NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2014
Your Lakes of Parkway Neighbor and Realtor HOUSTON’S REAL ESTATE MARKET IS ONE OF THE HOTTEST IN THE WORLD!
KELLER WILLIAMS MEMORIAL 2013 AWARDS BANQUET
Here are the top five predictions for Houston real estate in 2014: 1. Home sales will soar; prices will reach a historic climax. The inventory of homes-for-sale is at a record-low. The pent-up demand is huge. Thousands of buyers, frustrated with losing in bidding wars and today’s small selection of options, jump into the market and buy houses as spring uncoils.
Claudia Hellmund awarded 3rd place Listing Volume Individual.
2. Apartment developers continue to binge-build in 2014. Trammel Crow’s Alexan Enclave, a 354-unit complex at 13411 Briar Forest west of Eldridge, is slated to open in the end of summer. Alliance Residential Co. is completing a 327-unit luxury apartment complex called Broadstone 7 Seventy at 770 Eldridge. Grayco is building 309 multifamily units and 70 townhouses on the edge of Terry Hershey Park west of Eldridge and south of Memorial, while a 300- to 900-apartment complex on the north side of Park Row west of Eldridge is planned. Grey Star Elan is completing a 324-unit complex at 14698 Briar Forest at Texas 6. 3. Shopping center market finally takes off, turns on the after-burners. Lots of retailers coming in: from grocers to fast food outlets. Fresh Market, Sprouts, HEB, Whole Foods, Aldi, all adding new locations. 4. Hoteliers get happy. Drought is over. More hotel construction slated. New hotel project will be the 1,000-room, 30-story Marriott Marquis, adjacent to Discovery Green and the George R. Brown Convention Center, will be able to attract larger conventions. 5. Home building roars in Houston, the best single-family market in the nation. Developers and builders will be in hot pursuit of land and new Grand Parkway expansions open up prairie for development.
THANKSGIVING GRATITUDE
LAKES OF PARKWAY MARKET REPORT ADDRESS SQFT BED BATH LIST PRICE SOLD PRICE
CURRENTLY FOR SALE 14319 Kingston Cove 14410 Kingston Cove 14322 Shadow Garden 14018 Hampton Cove 1627 Lakeshore Way 2005 Diamond Springs 1807 Watercastle 13803 Sedalia Springs
3,866 3,965 4,384 5,061 5,220 5,114 6,505 7,104
LIST/SOLD DOM PRICE/SQFT
4 5 4 4 5 4 5 5
3-1 4-1 3-1 3-1 3-2 3-1 3-2 5-2
$746,138 $800,000 $994,000 $1,138,725 $1,162,700 $1,250,000 $1,390,000 $1,950,000
$193 $201 $226 $225 $222 $244 $213 $274
40 198 158 10 139 9 100 93
NEW CONSTRUCTION SOLD 14418 Kingston Cove 3,424 4 14442 Kingston Cove 3,839 5 14414 Kingston Cove 3,661 5
3-1 4-1 4-1
$625,000 $640,200 $680,100
$653,628 $673,737 $682,874
$191 $176 $187
0 0 0
RESALE HOMES SOLD 14311 Kingston Cove 1803 Cottage Landing 14207 Barnhart Blvd 13918 Hampton Cove
3-1 3-1 2-1 3-1
$699,000 $789,300 $799,950 $1,029,000
$689,000 $789,300 $800,000 $993,000
$186 $195 $222 $228
2 10 3 104
3,714 4,047 3,601 4,362
4 4 3 5
A Time For Thanks
Home Sweet Home Remodel
claudiahellmund.yourkwagent.com Claudia Hellmund
Realtor®, GRI, CHMS, CNE ® Realtor GRI, CHMS, CNE
832.309.9390 HellmundClaudia@yahoo.com
832.309.9390
Accredited Buyers Representative chellmund@kwmemorial.com Accredited Luxury Home Specialist Certified Home Marketing Specialist Certified Negotiations Expert
® ®
Call Claudia Hellmund for the most effective marketing to sell your Lakes of Parkway property at 832.309.9390.
