Jill Wente - Spring TX Real Estate

The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) has released the MLS statistics for the month of march 2008 for Area 13 which the majority of Area 13 would be considered Spring TX.

The closed sales for March 2008 were 231 which was 16% less than a year ago. The quantity of active listings for Area 13 are 1,717 which is 4% more than a year ago. The average days on market (DOM) remains relatively unchanged from the prior year at 87 days.

The combination of the decrease in closed sales and the increase in inventory over the prior year has added one month to the quantity of months of inventory increasing it to 6.8 months. Over six months of inventory typically is referred to as a buyer's market.

Although it may be considered a buyer's market, Spring Texas sellers are not accepting low ball offers as indicated by the percentage of sales price to list price which was 96%.

Low interest rates and a good selection of homes means its now the ideal time for buyers to search for homes.

If you are a Spring Texas seller the increase in inventory / competition means your house needs to put its best impression on to attract those buyers. You must stage your home to capture the buyers attention.

(281) 804-8626 - jwente@garygreene.com

One of the questions, we are asked the most has to be "How are the schools in Spring Texas?" Its a good question. The quality of schools not only impact the education received by our children but they also impact real estate prices. A quality school that is in demand will increase real estate prices and just the reverse occurs with a lesser quality school.

"How do you determine which schools are good?" One of the methods we use to assess the quality of education provided by our schools are the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores. The TAKS are standardized tests administered to students in grades 3 - 11. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) rates schools and districts based largely on the results from these scores.

The ratings given are Exemplary (E), Recognized (R), Academically Acceptable (A), Academically Unacceptable (U), and Not Rated (NR). To learn more about the requirements needed to receive each of the ratings Read: Rating Texas Schools.

The Ratings for the 2006 - 2007 school year have just been released and "How did the schools in Spring Texas do?"

Klein School District with an enrollment of 41,438 students received an (A) - Academically Acceptable rating. Two of its elementary schools, Hassler and Haude, received an (E) - Exemplary rating. The Exemplary rating is a highly coveted rating as only about 8% of the campuses in the State of Texas receive the rating. 12 of the elementary schools received the (R) - Recognized rating with 10 of the elementary schools receiving the (A) - Academically Acceptable rating.

Strack was the only the intermediate school in the Klein School District to receive a (R) - Recognized rating. The other rated intermediate schools received an (A) - Academically Acceptable rating with the exception of Klein Intermediate which received an (U) - Academically Unacceptable rating. All four Klein High Schools received an (A) - Academcially Acceptable rating.

Read Also: Spring TX Real Estate Taxes to increase in school bond passes

Spring School District with an enrollment of 32,227 students received an (A) - Academically Acceptable rating. Ten of its elementary schools received a (R) rating with nine of the elementary schools receiving an (A) rating.

Spring School District's five rated middle schools and two high schools all received an (A) - Academically Acceptable rating.

When relocating to Spring Texas and considering schools you need to do your research. Review the school districts and campuses TEA ratings, review the student - teacher ratios and other public data. After you have narrowed your choices down, go and visit the campuses you are considering. Walk through the halls, get a feeling for the campus, meet with the Principal and teachers and then make your own decision on how the schools in Spring Texas are.

Additional detail on the ratings, student - teacher ratios, campus demographics is available at TEA ratings.

(281) 804-8626 - jwente@garygreene.com

One of the bad things about growth is that sooner or later we are going to have to pay for its impact on our infrastructre. And pay we do, usually in the form of increased taxes. Over the last four years, our Klein school district has experienced growth. Growth of more than 16% or 6,000 students. Thus the need for another school bond election. If it passes, its projected to increase real estate taxes for Spring Texas homeowners by $0.20.

If you are like thinking, it wasn't that long ago since Klein school district had their last bond election. You are right. Their last bond election was in 2004 for $224 million. It was projected to increase real estate taxes by $0.26 but luckily only reached $0.22. If you are not familiar with the components of our Texas property taxes, read Texas Property Taxes Why are they so HIGH?

What exactly is a school bond and why do we need it?

A school bond which is sometimes called a municipal bond is a document that obligates the school district to repay borrowed money on a given maturity date and to pay interest semi-annually at a rate set at the date of sale to the bondholder.

The Klein school district needs a school bond to fund its capital improvements to support the projected increase in its student population. The 2008 bond plan includes $345.9 million for growth, $256.7 million for renovations, $38.2 million for technology, and $6.1 million for safety/security for a total of $646.9 million.

