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    On the Market

    Elevator-ready contemporary townhouse offers serene living amid city hustle and bustle

    Shelby Hodge
    Jun 9, 2015 | 3:46 pm

    Editor's Note: Houston, the surrounding areas and beyond are loaded with must-have houses and properties for sale in all shapes, sizes and price ranges. In this continuing series, CultureMap snoops through some of the best and gives you the lowdown on what's hot on the market.

    If you like being in the center of things, this townhouse at 2615 Westgate is just the ticket. Located in a quiet pocket between Westheimer and West Alabama and within a stone's throw of Shepherd Drive, the three-story property, built in 2011, offers serene living amid the city hustle and bustle. Clean contemporary lines and open spaces belie the proximity of the busy thoroughfares, which, once street construction is complete, will offer easy transit to inner loop destinations.

    What's inside: Unlike many townhouses built today, the ground floor is all about living, no bedrooms on terra firma. The living room, dining room and kitchen are free-flowing making this a great place for entertaining and a comfortable place for daily living.

    The master suite and two guest rooms are located on the second floor while the third floor houses not only a fourth bedroom but also a study and media room. (No worries for the arthritis set as the place is elevator ready for all three floors.)

    Extra touches include two gas log fireplaces, a covered terrace, high ceilings, quartz countertops in the kitchen and a patio backyard, which means small. But what urban dweller needs any more green space than enough for a grill and patio furniture?

    Square footage: 3,416

    Asking price: $899,000

    Listing agent: Tania Amin with John Daugherty Realtors.

    Behind the rather subtle exterior, a contemporary gem unfolds as you enter the townhouse.

    News, Shelby, 2615 Westgate, On the Market, June 2015
      
    John Daugherty, Realtors
    Behind the rather subtle exterior, a contemporary gem unfolds as you enter the townhouse.
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    Real Estate Rumblings

    Vacation home sales surge as buyers seek fun and a good investment

    Ralph Bivins
    Jul 7, 2015 | 10:43 am
    Vacation home sales surge as buyers seek fun and a good investment
    Photo courtesy of HomeAway
    Rental income is an important factor in buying a vacation home, says Jon Gray of HomeAway, an online marketplace that connects renters with vacation homes like this one on Lake Austin.

    Sales of vacation home sales are surging across the nation as Americans seek out their own place for a family retreat, a regular vacation spot or a place to ski, sail, fish or hike.

    Vacation home sales were up a whopping 57 percent in 2014 over the sales of 2013, according to a national report by the National Association of Realtors.

    “Vacation home sales are skyrocketing,” says Dallas-based journalist Candy Evans, a CultureMap contributor and founder of CandysDirt.com and Secondshelters.com. “Vacation home sales have shown astounding growth. I get 50 emails a day from developers with new projects that are coming up.”

    “Vacation home sales have shown astounding growth," says Candy Evans. "I get 50 emails a day from developers with new projects that are coming up.”

    Evans, who moderated a vacation homes panel in Miami at the National Association of Real Estate Editors Conference, says the surge is driven by “The One Percent” – affluent households who have done well in the stock market in recent years.

    “The wealthy got even wealthier since the recession of 2008,” says John Klemish, broker in-charge at the upscale Greenbrier Sporting Club resort in West Virginia.

    The buyers at the ultra-luxe Greenbrier often pay all cash and the typical buyer there has at least three or four other houses, says Klemish.

    The massive Baby Boomer generation is supporting the surge in the vacation home market as they acquire vacation homes now and plan to convert them to their primary residences after retiring.

    The top choice for vacation home buyers is the beach, according to the National Association of Realtors Vacation Home Buyers Survey.

    Last year, 40 percent of vacation buyers purchased in a beach area, 19 percent purchased in the country and 17 percent purchased a vacation home in the mountains. The average buyer purchases a vacation home that is 200 miles away from his/her primary residence.

    Foreign buyers are also supporting the vacation home boom. Owning real estate in a country with a stable economy can be an appealing haven to affluent people from other parts of the world.

    The top choice for vacation home buyers is the beach, according to the National Association of Realtors Vacation Home Buyers Survey.

    “We’ve seen a huge desire for real estate from flight capital,” says Phillip Day, an executive with the IMI vacation realty company in Greenville, S.C. “We see a lot of people from Europe and South America.”

    The ability to get rental income by renting out a vacation home is attractive, says Jon Gray, chief revenue officer at Austin-based HomeAway, an online marketplace that connects renters with vacation home owners.

    The owner of a vacation home gains $28,000 a year, on average, by renting out their vacation home, Gray says. Many vacation home buyers can cover half, or even three-fourths of their mortgage payments with rental income, says Gray, a panelist at last week’s NAREE conference.

    Orlando Realtor Chris Cain, author of “Your Made in the USA Vacation Home” says the investment aspect of vacation home buying is huge. And it is appealing to a cross-section of buyers, not just the ultra-rich.

    “If your primary residence is the best investment of your life,” says Cain, “why not buy a vacation home, too?”

    Ralph Bivins, former president of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, is founding editor of Realty News Report.

    Rental income is an important factor in buying a vacation home, says Jon Gray of HomeAway, an online marketplace that connects renters with vacation homes like this one on Lake Austin.

    HomeAwayLuxuryLakeAustinVilla
      
    Photo courtesy of HomeAway
    Rental income is an important factor in buying a vacation home, says Jon Gray of HomeAway, an online marketplace that connects renters with vacation homes like this one on Lake Austin.
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