama only has seven million. They would both be great real estate agents with a following like that, but the Lady is going to sell the house first. Realtors have to learn, and embrace the online social scene in order for it to work. There has to be a healthy balance of online friends, real life acquaintances, clients, and prospective clients. If an agent just gets online and starts friending or following anyone they can find then they are doomed, as these are not prospective or future buyers of homes in Houston.

If a person sells luxury homes in The Woodlands or Kingwood, then they would want to search for top paid professionals in the Houston area. Finding all the doctors, lawyers, investment bankers, and other professionals would be a great start. Then when that agent tweets, or makes an update on their wall the information will go out to more likely candidates. Friending someone in India is not going to help the cause, but putting your social information in the footer of all emails, and on printed business material will help them realize more followers on many platforms.

Be sure and to disseminate helpful information, as well as home listings in your area, this will help gain the trust of people who are watching you online. If you run a blog on a real estate website post your most current helpful entry on all media outlets, this is passively keep the agents name in front all that need to see it, and through days, months, weeks, or even years of putting their name out there, the leads will come in on a regular basis.

You can take a quick view at our Social Media Profiles @ VIP Realty’s Facebook & VIP Realty’s Twitter page.

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Setting The Right Price To Sell Your Home

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

Homeowners seem to always let their egos become apart of the pricing they set for their homes, and usually those figures are just as inflated as their heads. A Realtor’s biggest nightmare is a client who will not realistically price their home to get it sold in a few days or weeks. Setting figures too high will have people overlooking the online MLS listings, and will never get them to come out and take a look at what you may have to offer. Doing some roll up your sleeves investigating will be required to come up with an acceptable range to sell your home.

First look at the homes that are for sale in your sub-division, only compare the ones that are within twenty percent positive or minus of the same square footage as your house. Even though you may have installed a forty thousand dollar in ground pool in your backyard, and upgraded the whole house in Travertine tile, this does not mean you are going to get your investment back. Depending on the average home prices in your area, compared to what was paid for the upgrades, as little as only twenty percent can be recouped in some cases. This does not matter if you plan of living in the home for the rest of your life otherwise choose additions carefully.

One way to see what others are selling their properties for with options like swimming pools, just to go Google maps, and input your home address, click on the satellite image, and just zoom out until you can see all the homes in your neighborhood with pools in the backyard. Then compare this to the real estate prices online, and your real estate agents com-parables. You will still probably not be fond of the pricing you will find.

Let the Realtor do their job, and do not make an issue of price, he or she will know exactly how to price your home. If you do not believe them, then get a second opinion before signing the sellers contract. There are many areas in the United States that home prices have dropped below what people still owe on their mortgages. In Texas, fortunately, this is not always the case, and break-even or a little profit can still be gained in many selling scenarios. If you are upside down on the home when comparing worth versus what is owed, then it will probably be best to not move at this time, and wait out the market for better days.

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Sugarland New Home Builders

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Sugar Land is a municipality located in eastern Fort Bend County, some 20 miles southwest of downtown Houston. Repeatedly named as one of the best places to live in the United States by Forbes Magazine and CNN, Sugar Land is a fast growing increasingly popular city with a large number of master-planned communities, and a current mecca for new home builders.

Finding a new home through your real estate agent

Did you know that you can use your real estate agent to help you find a new home? Most people assume that realtors are only useful in finding resale’s, but a knowledgeable realtor has the resources and experience that can make finding your new home quicker and easier.

First of all, your realtor can be an excellent resource for finding builders with the best reputation for quality construction. From among these builders your agent can isolate the particular homes that would meet your lifestyle and budgetary requirements.

Your agent is in a better position then you to find out facts and figures relating to a particular builders inventory. The knowledge of how long the builder has been trying to sell a particular property can give you negotiating power you might not have known you had.

Another excellent negotiating tool your realtor can give you is the knowledge of what competitive builders are offering in the way of price and/or incentives.

So, if you are investigating the possibility of buying a new home from a Sugarland builder, or in any other area, be sure to consult with a trusted realtor before you get started.

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Commercial Real Estate in Houston

Friday, March 25th, 2011

Houston commercial real estate activity is measured by including outright purchase of a property; owner to buyer, property leasing and property subleasing. Sublease space figures are generally not included in statistics that evaluate commercial space vacancy rates, but nevertheless can substantially impact the commercial real estate marketplace.

