Greenways Neighborhood Snapshot

The Greenways is one of the premier neighborhoods in Southwest Amarillo, the development boasts modern construction, stylish architecture and a nice parkway green area and park system that is tied into the neighborhood.

The Greenways is also home to the first Amarillo Parks and Recreation area that features an undisturbed nature area exploring the importance of the Playa Lake to the Texas Panhandle ecological system.

As of Today there are 49 Homes for sale in the Greenways at an average price of $305,942. The average square footage for the neighborhood is 2,553 putting the average/SF at $117.98. Let’s take a look at the sales history for the last year.

For the last year the average sold price is $113.15/SF at an average dollar amount of $292,031. The average sales price is coming in at 93% of asking price. 18 Homes have sold in the neighborhood not counting new construction. Average days on market is 100 day for a home, the highest sales price was $770,000 and the low came in at $147,000. There have been 23 expired listing in the last year.

The Greenways falls in the Canyon Independent School District and the schools are;
Elementary: Sleepy Hallow
Middle: Bonham
High: Amarillo High

The Greenways is a fantastic family friendly area to live in, there are homes on the market from $189,900 to $795,000. If you would like more information about living in the Greenways please contact me.

Buying a Home, Men vs. Woman

Men may be from Mars and women from Venus, but every day millions of couples must work through those differences to make life-altering decisions. Like buying a home, for instance.

International Communications Research surveyed 1,000 individuals to find out how much men and women differ in the home buying process.

Some highlights from the study:

When asked how long it took before they knew their home was “right” for them, almost
70 % of women had made up their mind the day they walked into the house, versus 62 % of men.

55% of women find it more important to be closer to their extended family than to their job, compared with only 37% of men.

64% of women said that if they found the home of their dreams but had concerns about its security, they would no longer be interested. More than half of men agreed (51 %).

When respondents were asked how they would use a spare 12x12 room, the uses that proved most popular with both men and women were bedroom, office/study and family room.
Of the 8% who indicated they would turn that spare room into an entertainment center, it was a preponderance of men leading the charge. In fact, four times as many men as women said they would use the extra space for recreation and entertainment.

Source. RECON NEWS
www.recenter.tamu.edu

Greenways Parks & Nature Area dedicated to the citizens of Amarillo

Today the new Greenways Park & Nature Area was dedicated to the citizens of Amarillo, this is a very unique situation because most of the park will be natural habitat that will not be developed. The reason??? The Playa Lake! The Texas Panhandle has the worlds largest concentration of Playa Lakes with around 20,000, these lakes are very essential to our ecosystem here in the Panhandle. The Playa lakes are the #1 source of replenishing our aquifers in the Panhandle and absolutely essential for our survival here in Amarillo. The Playa Lakes also support 37 mammal species, 185 bird species and 340 plant species.

This park allows the public front access to a undisturbed Playa lake with a natural wetlands environment surrounding the lake. There are walkways leading to the lake and wetlands with informational markets explaining the ecosystem of a Playa Lake.

The park also includes soccer fields, a baseball field, gazebos, playground and large lush lawns. The park is located at 7710 Bayswater in the Greenways

This park was a collaboration effort between local and state government and some great people were involved in the effort. Eddie Scott, developer of the Greenways in Amarillo donated 53 acres of the land for the park and trust me that is MILLIONS of $$$$$ of land that he donated. A big thank you to Mr. Eddie Scott! Larry Offerdahl, director of parks and recreation in Amarillo is the man behind the project and is a great asset to our city. Larry has made so many significant improvement to our parks and recreation areas in Amarillo and today was park # 64 that was added. There are many other great people that were involved in this project, thank you to all of you for this great hybrid park! (Eddie Scott on the left recieving a plaque from Larry Offerdahl on right)


Take the time, take your kids, spouse, friends and go visit the Greenways Park and Nature Area in Amarillo!

Is your Home Priced to Sell or Priced to Sit?

There are only two reasons that a home does not sell. #1 The home is not being marketed correctly and/ or #2 the price is too high. Today we are going to look at factors to evaluate that will help you determine at what price to list a home to SELL and not to SIT!

Pricing a home right from the start is the most important factor in the success if selling your home. When I speak to home owners that are considering selling their home the big question is always; at what price should I list? The answer depends on many variables which consist of; location, condition, special features, market trends, speed of transaction desired and the reason for selling in the first place.
By human nature people always think that their assets are worth more than everyone else's assets of comparable measure. Why is that.....emotional attachment? Pride? Ignorance? Who know but we are all guilty of it. The important thing to remember when selling a home is that it is a BUSINESS DECISION and should not become about emotions, easier said than done......
So where do you start?
#1 Look is at the general market place; is the market up, down, stable, and consistent?

#2 Look at your area; what are comparable homes selling for, how long is it taking them to sell, what is selling price vs. list price, how many homes are currently for sale, how many homes have been on the market for longer than 6 months.

#3 Know what your needs are; how soon do you want to move, how much money do you have to have from the sale (know your bottom line!), what will you do if your home does not sell in 3 months... 6 months... 9 months?

#4 Start going to open houses in your area and look at what special features, amenities, updates, etc. comparable homes to your have and where they are priced.

Once you have completed the above 4 steps you should know exactly where to price your home for a sale that will fit your needs. You will benefit so much more from pricing your home right from the start and selling within 60 days, than making a poor emotional decision and listing too high and then dealing with 300 days on market, 4 price reductions and your home developing a bad buyers stigma.