All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Lakes of Parkway Homes for Sale Per Houston MLS Produced by UpscaleRealEstateMarketing.com • 877.660.0996
Should You ‘Love It’ Or ‘List It’? Cover Photography | Candelaria Design
WANT YOUR PROPERTY TO BE OUR NEXT COVER HOME?
Claudia Hellmund
If your home is currently listed, this is not a solicitation for that listing.
ORANGE COUNTY
Holiday Cheer Is Sizzling With
Roy’s Japanese Butterfish
Orange County Real Estate Report
Event Calendar
In Good Taste Roys Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine 453 Newport Center Dr, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Phone: 949.640.7697
JAPANESE MISOYAKI BUTTERFISH WITH SIZZLING SOY VINAIGRETTE
s the weather turns cooler and we set our dining room table for a Thanksgiving feast, we are given the opportunity to pause and reflect on all we can be grateful for. The tradition of Thanksgiving, of course, is not a new idea, nor one that truly began at Plymouth with the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. Cultures around the world have celebrated their harvest annually when the fields were full and ripe for picking. The word harvest is actually from the Old English word hærfest, meaning autumn and the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox is called the Harvest Moon. At harvest festivals, ancient cultures took respite from the labor of the fields and gave thanks for their bountiful harvest by preparing large feasts to share and enjoy. Then, it was time to prepare for the long winter ahead when the fields lay barren for many long months. Today’s Thanksgiving shares common threads with the harvest rituals of yore. We still enjoy taking a break from work to celebrate our good fortune and give thanks for all we have by gathering to feast with family and friends. And we can thank President Abraham Lincoln for making the day official, as he declared the final Thursday in November a national
Ingredients: 4-7oz pieces of black cod 1quart misoyaki marinade 16 oz sizzling soy vinaigrette Misoyaki Marinade: 3 cups sake 3 cups mirin (sweet rice wine) 8 oz Shiro Miso (White Miso) 8 oz white sugar Sizzling Soy Vinaigrette: 1 red bell pepper, brunoise (very small dice) 1 yellow bell pepper, brunoise 1 green bell pepper, brunoise 1 bunch green onion, fine chopped 1 bunch cilantro, fine chopped 2 oz Daikon root, grated 2 oz Maui onion, grated 1 oz ginger, minced 1/2 cup peanut oil 1 cup soy sauce 2 oz rice wine vinegar 2 lemons, juice Salt & pepper, to taste Procedure: To make the misoyaki marinade, bring sake and mirin to a boil for 5 minutes. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk in remaining ingredients until well incorporated. Simmer on low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool. Generously marinate black cod in misoyaki marinade for 24 hours. To make the sizzling soy vinaigrette, heat the peanut oil in a pan until it reaches smoke point. Place the bell peppers, onions, daikon, and ginger in a mixing bowl. Ladle hot oil over the vegetable mixture in 2 oz increments. Whisk in rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and lemon juice. Set aside. In a cast iron pan, sear fish over medium heat until golden brown (about 3 minutes per side). Transfer cooked fish to serving plates. Ladle sizzling soy vinaigrette over fish. Serves 4
N OVEMBER | DECEMBER 2014
A MODERN
day of Thanksgiving. Congress made it an official day off from work in 1941 when turkey day became a true national holiday. An interesting side note: Congress also moved Thanksgiving back a week, in hopes of giving more oomph to the holiday shopping season. And would you believe shopping and our day of thanks are still inexplicably tied together? Modern-day Thanksgiving is linked with Black Friday, the day after feast day, and the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. This year, some stores are even staying open on Thanksgiving. Though most of us no longer work in the fields, we do live in a hectic, fast-paced digital world. Perhaps it’s now even more important to take the time to pause and remember to give thanks for our good fortune. This year, why not instill some new traditions at your Thanksgiving table? Perhaps ask each family member to tell what he or she is most grateful for before feasting on turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Or volunteer to work at a food bank on Thanksgiving to help others in need. After all, Thanksgiving should be centered on gratitude and giving rather than on football and bargain shopping.
