Still trying to figure out what to do for Mom this Sunday? What better way to spend some time with her than at the 39^th Annual Swiss Avenue Historic District Mother’s Day Home Tour  this weekend, May 12^th and 13^th ? You and mom can travel between the gorgeous historic homes on  mini coaches, or  horse-drawn carriages. Food and beverages will be provided in Savage Park by Penne Pomodoro and other local eateries.

And in order to get the day really started off right, there will be a Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch in Savage Park on Sunday from 11AM to 2PM.

Ebby’s Lakewood office is sponsoring the grand home at 5303 Swiss Avenue. The home’s exterior showcases a Classical Greek design and it was the first house ever to be built on Swiss Avenue, constructed in 1905, the same year that the neighborhood was founded by Robert S. Munger.

Brunch tickets are $20 per person and can be reserved by calling 214.701.3396. Home Tour tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the weekend of the event and can be purchased at any area Whole Foods Market, Talulah Belle in Lakewood or on the website.

Happy Mother’s Day Weekend to all the moms out there!

After this week’s news that buying a home might not ever get any cheaper, there is no better time to keep an eye on fresh listings.

Today’s edition takes us to a home at 4048 Courtshire Drive in Midway Hills with the perfect blend of traditional and modern styles. This home has an open floorplan with floor-to-ceiling views of the large backyard and the wooded lot. The kitchen is beautiful and sleek while the downstairs master suite is warm and inviting. Amenities in this uniquely designed home include museum-finished walls, and granite and hardwood floors.

Come out on Sunday from 2-4pm to see this home, in a great location near the Dallas North Tollway, 635 and great private schools.

Or, click here for more information on 4048 Courtshire.

And, as always, you can start a home search of your very own at the award-winning ebby.com.

Not only is Quinn an amazing swimmer and philanthropist, he has become quite the celebrity during this year’s campaign to raise money. Watch the video below to see Quinn on Good Morning Texas and click here to see him on Channel 33.  Please visit Quinn’s site here if you wish to donate money to this amazing cause.

Yesterday’s Dallas Morning News reported what real estate agents have been telling us for months – the Dallas/Fort Worth housing market is hot!

Real estate editor Steve Brown reported that the North Texas housing market rebound continued in April with a double-digit percentage rise in pre-owned home sales.  According to The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems Inc., there was an 11 percent increase in single family home sales over April 2011.  And April marked the 10th straight month that homes sales have increased compared to the same time period last year. 

In addition, median home sales prices were up 9 percent compared to last year.  This increase is largely attributed to the decrease in home inventory – available homes were down 24 percent in April and there was only a 5.5 month supply of homes on the market.  This shortage is also causing local real estate agents to report a drastic increase in multiple offers.

DallasNews.com subscribers can read the full article online here.

And if you’re curious about what’s available for sale in your neighborhood and at what price, visit ebby.com.  Helpful hint: find homes within a specified radius of your exact address by using the Ebby Proximity Search.

Ebby Halliday, REALTORS® has appointed Keith Newman sales manager of its Plano/Willow Bend Office. Mary Frances Burleson, president and chief executive officer, recently made the announcement.

“Keith brings extensive real estate sales experience, as well as a strong desire to assist our Plano/Willow Bend agents in taking their careers to the next level,” Burleson says. “Intensely focused on education, Keith truly appreciates the wide-ranging educational opportunities available to new and seasoned agents at Ebby Halliday, REALTORS®.”

Newman will report to Betty Misko, executive vice president and director of sales offices.

“Recognized as a Top Producer at his previous brokerage, Keith often served as a mentor to other agents,” Misko says. “I am confident his background and sales experience will benefit the Plano/Willow Bend Office in many ways.”

A native of Dallas, Newman has been in real estate sales since 2001 and has extensive experience representing buyers and sellers in a variety of Dallas neighborhoods. Recognized as a D Best real estate agent multiple times by D magazine, he enjoys exploring new and innovative ways to be successful in real estate.

“I am passionate about technology, particularly mobile technology and the opportunities it offers today’s buyers and sellers,” Newman says.