Houston’s commercial real estate includes office space, warehouse, manufacturing, distribution, research and development space. Although some five million square feet of additional industrial space has been added to Houston’s commercial real estate sector this past year (2009,) and an additional one million square feet is under construction or scheduled for construction so far this year, vacancy rates continue to rise, and many new projects are on hold.

This year could be a perfect time for companies now in a position to purchase or lease commercial space to take advantage of the many concessions sellers and landlords are willing to offer, particularly before demand eventually begins to equal supply. Tenants looking to sublease space are another source of supply that expanding companies can look to for discount rental agreements.

With nearly 1,000 office buildings in Houston offering concessions for leasing or subleasing office space, many young companies with limited budgets now have the opportunity to establish an office presence in prime locations they might ordinarily have been priced out of. Now is a particularly opportune time to negotiate a lease, since projections appear to be favorable for a strong revitalization of the Houston commercial marketplace towards year end. And don’t overlook the fact that in many cases landlords are competing with their own tenants who could be subleasing their space at substantially lower rates

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High Rise Condos in Houston, Texas

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Houston high rise condos appeal to a wide range of buyers and renters alike; people who prefer an urban lifestyle and the proximity to work and play, retirees, young professionals, those who have tired of the constant chores and upkeep of a single-family home, etc.

Additionally, condo amenities offer considerable appeal; secured parking, security systems, swimming pools and workout rooms, card rooms and libraries, entertainment facilities and meeting rooms, luxurious grounds and impressive lobbies in many cases.

Large balconies, panoramic views, state-of-the art appliances, marble and granite countertops, well-designed floor plans and much more are to be found in many upscale condo developments as well.

Houston boasts many outstanding examples of luxury high rise condos, although, for the more budget restricted, older, lower-priced condos can be found as well.

Houston High Rise Condo Choices

The newest and first high rise condo scheduled for an opening in Houston in 2010 is the nearly completed Highland Tower, a luxury high rise located on Bancroft Lane between San Felipe and Westheimer, nearby to the Highland Village Shopping Center. The target date for the first move-in is April.

The Cosmopolitan Condos have the added attraction of proximity to the popular Galleria Mall, a prestigious uptown location, and access to the city’s high fashion district.

The Bristol, another Galleria District luxury high rise in a highly desirable neighborhood, offers a wide choice of condominium homes ranging in price from $300,000 to $500,000, and two level penthouses costing from $800,000 to a million-and-a-half.

Commerce Towers located at 914 Main, is a luxury hi-rise with an ideal location, right on Main Street Square and the downtown tunnel. Over 400 shops, entertainment, the theatre district, and the Metro Light Rail add all the amenities anyone could ask for, and you have the ultimate in a luxury high rise condo.

So, if urban living suits your lifestyle, a Houston high rise condo may be just what you’re looking for.

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Real Estate in Downtown Houston

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Downtown Houston is at the heart of the city’s business and financial districts, and through years of extensive modernization and renovation, downtown Houston real estate now consists of a notable entertainment district, and many upscale residential housing developments for the sophisticated urbanite.

Many older buildings have been converted into trendy loft space to accommodate a continued influx of young professionals attracted to the employment opportunities available in Houston, the home of many internationally known Fortune 500 companies.

Some of the most desirable loft developments are located within close proximity to the historic and theatre districts. Over recent years a number of choice apartment developments have risen as well, such as the 30-story, 340 unit One Park Place, located downtown at 1500 McKinney Street, and bordering Discovery Green Park.

Houston’s downtown business district is a towering monument to the skyscraper, with many notable 50, 60 , 70 story and higher office buildings creating one of the most impressive skylines in the nation, such as: The Wells Fargo Plaza ( 71 floors ,)The JP Morgan Chase Tower ( 75 floors, ) and the One Shell Plaza ( 50 floors, built in 1971, and the first major skyscraper building to be constructed in Houston.

Until the decline of Enron, Class A office space in Houston was at a premium. Since then, Enron’s fall and the nation’s severe economic downturn have combined to negatively impact the city’s office space to the point at which more than ten percent of Houston’s downtown office space is vacant.

