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Ralph Bivins

Real Estate

Ralph Bivins is a veteran journalist with extensive experience in writing about real estate for newspapers, magazines and Web publications. He also serves as publisher and editor-in-chief of RealtyNewsReport.com, a Web site that caters to realty professionals. He is former president and chairman of the board of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, a non-profit journalists group. Bivins has won numerous awards, including the Texas Headliners Club award for best business writing in the state of Texas 

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All articles by this author.  122 Results. Showing 21 to 40
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A Buying Mood

Home sales hit a five-year high as Houston's real estate miracle becomes national news

By Ralph Bivins

09.18.12 | 11:54 am

August was the best month for Houston home sales in five years as low mortgage rates and a strong local economy combined to ignite the real estate market. The inventory ...


Real Estate Rumblings

Hip Houston hotel sold to power players: Name change considered for historic building

By Ralph Bivins

08.22.12 | 1:22 pm

A group led by veteran Houston hotelier Nick Massad has purchased the historic Alden Hotel, a boutique hostelry formerly known as the Sam Houston Hotel. The 92-room hotel, built in ...


Winning streak continues

Houston home sales explode; prices up in Woodlands in anticipation of Exxon surge

By Ralph Bivins

08.21.12 | 1:18 pm

Houston home sales rose 27 percent in July, one of the largest monthly increases on record, as realty’s winning streak continued, according to the Houston Association of Realtors. Local ...


The Tower formerly known as Transco

Iconic Houston skyscraper is for sale as Galleria-area leasing rates skyrocket

By Ralph Bivins

08.08.12 | 11:19 am

Williams Tower, the iconic 64-story office building adjacent to The Galleria, is being marketed for sale to sophisticated investors around the world. The beacon-topped tower, at one time known as ...


$500,000 and up

It's a McBoom: Mansion sales are way up in Houston, bringing back visions of the wild 1980s

By Ralph Bivins

07.17.12 | 11:44 am

Mansions in Houston are selling like hotcakes. The strongest segment of the market is for homes priced at more than $500,000, which includes the upscale houses in River Oaks ...


Quick Move

From art institute to apartments: Marvy Finger strikes again, gobbling up a building to convert

By Ralph Bivins

07.09.12 | 6:03 pm

Houston apartment magnate Marvy Finger has purchased the old Art Institute of Houston office building in the Galleria area for a new apartment project. Finger will demolish the six-story office ...


An Austin tie

Prominent Houston hotel taken over by national group: $4.5 million in updates planned

By Ralph Bivins

06.29.12 | 2:49 pm

Hotel Derek, a 314-room independent boutique hotel in the Galleria area, has been sold to a group affiliated with the Hotel Driskill in Austin. The 14-story Hotel Derek is located ...


Real estate round-up

Vacation homes are back: Tuscany, Provence & Palm Springs are next hot markets

By Ralph Bivins

06.28.12 | 11:30 am

The vacation home market is making a comeback after a couple of rocky years.  People still want a place for recreation, and the seashore, the mountains and even vibrant urban ...


Goodbye, Prudential

Gary Greene Realtors switches affiliation to Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate

By Ralph Bivins

06.26.12 | 1:18 pm

Prudential Gary Greene Realtors, ranked as the largest residential realty firm in Houston, is leaving the Prudential brand and switching to the Better Homes and Gardens franchise network. The firm ...


Better than expected

Happy days are here again? Houston home sales hit highest point in four years

By Ralph Bivins

06.19.12 | 12:28 pm

Houston home sales skyrocketed in May, reaching the highest point in four years, the Houston Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. With a whopping 6,185 single-family homes sold in May ...


Full occupancy by 2015

Boomtown USA: Exxon Mobil plans to relocate additional 2,000 workers to north Houston campus

By Ralph Bivins

06.07.12 | 9:58 am

Exxon Mobil will relocate 2,000 employees from Fairfax, Va. and Akron, Ohio, to its new 385-acre corporate campus which is under construction on the far north side of the ...


Energy Corridor is hot

Wildcatting's back in real estate: Office buildings suddenly being built on spec again

By Ralph Bivins

06.06.12 | 1:09 pm

Houston’s wildcatter mentality is emerging again. After years of a conservative dry spell, “spec” office buildings are under construction in H-Town. Spec (short for speculative) buildings are familiar to ...


Real Estate Round-Up

Little boxes no more: Master planned communities go away from perfect lawns and golf courses to embrace the wild

By Ralph Bivins

06.04.12 | 10:28 am

Mow the lawn. Water the lawn. Mow the lawn. Water the lawn. Now it’s time to plant those pansies so we can enjoy a little color for a couple ...


Energy Power

Expect home prices to jump significantly — soon: Economist sees a boom market in Houston

By Ralph Bivins

05.08.12 | 5:18 pm

Houston's home market will be on an impressive upswing over the next couple of years as the city’s energy industry surges and the local economy adds new jobs ...


Real estate round-up

Construction cranes flock to Houston skyline as office market surges, but what will happen to Exxon Mobil skyscraper?

By Ralph Bivins

04.03.12 | 2:06 pm

Remember the see-through office buildings of the '80s? That’s when Houston office towers were so vacant you could see through them like a J-Lo blouse. Times have changed. Houston ...


Nine months and counting

The new real estate reality: Home sales jump again, prices lag

By Ralph Bivins

03.20.12 | 2:38 pm

Houston’s home sales soared 17 percent in February, the ninth consecutive month of positive gains for the local housing market, the Houston Association of Realtors reported. Pending sales — an ...


Houston First's Move

It's full speed ahead for new convention center hotel and it's going to be Texas big

By Ralph Bivins

03.08.12 | 3:03 pm

Plans to build a second convention hotel in downtown Houston are moving ahead as organizers have begun an official search to locate a hotel developer. The hotel, to be built ...


Recession Busters

In the mood to buy: Homes sales jump for eighth straight month and spring should be even better

By Ralph Bivins

02.21.12 | 2:54 pm

Houston's real estate market maintained the revival momentum in January, as the city registered the eighth consecutive month of increased home sales. Home sales were up 9.2 percent ...


Real Estate Round-Up

The Top 10 apartment building trends: What your new place is going to look like

By Ralph Bivins

02.20.12 | 2:18 pm

Trends come and go in apartment living. Apartments outfitted with harvest gold appliances of the 1970s are now harder to find than a Yeti’s fossil. Today, everybody wants an ...


America's Bright Spot

Houston's real estate rebound: Home sales finish up in 2011 with seven straight months of gains

By Ralph Bivins

01.17.12 | 10:55 am

Houston’s housing market rebounded impressively in 2011 as the city registered a four percent gain for the year, according to annual totals released Tuesday by the Houston Association of ...


All articles by this author.  122 Results. Showing 21 to 40
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