The funds earmarked for growth will provide for the construction of three elementary schools, one Early Learning Pre-K Center, two intermediate schools, one high school, and classroom additions for both Klein Oak High School and Klein Collins High School.

On May 10th, Spring Texas residents in the Klein Independent School District will cast their vote in the Klein ISD bond election. If the bond passes, real estate taxes will increase by $0.20 over the next four years.

A small consolation is that due to the recent school property tax reform, the projected increase in our school property tax rate will still be LOWER than it was in the 2005 - 2006 school years.

Read also:

• Klein school district experiences 16% growth

(281) 804-8626 - jwente@garygreene.com

When I get asked which I do frequently, "Is this a good neighborhood?", I usually respond it depends. I am certain my response must come across as being evasive but to me the definition of a good neighborhood is truly one of personal opinion.

I may think a good neighborhood is close to shopping and major thoroughfares, has sidewalks, is well lit at night, has decent size yards, and where pride of ownership is evident in the look and the upkeep of the yards and the homes. You may agree or not agree with me on my definition and thus comes in its a matter of personal opinion.

Another reason I have to say it depends is because as a licensed Realtor I can not steer you as a home buyer away from a neighborhood or into a neighborhood.  It is against the National Association of Realtors code of ethics and if I were to steer you I could lose my real estate license. 

So how do you decide which is a good neighborhood? If you want to know if sex offenders are living in the area that you are considering, go to the Texas Department of Public safety web site and search by city and zip code. Information on crime rates in the Spring Texas area is available at the Harris County Sheriff's Office web site.  The web site has quarterly statistics on crime rates.   

To learn more about individual subdivisions / neighborhoods, you may find the Spring Texas Neighborhoods section of our website useful. For information about schools and  demographics, visit the schools section of our website.   

Talk to your friends, family, or people you work with and ask them what neighborhoods are good neighborhoods. Just please don't ask me, because I will have to say it depends.

(281) 804-8626 - jwente@garygreene.com

Without any fanfare and only a large Now OPEN banner, 55 Degreez Wine Bar has quietly opened in Spring TX.  I was immediately curious about what was behind the darkened windows of its mysterious store front.

After I walked in and was able to adjust my eyes from the bright sunshine to the darkened bar I was amazed. I thought for sure that I had just been transported from Spring TX to a hip, cool wine bar in downtown Houston and the lack of a TV told me that this was NO sports bar.

The interior is decorated in a Moroccan theme with plush fabric draped on the ceiling, red chairs, and a L shaped granite counter top. The bar's lighting of pendants, glittery chandeliers, and tea lights sets the mood for an evening of casual conversation while enjoying the nuances of wine.

My husband and I sat down at the bar and perused the extensive selections of wine by the glass. Unable to make a decision on an individual glass, we both opted to have a wine flight. A wine flight is a 2 ounce pour of 3 different wines of the same style for $15.

My husband chose a Merlot and I chose a Pinot Noir flight. I was served a pinot noir from Oregon, Napa Valley, and France. The mixture of tannins and blackberries in the Napa Valley Pinot made it my favorite of the three.

55 Degreez has a nice selection of what they call "Small Plates". The Small Plates range in price from $7 to $15. Cheese plate with house artisan cheeses with olive oil bread, grits and shrimp, mac & cheese, and crab cake are just a few of the selections.

My husband decided on the Sliders for $9 which were described as sirloin mini burgers with smoked tomato and confit truffle cheese and apple smoked bacon. I on the other hand chose the Pizza for $11 which was described as a sausage, shaved garlic, smoked tomato sauce and red pepper pizza.

Upon the arrival of our food selections, I instantly knew that my husband had made a better choice than me. On a stainless rectangular plate, he was served two small sirloin burgers on fluffy buns with a side of crispy golden fries wrapped in a white cone and placed in a stainless vase. In between bites, I asked him to describe the food and he simply said "Yummy".

My sausage pizza on the other hand was less than memorable. The crust had the distinct taste of cardboard and I was more than disappointed because this was no gourmet pizza. The $0.99 frozen grocery store pizzas tasted better.

Would I be back again to visit? Absolutely. But next time I will be ordering the Sliders.

55 Degreez Wine Bar is located between Starbucks and Fuji Hana in the HEB Shopping Plaza at 7316 Louetta in Spring TX. Their hours of operation are Tuesday - Thursday 2 - 10 pm, Friday and Saturday 2 - midnight, and Sunday 2 - 10 pm.

Read also:

• Area chef competes on Food Network's Iron Chef America Progam

(281) 804-8626 - jwente@garygreene.com