We've just uploaded an easy-to-read version of the TEA's Accountability Ratings published earlier this month. You can download it here.
Recently in Southlake Category
Initial construction of the long awaited DFW Connector Project is slated to begin the week of February 15th. Crews will start installing signage on Monday, January 25th. There will also be some lane closures next week and reductions in the speed limit. You might want to bookmark this website for use in the future:
http://www.dfwconnector.com
There isn't a lot of information there yet, but more should be added soon.
Also, there is going to be an information Open House on Wednesday, February 17th from 4-8 p.m. with a formal presentation at 6:30 p.m. It will be held at the Grapevine Convention Center at 1209 S. Main Street. I'm planning on going.
http://www.dfwconnector.com
There isn't a lot of information there yet, but more should be added soon.
Also, there is going to be an information Open House on Wednesday, February 17th from 4-8 p.m. with a formal presentation at 6:30 p.m. It will be held at the Grapevine Convention Center at 1209 S. Main Street. I'm planning on going.
The 2009 school ratings have just been released. I have prepared a report showing district and campus results for the districts in the area. You can download the pdf report at cindyruppert.com/Accountability2009.pdf.
The only major change in the area was the Keller ISD dropping from Recognized to Academically Acceptable. The district is challenging this rating, which was caused by just barely missing the required completion rate for economically disadvantaged students. The district claims that two students were misclassified as drop-outs. If the TEA changes the status of either of those students, the district will be Recognized.
For those new to the area, Southlake is mostly in the Carroll ISD, Flower Mound is in the Lewisville ISD, and Trophy Club is in the Northwest ISD. A big piece of far north Fort Worth is in the Keller ISD.
Call if you have any questions!
The only major change in the area was the Keller ISD dropping from Recognized to Academically Acceptable. The district is challenging this rating, which was caused by just barely missing the required completion rate for economically disadvantaged students. The district claims that two students were misclassified as drop-outs. If the TEA changes the status of either of those students, the district will be Recognized.
For those new to the area, Southlake is mostly in the Carroll ISD, Flower Mound is in the Lewisville ISD, and Trophy Club is in the Northwest ISD. A big piece of far north Fort Worth is in the Keller ISD.
Call if you have any questions!
Fort Worth City Magazine has a great piece in the July edition about real estate. It gives a very accurate (I believe) evaluation of our current local real estate market. It has also selected this year's "Great 8" Places to live in Tarrant County. Both Southlake and Keller made it to the list!
I think you will enjoy reading the whole piece. Find it here: http://tiny.cc/DJCzC
I think you will enjoy reading the whole piece. Find it here: http://tiny.cc/DJCzC
On Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 7:30pm the band Fingerprints will be playing at Southlake Town Square's Rustin Park (in front of City Hall.)
Sounds like fun!
Sounds like fun!
Rustin Park, Southlake Texas
Ebby Halliday, founder of the largest independent real estate Brokerage in Texas, visited Southlake on Sunday, May 17th. She was here to do a book signing at Barnes & Nobel in Southlake Town Square. Her biography, "The First Lady of Real Estate", authored by Michael Poss, has been a great hit. Michael says that Ebby told him some wonderfully touching stories about her life and he captured come of them in this book. She was welcomed by a large group of fans, both Ebby Halliday agents and many members of the public. After making some introductory remarks and amusing the crownd with some funny stories, Ebby began signing books. Members of the Carroll High School Band provided some great background music during the signing. The Ebby Halliday Office in Southlake made a $1000 donation to the band as a way of saying thank you.
Ebby began her Southlake sojourn by visiting one of the Southlake Ebby Office's new listings. The owners of this lovely property in Kirkwood Hollow graciously welcomed Ebby to their home where they had a private chat with her while they showed her around. She also visited some new residents to Southlake who were assisted in purchasing their home by an Ebby Halliday agent in the Southlake Office.
