Indigo Lake Estates Real Estate, Magnolia, TX

09/24/2026

🚨 A meaningful shift today, and not in the right direction for mortgage rates.

🛢️ After falling for five straight sessions, oil reversed course sharply. Brent crude jumped 3.9% to $103.08, while WTI closed at $92.16. Renewed tension between the U.S. and Iran took some of the optimism out of the market that the conflict could calm down quickly.

📈 At the same time, the 10-year Treasury reached 5.054%, its highest level since 2007. Stronger economic data also pushed the probability of another Fed rate increase in October to roughly 73%.

🏡 Why does this matter for real estate?

Earlier this week, falling oil prices and Treasury yields gave us some reason to feel better about the direction of mortgage rates. Today, we have the opposite:

🛢️ Oil back above $100
📈 The 10-year Treasury above 5%
💪 Stronger-than-expected economic data
🏦 Growing expectations of another Fed hike

At this point, I would no longer describe the near-term rate outlook as improving. SO STOP SAYING YOU’RE WAITING FOR A BETTER MARKET! THE MARKET ISN’T GETTING ANY BETTER ABY TIME SOON!

Buyers should make decisions based on today’s rates, not on the assumption that they’ll be able to refinance soon (spoiler: we see no “better rates in the near future). Sellers need to price for what buyers can afford right now, rather than waiting for lower rates to create more demand (sellers: nobody cares what you want for your home or how much you think you need from it). 🤷🏻‍♀️

Now, one rough day doesn’t establish a trend. What you need to watch now is whether Brent stays above $100 and the 10-year remains above 5% over the next several days. If both hold, the mortgage-rate outlook heading into October becomes meaningfully worse.

🔗 Sources:

Oil market update:
https://za.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-falls-on-increased-gulf-supply-and-hopes-for-usiran-talks-4473792

Treasury yields and Fed expectations:
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/23/market-sees-next-fed-hike-in-october-following-barr-comments-hot-inflation.html

S&P Global said its overall inflation measure hit its highest level since October 2022.

09/15/2026

I’ve been debating doing billboards again for the past year or so, and I finally pulled the trigger. Actually, I pulled it twice. 😆

Two new Realty Chick billboards are going up, and the first one went live today!

This one is spotlighting my $2.895M waterfront listing in Indigo Lake Estates, and I couldn’t think of a better property to put on a billboard. A beautiful estate, right here in the community I call home. ❤️

I had sent my first mock up to my client and I wasn’t on it. She wrote me back and said, “You should put your photo next to your name.”

So naturally, I went with me and my chicken 🐓

If you’re driving through Magnolia, keep an eye out. Billboard #2 is coming next on F.M. 1774.

09/14/2026

🏠 Builders are cutting prices again, and the shift from July to August is pretty significant.

A new BTIG/HomeSphere survey of 59 small and mid-sized homebuilders shows just how quickly conditions softened in August:

📉 30% cut base prices, double July’s 15%
💰 36% increased buyer incentives, up from 19%
📊 44% said sales came in below expectations, up from 29%
🏡 42% reported fewer sales than a year ago, the highest percentage since November 2023
🚶 37% reported declining buyer traffic, up from 23%
⬆️ Only 13% raised prices, down from 21%

Affordability and weaker demand were among the biggest concerns builders reported.

Why does this matter?

Builders often react to changing market conditions faster than individual homeowners because every completed home sitting unsold costs them money. When inventory starts stacking up, they have several levers they can pull: price reductions, closing-cost assistance, mortgage-rate buydowns, upgrades, or combinations of all four.

👀 For buyers: Don’t assume the advertised price or incentive is the best deal available. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines because of affordability, it may be worth revisiting new construction. Depending on the builder and community, there may be considerably more negotiating room than there was even a month ago.

🏠 For resale sellers: Pay attention. Your competition isn’t limited to the house down the street. If nearby builders are offering lower prices, rate buydowns, and thousands toward closing costs, buyers are comparing that entire package against your home. Pricing and positioning correctly matters even more in communities competing heavily with new construction.

And remember, this is a national survey of 59 builders, so it doesn’t mean every builder or every Houston-area community is experiencing the same thing. But the month-over-month movement is absolutely worth watching.

