Wednesday, August 27, 2008
We have found that appliances are like a good car. Treat them well, and they'll return the favor for years to come. Every appliance needs simple maintenance to keep them running strong and efficient.
No matter how efficient and "money saving" new appliances claim to be these days, the cost to purchase and have one installed can take several years to return.. (read more)
Saturday, August 16, 2008
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Thursday, August 14, 2008
Buying smart in Austin just got a little easier recently following the signing of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 by President Bush.
There are significant benefits in this act aimed at helping Austin home buyers, such as a repayable first-time home-buyer tax credit. Majority opinion is that first-time buyers are very important to the health of the housing economy because their home.. (read more)
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Texas Real Estate data from the first half of 2008 has just been released by The Real Estate Center @ Texas A&M University . A total of 23,847 existing homes were sold in Texas in June, a 15.9 percent decline from June 2007. The median price rose 0.6 percent to $155,900 during the same period, and the state finished the month with a 6.8-month inventory on existing homes.
Here is how select.. (read more)
Friday, August 01, 2008
I hope you will find the following snapshot of local Real Estate inventory interesting. The table represents aggregated values based on the Austin MLS data for the month of July.
The number of active listings are up over 21% over last year.
Pendings (homes under contract) are down over 50% and Sold Homes are down 17% . We are seeing more inventory of homes on the market and it is taking.. (read more)
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Acoustic (popcorn ceilings) came about in the fifties. This fad was force fed to the public as a great ceiling coating that improved the noise and echo in rooms and looked good. It was actually a cheap & easy way for builders to hide imperfections. Did you know, if the home was built between the 1950s and early eighties, the materials in the ceiling could be made of asbestos... (read more)
Friday, July 25, 2008
We are seeing a sizable increase in the number of foreclosures posted for next month (August 2008)) in the Austin area over last year. This was reported recently in the Austin American Statesman.
"The number of Austin area residential foreclosures posted for the upcoming August auction increased 31 percent over last year. There are 741 postings for August in the four-county.. (read more)
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
You can't turn on a TV today without someone selling you telecom services. From cell phones to high speed net access, the deals are abundant. In this five-part series, we are looking at novel ways to understand trends that impact our home's value.
<See PC Magazine: How to Future Proof Your Home with Fiber>
In most parts of the country there are two.. (read more)
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
We have long suspected that Austin is a hidden treasure in the housing market, and now the facts are beginning to back it up.
The financial and business Web site Bloomberg.com last month named Austin as one of the country's select few attractive, low-risk housing markets. And according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), Texas has seen almost a 5% increase in.. (read more)
Sunday, July 13, 2008
We noticed a strange story coming out of Washington a few weeks back: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- the huge companies that buy most conforming loans from local lenders -- agreed to tougher standards for appraisers.
Under the deal worked out with New York state attorney general Andrew Cuomo, the big loan buyers agreed to create a "New Home Valuation Protection Code" which has three.. (read more)
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