HOME SWEET HOME REMODEL
A popular HGTV show, Love It or List It, is themed around homeowners who have shortcomings with their current home. Two experts are called in to help. One expert, a designer, comes up with a design and remodels the home in order to address the current issues so that the homeowners will “love” the home again. The other expert, a real estate agent, shows the homeowners other properties in order to persuade them to “list” their current home and move to one of the other properties. The premise is straight-forward, but how many times does the remodel win over moving to another property? According to Wikipedia, the percentage of homeowners who chose to “love it” is an overwhelming 59% (averaged over the first seven seasons of the show). Maybe a popular TV show does not
mimic real life exactly, but why do so many homeowners decide to fix up areas in their home or remodel it because they want to put their home on the market and sell it? They have already decided to “list it” and move, rather than remodel and “love it.” A home remodel should concentrate on both the value of the remodel to your lifestyle as well as the value of the remodel to selling the home sometime down the road. If you plan on staying in the home for a long time, the remodeling project should address what matters most to you. Just like the frustrated homeowners on the TV show, you can probably list the top five shortcomings or issues with your current home. Make a list and then consider both the immediate value to your lifestyle and the return on investment in terms of resale value of the home in the future.
According to Remodeling magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value Report for 2014, the top five renovations that yield the greatest percentage return on investment are: • Entry door replacement: 96.6% • Wood deck addition: 87.4% • Attic bedroom: 84.3% • Garage door replacement: 83.7% • Minor kitchen remodel: 82.7% For example, a minor kitchen remodel is defined as updating a functional but dated kitchen with modern yet mid-priced finishes such as raised panel cabinet door fronts and upgraded countertops. The bottom-line is that a home remodeling project should give you, the homeowner, the biggest “bang for the buck” so that you will love your home, whether it be for many years to come or until it’s time to sell.
West of West Wine Festival Orange County The Grand Terrace at Honda Center, Anaheim CA November 8 949.862.1133 | OrangeCoast.com West Sonoma Coast Vintners along with OrangeCoast Magazine presents an exclusive show chase of the leading West Sonoma Coast winemakers and proprietors. Enjoy a day of entertainment filled with exciting Sommelier Challenges between Orange County’s top sommeliers as well as delicious gourmet tastings from top chefs, specialty lounges and music. Cheers to the Sonoma Coast! Dana Point Turkey Trot Dana Point Harbor| November 27 949.496.1555 | TurkeyTrot.com California’s Largest Thanksgiving Day Run Event and one of America’s Most Scenic Runs... hosted by The Dana Point Chamber of Commerce. Tour the beautiful beach, majestic cliffs and coves of Dana Point. Enjoy pounding surf, rugged cliffs, and cool ocean breezes as you sail through the Dana Point Marina, Doheny State Park and pass the historic tallship Pilgrim moored in Dana Point Harbor. Deck the Hulls with Bows of Jolly Bay Island Channel, Newport Beach| December 17-21 949.729.4400|ChristmasBoatParade.com As Newport Beach’s Christmas Card to the world, the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade will set the harbor ablaze for five consecutive nights. Beautiful multi-million dollar yachts, kayaks, canoes and other small boats will light up the harbor as a dazzling array of holiday lights and music fill the air at the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade. The Nutcracker Ballet Irvine | December 13 – 24 949.854.4646 | FestivalBallet.org Festival Ballet Theatre presents The Nutcracker, a classic ballet about Clara, a young girl who is given a Nutcracker for Christmas. In the exquisite product, Clara learns her gift is far more than an ordinary Nutcracker. The California Ballet takes you along with Clara on a magic journey through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of the Sweets. An event the whole family is sure to enjoy. Laguna Art Museum Laguna Beach | October 12 – January 25 949.494.8971 | LagunaArtMuseum.org On display in the museum’s main level galleries is a solo exhibition of work by mixed media artist Elizabeth Turk, comprised of new work along with pieces from earlier series. In a multi-media installation, Turk will continue her exploration of the recurring themes of time, matter, and space. The exhibition features marble sculptures from her Cage and Collars series, the fragility and fluidity of which are a stark contrast to the heavy materials from which they are made. An exhibit that is sure to amaze.
