Whew, it was a hot one temperature wise, but what a great time everyone had at our 14th Annual VIP Client Appreciation celebration at Grey Rock Golf Club’s Stars and Stripes event on July 3rd, 2018!

Over 240 clients and their friends attended this year’s celebration of our independence as a nation in our VIP section off the 18th fairway, with over 3,000 in total attendance at the club. The gates opened at 6pm and the parking lot filled quickly.

Parents and kids alike enjoyed 400 hot dogs, bags and bags of chips, cookies and lemonade in our section alone. Adam the Balloon man was busy making all sorts of fun hats and playful animals while Russ was busy applying temporary tattoos for kids. The adults enjoyed 3 kegs of Alaskan brew while the temperatures slowly dropped as the sun went down.

Finally, dusk arrived and the fireworks show began – this year – with the addition of lower flying fireworks that had the crowd cheering. We would like to thank Grey Rock Golf Club for catering to our needs as well as everyone who attended our party! We are looking forward to seeing you all again next year.

Photography courtesy of Sam Armstrong Photography

A note of thanks to all of you who sent me “Get Well Soon” wishes following my run in with a rattlesnake this past May.

What can I tell you – I learned a valuable lesson – and hopefully by following our updates on Facebook, you and your family learned what a bad idea it is to try to bag a viper regardless of their size.
My encounter was with what I would call a 2’ 4” ‘baby’ rattler but he (or she) got the better of me. Thanks of course go out to the folks at Seton SW ER and Dell Seton Trauma floor for their work and kindness while halting the effects of the venom. Doctors told me that in fact, the baby rattlesnakes are worse than their full-grown parents, apparently as the baby’s do not regulate the flow of venom in a bite, they unload it all!
I’m fortunate to say that there should be no long-term effects and the bite has pretty much healed although the swelling around my finger, while much reduced, lingers as a daily reminder. If you read the story about the unlucky man from Corpus Christi who was envenomated by a headless Rattler – please take note. I thought that story was a hoax, but apparently it is all too true, the chopped off head of rattlesnakes can and will bite for how long I’m not sure. Neighbors have since shared that is why you never pick up the head of a rattlesnake – use a shovel and bury it to avoid the risk of a bite! Or if you are faced with a decision of taking on a rattlesnake or walking away, choose the latter. It’s far less risky and certainly a less expensive solution.

Let’s get caught up on how Circle C Austin homes are selling this year – through the first six months of 2018.

So far, we’ve recorded 199 home sales in MLS since January 2018, that’s 22 more than the same time last year or an increase of 12% YoY. Not all sales are recorded in MLS, so we can guess that there are more new construction homes closing above that number of 199. Nevertheless, the average size of the homes recorded so far is 2,830 sf and they are selling on average for $519k. That’s $19k more than same time last year or an increase of 4% YoY. The average age of a Circle C home sale is 2004. One thing to look for in the coming months is the sales of homes in Hillside Estates, that’s the Cal Atlantic (or Village Builders) section next to the blue water tower off FM 1826. There are nine lots in the gated Hillside Estates community, and so far, we are tracking 6 homes… 2 are listed as Active at an average of $951k and 4 are listed currently as Pending at an average price of $1,028k or just over 1 Million. Homes in Greyrock Ridge (another new construction area just south of SH 45 where Mopac begins is selling quickly. Greyrock Ridge has recorded 22 sales this year, 5 of those are resales and the 17 others are new homes.
There are 58 active homes currently for sale (as of July 16), a very low amount of inventory given we are averaging one home every single day. With 47 homes pending we have just under two months of active inventory. A balanced market is reportedly 6.5 months of inventory – so we are in a strong seller’s market. Note, just because it’s a seller’s market that does not mean pricing is completely out of this world, homes that are priced well relative to the competition and present as clean and open will sell. Homes that are over priced or do not present well – will sit. The market is what the market is. If you are selling in Austin but staying in town, you will be on the buyers’ side soon enough and feel the pain of little inventory and higher prices. Many sellers have intentionally not put their home on the market as they recognize that even if they were to downsize in terms of SF, they still may pay as much or more for the new home – which does not always make financial sense.
To see more information about the Circle C housing market click here to view the updated Market Stats report on MoveToCircleC.com or AustinRealEstatePartners.com.

