News – CENTURY 21 Realty Partners

We were about to close and Harvey trashed the house, now what?

By Realty Partners|2017-08-31T12:03:25-05:00August 31st, 2017|Advice, News, Our Communities|

What happens when disaster strikes while a home is under contract? What do you do if your home was damaged and you still need to sell? We can absolutely help get you started in the right direction. Take a look at the following General Guidelines Regarding Insurance, Repair, and Pending Transactions after Hurricane Harvey. Everyone’s particular situation will be different, but everyone at CENTURY 21 Realty Partners will be on hand during the recovery process to make sure that our clients real estate needs are met.

DISCLAIMER. We are not lawyers. We cannot give legal advice. This is general advice about real estate that is not legal advice and is not meant to apply specifically to any particular contract or client. All properties are case by case situations. All properties are different and will require different repairs.
Insurance and FEMA.
- There is a rumor spreading that you must make a claim by Friday, September 1 in order to be covered. This is false. Texas House Bill 1774 is about notice prior to filing lawsuits in regards to claims concerning certain insurance policies. For more information see the Texas Department of Insurance notice on HB 1774.
- If you do not have flood insurance, you can can still file for disaster assistance through FEMA. FEMA will likely offer a loan to help repair/rebuild. The fastest way to register is to go to http://www.disasterassistance.gov/, if you do […]

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Our Initial Harvey Recovery Efforts and How to Help

By Realty Partners|2017-08-29T18:00:37-05:00August 29th, 2017|News, Our Communities|

Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by Hurricane Harvey and it’s aftermath. It is in times of peril and adversity that we come together to help our fellow human beings. Tomorrow, Wednesday August 30, our Lake Conroe office location will be staffed by our agents from 9-5 to help those in need. Please do not attempt to leave your house or shelter until it is safe to do so. Beware that flood waters are still moving. We will be a drop off point for those wishing to make material donations for those in shelters and those in need. Please keep in mind that money is the most useful donation, there is information on where to give money below. Here is a list of items that are currently being requested at George R Brown Convention Center. In BOLD is highest priority:

Toiletries (travel-size shampoo, conditioner & soap)
Wheelchairs
Bottled Water
Individually-packaged foods (not prepared)
Pillows (not used/secondhand)
Baby supplies (baby wipes, diapers, formula, new clothing)
Towels (not used/secondhand)
Blankets (not used/secondhand)
Toys/Books
Hand sanitizer
Sweatsuits (not used/secondhand)
New L/XL clothing (not used/secondhand)
New Socks/Undergarments (not used/secondhand)

Here’s a similar list of shelters in Montgomery County and items needed.

Here are other ways to donate supplies:

open your home or vacation property as accomodation for flood victims through AirBnB
food banks such as the Houston Food Bank are asking for […]

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Foreign Home Buyers Add $11 billion To Texas Economy

By Realty Partners|2017-03-13T15:54:53-05:00September 11th, 2014|News|

It’s common knowledge that everyone wants to buy their own little piece of Texas right now, particularly international homebuyers. Just take a look at the 2014 Texas International Homebuyers Report released this month by the Texas Association of REALTORS®. Take a looks at some of the highlights below. We have already seen international buyers making significant impacts throughout the Houston Area housing market, this trend is very likely continue into the future.

Texas constituted 12% ($11.06 billion) of international home sales in the United States between March 2013 to March 2014. This is a 3% increase from the previous period and the highest level in the past five years.
Texas ranked third in the U.S. for total number of international home sales by state, after Florida and California.
More than half of all international home buyers in Texas originate from Latin America or the Caribbean.
By a significant margin, the majority of U.S. home purchases by Mexican buyers are in Texas, with 65% of purchases occurring in the Lone Star State.

If you are an international buyer who is interested in Texas real estate don’t hesitate to contact us. We have Certified International Property Specialists (CIPS) who are specifically trained on how to handle transactions with international aspects.

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CENTURY 21 brand ranked “Highest Overall Satisfaction for First-Time and Repeat Home Buyers and Sellers

By Realty Partners|2017-03-13T15:54:53-05:00August 7th, 2014|CENTURY 21, News|

I’m sure by now you’ve heard the great news about CENTURY 21… We are the brand that has swept the 2014 J.D. Power Home Buyer/Seller Satisfaction Study! Read all about it in the official press release below.

CENTURY 21 REAL ESTATE SWEEPS J.D. POWER 2014 HOME BUYER/SELLER SATISFACTION STUDY

MADISON, N.J. (August 6, 2014) – CENTURY 21 Real Estate, the iconic brand with the world’s largest real estate franchise sales organization, announced that it has been ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction by the J.D. Power 2014 Home Buyer/Seller Satisfaction StudySM, released today. Specifically, CENTURY 21® Real Estate swept the awards by receiving the highest ranking among national real estate companies across all four customer satisfaction segments in the study, including: First-Time Home-Buyer Satisfaction, Repeat Home-Buyer Satisfaction, First-Time Home-Seller Satisfaction and Repeat Home-Seller Satisfaction.

“CENTURY 21 sales professionals understand that real estate is about developing relationships and building trust with their customers. Customer satisfaction is at the core of everything that they do each and every day,” said Rick Davidson, president and chief executive officer, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. “Our brand reputation is earned and measured with every customer interaction, and these J.D. Power results showcase the quality of our franchise broker network and their affiliated sales professionals.”