“One of the reasons I chose Ebby Halliday, REALTORS® is the company’s appreciation for both new-agent education and continuing education for seasoned agents,” Newman says. “I really look forward to helping our Plano/Willow Bend agents develop successful business plans to take their business to the next level.”

Ebby Halliday, REALTORS®’ affiliation with Luxury Portfolio International®, the luxury division of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® — the largest global network of premier independent luxury brokerages — is another reason Newman chose Ebby Halliday. The 48-year-old network is responsible for more transactions than any other real estate network. Its website, LuxuryPortfolio.com, markets more than 25,000 of the world’s most remarkable homes annually and attracts more than 1.2 million high-net-worth visitors a year.

“I am truly excited about my move to Ebby Halliday, REALTORS® and the future of the Plano/Willow Bend Office,” Newman says. “My door will always be open for my agents, and our valued clients will reap the benefits.” 

For more information on Ebby’s Plano/Willow Bend, visit planowillowbend.ebby.com.

Today’s Fresh Listing Friday takes us to a gorgeous and secluded cul-de-sac lot in Lakewood.

This four bedroom, four bath home at 6826 Meadow Lake Circle sits on a beautiful lot with a pool and outdoor pavilion.

The more than 4,000 square foot ranch-style home has multiple rooms including a spacious living area with vaulted ceilings and surround sound – and many rooms have gorgeous views of the backyard oasis.

You have to see this home to truly appreciate all of the amenities and details, so be sure to check it out during the open house this Sunday from 3-5 pm or visit the property website for more details.

And, if there are any more homes on your radar, be sure to use the Open House Tour function on Ebby.com and create your own tour map!

Be sure to check back next Friday to see where the next Fresh Listing Friday takes us!

The following story was written by Stewart Lytle and appeared on the front page of the Home Center section of The Dallas Morning News on Sunday, April 29:

When Mary Poss listed a $4.3 million home in Preston Hollow for sale recently, she knew she wanted to advertise it on the Luxury Portfolio International web site.

Limited to homes priced at more than $750,000, the high-end real estate web site markets more than 25,000 properties a year around the world. This site translates the home advertisements into nine languages, in more than 200 countries and in more than 60 different currencies.

So Poss was not entirely surprised when she got calls about the house from a potential buyer in India, but she also heard from buyers in Paris, France and Paris, Texas.

“I thought that was pretty funny,” she says. But not unusual.

The Ebby Halliday Realtor, who was the president pro tem of the Dallas City Council, says, “Every single day someone from around the world is moving to Dallas.”

A big reason, she thinks, is Ebby Halliday Realtors’ affiliation with Luxury Portfolio International. The site was created in 2005 by the Leading Real Estate companies of the World, which Ebby Halliday helped start 48 years ago.

It is targeted at the affluent homebuyer. According to an independent research firm, the typical visitor to LuxuryPortfolio.com has a household income of $1.32 million, owns a primary home valued at more than $3.8 million and a secondary home valued at more than $5 million.

“Luxury Portfolio has established itself as the go-to website for today’s affluent consumers, delivering the industry’s most comprehensive online information on luxury homes, markets and trends and representing quality companies, agents and service in markets worldwide,” says Paul Boomsma, president of Luxury Portfolio International.

In addition to bringing the affluent buyer, Luxury Portfolio’s reporting system allows brokers to share with their sellers not just how much traffic each house receives, but where the prospective buyers live and what language they viewed the site in. 

Ebby Realtor Heidi Loewinsohn attributed a recent sale to the network because of the data she could give her client.

Loewinsohn was working with a corporate CEO to sell his 5,000-square-foot house in Flower Mound.

Because it was listed with Luxury Portfolio, the CEO could see who was looking on the web at his $845,000 house sitting on 4 acres near the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Almost 20 percent of the interested home lookers were from the Washington, D.C., area. Another 11 percent were from San Francisco, CA, the web site told him.

“That information was very helpful to him. We were able to target some additional advertising in those markets,” she said.

The home was sold in a matter of  weeks to a Major League Baseball player.

The site is also useful for out-of-town buyers, who have no clue what Realtor could help them buy a new home in an unfamiliar city.

