Page 1B • The Leader • December 27, 2012 • @heightsleader
The Hottest Part of Houston
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Half of all home sales are here H ousing marketsin Leader neighborhoods continued to soar in November –both in numberssold and prices–while the entire H ouston arearegistered unprecedented salesand sent the housing supply to its lowest level in 12 years. Altogether, in The Leader’s 77007, 77008, 77009,77018,77091 and 77092 ZIP codes,2,439 houses sold in N ovember, up from 1,881 last year at that time,according to monthly fi gures provided to TheLeaderby the H ouston Association of Realtors.That accounted for nearly half the home sales in the H ouston area. The H eights’77008 Z IP showed sales of 760
homes,up nearly a third over last year,with average price increasing 4 percent to $346,000. The Washington C orridor’s77007 ZIP code posted a 47 percent increase in sales, with 649 houseschanging hands,compared to 441 in November 2011.Price increase wasa negligible 0.1 percent, just a tad shy of the $400,000 average mark. In the 77009 Z IP,there was an 18 percent increase in sales, up to 330 over the same month last year,with a 6 percent gain in the value of an average home sale to $275,000. TheO ak Forest-G arden O aks77018 ZIP con-
%NHANCE -OBILITY !CCESSIBILITY .O JOB TOO BIG .O JOB TOO SMALL YEARS EXPERIENCE
4HANK YOU
tinued itshot streak with 454 salesfor 20 percent growth overNovember2011.Andvaluesjumped again,too,up 15 percent.The average price has now broken the $300,000 mark,up to $306,000 over a $266,000 average this time last year. In the77091 ZIP,75 homeschanged hands,for a 12 percent gain and an average price increase of 7 percent, while 77092 showed a 22 percent jump with 171 sales.It wasthe only Leader-area ZIP showing a decrease in average value,with a 5 percent drop to $133,000.
4OGETHER WE MADE A SUCCESS
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see Records • Page 2B
02/0%249 &/2 3!,%
Do Over: To the studs and back
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.ICE BRICK HOME MINUTES FROM DOWNTOWN HANDY MAN S DREAM TO TURN IT INTO A #INDERELLA COTTAGE
#ALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO SHOW
by Cynthia Lescalleet For The Leader
MILDRED HOLEMAN REALTY The OďŹƒce with a Heart
As she walked around an open house in O ak Forest thistime last year,Tracy Brandon knew exactly what she wanted to do with the out-of-date place to make it her own. For starters: Repaint. Remove the popcorn texture on the ceiling. Rip out the three types of fl ooring.And then develop a plan for more ambitious changes to be deployed as time and budget dictated. But that’snot how thingsplayed out.After some planning that“went bold and then culled back to theimportantstuff,�Brandon ultimatelyplunged into a to-the-studsrenovation that all but gutted the 4 bedroom, 1-bath home. The transformation shifted the“too-good-toknock-down�propertyfrom astandard ’50s-vintage ranch-style home into one she calls“Modern French C ountry with H ollywood G lamor and a Texas Flair.� “I hadn’t thought I’d do it all at once,�said the homeowner,who hasbeen in place since August following the fi ve-month morph.“It is nice not having a constant project,�Brandon later wrote in a project summary.“I am happy to live in peace in the fi nal product.� As a supply chain manager in the oil and gas industry,Brandon isa seasoned negotiator.That skill proved useful in the bidding and fi nancing of her remodeling project and in acting as the general contractor,a role that turned referee at times as subcontractors clashed. WhileBrandon’sscopeof work had pulled back from raising the mid-century ceilings,the project did modernize the fl ow between rooms and, in some cases,repurposed space.The original halfbath/half laundry room,for example,isnow the master bath and part of a master suite captured from the back bedroom and hallway.
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The master bath has an open feel, compared to the old version (inset left).
see Do Over • Page 3B
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H A R T M A N A S S O C I AT E S . C O M To a joyful present and a well remembered past. Best wishes for an exciting New Year!
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