Team DiMuria, Katy Texas Realtors

Oak Park Trails is an interesting option for buyers moving to the Katy area south of I-10. It has a great location (on the corner of Mason Rd and Highland Knolls), is halfway between I-10 and the Westpark Tollway for easy commutes, feeds award winning schools in the KatyISD, is close to shopping, malls like the LaCenterra Mall and Villagio Retail Center, and home values that will not bust the bank!!

Homes in Oak Park Trails run from around $140,000 to about $250,000 and range from about 1500sqft up to over 3000sqft. This family oriented community includes a great central park and pool that gives the kids plenty to do all summer long!

Now the issue: some of the top builders in the area built and sold homes in Oak Park Trails, but about halfway through build out KB Homes (not my favorite builder by a long shot) got involved and finished out the development....and about mid decade the foreclosure rate in Oak Park Trails went through the roof. This situation corrected itself after the final homes were completed and now Oak Park Trails is a very good alternative for those wanting to be close to Cinco Ranch....but not pay Cinco Ranch Prices.

Bottom Line: if you are looking for a family home in the mid 100's to low 200's and need larger square footage Oak Park Trails is a good alternative with stable values and nice amenities.

This Saturday, September 26th The Wine Next Door in the LaCenterra Mall in Cinco Ranch will be holding their Cabs, K-Bobs, and Country Music wine tasting event. You will have two choices to enjoy the wine...for $18 you can do the appetizers and wine, for $30 you can do dinner and wine.

Justin vanSant will be providing the live entertainment with country hits young and old. This was one of the top events at The Wine Next Door last year and promises to be a great success again this Saturday.

The event will be held from 7-9pm. The Wine Next Door is located in the south side of the LaCenterra Mall on the corner of The Grand Parkway and Cinco Ranch Blvd.

Contact The Wine Next Door at:

23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd.
Katy, TX 77494
(281) 395-4100

For Information about this event or any Katy area real estate questions contact Team DiMuria at 281-492-5916 or jeffreydimuria@garygreene.com Team DiMuria is on the web at: www.KatyHomeFinder.com

The Brookings Instituteput out their list of the top 100 U.S. Cities for home price increase for the second quarter of 2009....adjusted for inflation. Houston Texas topped the list with an increase of 4.9%.

This statistic helps justify the claims we have been making that Houston and Katy have one of the top real estate markets in the entire Country. Houston was followed on the Brookings Institute list by Wichita, Dallas-Ft Worth, Buffalo NY, Pittsburgh, Columbia SC, Syracuse, Baton Rouge, Rochester NY, and San Antonio.

Katy and Houston also have much lower unemployment then the National average which may also help housing market when compared to the rest of the Country.

We wrote a blog post about the speed limit change in 2008. It seems the City fathers decided to change the speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph. The reason for the change was based on a study done some years earlier suggesting the lower speed limit would be needed for safety.

Well...one year later we are changing our speed limit back to 30 mph. Seems that the lower speed limit did not enhance the safety in and around the Katy Mills Mall...it just slowed everyone down a little from getting to their next destination.

...another example of our paid government officials doing the important work of the day!

We really enjoy living in the Katy area south of I-10. We have a large amount of subdivisions and master planned communities to choose from. Some of our communities have lots of amenities like pool, tennis courts, golf courses, and walking trails. Some have stately homes in gated communities while others have easy highway access but limited amenities...the point is you choose what fits you best.

Parklake Village is a community bordered by George Bush Park. It is a gated community just east of Fry Rd. Houses in Parklake Village range from around $300,000 to just under $1,000,000. The community offers a variety of homes from production built to semi-custom and custom built homes.

This all sounds good...but here is my issue:

You just have better choices in neighborhoods here is Katy! The limited amenities, less then stellar community layout (in my opinion), and the fact that you must drive through other neighborhoods (and past a school that fronts the community...especially in the morning or afternoon) to get to Parklake Village takes away from what should be a custom feel.

In Katy, at the same price-point you can buy in neighborhoods like Windsor Park Lakes, Cinco Ranch, Avalon, Lakes of Buckingham, and WoodCreek Reserve...all offering custom and semi-custom homes at similar price points...all wrapped up in a what I feel is a much nicer package.