How I Made The Choice to be a Houston Realtor

Many people often ask me how I made the choice to be a Realtor in Houston. The Choice is simple, I love helping people find their homes. To me, the excitement of the offer and contract process followed by sitting at a title company watching a buyer close on their home and get their keys is the reason. The American Dream is homeownership and it is such a pleasure to be able to help my clients in such an important transaction. I treat every one of my clients as I would want to treated and provide excellent customer service.

Some have asked why I picked Residential Real Estate rather than commercial and my answer is the same. To me, there is no thrill in seeing a business build out a store front, lease a building or but a tract of land. I have to have the connection with my clients to motivate me and give me the sense that I am making a difference and providing the highest level of attention and service for my clients.

To contact me, please visit my website at http://www.ourfirstnest.com/

Real Estate In Houston Likely to Remain Strong after First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Expires

The entire real estate community is nervously awaiting the effects of the expiration of the Federal First Time Buyers tax credit. There is wide spread panic that this credit is what was behind several very strong months of sales. While this tax credit helped those buying real estate in Houston, let’s look at it from both perspectives.
There is no doubt by offering buyers $8,000 ($6,500 for existing homeowners) that it helped a flurry of activity. I think as you look at the buyers circumstances you will find that most were going to buy regardless of the credit and all it did was make them buy sooner. Because most of them still had enough funds to close before the credit was received, this was more like icing on the cake rather than a deciding factor.
So let’s look at what will help keep the real estate market in Houston strong in the remaining months of the year. First is consumer confidence is up to 57.9, up from 52.3 in March. In addition, the Present Situations Index is up to 28.6% from 25.2%. Another impressive factor is the 3.2% economic growth in the first quarter of the year. When all of this is combined with the recent surge in companies now hiring, this can only mean a renewed confidence in personal income which translates into a better housing market in Houston.
These next few months will be a test of the market post-tax credit. Although we need to keep our eyes on the climbing foreclosure rate, all signs point to more positive growth in Houston Real Estate.

If you are looking to buy a new home in Houston, please visit our website at http://www.ourfirstnest.com/  or http://www.newhomeshouston.org/

FHA Changes for Loans

With the changing economy there will be new guidelines regarding FHA loans. The FHA’s tightened lending requirements will no doubt have an effect on the housing market considering that an estimated 40% of all loans are FHA. One of the biggest changes is the increase in the upfront mortgage insurance premium from 1.75% to 2.25%. This will increase closing costs by ½ a percent. Another significant change will be the change in approval for those whose credit FICO scores are below 580, the amount will jump to 10% down. One last change will be a reduction in the amount of allowed seller’s contributions. While the number was traditionally help at 6%, the new amount will be reduced to 3%. FHA loans have traditionally been used by buyers to be able to purchase homes with as little down as possible and there is no doubt that this will hamper buyer’s ability to purchase homes.

While these changes will affect buyer’s ability to purchase, the first time buyer tax credit, the historically low interest rates and great selection of homes in the Houston Real Estate Market still make buying a home in Houston a good investment and shows why there is no time better than now to buy. If you are looking to buy a home in the Houston area, please call Paul Silverman at Our First Nest Realty for you real estate needs.

Finding a New Home In Houston

Are you looking to buy a new home in the Houston area. Here is our 6 Step Process to help you find your new home. If you are looking for a resale, we use the same process and eliminate the builder selection process.

Step 1 - We use our knowledge and narrow the search down to several home and communities based on your wants and needs for your new home. After gathering their information, we will review them with you before our first visit to the communities to try to help narrow down the choices.


Step 2 - We will schedule a time to visit the builders and communities and look for a detailed list of qualifications including quality of model home, jobsite appearance and other important items in choosing a builder for your home. We schedule these visits for Saturday and Sunday to make sure we can see a community without the distraction of construction.


Step 3 - Once we have narrowed the search, we will prepare an analysis of prices, features and other important considerations to help make your decision as educated as possible. Once a home or community has been chosen, we will procure some reports on past sales to help validate the price of the home.

Step 4 - During this step, we will assist you in making an offer and help answer questions regarding the contract process.

Step 5 - During the construction phase, we will meet a minimum of once every two weeks to discuss the process, answer questions and talk about things needed for closing.


Step 6 - Closing - We made it !!!! After closing, you can rely on us to be there for providing information for tax protests, consultation on improvements and much more. For more information about the services we offer, please contact us at paul@ourfirstnest.com and visit our client testimonial page.
There are a number of websites that can help you initially locate a new home. Here are three of my favorites:
http://www.newhomesource.com/  - Comprehensive website that shows new home builders in a given area including neighborhood details, plans, pricing and available inventory.
http://www.har.com/  - Houston Association of Realtor's web page. This website will allow you to filter down to new construction to limit your search

Houston Realtor Goes Green

Houston Realtor Paul Silverman of Our First Nest Realty has taken green to an all new level. In 2010, all contracts signed by his clients will use the Docusign electronic signature program. This will greatly reduce or eliminate the need for any printing, faxing or any other methods that waste paper, ink and energy consumption. Not only does this help the environment, it provides a great service to the client by not having to print documents and find time to fax or scan. This also helps by eliminating multiple faxes of the same documents which lose resolution every time they are faxed. Recently, he had a client that was on her way out of town and had no access to a printer, fax or scanner. Through the electronic signature program she was able to sign the contracts and submit them within minutes. “Anytime I can help streamline a process, provide an added service to a client and reduce my company’s carbon footprint, it is an easy decision to make” says Silverman.


Along with his commitment to being a green Realtor in Houston, he also has earned two professional designations to support this pledge. He holds the National Association of Realtors GREEN Designation along with the National Association of Homebuilders Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation. “Providing excellent customer service as well as stewardship for our environment is the mission of Our First Nest Realty.”

Our First Nest Realty Featured on Docusign Website

Our First Nest Realty was proudly featured on the Docusign website for our committment to making the contract process completely green by eliminating the need for paper contract. For more information please see the link below or visit http://www.ourfirstnest.com/
http://www.docusign.com/news_and_events/press_releases/2010-03-10-1.php

February Market Report for Real Estate in Hosuton

Thanks to a surge in the upper end housing market, the total dollar volume of homes sold in Houston for February rose 6% while the total number of sales slightly declined 6%. The average sales price also showed a significant increase (12%) due to this activity in the upper end market. Among the other areas to show impressive increase in sales were the Condos/Townhomes in Houston increasing 9%, High Rise Residential increasing 6% and the three rental markets increasing from 10% - 37%. Our biggest winner of the month goes to the single family home price category of $400,000 - $500,000 with a tremendous gain of 53% followed by $500,000 - $600,000 showing a 38% increase.

The next important statistic to look at is the months of inventory of homes in Houston. In February, the average ticked up a bit to 6.3 months of inventory but still well below the national average of 7.8 months. Most experts agree that a 6-8 month supply shows equilibrium in the market meaning it is not a buyers or sellers market. All of the price categories in February reflected this range with the exception of categories of $400,000 and up with a maximum months of inventory in the $1,000,000 and up market capping at 18.4 months.
One of the most watched groups of sales, foreclosures in Houston, showed a significant drop slipping by 18.7%. With the exception of investors and buyers looking for a good deal, this number definitely shows some strength in the market considering that a little over a year ago almost 30% of all sales were Foreclosures. The lack of Foreclosures on the market adds a definite plus by maintaining property values and the look of a neighborhood.
For any detailed questions real estate in Houston or the surrounding areas, please contact Our First Nest Realty at http://www.ourfirstnest.com/  or email us a paul@ourfirstnest.com