We were all very proud to have her visit us. Ebby is ninety eight years old and still goes to work every day. She credits work with keeping her sharp and able to keep going. She hopes to make 100. She says that there is a rumor around that if she does, she will be able to do the coin toss at the Super Bowl. She then laughs and says that the rumor may have originated somewhere in the Ebby organization! We are all very proud to have this wonderful lady as our leader and as an example well worth following.
Wow, what a great question. And a complicated one, too!
There are two aspects of this question that I would like to discuss. The first is the use of dollars per square foot ($/sf), and the second is today's market.
Asking about the average $/sf of Southlake is a little like asking what is the average temperature in Texas. When compared to North Dakota, you'll figure out which place tends to be warmer, but doesn't help much with the weather in Southlake. All weather is local.
And so it is with real estate, but even more so. The average temperature of Southlake is useful (not much difference would be expected over a few miles), but the average $/sf is not. When compared to Saginaw or Haltom City, you'll figure out that homes in Southlake are more expensive, but it doesn't tell you much about homes in Estes Park or homes in Stone Lakes. The average $/sf in each subdivision varies a lot, based on age, builders, and lot sizes, etc.
So if the purpose of the question is to get some understanding of the value of your home, or of a home you are thinking of buying, I suggest you contact me with an address, and I'll be glad to pull some numbers for you. No obligations, no pressure.
The second aspect is describing today's market. We are on a stormy sea and not sure when we'll reach harbor. The Texas economy has finally started to feel the effects of the recession. (Thank heaven we are not in California, Arizona or Florida!) We can hope that the government's efforts with the stimulus package, bank rescue, and mortgage bailout are effective, but who knows. A huge factor helping housing right now is low interest rates (for those with good credit.)
Buyers, reading all of the bad news, are hungry for bargains. Sellers are nervous, and avoiding selling if they can. And the most current numbers are from the thinnest time of the year - January closings are pretty much December's contracts, and not many folks are house hunting in December. So the numbers are small enough to be suspect.
For instance, in Southlake there were 16 closings in January, down a lot from the 30 closings in January 2008. The 2009 closings averaged $168/sf and 84 days on the market. The 2008 closings averaged $149/sf and 87 days on the market. But the 2008 numbers include two very expensive homes that both sold for over $250/ft, skewing things. And 16 and 30 are very small numbers.
Let me summarize my thoughts on the market. Based on our web activity, buyer interest is as strong as ever. People love to come to this site and look at houses! A lot of folks spend a lot of time here! (Get back to work you slackers!) Buyer activity is a little slower than last year, but better than I feared before the New Year. Days on market is increasing, inventory is building up, and some reluctant sellers are being forced onto the market - there is some inkling that prices are feeling this downward pressure. The February numbers will be much more important than the January numbers in telling us where things are moving.
And again, if you want more info about a particular home or neighborhood, just drop me a line and we'll pull a few numbers for you!
There are two aspects of this question that I would like to discuss. The first is the use of dollars per square foot ($/sf), and the second is today's market.
Asking about the average $/sf of Southlake is a little like asking what is the average temperature in Texas. When compared to North Dakota, you'll figure out which place tends to be warmer, but doesn't help much with the weather in Southlake. All weather is local.
And so it is with real estate, but even more so. The average temperature of Southlake is useful (not much difference would be expected over a few miles), but the average $/sf is not. When compared to Saginaw or Haltom City, you'll figure out that homes in Southlake are more expensive, but it doesn't tell you much about homes in Estes Park or homes in Stone Lakes. The average $/sf in each subdivision varies a lot, based on age, builders, and lot sizes, etc.
So if the purpose of the question is to get some understanding of the value of your home, or of a home you are thinking of buying, I suggest you contact me with an address, and I'll be glad to pull some numbers for you. No obligations, no pressure.
The second aspect is describing today's market. We are on a stormy sea and not sure when we'll reach harbor. The Texas economy has finally started to feel the effects of the recession. (Thank heaven we are not in California, Arizona or Florida!) We can hope that the government's efforts with the stimulus package, bank rescue, and mortgage bailout are effective, but who knows. A huge factor helping housing right now is low interest rates (for those with good credit.)