👉 https://investorshub.advfn.com/market-news/article/36113/us-homebuilder-survey-shows-weaker-sales-and-customer-traffic-in-august

09/14/2026

If you’ve been waiting for mortgage rates to come down, this is something to pay attention to.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield briefly crossed 5% today, hitting its highest level since 2007. And one of the biggest forces pushing it higher right now isn’t the housing market. It’s oil.

Rising geopolitical tensions have sent oil prices surging, with Brent crude approaching $110 a barrel. Higher energy costs don’t just mean more at the gas pump. They raise transportation and production costs throughout the economy, which creates additional inflation pressure.

And inflation changes the outlook for interest rates.

Mortgage rates tend to move closely with the bond market, particularly the 10-year Treasury. When investors expect inflation to remain elevated, Treasury yields generally rise, and mortgage rates face upward pressure with them.

That’s why waiting for mortgage rates to simply “come back down” may not be the strategy people think it is.

What’s happening with rates right now is much bigger than housing inventory, buyer demand, or the normal seasonal real estate cycle. Oil, inflation, geopolitical risk, and the Federal Reserve are all feeding into the cost of borrowing.

For buyers and sellers, this is exactly why I keep saying we have to make decisions based on the market we actually have, not the market we hope is coming six months from now.

If you’re selling, higher mortgage rates can shrink buyer purchasing power quickly, which makes pricing and positioning even more important.

If you’re buying, waiting for rates to drop is a gamble. If the right home fits your budget today, focus on the payment you can comfortably afford now and keep the option to refinance later if rates improve.

09/10/2026

While Harris County was making headlines over its property tax vote, Montgomery County slid one in too. 👀

Montgomery County Commissioners approved a $546 million budget in a 3-2 vote, increasing the county property tax rate from $0.3770 to $0.3860 per $100 of valuation. The budget is also about $38 million larger than last year’s.

County officials estimate the rate increase itself could mean roughly $2 to $3 more per month for the median homeowner. But that’s only one piece of the affordability puzzle.

Property values, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, maintenance costs, and everyday expenses have all risen. For buyers, every increase in taxes and insurance raises the monthly payment and chips away at purchasing power.

Housing affordability isn’t just about the price of the house or the mortgage rate. It’s the total cost of owning it. And those costs keep adding up.

Harris County and Montgomery County giving homeowners property tax news at the same time wasn’t exactly on my September bingo card. 😑🏡



🔗 https://abc13.com/post/montgomery-county-approves-new-budget-includes-raises-property-tax-rate-increase/19807213/?ex_cid=TA_KTRK_FB&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwdGRleAUPEh9wZG9mBWZkaWQWUOKiNB7ltXyuL6HEedBurQD33HtjRGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR7sOarXGUM37oT5KsR4cmNJMhd_nzNQS1cdTMPS1jKeKuPSk7doU0zq6RXS4w_aem_RXUSTP0I1Tz6Ezjsb4LvUA

In a 3-2 vote, Montgomery County commissioners approved a new $546 million budget on Tuesday for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

09/04/2026

Here is our August 2026 market update:

● We currently have 6 active listings (I'm only looking at SFR) and are at 19-132 days on market. The price ranges from $201.14-$507.72/sqft.
● 1 home is under contract that had a list price per sqft from $216.34/sqft and were 100 days on market.
● 3 homes closed in August from $302.01-$427.84/sqft having spent 51-104 days on market.

Indigo has seen a lot of activity with listings this year. To date we have had 28 homes list/sell in total including the 6 currently active. 14 of these homes have been under 3000 sqft. The average sales price for the year so far is $841,227; of course so many factors are playing into that average here with properties having so many variances.

This chart shows the average days on market for ILE over the past 5 years. Any area with no number means no homes sold that particular month.

(NOTE: price per square foot and sales prices all vary by size (home and lot), condition, location and property features of a home. All information is derived from the HAR MLS. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. If you're interested in a valuation of your home please contact Erica Lytle Stietenroth - REAL Broker, your Indigo Lake Estates neighbor and Magnolia area specialist). [email protected] | 979-574-4909.

08/18/2026

Here is our July 2026 market update:

We currently have 7 active listings (I'm only looking at SFR) and are at 12-647 days on market. The price ranges from $195.92-$516.49/sqft.

3 homes are under contract that had a list price per sqft from $302.01-$427.84/sqft and were 51-104 days on market.