Working with a professional REALTOR will better your chances for success every time!

Check back for more blogs about pricing in up markets and pricing in down markets. You can sign up for RSS feeds to be notified of new blog post!

$8,000 for buying a house! Better Act Soon!

The 8,000 First Time homebuyer program was created to stimulate the national real estate market. This program is not only for first time home buyers but also for anyone who has not lived in their principal home in the last three years.
So how does it work?
Simple, if you qualify for the program and you purchase a home you will be eligible for a $8000 tax credit. You can claim the money one of two ways, you can either file the credit on your 2009 taxes and get it back next year or you can file an amendment on your 2008 taxes using the IRS from 5405 and have the cash in hand within 30-60 days from the time you closed on your home. I like the second option!

Here is the really sweet part! YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY THE MONEY BACK!!!!!!! As long as you occupy the home you purchase for the next three year you don't have to pay a cent back.

There are also programs that can actually help you to use the $8000 tax credit towards down payments and closing costs. So if you are ready to buy a home you need to JUMP on this opportunity. Keep in mind that the program ends December 1st 2009.

1. Find out if you qualify for the tax credit
2. Buy a home
3. File your 2008 Tax Amendment
4. Get $8000 in your hand within 30-60 days

Please call or email me if you want to find out if you qualify for this program, have any questions or if you have purchased a home and want to find out if you are still eligible for the tax credit.
806 654 3842

Ask the Expert - Lets Talk Homeowners Insurance with Brian Moore

Protecting your home from the unexpected is very important and having the right coverage that fits your needs is essential. I wanted to find out more about homeowners insurance so I spoke with Brian Moore, a local Amarillo State Farm Insurance agent about homeowners insurance.

Brian informed me that in 2002 homeowners insurance was deregulated, meaning unlike vehicle insurance that have standardized coverage’s, deductibles and policies and can be compared apples to apples, homeowners insurance have no set standards to compare with. Insurance companies can change and adjust homeowners policies to have many variables that can effect what is being covered and for how much. Because there are so many variables in homeowners policies, Brian strongly recommends that you sit down with your insurance agent and find out exactly what your policy consists of and make sure you have a policy that fits your needs. Brian told me "you don't know what you don't know", somewhat of an ironic statement but very true! You need to find out what you don't know so that you can make sure you get the right coverage for your assets.

For first time home buyers, Brian recommends that you start with your current auto insurer to check on homeowners policies and rates, then get two more quotes from other companies also.

Brian said that Texas has above average costs on homeowners insurance policies due to all the elements we face including; hail, high winds, tornadoes, hurricanes and yes even earthquakes. Good news though, Brian has some tips on saving on homeowners insurance; look into installing a class 4 roof, State Farm for example, will allow savings of up to 27% on your premium for having a class 4 roof. Also check into getting a monitored security system, once again that will allow savings on your premium.

Brian gave me the following link to the Office of Public Insurance Council that allows you to compare companies’ homeowners policies side by side. This tool will help you determine if you are getting the coverage that you think you are and see which company is right for you. www.opic.state.tx.us/homeowner.php

If you have any questions about homeowners insurance or need to find out if you are actually being covered in a way fits your needs, please call Brian. I highly recommend his expertise with insurance and he is a real friendly and great guy!
You can reach Brian Moore at (806) 353-9517 or http://www.brianmooreinsurance.com/

Amarillo Real Estate Results for July 2009

The month of July saw a slight down turn in the Amarillo Real Estate Market. Units sold were at 267 which was down 59 units from June. The average sold price was down $4,530 from June and rested at $139,890. New listings were up in July by 36 units leaving the inventory level for Amarillo at the end of July at 7.9 months. That number is up 1.53 months from June inventory but down .01 months from May. The total sold volume for July was $36.65 Million which was considerably lower than the $46.79 Million we saw in June but yet July's numbers made for the 3rd best month in dollar volume sold since September 2008. The 2009 year to date total volume sold for Amarillo sits at.....drum roll......$235,622,572

Judging from the activity in Prudential Ada Realtors office where I work, August is off to a strong start. With the recent positive news about Amarillo and the continued growth and economic development in the area, Amarillo is looking forward to a strong finish for 2009.

Amarillo Mayor Debra McCartt on CNBC

How two cities are doing well despite the recession, with Debra McCartt, mayor of Amarillo, Texas; Matt Claman, mayor of Anchorage, Alaska; and CNBC's Erin Burnett

GO AMARILLO GO!!!
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1160547566&play=1

Amarillo Real Estate Market named #1 Nationwide!

"Amarillo, Texas takes the first position as the nation's top buyers market in 2009 with the highest likelihood of housing inflation over the next few years. Austin, Texas and Tucson, Arizona are the largest metro areas to be named to the list possessing the highest probability of growing through the recessionary economy over the next few years". -housing predictor

This is amazing news for the city of Amarillo to be named #1 in a national study of over 260 major populated areas. The great people of Amarillo should take credit for this wonderful news. Amarillo by nature has always been a conservative area, dedicated to living and growing in a stable responsible way. Our leadership in Real Estate, The Financial Market, Education and Government all attribute to our solid growth pattern and out resiliency to national recession. Give yourself a "pat on the back" Amarillo!

We may not be the fanciest town around, but who's #1 baby!

Full story @ http://www.housingpredictor.com/hot.html