Event Calendar
In Good Taste Roys Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine 453 Newport Center Dr, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Phone: 949.640.7697
JAPANESE MISOYAKI BUTTERFISH WITH SIZZLING SOY VINAIGRETTE
s the weather turns cooler and we set our dining room table for a Thanksgiving feast, we are given the opportunity to pause and reflect on all we can be grateful for. The tradition of Thanksgiving, of course, is not a new idea, nor one that truly began at Plymouth with the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. Cultures around the world have celebrated their harvest annually when the fields were full and ripe for picking. The word harvest is actually from the Old English word hærfest, meaning autumn and the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox is called the Harvest Moon. At harvest festivals, ancient cultures took respite from the labor of the fields and gave thanks for their bountiful harvest by preparing large feasts to share and enjoy. Then, it was time to prepare for the long winter ahead when the fields lay barren for many long months. Today’s Thanksgiving shares common threads with the harvest rituals of yore. We still enjoy taking a break from work to celebrate our good fortune and give thanks for all we have by gathering to feast with family and friends. And we can thank President Abraham Lincoln for making the day official, as he declared the final Thursday in November a national
Ingredients: 4-7oz pieces of black cod 1quart misoyaki marinade 16 oz sizzling soy vinaigrette Misoyaki Marinade: 3 cups sake 3 cups mirin (sweet rice wine) 8 oz Shiro Miso (White Miso) 8 oz white sugar Sizzling Soy Vinaigrette: 1 red bell pepper, brunoise (very small dice) 1 yellow bell pepper, brunoise 1 green bell pepper, brunoise 1 bunch green onion, fine chopped 1 bunch cilantro, fine chopped 2 oz Daikon root, grated 2 oz Maui onion, grated 1 oz ginger, minced 1/2 cup peanut oil 1 cup soy sauce 2 oz rice wine vinegar 2 lemons, juice Salt & pepper, to taste Procedure: To make the misoyaki marinade, bring sake and mirin to a boil for 5 minutes. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk in remaining ingredients until well incorporated. Simmer on low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool. Generously marinate black cod in misoyaki marinade for 24 hours. To make the sizzling soy vinaigrette, heat the peanut oil in a pan until it reaches smoke point. Place the bell peppers, onions, daikon, and ginger in a mixing bowl. Ladle hot oil over the vegetable mixture in 2 oz increments. Whisk in rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and lemon juice. Set aside. In a cast iron pan, sear fish over medium heat until golden brown (about 3 minutes per side). Transfer cooked fish to serving plates. Ladle sizzling soy vinaigrette over fish. Serves 4
N OVEMBER | DECEMBER 2014
A MODERN
day of Thanksgiving. Congress made it an official day off from work in 1941 when turkey day became a true national holiday. An interesting side note: Congress also moved Thanksgiving back a week, in hopes of giving more oomph to the holiday shopping season. And would you believe shopping and our day of thanks are still inexplicably tied together? Modern-day Thanksgiving is linked with Black Friday, the day after feast day, and the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. This year, some stores are even staying open on Thanksgiving. Though most of us no longer work in the fields, we do live in a hectic, fast-paced digital world. Perhaps it’s now even more important to take the time to pause and remember to give thanks for our good fortune. This year, why not instill some new traditions at your Thanksgiving table? Perhaps ask each family member to tell what he or she is most grateful for before feasting on turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Or volunteer to work at a food bank on Thanksgiving to help others in need. After all, Thanksgiving should be centered on gratitude and giving rather than on football and bargain shopping.