Buyers, reading all of the bad news, are hungry for bargains. Sellers are nervous, and avoiding selling if they can. And the most current numbers are from the thinnest time of the year - January closings are pretty much December's contracts, and not many folks are house hunting in December. So the numbers are small enough to be suspect.
For instance, in Southlake there were 16 closings in January, down a lot from the 30 closings in January 2008. The 2009 closings averaged $168/sf and 84 days on the market. The 2008 closings averaged $149/sf and 87 days on the market. But the 2008 numbers include two very expensive homes that both sold for over $250/ft, skewing things. And 16 and 30 are very small numbers.
Let me summarize my thoughts on the market. Based on our web activity, buyer interest is as strong as ever. People love to come to this site and look at houses! A lot of folks spend a lot of time here! (Get back to work you slackers!) Buyer activity is a little slower than last year, but better than I feared before the New Year. Days on market is increasing, inventory is building up, and some reluctant sellers are being forced onto the market - there is some inkling that prices are feeling this downward pressure. The February numbers will be much more important than the January numbers in telling us where things are moving.
And again, if you want more info about a particular home or neighborhood, just drop me a line and we'll pull a few numbers for you!
The Carroll Facility Planning Committee presented its recommendations to the School Board yesterday. They recommended $138 million in projects for a May bond election.
Highlights include replacing two schools, technology upgrades, and stadium upgrades.
Some links:
Highlights include replacing two schools, technology upgrades, and stadium upgrades.
Some links:
Executive Summary
Full Presentation
Committee Web Page
This is a great idea. The city council may ban all cellphone use if the state legislature doesn't do so this session.
Click here for the Dallas Morning News article.
Click here for the Dallas Morning News article.
Here is the sales activity for cities that I specialize in. These are the final year to date numbers for 2008. Activity was down, prices were steady, and days on the market were up. Mortgage rates are very low and the new year has started with good buyer activity, giving us some optimism about this year. There may be downward pressure on prices as some sellers who have held back must take action. And of course, no one knows what's going to happen with the economy. Southlake and Colleyville have 7-8 months inventory, the city of Keller is at about six months, and Grapevine only has four months.
Note: All Information is from North Texas Real Estate Information System (NTREIS) and is believed but not guaranteed to be accurate.
| City | # of Sales | % Change vs. Prior Year | Avg Sales Price | % Change vs. Prior Year | Median Price | % Change vs. Prior Year | Avg Days on Market | % Change vs. Prior Year |
| Bedford | 533 | -7% | $165,986 | 0% | $156,950 | 1% | 59 | 18% |
| Colleyville | 373 | -19% | $515,652 | -3% | $417,000 | -7% | 73 | 18% |
| Denton County Southeast | 3,521 | -21% | $239,322 | -4% | $194,000 | -3% | 70 | 19% |
| Euless | 434 | -18% | $156,820 | 2% | $151,500 | 1% | 56 | 2% |
| North Central Tarrant | 1,963 | -12% | $161,649 | 1% | $150,000 | 0% | 74 | 4% |
| Grapevine | 486 | -16% | $247,593 | 3% | $230,000 | 5% | 51 | 13% |
| Hurst | 550 | -10% | $150,725 | -2% | $139,900 | 0% | 82 | 39% |
| Keller | 750 | -19% | $339,281 | 5% | $287,250 | 1% | 81 | 27% |
| N Richland Hills / Richland Hills | 765 | -16% | $167,451 | 0% | $133,250 | -2% | 68 | 5% |
| Roanoke | 171 | -20% | $160,480 | 3% | $150,000 | 5% | 79 | 34% |
| Southlake | 485 | -19% | $634,944 | 3% | $545,000 | 4% | 78 | 10% |
| Trophy Club / Westlake | 164 | -15% | $472,345 | 3% | $260,000 | 1% | 85 | 25% |
| Watauga | 304 | -28% | $102,044 | -2% | $99,900 | -1% | 65 | -2% |
Note: All Information is from North Texas Real Estate Information System (NTREIS) and is believed but not guaranteed to be accurate.