“We are known for the best locally branded companies in the world, and we maintain that reputation by holding our firms to a higher standard of quality and service,” Boomsma says.

Stephanie Pfeffer, the network’s executive vice president, put it more succinctly. “We are the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.”

We’re proud to announce that yesterday’s Herald-Democrat unveiled its annual “Best of Texoma” awards and Ebby Halliday, REALTORS was named “Best Real Estate Company” for the the third time (and the second year in a row)!

“Our offices are made up of Sales Associates who have a commitment to client service, continuing-education programs, dedication to our industry and devotion to the communities we serve,” says Sherry Smith, manager for the Ebby Sherman and Whitesboro offices which represent the Ebby name in the Texoma area.

These offices in Texomaland have always strived to the best and we are so proud and honored to be recognized with this award. We’ve always known they are the best in Texoma and we’re sure their efforts will bring them this honor for many more years to come. 

You can follow these offices and their sales associates at Facebook.com/EbbySherman and Facebook.com/EbbyWhitesboro.

Today’s edition of Fresh Listing Friday takes us to an award-winning home in Plano. This modern estate won the 2009 Best Whole House Renovation from the Homebuilders Association and it’s easy to see why. The gorgeous modern contemporary features a large chef’s kitchen with a 6-burner range, sub-zero fridge, double dishwashers, and custom tiger wood cabinetry.  Windows throughout the home look out to a saltwater pool in the spacious backyard. Other rooms included in the open floorplan are a media room, mudroom, library and wine cellar.

Get out and enjoy the great weekend weather and come see this home’s modern elegance in person during open houses this Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 4 pm. And be sure to visit the property website for more information.

Don’t forget to check back next week for another edition of Fresh Listing Friday!  Until then, you can always start a custom home search of your own at ebby.com.

The National Association of Realtors has designated this weekend, April 28-29, National Open House Weekend. If you’re considering buying a home the large number of open houses this weekend in North Texas offers an ideal opportunity to tour available properties.

From urban to suburban, large to small, there’s something for everyone – and the best place to start your search for a home is the award-winning website ebby.com, where you can search all the open houses in the North Texas MLS.   

The site offers two exceptional ways to search for your dream home: the Ebby Open House Tour and the new, state-of-the-art Proximity Search.

The Ebby Open House Tour feature allows users to create their own custom open house tour, complete with turn-by-turn driving directions. Visitors may browse all open houses for a specific day or time period based on their criteria. Properties of interest are added to a cart, which is used to generate a tour map. To create an Open House Tour, visit ebbyopenhouses.com.

The Proximity Search feature is perfect for finding homes within a certain distance of a specific location or landmark. Users may search by proximity to jobs, schools, parks, entertainment centers, medical care, or just about anything they choose.  Additional fields are available to further narrow your search. To use the Proximity Search, visit proximity.ebby.com.      

“Best of all, these features are available for all open houses in the Multiple Listing Service, not just properties listed by Ebby Halliday, REALTORS®,” says June Feltman, Director of Special Projects for The Ebby Halliday Companies.

The National Association of Realtors estimates 90 percent of today’s buyers use the Internet in their home searches.

“At Ebby Halliday we are constantly focused on innovation, and to do that in today’s market, you must be focused online,” Feltman says. “We are actively pursuing online features that will continue to make ebby.com the go-to source for North Texas real estate.”

Ebby.com recently added another award to its long list of accolades. The Website Quality Certification (WQC) is presented by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World to member companies that have demonstrated excellence in website design, functionality and execution.

Every aspect of the ebby.com site was reviewed to ensure exacting standards were met in numerous key areas, ranging from design and content to human interactivity to search-engine optimization.

“It is vital for a real estate firm to have a current, easy-to-use and relevant website,” says Pam O’Connor, president and CEO of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®. “By earning the Website Quality Certification, Ebby Halliday, REALTORS® has demonstrated that it offers fundamental online resources to home buyers and sellers, which are further supported by the expertise that only a dedicated real estate professional can provide.”

For more information about Ebby Halliday, REALTORS®, visit ebby.com.