Unquestionably, Houston’s strong economic base will be the basis for this vibrant city’s full economic recovery as the nation, and the world’s economies continue to improve

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Luxury Homes in River Oaks

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

Located in west central Houston, within the 610 loop, and about halfway between downtown and uptown, River Oaks is a 1,100 acre high-end community that is ranked among the wealthiest enclaves in the U.S.

Real estate values overall are in the millions of dollars, with River Oaks luxury homes occupied by the rich and famous; heads of industry, high profile attorneys, judges, sports stars, medical professionals, etc.

There are 1,501 homes in River Oaks with a median price of $1.1 million, with many homes priced in the multi-million dollar category. Typical of River Oaks luxury homes are multi-level colonials, Mediterranean styled homes and sprawling, white columned brick mansions set amongst gardens and expansive lawns, with average selling prices that can exceed two million.

The area is a showcase of fabulous homes of English, French and Georgian architecture, many of which were designed by such renowned architects as John F. Staub, Birdsall P. Briscoe, MacKie & Camrath, Hugo Neuhaus, and Bolton and Barnstone, among others.

Some older 1930s mansions built on multi-acre lots have been torn down and replaced with more modern structures, while others have been bought and restored to their former glory.

For those seeking more affordable housing in River Oaks, condominium developments such as the Renaissance at River Oaks offers condo homes in the low $200,00s to the mid $300,000 price range

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Southwest Houston Real Estate

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Many Southwest Houston neighborhoods have been undergoing redevelopment and revitalization projects over the past few years that have improved these neighborhoods without radically changing the features that drew residents to this part of Houston in the first place.

Among the choicest Southwest Houston neighborhoods are:

  • Bellaire: Bellaire has a small town feel, plus the advantage of big city amenities. Bellaire is a charming city within a city that has seen a steady increase in property values – some 8% over last year – with single family homes selling on average from the $200,000 range to well over $1,000,000.
  • Southside Place: One of the choicest neighborhoods in Southwest Houston Southside Place is a small upscale community of only some 1,500 residents and 430 homes. Among the most desirable of Southwest Houston real estate enclaves, property values have risen an impressive 14.5% from last year. The average listing price for a Southside Place home is in the mid $400,000s to over two million.
  • West University Place: West University Place is another choice piece of Southwest Houston real estate. Conveniently located adjacent to Rice University, West University homes sell from the high $400,000s to over two million.
  • Meyerland/South Post Oak: This neighborhood in Southwest Houston offers a wide choice of homes, from modest older bungalow type homes dating from the 1950s to stately brick residences. Homes in this area sell from about $165,000 to the high $600,000s.
  • Braeswood/Stella Link: This area in Southwest Houston is undergoing a renovation –older homes being replaced by newer ones – and a strong feeling of community continues to attract new residents. Homes are currently selling in the $180,000 to $700,000 and up.

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2011 Foreclosure Market in Houston

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

This past February has shown a three percent overall increase in statewide Texas foreclosures, with 2,755 additional properties entering foreclosure in Harris County which posted the highest number of filings in the state.

With unemployment figures at over eight percent, Texas remains one of the worst affected states in foreclosure activity. Despite this fact, the median price of Houston resale homes not in foreclosure rose to $81,875, an increase of 2.3% compared to the previous quarter.

Should You Buy A Foreclosure Property?

First, do your homework. Some properties are for seasoned investors only, but buying any foreclosure or negotiating with a buyer on a pre-foreclosure requires some knowledge of this unique market, as well as negotiating skills.

A Realtor with expertise in the foreclosure marketplace is your best bet in having someone on your team who can direct you to the property that best fits your needs and circumstances. Furthermore, your Realtor can be an invaluable advisor, helping you to negotiate a fair purchase price with the property owner, bank or lending agency.

Don’t assume that all foreclosures are real bargains. Some properties may need extensive repair, or are located in less than desirable neighborhoods, and others may have title issues.

Without the guidance of your Realtor you could become involved in a bidding war with other potential buyers on a “short Sale” property, a bank-owned property that the lender was supposedly willing to sell at less than the remaining loan balance, but is really looking for the buyer who will outbid the competition.

Generally speaking, there are many opportunities to buy foreclosed property at less than market value, but there are many pitfalls to this type of purchase as well. So, go ahead and look for a foreclosed property that will meet your needs and requirements, but proceed with caution

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