The Stone Lakes Addition in Southlake, TX is a beautiful community consisting of 331 homes, located off Southlake Blvd (FM 1709).

Amenities in the picturesque neighborhood of Stone Lakes are many as you will enjoy taking the family swimming in the community pool, playing with your frineds on the basketball court, play tennis with the neighbors, take the kids to the private community playground, and jog around the 10 acre Stone Lake with catch-and-release fishing.

The lake in Stone Lakes definitely sets it apart from others in Southlake!

The Stone Lakes Addition is a friendly community with a welcoming committee, block captains, and street representatives to welcome new residents into the neighborhood. There is also a Neighborhood Watch Program.

Homes for sale in Stone Lakes Addition of Southlake, TX range from 3000 – 5000 square feet and there are usually 3-6 homes for sale at all times. There were 26 Stone Lakes homes sold in 2010.

Lucy Noonan shares a Northeast Tarrant County real estate market update and recap of home sales for 2010. This information is year over year, so we are comparing 2009 activity to 2010.

2010 was a GREAT year in rela estate. While you may here of slow markets on a national level, the Northeast Tarrant County real estate market update shows increased growth in 2010!

Here are some the highlights:

• Colleyville homes sold increased 5% with a total of 303 homes sold in 2010
• Grapevine sales increased 9% with 421 Grapevine homes sold in 2010
• Southlake experienced a 4% increase in homes sold, a 2% increase in average sales price, and a whopping 10% decrease in average days on market!
• Westlake & Trophy Club increased sales by 23%

The Northeast Tarrant County real estate market update shows that throughout the DFW Metroplex, the luxury market and urban markets saw incredible growth in 2010. The luxury markets of Dallas Preston Hollow area had an increase in home sales of 30% and the Dallas Park Cities had a 29% increase in sales. The Fort Worth condo market in downtown experienced a 31% increase in 2010 over 2009.  

Timarron is a master-planned community in Southlake and Colleyville, Texas built around an 18 hole championship golf course designed by the legendary Byron Nelson.

With 1,100 homes in 17 neighborhoods, Timarron is the most desirable community in Northeast Tarrant County. The Timarron development includes an array of amenities for the residents including two 25 meter swimming pools, sand volleyball court, basketball court, three playgrounds, tennis courts, and the Timarron golf course and Country Club.

For people interested in living in golf course homes in Southlake, TX, there are typically 10-20 homes for sale on Timarron golf course at any given time. Homes currently for sale include this home at 413 Borders Ct on the 11th hole:

This golf course home in Southlake, TX is located at 1204 Strathmore Drive on the 13th hole:

and this golf course villa home at 640 Chandon Ct on the 17th fairway:

Golf course homes in Southlake, TX range from $500,000 to over $2 million depending on the size and location within Timarron.

Search all golf course homes in Southlake and Colleyville, Texas by clicking here.

The Silverleaf Addition in Keller, TX is a very quiet community of new construction homes being built by Newport Homebuilders.  This beautiful community located among mature oak trees, features gorgeous brick landscaping, wrought iron fence, and a community playground for the kids. Children in Silverleaf attend the Keller ISD schools including Shadygrove Elementary, South Keller Intermediate, Indian Springs Middle, and Keller High School.

These custom homes built by Newport Homebuilders in Silverleaf start in the $390′s and are situated on estate size lots with only 42 homes in this community. Living in this LiveGreen community, you are in close proximity to Southlake Town Square, Keller Center, DFW Airport, and the Alliance Area.

Aside from Silverleaf in Keller, Newport Homebuilders is also building at Rosehill Meadows in Garland, Claremont Springs in Lucas, Greenspoint in Prosper, Lantana in Argyle, and Phillips  Creek Ranch in Frisco.

If you are thinking about purchasing a home right now, you are surely getting a lot of advice. And most of that advice is probably negative. Why buy now with prices still falling? Don’t you realize real estate is no longer a good investment? Don’t you know that people who bought five years ago lost their shirt? We understand the concern your friends and family have. However, let’s look at whether or not now is actually the perfect time to buy a home.

There are three questions you should ask before purchasing in today’s market:

1. Why should I buy if house prices are still depreciating?

We believe that in most parts of the country prices will in fact soften in 2011. Price is the major concern for anyone selling a home. When you are buying, COST should be your primary concern however. Your monthly payment (cost) is definitely impacted by the price of the home you purchase. The other major component is the interest rate. Waiting for prices to bottom out while rates are increasing can wind up costing you more over the life of the mortgage (see chart here).

Over the last seven weeks, rates have increased over 1/2 a point going from 4.17 to 4.86. Looking at the attached chart shows this increase. Waiting for prices to bottom out seems to make perfect sense. Yet, at a time when rates are increasing, it might NOT make sense. Make sure you have a mortgage professional help you with this math before making a decision.

In an article last week CNN Money reported:

“You can kiss those record lows goodbye,” said Greg McBride, chief economist for Bankrate.com.

Keith Gumbinger of HSH Associates, a provider of mortgage information said that the market reached a new plateau.

“I don’t think we’re going back to a 50-year low anytime soon without an economic collapse,” he said. “Rates will probably never revisit those levels.”

2. When will I begin to see appreciation if I buy now?

This is a great question. Macro Markets, LLC is a company that studies housing prices. They started their Home Price Expectation Survey in 2010.  They ask 100+ housing industry experts to project housing prices through 2015. The most current survey shows that the experts are predicting prices to soften until 2012. The experts then project prices to rise reaching a cumulative appreciation of over 10% by 2015.

Purchasing a home today makes great sense from a financial standpoint. Think of the old axiom: You want to buy low and sell high. We may be at the low point regarding the COST of a home. But, this decision should not only be a financial one.

That leads us to our third and final question:

3. Why am I buying a home in the first place?

This truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with finances. The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey shows that the four major reasons people buy a home have nothing to do with money:

• A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education
• A place where you and your family feel safe
• More space for you and your family
• Control of the space

What non-financial benefits will you and your family derive from owning a home? The answer to that question should be the reason whether you decide to purchase or not.

Bottom Line

The COST of a home will probably remain relatively unchanged even if prices continue to depreciate. Don’t allow money to get in the way of you making the right decision for you and your family. In the long run, the finances will work in your favor anyway.

Reposted with permission from KCMBlog.com