Texas Real Estate: 3rd Quarter Housing Report

The most recent Texas Quarterly Housing Report states sales volume is up. For the period of Aprial through June 2010, sales of existing single family homes increased 14% to 66,079 compared to the same quartore of the prior year. We are still seeing strength in the Texas real estate market. To read the entire report: www.texasrealestate.com

How Rising Interest Rates Will Impact Affordability

Buyers need to measure their decision choosing to wait until prices come down more. It is improbable that interest rates will remain this historically low, last time this low, President Eisenhower was in office. The following blog post has a chart showing what happens to your purchasing power if interest rates change by 1%.

How Rising Interest Rates Will Impact Affordability

Austin MLS Stats: October 2010

Still experiencing consistent increase year to year comparisons. October, in Austin, listing price increase 7.6% from the same time last year and sold price increased 7%. It is still taking longer to sell the homes, average days on market is 66.

Effort aims to preserve Hyde Park's character

On Thursday, the city council is considering making Hyde Park an historical district. Hyde Park would be Austin's third and biggest local historic district, encompassing 640 properties in the 186 acres bounded roughly by 38th, 45th and Duval streets, and Avenue A. There is an argument on both sides, for those who want to protect Hyde Park and those who feel that the restrictions could hender the stewardship of these homes. For more details, read the entire Austin Statesman Article

Credit Repair

With tightening mortgage requirements for borrowers understanding and managing your credit score has never been more important. Some things to consider when choosing a credit repair company, there is no way to removed legitimate obligation off a credit report or to “wipe it clean” and beware of exorbitant, hidden fees. Credit Service Organizations (CSO) must be registered with the Texas Secretary of State’s office (www.sos.state.tx.us). If the company isn’t on the list, there is no state provided protection. Contracts for credit repair must be in writing, dated and signed by the consumer. It must contain the payment terms, a description of services and estimated period of performance, the address of the organization’s principal place of business and the name & address of the registered agent.

August Real Estate Statistics

For the homes that sold in August, we experienced an increase in sales price and square footage compared to August 2009. 1,568 listings closed for the month of August as well, 80% of the sold homes were $350K or less. The significant difference between this and last August is the volume. of transactions, however year today we are up 3.6%.



Based on information from the Austin Board of Realtor (ACTRIS). All data is provided as is. Data maintained by the Board or ACTRIS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.

Limited Seller Financing Allowed Once Again

The Texas Department of Savings & Mortgage Lending, Commissioner Doug Foster issued a notice on August 12th that allows the continuation of the de minimis exemption until further action is taken by the Legislature.

Foster's notice states, in part, "Seller Financing in part or in whole has historically been an important part of facilitating real estate sales transactions. To depart from long standing Texas de minimis tradition in the midst of the current credit restrictions and a market where sellers have difficulty selling homes would run counter to the efforts of stabilizing the housing market & reviving the economy"

Source: Texas Realtor Magazine (Sept/Oct 2010)

Mineral Rights in Texas

Do you own the mineral rights to the property you currently own? It depends. Mineral go with the land being conveyed unless the minerals or an interest therein, were previously severed. The mineral estate is known as the dominant estate in land, meaning the owner of the minerals has the right to come on to the land and take the minerals.

If are going to purchase or sell a property were mineral rights come into play you may want to ask for “Information About Mineral Clauses in Contract Forms” (TAR 2509).

This form gives the basics about mineral rights.

Dispute over fire coverage costs could affect 1,700 homes

TCESD 14 notified Cedar Park city officials June 16 that it intended to terminate a fire service contract, effective June 15, 2011. TCESD 14 contracts with Cedar Park for the city’s fire department to provide fire services to more than 1,700 homes in the ETJ.

Residents in Bella Vista, Twin Creeks Country Club, Ranch at Deer Creek and Cypress Canyon subdivisions receive fire services from Cedar Park’s top-rated fire department, but could receive lower-rated coverage from the Volente Fire Department if the contract ends.

The change in the service contract may also affect homeowner insurance rates.

Click Here to read entire story

Growing your Real Estate Practice: The Next Wave

In the coming years, it is estimated 55M “seniors” born 1925 to 1946 (G.I. Generation, Silent Generation & Boomers) will be entering the residential housing market place. When will depended on your market but it would be wise to being your preparation now.

Prepare now in order to tap into the “senior” resource by actively marketing and building referral base.

To effectively work with this demographic:
• Know the your local market
• Reach where they live, eat and meet
• Find and tap into local senior resources
• Build a senior friendly network
• Actively market to seniors moving into/out of your area.
• Learn what is important to them

Monthly Review of the Texas Economy - August 2010

Texas' economic recovery is strengthening. After 16 months of job losses, the state's economy experienced its third month of positive annual employment growth. The growth rate from July 2009 to July 2010 was 1.3 percent compared with a rate close to zero percent for the nation. The state’s private sector posted a positive annual employment growth rate of 1.2 compared with a zero percent for the United States.