Greetings friends and neighbors! I was recently sent a link to a drone video of the progress as of April 21st, 2017 on the planned SH45 Toll Road between Mopac and FM 1627 and I thought you might be interested in viewing the link as well.

SH45 SW has been a hot topic ever since the state owned right of way was acquired in 1987 for use as a future roadway connecting FM 1626, Bliss Spillar, Loop 1 (Mopac) and SH 45 West of Loop 1.

I live in Greyrock Ridge, a recently developed section of Circle C Ranch, located near the South and West corner of Loop 1 (Mopac) and SH 45, so I am witness to the construction efforts increasing daily. On those days when no work is going on, I’ve take the opportunity to hike approximately 1/3 of the route personally and take photos from the ground but the drone video gives a much better perspective on the route and progress thus far. For those of you who also live in Greyrock Ridge, note the 4:10 minute market of the video and you can clearly see the Greyrock Ridge homes to the left side of the screen as it approaches the Loop 1 (Mopac) and SH 45 SW connection.

Credit to Gregg Sales for the video and potentially more updates in the future. To learn more, click this YouTube video link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC3dHRE4lw8 or go to https://www.sh45sw.com to learn more about the project.

Our next door neighbors have taken the plunge and are in the thick of a complete kitchen remodel.

Their previous kitchen was in perfect working order but a little outdated. They took it down to the studs and are replacing the floors, cabinets, countertops and some appliances. It’s been two months of screeching tile saws in the driveway – right outside my studio window where I work from home as an artist. I have seen these neighbors time and again in the garage where they have their makeshift kitchen set up amongst the boxes of tile and buckets and bags and boxes… microwaving breakfast or dinner. This temporary kitchen not only shares space with the remodeling supplies but also the lawnmower & garbage cans and is also the workers hub of activity.

We have a similar kitchen and have been planning a remodel ourselves. But after witnessing the dust, mess, noise, loss of privacy and inconvenience of our neighbors project, I’m thinking I’m ok with the green Formica for a little while longer. My husband and I both work from home so where would we work? I’m an artist so temporarily moving my studio would be difficult. My neighbors took the trouble of hanging plastic sheeting everywhere to protect the non-remodeled areas but to little avail. The entire house was consumed by dust within the first week. The workers loud music, colorful language and cigarette smoke, not to mention a slew of parked cars all along the street have become fixtures of our daily existence.

Sooo, to redo or not to redo? That is the question!

Maybe you need to update your kitchen in order to put it on the market or you just moved in and want to do it for your own enjoyment! Or like us, you’ve been in your home for several years and have diy’d all you can throughout the rest of the house, the only project left to make your home “perfect” is a shiny new kitchen.

If you are following the lead of my neighbors (and many other friends in the neighborhood who have done it), what are some things to consider? “Visualize the functionality and design it to be that” says Jeremy who redid his kitchen last summer. “The biggest mistake was budget to your personality. If you like nice, you better budget for it. The other thing is if you don’t hire a general contractor, you better be there to inspect every piece of work the sub contractors do”. He also recommends “adding into your budget eating out a lot and make sure your grill works! We washed dishes in the utility sink and had our fridge & microwave in the dining room.” He said his kitchen remodel took between 8-12 weeks. His wife Kirsten chimed in with “overestimate the amount of contingency money you need (for unforeseen expenses). Only go trendy with details, keep major elements classic so your kitchen isn’t outdated in 10 years. We sealed the doors to the kitchen with plastic to keep down the dust and increase privacy”.

Another friend Krista recommends “finding a contractor you trust and don’t micromanage. Know your style (check out houzz). Invest in a few big, expensive items and mix in cheaper things. Mixed materials/styles look great! We did some Nantucket, some industrial and some modern and love the result! Don’t be home during a remodel if possible. We were away for most of it and that was a good call. Plan to eat out a lot but have a toaster oven and electric skillet in the garage or elsewhere”. She said her kitchen remodel (+ 2 baths) took 3 months.

Lindsay says to “pack up every room that is getting renovated & move it out of the area because it’s messy & dusty. We are out every day for a month while our kitchen was disassembled. My advice is to move out of the house during the renovation because it is stressful!”

Have you remodeled your kitchen? What tips & tricks do you have to share? Was it worth it?

Thanks for reading! You can find my artwork and staging at:
Facebook.com/katieconleycreative or katieconleycreative.com