1 home closed in July from $233.93/sqft having spent 61 days on market.

Indigo has seen a lot of activity with listings this year. To date we have had 28 homes list/sell in total including the 7 currently active. 14 of these homes have been under 3000 sqft. The average sales price for the year so far is $788,628; of course so many factors are playing into that average here with properties having so many variances.

This chart shows the average days on market for ILE over the past 5 years. Any area with no number means no homes sold that particular month.

(NOTE: price per square foot and sales prices all vary by size (home and lot), condition, location and property features of a home. All information is derived from the HAR MLS. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. If you're interested in a valuation of your home please contact Erica Lytle Stietenroth - REAL Broker, your Indigo Lake Estates neighbor and Magnolia area specialist). [email protected] | 979-574-4909.

08/17/2026

UPDATE: he’s been found safe!

Kid missing from Indigo Lake Estates. He goes to Mag West. Please ask your kids if they’ve heard anything.

08/12/2026

I went on a listing appointment this past weekend. Well, sort of. Shelly went in person for me, and I attended via FaceTime.

The husband’s mother was there on his behalf and asked about the brokerage I’m with and my qualifications. Fair questions. So, when I sent the sellers my analysis afterward, I made sure to include that information too.

And reading it all laid out like that made me stop for a minute.

I am really proud of what I’ve built in this career. Proud of the production, the rankings, the experience, and the years of work behind all of it.

That isn’t bragging. It’s not fluff. It’s simply the FACTS.

And those facts represent a career I’ve worked very hard to build.

__________________

Real Broker, LLC is part of The Real Brokerage Inc., a publicly traded real estate company on NASDAQ under the symbol REAX. While Real is a newer name compared with some of the traditional franchise brands, it has grown very rapidly. Real recently surpassed 35,000 agents throughout the United States and Canada and ranks among the five largest brokerages in the United States by both agent count and sales volume, based on the 2025 RealTrends Verified Brokerage Rankings.

Real is a technology-driven brokerage that operates nationwide and has built much of its growth around giving agents strong technology, systems, support, and infrastructure while allowing experienced agents to build and operate their own local brands. In 2025 alone, Real agents closed more than 185,000 transactions totaling approximately $75.3 billion in sales volume. You may also have recently seen Real in the national news. In April, Real entered into a definitive agreement to acquire RE/MAX Holdings, the parent company of RE/MAX. Once the transaction is completed, the combined organization will be called Real REMAX Group and is expected to represent more than 180,000 real estate professionals across more than 120 countries and territories. Real and RE/MAX will continue to operate as distinct brands.

As for me personally, I have been in residential real estate since 2015 and am a Broker Associate, Team Leader, and Listing Specialist; my small team is called The Realty Chick Real Estate Group. My business is heavily focused on representing sellers, with an emphasis on pricing strategy, property preparation, marketing, negotiation, and helping homeowners make smart decisions about where it does and does not make sense to invest money before putting a home on the market.

Over the course of my career, I have closed more than $200 million in residential real estate sales and have consistently ranked among the top-producing agents in the Greater Houston market. I am currently recognized by RealTrends Verified, which ranks top-producing real estate professionals based on verified sales data, not popular vote. In the 2026 rankings, I was ranked #1 in Magnolia for both sales volume and transaction sides, #137 in Texas for transaction sides, and #332 in Texas for sales volume, while also receiving national rankings in both categories. I have also been recognized within Real Brokerage as one of its top individual producers nationally.

My production history has been consistent throughout my career. I have previously ranked nationally for transaction sides while with eXp Realty, received multiple top-production awards while with Keller Williams, and was selected for the Houston Association of REALTORS YPN 20 Under 40 Achievement Award in 2018, which recognizes achievement in real estate sales, leadership, and community involvement.

I am also a member of Real Luxury, Real Brokerage’s specialized luxury division, and hold the Million Dollar GUILD designation through The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, reflecting demonstrated experience in the luxury market.

Today, I continue to rank among the top 300 agents in the Greater Houston market, a market made up of nearly 50,000 real estate professionals. More importantly, my focus is not simply on volume. My goal with every listing is to give sellers clear, data-driven advice, position their home correctly, market it effectively, negotiate aggressively on their behalf, and manage the process from preparation through closing.

🫳🎤🔥

Erica Lytle Stietenroth | [email protected] | 979.574.4909