What neighborhoods in The Woodlands are the hottest?
Everyone thinks their home is "nicer" than the neighbors!  And so it should be!  Heavens, it’s one of the places where your hard-earned treasure goes every month!
 
So it’s natural to say to yourself, it’s “all good!” , particularly when you read the front page local Villager articles about how hot The Woodlands real estate market is, and that there is no resale inventory, and that the unemployment rate is low.  Wow!  The bubble is back. 
  
Add to that the Fed-induced low interest rate (which seems unlikely to change this year), and it follows that you would continue your self-talk by musing, like the ancient scripture says:   “I think I’ll just sit here and enjoy the ride”. (see Luke 12) 

The PLAIN TRUTH is:  some neighborhoods in The Woodlands are faring much better, statistically, than others.   This past weekend I spent several hours pouring over some interesting statistics, and report herein. 

You self-talkers will ask me:  "Why bother, Cam?  Why not just enjoy the ride?"  

Here’s why:  if you really need a bigger, smaller, or different house, then some of you should indeed seriously consider selling, and stop this waiting game that the papers are causing you to play.

The statistics below, sorted by zip code and/or Village, prove it.  Either:
1.  the value of your house is NOT going up as much as you thought, OR
2. the value of your house has gone up so much that there is little chance it can sustain such increase over the short term.

You’ll note in the grid below that I have ranked by the MEDIAN price increase over the last year, and not just the simple AVERAGE.   There are several reasons for this, the easiest to explain is that in every neighborhood there have been three or four huge sales, that tend to “skew” the averages.    

So take a minute and find your neighborhood, then I will make some quick comments.
SUMMARY             avg $ +%                med $ +%                      rank
77375 creekside       1.24%                      1.22%                           1
77389 creekside       1.16%                      1.18%                           2
77385 harper only     1.17%                      1.16%                          3
77382  alden             1.11%                       1.14%                         4
77381  PC, CC, IS    1.13%                        1.13%                        5
77380 grogan             1.18%                       1.11%                        6a
77384 all                    1.18%                       1.11%                       6b
77382   sterling          0.995%                    0.975%                       8
   
Comments:
1. Yes the new area of Creekside, closest to Exxon and with the newest schools, is doing superb, especially those on the WEST side of Kuykendahl in the area called Timarron Lakes.  Creekside is  where I am opening a new office this fall, in the new Creekside Village Market Street.
                a.  For what it’s worth:  those who say “oh I’d never move to Creekside…it’s too far from the Mall” or “the schools aren’t as good” or….whatever….tell that to the folks who are buying houses like crazy, giving their kids a great education and about to make a killing when they sell.
                b. New home prices in Creekside are reasonable and all the builders are building inventory like crazy. 
                c. My company, REALTY EXECUTIVES, is having a new home information night at Rob Fleming Park in  Creekside at  on April 10, 5-8 pm, and on April 24 at my offices in Panther Creek Shopping Center. Info on 17 Builders, all in one spot at one time.  For more information call me 832.515.8494.  

2. Harper’s Landing and Alden Bridge folks are finally getting some of their money back.  If you own property in those two neighborhoods the best advice is to RENT IT not sell it yet.

3. Residents of 77380, 77381, and 77384 have a decision to make.   Chances are, in order for you to sell and make that killing you are dreaming and talking about, you ARE going to have to go ahead and spend the money to update the kitchen and ALL bathrooms (not just the master bath), or you will not be happy with what you can sell for.   Update now, while home improvement loan money is reasonable, and you can enjoy it for a couple years.    If the market levels out unexpectedly, and interest rates go up after the mid-term elections, YOU WILL HAVE WAITED TOO LONG. Note:  I am following my own advice.  I own property in those zip codes. I am slowly but surely updating them. 
                    a.    Another piece of good advice:    FURNISHED RENTALS work well in these codes.

4. Sterling Ridge residents are not gaining as much value as you have been led to believe.  In fact, over this last winter, prices trended DOWN slightly from a year ago. 
            a.   There has been in spike in values in MONTFAIR and certain golf course neighborhoods.   There are other exceptions, you should CAREFULLY consult your trusted real estate professional.    It could be that you need to simply go ahead and sell, and get moved while the interest rates are low.   It’s that simple. 
              b.  The PLAIN TRUTH IS, more families are moving from Sterling Ridge, statistically speaking, than the other villages.  The increase in families moving FROM Sterling Ridge to other areas is twice the move rate in the other villages.