The monthly report is by Ali Anari and Mark G. Dotzour. To read the entire report: http://recenter.tamu.edu/econ/

Cost to Value Report on Remodel Projects

Recent article on Realtor.org looks at the cost and investment return on remodeling.

On average, the return on investment recoups approximately 63.8% of cost. Upgrading the kitchen and bath are still a smart bet but forego the super expensive, deluxe projects. Instead, take a look at what is selling in your neighborhood at top dollar and use similar costs in your upgrades.

Worth mentioning, the greatest rate of return at a whopping 128% is upgrading the front door. Its one of the least expensive projects and immediately changes the first impression of your home!

To read the entire article: www.realtor.org

Safeguarding your Identity & Using Social Networking

The popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is continuing to grow dramatically. Sometimes we forget that hackers are using social networking too to gain access to personal information. Some of the following times from ICSA Labs, which is an independent division of Verizon Business.

1. Be wary of worms, Trojans and botnets that can infect and take control of your computer. Access to sensitive documents and personally identifiable information poses a significant threat to users.

2. If you receive a request to connect from someone you do not know, do not accept it. Trojans are infamous for tricking victims into providing sensitive information and are increasingly surfacing on social networking websites. By taking over a user's contacts or "friend" list, the Trojan sends invitations to the user's friends to try to infect their computers as well. The ZeuS Trojan is one example of malware that is remotely controlled by criminals who infect computers, wait for users to log on and then try to gain access to their bank accounts.

3. Do not share too much personal information. Hackers can easily piece together different bits of information posted to Facebook and other sites and compile a complete profile of an individual's identity, especially using birth date information. With this knowledge, hackers can trick users with targeted information that only a "friend" would know.

4. Be careful where you click. Just because a link came to a user from someone the user knows - a "friend" - does not mean it is safe.

5. Use and frequently update software security programs. Updating security software is the simplest way to protect a computer from malware like worms, viruses, Trojans and clickjacking.

Five Mistakes Home Buyers Make

In reading an article from the Wall Street Journal, I am happy to see a major publication to focus on the home buyer, something most news articles do not address as of late. In summation it reminds home buyers the benefits of working with a real estate agent.

For some areas, it’s easy to figure out comparables in the area to base your asking price, but there is much more to a transaction that putting an offer. Buyers must navigate the lending process, repairs, inspections, closings and more.

Guessing what you can afford can create a real headache. Getting a lenders pre-approval letter before submitting a offer to a seller is critical. It shows you are a qualified buyer ready to purchase.

Buying a home is an emotional process for most home buyers; a realtor assists the buyers in keeping a level head in the buying process.

To read the WSJ article “5 Mistakes Home Buyers Make”

FHA Launches Short Refi Opportunity for "Underwater" Homeowners

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced earlier this month a new program “FHA Short Refinance” to help responsible homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than the value of their property. Starting September 7th, 2010 FHA will offer certain “underwater” non-FHA borrows who are current on their existing mortgage and whose lenders agree to write off at least 10% of the unpaid principal balance of the first mortgage, have the opportunity to qualify for a new FHA-insured mortgage.

There are qualifications that must be met. The homeowner must qualify for the new loan under standard FHA underwriting requirements and have a credit score equal to or greater than 500. The property must be the homeowner's primary residence. And the borrower's existing first lien holder must agree to write off at least 10% of their unpaid principal balance, bringing that borrower's combined loan-to-value ratio to no greater than 115%.

To read more on this topic, you can refer to FHA’s published mortgage letter that provides guidance.

Changes to Seller Financing

The Secure and Fair Endorsement for Mortgage Licensing Act (also known as SAFE Act), signed by President Bush in 2008, places minimum licensure requirements on all mortgage loan originators, this includes seller financing. To seller finance a one-to-four family residential transaction involving property other that the seller’s primary residence, the seller must now be a licensed as a residential mortgage loan originator (RMLO).

In the Texas Legislation, there was an exemption allowing sellers of a one-to-four family residence to seller finance up to 5 transactions in a single year without being licensed, but this will expire August 31st 2010.

Source: Anderson Edra, Texas Realtor Magazine, May 2010

Unhappy Seller Sues Condo Auction Buyers

I wrote a post on July 13th about an Auction I attended. In a strange turn of events, the seller is sueing the buyers! Apparently he doesn't agree with the terms of the sale price. This is an article I will continue to follow. Click the following link for the entire Austin Stateman's article.

