Chesmar Homes has recently begun building single-family homes in the new neighborhood of Montfair in the Terramont area of the Village of Sterling Ridge. Montfair is located near the Joel L Deretchin Flex Elementary School, ranked exemplary in the most recent accountability ratings by the Texas Education Agency, and near Terramont Park. Terramont Park is a 16-acre village park located on rolling topography and features a slide encased in the side of a hill. Amenities also include a pavilion with a 40-foot terraced backdrop, nine-hole disc golf course, multi-use sports field, wheel-friendly area, playground equipment, lighted tennis and basketball courts and an off-leash small dog friendly area.

Available in January 2007 is a two-story Chesmar home featuring the Karmel design, elevation B, pnced at $248.390. This 2,566-square-foot home highlights a private backyard on a greenbelt. In February 2007, a two-story home highlighting the Alita design, elevation B, is available. This 2,383-square-foot home is priced at $248,540. Also in February, a home featuring the Karmel design, elevation A, will be ready for move-in, priced at $243.640.

As last month?s figures were finalized, Houston?s real estate market continued to show a steady growth pattern with good news for buyers and sellers. While national numbers have shown weakness, Houston continues to be highlighted as one of the remaining positive markets across the country.

Total property sales for the month registered 6,792, which was a 6.0 percent increase over October 2005. Properties sold during the month reached a total of nearly $1.3 billion, a 9.9 percent increase compared to last year?s more than $1.1 billion in October sales. Year-to-date dollar volume is just a hair shy of the full-year figure for last year, with $14.0 billion of property changing hands, compared to $14.2 billion for all of 2005. Additionally, the median home price for a single-family home reached a monthly record for October of $146,000, and the average single-family home price came in at $189,527, increases from last year of 2.8 and 0.4 percent, respectively.

?As we near the end of the year, we remain hopeful that these promising trends remain. This will be great news for those planning to complete a transaction before December 31 of this year. We continue to count our blessings for a healthy marketplace,? said Lorraine Abercrombie, HAR Chair. ?We keep a close eye on the nation, not as an indicator of the Houston market, but to make comparisons for those who may be considering a move from the east or west coasts to the Houston area. Fortunately, we can still share good news with them.?

The number of available homes (active listings) at the end of October was 46,673 properties, which was an increase of 7.8 percent versus last October and the fourth month with a year-over-year increase, after 10 consecutive previous declines. The figure was an increase of 173 properties from last month, which is an increase of more than 3,300 homes in the last five months and shows new listings are keeping up with increased sales activity. For buyers, this means the possibility of having a few more options depending on neighborhood, price range, size and other specifics.

Month-end pending sales ? those listings expected to close within the next 30 days ? reached 4,883, which was up 19.0 percent from last year, and signals an expected strong November for sales. The months inventory of single-family homes for October came in at 5.5 months. This statistic signals more of a seller?s market and also shows that demand is more than keeping up with the available supply of homes, as displayed by October reporting the 24th consecutive decline in year-over-year months inventory figures.

Source: Houston Association of Realtors

The Woodlands Waterways has added a whole new type of wildlife. Noted artist Dixie Friend Gay has created ‘At the Water’s Edge,’ a collection of nine distinctive glass mosaic panels that were recently unveiled at The Woodlands ‘waterway. Pictured is Dixie Friend Gay discussing her mural with U.S. Senator John Cornyn, special guest at the unveiling event.

The murals on The Waterway, each measuring approximately 5′ x 5′, are composed of Byzantine glass, the same material used in the Bush Intercontinental mosaic, created by Dixie Friend Gay, the 2003 Texas State Artist of the Year.

The mosaics were installed on The Waterway Avenue Bridge for residents and visitors to enjoy. Six panels are on two sides of the footpath on the north side of The Waterway and three are on one side of the path of the water taxi. The artwork shows a wide variety of wildlife native to southeast Texas. including snakes. kingfishers. rabbits, painted buntings, snails, frogs, American Beauty Bushes. spoonbills. herons and wood ducks. Open passages between the mosaics allow onlookers to enjoy a view of The waterway as well.

The Woodlands Development Company (TWDC) and Town Center Improvement District (TCID) have announced plans for Waterway Square, a major urban park now under construction in the heart of The Woodlands Town Center.

The project is being jointly funded by TWDC. TCID and the Town Center Owners Association (TCOA). Waterway Square is located on The Woodlands Waterway®, just east of the Waterway Avenue Bridge and the AAA Four Diamond The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center

TWDC is also constructing 24 Waterway Avenue. which at 13 stories and 308,206 square feet, is the largest speculative, mixed use building ever constructed by the developer.
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