HOME SWEET HOME REMODEL
A popular HGTV show, Love It or List It, is themed around homeowners who have shortcomings with their current home. Two experts are called in to help. One expert, a designer, comes up with a design and remodels the home in order to address the current issues so that the homeowners will “love” the home again. The other expert, a real estate agent, shows the homeowners other properties in order to persuade them to “list” their current home and move to one of the other properties. The premise is straight-forward, but how many times does the remodel win over moving to another property? According to Wikipedia, the percentage of homeowners who chose to “love it” is an overwhelming 59% (averaged over the first seven seasons of the show). Maybe a popular TV show does not
mimic real life exactly, but why do so many homeowners decide to fix up areas in their home or remodel it because they want to put their home on the market and sell it? They have already decided to “list it” and move, rather than remodel and “love it.” A home remodel should concentrate on both the value of the remodel to your lifestyle as well as the value of the remodel to selling the home sometime down the road. If you plan on staying in the home for a long time, the remodeling project should address what matters most to you. Just like the frustrated homeowners on the TV show, you can probably list the top five shortcomings or issues with your current home. Make a list and then consider both the immediate value to your lifestyle and the return on investment in terms of resale value of the home in the future.
According to Remodeling magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value Report for 2014, the top five renovations that yield the greatest percentage return on investment are: • Entry door replacement: 96.6% • Wood deck addition: 87.4% • Attic bedroom: 84.3% • Garage door replacement: 83.7% • Minor kitchen remodel: 82.7% For example, a minor kitchen remodel is defined as updating a functional but dated kitchen with modern yet mid-priced finishes such as raised panel cabinet door fronts and upgraded countertops. The bottom-line is that a home remodeling project should give you, the homeowner, the biggest “bang for the buck” so that you will love your home, whether it be for many years to come or until it’s time to sell.
West of West Wine Festival Orange County The Grand Terrace at Honda Center, Anaheim CA November 8 949.862.1133 | OrangeCoast.com West Sonoma Coast Vintners along with OrangeCoast Magazine presents an exclusive show chase of the leading West Sonoma Coast winemakers and proprietors. Enjoy a day of entertainment filled with exciting Sommelier Challenges between Orange County’s top sommeliers as well as delicious gourmet tastings from top chefs, specialty lounges and music. Cheers to the Sonoma Coast! Dana Point Turkey Trot Dana Point Harbor| November 27 949.496.1555 | TurkeyTrot.com California’s Largest Thanksgiving Day Run Event and one of America’s Most Scenic Runs... hosted by The Dana Point Chamber of Commerce. Tour the beautiful beach, majestic cliffs and coves of Dana Point. Enjoy pounding surf, rugged cliffs, and cool ocean breezes as you sail through the Dana Point Marina, Doheny State Park and pass the historic tallship Pilgrim moored in Dana Point Harbor. Deck the Hulls with Bows of Jolly Bay Island Channel, Newport Beach| December 17-21 949.729.4400|ChristmasBoatParade.com As Newport Beach’s Christmas Card to the world, the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade will set the harbor ablaze for five consecutive nights. Beautiful multi-million dollar yachts, kayaks, canoes and other small boats will light up the harbor as a dazzling array of holiday lights and music fill the air at the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade. The Nutcracker Ballet Irvine | December 13 – 24 949.854.4646 | FestivalBallet.org Festival Ballet Theatre presents The Nutcracker, a classic ballet about Clara, a young girl who is given a Nutcracker for Christmas. In the exquisite product, Clara learns her gift is far more than an ordinary Nutcracker. The California Ballet takes you along with Clara on a magic journey through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of the Sweets. An event the whole family is sure to enjoy. Laguna Art Museum Laguna Beach | October 12 – January 25 949.494.8971 | LagunaArtMuseum.org On display in the museum’s main level galleries is a solo exhibition of work by mixed media artist Elizabeth Turk, comprised of new work along with pieces from earlier series. In a multi-media installation, Turk will continue her exploration of the recurring themes of time, matter, and space. The exhibition features marble sculptures from her Cage and Collars series, the fragility and fluidity of which are a stark contrast to the heavy materials from which they are made. An exhibit that is sure to amaze.
NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2014
ORANGE COUNTY
LOOKING AT O.C. extraordinary real estate marketing
THANKSGIVING GRATITUDE A Time For Thanks
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Should You ‘Love It’ Or ‘List It’? Cover Photography | Candelaria Design
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Home Sweet Home Remodel Season’s Greetings With
Fleming’s Peppercorn Steak