HAR's Crazy Right Now-- So many pending (Bellaire, Mart: house, neighborhood)

[nisw]

I live in riverstone , suga land...the house prices are up...but those are sitting in the market more than last year .I think because of new construction houses .

[wintersbone]

yea bellaire is such a great part of town. right next to the gulfton ghetto. lol

friendswood.. no ghetto areas for many miles.

[ftbend06]

Originally Posted by wintersbone

yea bellaire is such a great part of town. right next to the gulfton ghetto. lol

friendswood.. no ghetto areas for many miles.

Not sure if serious. Friendswood is pretty nice, but there's a reason people pay more to live in bellaire. It's a more desirable area. Friendswood is certainly at or near the top of the area it's in, but the surrounding area is far from perfect. Look at some of what you have to drive through to get there along 45, etc.

[marksmu]

Originally Posted by ftbend06

Not sure if serious. Friendswood is pretty nice, but there's a reason people pay more to live in bellaire. It's a more desirable area. Friendswood is certainly at or near the top of the area it's in, but the surrounding area is far from perfect. Look at some of what you have to drive through to get there along 45, etc.

Not everyone works downtown. Friendswood and Bellaire are completely different.

Bellaire is inner city, more diverse, shorter commute to downtown...Bellaire is surrounded by low income areas far closer than any to Friendswood. Bellaire does not have a small town feel. Many people dont know their neighbors or care to interact, and the schools are significantly worse than those in Friendswood.

Friendswood is a suburb, further from town, longer commute to downtown, but much shorter to Nasa/Webster/Galveston/Pearland, etc (all significant employment areas) It has a genuine small town feel, people know and care about each other and the schools are top notch.

So what is and is not "desirable" is relative. You believe Bellaire is more "desirable" I do not. I grew up in Friendswood, live in Houston, but would never choose to live in Bellaire. Bellaire may be desirable to you - but its of zero interest to me. Give me a $1,000,000 and let me pick any home in either area, and I will be in Friendswood. To each their own, but you certainly can't call Belliare more desirable. That is a fallacy.

[Svensk08]

Originally Posted by marksmu

Not everyone works downtown. Friendswood and Bellaire are completely different.

Bellaire is inner city, more diverse, shorter commute to downtown...Bellaire is surrounded by low income areas far closer than any to Friendswood. Bellaire does not have a small town feel. Many people dont know their neighbors or care to interact, and the schools are significantly worse than those in Friendswood.

Friendswood is a suburb, further from town, longer commute to downtown, but much shorter to Nasa/Webster/Galveston/Pearland, etc (all significant employment areas) It has a genuine small town feel, people know and care about each other and the schools are top notch.

So what is and is not "desirable" is relative. You believe Bellaire is more "desirable" I do not. I grew up in Friendswood, live in Houston, but would never choose to live in Bellaire. Bellaire may be desirable to you - but its of zero interest to me. Give me a $1,000,000 and let me pick any home in either area, and I will be in Friendswood. To each their own, but you certainly can't call Belliare more desirable. That is a fallacy.

For one who's never lived there, you certainly have some preconceived notions about living in Bellaire! Until I downsized to a bungalow in the Greater East End, it. was my home town for many years.

[wintersbone]

I don't need to live in Bellaire because of 2 words... gulfton ghetto. I went through Bellaire once its pretty run down looking in most places.

and Bellaire schools aren't even close to what friendswood schools are.

[v2four]

its absolutely insane out there...I know the supply and demand economics, buy low/sell high, etcetera etcetera....but some of these homeowners are getting down right greedy, but I guess they can because some of these buyers are down right desperate to be in the name brand neighborhood.

as we were thinking about moving up, my family started looking for a new home in March, but I said to hell with it...Im not purchasing at the height of the market when we all know that this will not hold up and soon enough, this thing will come down to earth where it should it...there are areas of Houston where a home should never ever ever be over $200k, yet even in the "hood" people are trying to get rich.

I followed a home in my neighborhood that was foreclosure..it was on the market for 9 months and went from $259k to sell at $219k...it needed some work done, but it was a 5/4/2 detached garage with 3300 sq feet..the new owner put in wood floors, granite counters in kitchen and bathroom, some fresh paint, and cleaned the place up....he then priced it at $349k...that was back in February...its on the market still, priced now at $295k...no takers so far even though other homes priced above it are selling...

other home owners in our area are trying to sell 3/2/2 1900 sq foot homes at over $200k...just being plan greedy, but if the market will bear it, I guess they can do it...this is in the suburbs off of the grand parkway and westpark toll....its just insane.

im finding inflated prices all around this city...they are selling homes in new caney and porter for $300k......and even in the middle to upper 200's in places like crosby, baytown and mont belvieu, which have nothing to offer...I guess wherever developers see any open plat of land, they are building homes or those gosh awful "luxury" apartment complexes...

finally, driving down the grand parkway toward 290 on saturday, I decided to venture into some of those new katy subdivisons on the west side of 99, and if you love tight neighborhoods, with plenty of cars lining the streets, cookie cutter houses on 45 foot lots, then that is the spot for you...maybe I just have pricing shell shock or cold feet, but I am staying put even though Im bursting at the seams and just had an adult child move back home....

[marksmu]

Originally Posted by Svensk08

For one who's never lived there, you certainly have some preconceived notions about living in Bellaire! Until I downsized to a bungalow in the Greater East End, it. was my home town for many years.

They are not pre-conceived - I've been around Bellaire for a long time. My kids pediatrician is in Bellaire...I do not dislike Bellaire at all...it is just not my cup of tea. I have nothing against it in any way shape or form - My point was that the reasons Bellaire may be desirable to some does not make it desirable to others.

If I work in Webster/Clear Lake or Pearland, why would I ever want to live in Bellaire? Smaller, more expensive homes, and inferior schools for my children.

That is the point. Desirability is relative...everything is about your personal situation.

[ftbend06]

I agree that comparing friendswood and bellaire is apples and oranges. But someone got on here and made a ridiculous statement that friendswood is essentially less "ghetto" or better than bellaire. My comments were in response to that. What I intended was, if bellaire is so inferior, why is it more exclusive from a price / property value standpoint? I agree, they are totally different. To each his/her own. But people shouldn't make bold statements that aren't supported by facts. By the way, I live in neither of these places, not even close.

[Svensk08]

Originally Posted by wintersbone

I don't need to live in Bellaire because of 2 words... gulfton ghetto. I went through Bellaire once its pretty run down looking in most places.

and Bellaire schools aren't even close to what friendswood schools are.

Please look at a map showing the boundaries of the City of Bellaire. The Gulfton Getto is not part of the City of Bellaire; the rundown areas you mentioned likely aren't, either. Bellaire has zoning and there is a light industrial area close to Westpark and Loop 610. Many people refer to all City of Houston neighborhoods adjacent to Bellaire Blvd. as "Bellaire" when they definitely are not!