The study, now in its seventh year, measures customer satisfaction among first-time and repeat home buyers and sellers with the nation’s largest real estate companies. Overall satisfaction is measured across four factors of the home-buying experience: agent/salesperson; real estate office; closing process; and variety of […]

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2013 Record Year for Houston Area Home Sales

By Realty Partners|2017-03-13T15:54:53-05:00January 26th, 2014|News|

It is no secret that Houston’s economy just keeps pumping, throughout the region both transplants and locals are discovering that buying a home makes sense. Understandably, housing supply has been extremely tight throughout the year. All this growth has driven single-family home sales in the Houston area to the lowest recorded inventory levels. Ever. According to the latest Houston Association of Realtors monthly report, single-family home sales hit a record 73,232 closings in 2013, up an astounding 17.4% over 2012 (itself a very active year). Here’s a look at some statistical highlights from 2013:

The Houston Area recorded 86,000 new jobs created, plenty of those new workers seem to have bought houses.
The Houston Area median home price was $180,000 in 2013, up 9.4% over the previous year.
The Houston Area average home price was a record-setting $265,017, up 10.3% from the previous average of $240,326 a year ago.
Single-family home inventory hit a record low of 2.6 months, meaning that’s how long it would take for the Houston Area to sell every home listed given the current rate of sales. That’s less than the 3.7 months from 2012 and 5.8 months from 2011. A more “balanced” or “typical” market would usually hover around 6 months. This is absolutely a seller’s market.
Total volume of home sales jumped 30.2% to $20.89 billion dollars.

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End of Summer Market Update: Montgomery County

By Realty Partners|2017-03-13T15:54:53-05:00September 6th, 2013|News|

See how the market is doing with our latest Montgomery County Residential Market Update. Click the link above to see a short video outlining the key market trends at the end of the summer. In case you are wondering, it’s been another white hot summer buying season here in Texas. Many buyers who waited have found fewer homes on the market and higher prices, despite mortgage rates creeping upwards after historic lows. If you would like a market video regarding your city or zip code, contact us and we will be glad to provide one.

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Texas Economic Boom No Secret Even in UK

By Realty Partners|2017-03-13T15:54:53-05:00May 30th, 2013|News|

The most shared story on the UK website BBC News Magazine right now are the 10 reasons why so many people are moving to Texas. Apparently the good news about Texas is no secret even in Europe. Texas has 5 of the top 10 fastest growing cities in the United States by both absolute numbers and by percentage. Houston had the second largest population increase in absolute numbers according to the US Census with San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, and Forth Worth also breaking into the top 10. In terms of percentage the fastest growing city in the USA was San Marcos with a nearly 5% increase. Number 10 on the list, and the fastest growing city in the Houston area was Conroe with a 4.01% year over year population increase. In terms of new arrivals, Texas led the nation with 210,590 last year, followed by North Carolina with 60,106 and Virginia with 40,844. All this good press is no surprise to us, we’ve already been sharing lots of the good news and facts regarding Texas in general and Houston in particular. If anyone in the UK does decide to pack up and move to Houston, they would be pleased to know that Houston has an office of the British Consulate General downtown on Louisiana Street. One of the many perks of living in a world-class city. Expect to see many more families moving into our neighborhoods.

Here are the 10 reasons, check out the BBC article to find the details […]

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Houston New Home Permits Up 44% To Keep Up With Demand

By Realty Partners|2017-03-13T15:54:53-05:00April 25th, 2013|News|

If you’re looking to buy in the Houston area, expect more and more showings to look like this. House Under Construction by Charles Rondeau As reported by the Houston Business Journal, new residential construction permits in Houston are up 44% since March 2012. These figures were compiled in a report by the Greater Houston Partnership. The city issued a total of $187.3 million worth of permits just for March, compared to $130.2 million for the same month last year.

This comes as no surprise since we have had very tight inventory in nearly every Houston area market. With Houston’s economy running wide open, and continued rise as a global city, the demand for more homes and workplaces will only increase. We have witnessed multiple bid scenarios with several of our listings and we expect supply to further tighten before it increases again.

Where have you seen new construction going up? Have you seen multiple offers on a home? Please tell us in the comments!

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Live in Montgomery County? Expect More Orange Construction Barrels.

By Realty Partners|2017-03-13T15:54:53-05:00February 26th, 2013|News|

FM 1097 is about to get a little bit bigger.

According to the Montgomery County Courier, FM 1097 in Willis has been approved to be widened by TxDOT. The estimated $3.2 million dollar project will widen the road between I-45 and Texas Highway 75, significantly improving access and safety. Engineers expect the project to be completed in 18 months after construction starts and will add a much needed turning lane to ease traffic. With rapid growth within the Houston Metro Area, and Montgomery County in particular, many roads and intersections are already operating at or over capacity. One of Montgomery County’s most congested intersections may soon be much better.

Further south on I-45 at State Highway 242 near The Woodlands and Shenandoah, plans have been approved for a $33.9 million dollar project to build flyovers allowing traffic to bypass the traffic lights at the feeder street. This in addition to the dozens of road construction projects throughout Montgomery County in the last decade including the widening of I-45 to at least 3 lanes all the way through the county.

Why all this construction? More residents and businesses are relocating to the area. The Houston Area led the nation in Gross Metropolitan Product growth (the total value of all goods and services […]

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C21 Super Bowl Ads

By Realty Partners|2013-10-18T12:17:01-05:00February 4th, 2013|News|

In case you missed it during last night’s “Blackout Bowl” here are the CENTURY 21® ads from Super Bowl XLVII . Prices for 30 second ad spots on CBS started at $4,000,000 a pop, which makes more sense when you consider that Super Bowl XLVII was the highest rated Television event since ratings were first tracked. For the second year in a row, we are proud to see our brand represented in the biggest TV media event of the year.

Is there a CENTURY 21 Agent in the house?

I’m a CENTURY 21 Agent.

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