Steve Castaneda's Blog: All Categories

Spring is located in the North/Northwest area of Houston, and is home to the Klein and Spring Independent School District. Many Houstonians call Spring home, with it's tall majestic pines and complex systems of creeks running through much of this vicinity of Houston. Spring Real Estate is located between Highway 249 and Highway 45; perfectly placed for convenient access to major thoroughfares into central Houston.

Spring is part of a rapidly changing real estate market in Houston. Parts of Spring feature untouched land, growing more expensive as the years pass. Other parts feature a bustling city lifestyle, and a central hub for shopping for anyone visiting the North part of Houston.

Living in Spring, TX will allow you to enjoy being in the center of…

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The Woodlands has become quite a development. This master planned community is also it's very own city, located to North of Houston between Houston and Conroe. Many still consider The Woodlands a part of Houston due to it's close proximity to Houston's complex system of highways, but local residents will tell you that The Woodlands is all-together a new lifestyle all on it's own.

If you are the type of person that enjoys tall, majestic pines and a proactive preservation of natures wonderful sceneries, then The Woodlands may be the perfect place for you to live. The Woodlands has preserved more than 5,000 acres in "green" space.

The city of The Woodlands has it's own rules and regulations regarding the removal of natural flora, thus preserving the look…

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A home will sell for two reasons: price and exposure. In the real estate market for the 21st century, exposure has taken a new turn with the advancement of many Internet technologies for real estate. Be it as it may, the real estate industry's new exposure tools will not help a home sell if the home is not priced correctly. When considering putting your home up for sale, it is very important to first analyze your real estate market on a subdivision level, not a metro-area level, to derive the features and amenities that are driving the value in your neighborhood. You must then establish a pricing strategy in accordance with your financial and timing needs.

Identifying Selling Needs

No two real estate transactions in today's world are identical. As a…

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To the Northwest you'll find a part of Houston filled with a bustling city lifestyle, yet also with an environment filled with tress, parks, and towering trees.

Cypress real estate features homes that are built in master planned communities and subdivisions with an appeal to those wanting large, mature trees and a landscape to enjoy on those breezy summer days.

You will also find that Cypress is located in one of the best educational districts in Houston. This is of vital importance to not only your family, but with your home's ability to appreciate in value as well.

Master Planned Communities

Master Planned Community - a large scale development designed to offer home owners an attractive and convenient lifestyle within the confines of the community.…

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So a man has until the ripe age of 127 to pay off his 25 year mortgage.  Pretty interested read; I highly doubt the bank didn't think of a contingency plan before giving this man an interest only 200,000 mortgage (in pounds).  For the most part, perhaps they have some kind of next-of-kin clause where they can pursue the debt with the debtors family?  I'd be neat if a mortgage professional could chime in on this one and add their two cents.

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Steve Castaneda, Realtor is a Houston Real Estate agent specializing in the Northwest part of Houston. Read Full Post

I had a chance to read an interview in Realtor Magazine - April 2007 with NAR chief economist David Lereah, and I think he had some great insight into the reason why much of the real estate market began to forget about the localization of real estate market.
During the boom, people forgot about the fundamentals and started seeing real estate as a single market.

In response to a question from the interviewer about why it's important to dig deeper than the metro-area level for market distinctions, Lereah responded:

...that's why the role of Realtors and lenders is so critical. Essentially what I learned is that real estate sites like Zillow and Trulia, though great tools to look at, really don't help the real estate consumer besides showing them a… Read Full Post

Houston is on fire with talk about an up and coming master planned community set to make it's full debut in 2007. Bridgeland is a 10,000 acre master planned community located in Cypress, Texas, set to house 65,000 residents in 21,000 homes. Homeowners will be able to enjoy a wide variety of features an amenities that only a community like Bridgeland, one that's been in the development phase for years, can provide.

The residents of this luxurious community will enjoy a system of waterways, lakes, parks, trails, fishing, an 18-hole golf course, baseball fields, and even open space for leisure sports such a throwing a frisbee. Bridgeland is devoted to providing a community built around nature, will massive planning going in to preserve the natural wooded…

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Located on the corner of Highway 290 and Barker Cypress, Coles Crossing is quickly becoming a fantastic place to live. Residents of Coles Crossing will enjoy many amenities through nearby shopping, restaurants, movie theaters, and access to a major thoroughfare into the center of Houston. The Northwest part of Houston is growing at a rapid pace. New master planned communities are hitting the map each and every year. Coles Crossing was a community that is taking advantage of this wave, providing steady appreciation rates to homeowners.

Coles Crossing has it's fair share of amenities to those living and visiting the area. Newcomers are greeting with a "country-living" lifestyle, while not forgetting to provide the latest technologies to it's residents.…

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