Unhappy seller sues condo auction buyers

Federal Sales Tax on Home Sales

Recently researching claims that the new Healthcare Law enacted a sales tax on all home sales. Doing abit more digging I found a website that clarified the issue for me.

First of all, only those with incomes over $200,000 a year ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly) will be subject to it. The tax still won’t apply to the first $250,000 on profits from the sale of a personal residence — or to the first $500,000 in the case of a married couple selling their home.

And the fact is, the first $250,000 in profit on the sale of a primary residence (or $500,000 in the case of a married couple) is excluded from taxable income already. (That exclusion doesn’t apply to vacation homes or rental properties.)

http://www.factcheck.org/2010/04/a-38-percent-sales-tax-on-your-home/

Fannie Mae Website - Short Sales & Foreclosure

I came across a website for consumers that address questions about foreclosure, short sales and ways to stay in your home. It allows you to see if your mortgage is owned by Fannie Mae, contact a housing counselor and provide a financial checklist.

Click here for the Fannie Mae Website

June Market Statistics: Austin Texas

Days on market dropping and sold prices are rising. Austin looking good in June!

Auctions & the Real Estate Market

I attended a United Country – Supreme Auctions this weekend at the Omni Hotel in Austin TX. This auction represented two different condo developments in the 78704 zip (The Ivy & The Element). Supreme Auctions estimate that in the coming years more and more property will be conveying in this manner. As an attendant, in my opinion, it was exciting to see the free market in action. Buyers bidding on the properties at its highest value and you could see your competition in the room. The first property sold 25% under last MLS sold price, and quickly moved to 40-50% under last MLS sold price.

My client and I had a good time. I look forward to doing it again.

Tax Credit Deadline Extended; Flood Insurance Program Reinstated

Congress has passed a bill extending the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline to September 30, 2010. This is a huge win for REALTORS® and homebuyers, and the National Association of Realtors [NAR] worked closely with members of Congress to make it happen.

The extension applies only to transactions that had ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, and have not yet closed. There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law.

Additionally, Congress has extended the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through September 30th. The bill is retroactive and will cover the lapse period from June 1, 2010, to the date the law is enacted. NAR will continue to work with Congress on the NFIP Reform bill, and we will keep you posted on those efforts.

For additional information on both the tax credit deadline and the NFIP, visit Realtor.org/Government_Affairs.

Austin Initiates Neighborhood Partner Program

The city is accepting applications for an experimental program that joins city dollars with volunteer labor to enhance neighborhoods.

The Neighborhood Partner Program was formed to split costs between the city and neighborhoods by using volunteers on the projects, allowing small-scale improvements to be made to neighborhoods by the people who live in them.

No funding has been set aside for the new program, but city leaders hope to allocate some money in next year’s budget, which will be available in October. The program will build up to 20 projects over one year. The program could be expanded if it is successful.

City officials say they do not intend for the program to replace spending on parks, roads, sidewalk repair and other public works improvements. Neither does the city intend to delay or abandon projects it has already scheduled.

For more details, http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/publicworks/npdocuments.htm

FTC Settles Countrywide Loan Servicing Case

Delinquent homeowners who allegedly paid inflated fees to two Countrywide mortgage servicing companies for services like property inspections and lawn mowing will receive $108 million in refunds under the terms of a settlement between Bank of America and the Federal Trade Commission.

The companies created subsidiaries to hire third-party vendors, charging markups of 100 percent or more, the FTC said. The companies also failed to tell borrowers in bankruptcy when new fees and escrow charges were added to their accounts.

Most mortgage contracts require that homeowners pay for necessary default-related services, but mortgage servicers may not mark up the cost to make a profit or charge homeowners for services that are not reasonable or appropriate to protect the mortgage holder's interest in the property, the FTC said.

Homeowners overcharged by Countrywide Home Loans Inc. and Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP (now BAC Home Loans Servicing LP) before July 2008 will receive refunds. Borrowers who are eligible for refunds will receive a notice in the mail.

For more details, you can view the entire FTC release: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/countrywide.shtm

Private Transfer Fees - What you should know.

Private transfer fee covenants, referred to as a “PTF” or “PTF covenant” have been around several years in Texas. A PTF covenant requires the seller to pay a fee to a third party when a property is sold. These covenants are usually found in the restrictive covenants for a subdivision but may also be contained in a deed or separate document. Typically, it requires the payment of a transfer fee of 1% of the sales price each time the property is sold. The covenants usually have a life span of 99 years.

This is typically seen in the newer subdivisions and can impact the sale or purchase of a property. For more details, you may read entire article at http://tiny.cc/xb4ax