Archive for May, 2008
Markets That Are Doing Just Fine, Thanks
Some cities aren’t feeling the pain of falling home prices or rising unemployment. Despite the national slowdown, they’re doing just fine.
To identify the economically healthiest cities, Forbes magazine examined key measures in the country’s 50 largest metros. The magazine studied unemployment and job-growth data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, home price data from the [...]
Landscape Adds Value … and sells
Speaking of return on investment, landscape sells. From personal and professional experience, if the house is average but the landscape is fabulous, the house will be a hot ticket on the market. A Clemson University study found landscaping can result in more than a 100% return on investment. The report concluded that “Homeowners wanting to [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )driving is a lot easier
My father is following a bit too fast in his father’s footsteps. You see, Grandpa had full blown dementia at 80 and Dad, at 78, appears to be not too far behind. He often references his 20 years flying jets for the USAF in relation to his driving skills (Dodge Magnum, one of the sexier [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Repair Chronicle # 3: Refinishing Wood Floors
This is an ongoing series of homeowner insight & advice on repairs, upgrades, & add-ons, sometimes do-it-yourself (DIY), sometimes not, chronicling what went well, what did not go so well and advice for the rest of us. Please feel free to submit your repair chronicle to [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )22 reasons to ditch the suburbs & move to a downtown Austin LOFT.
By our favorite South Austin contributor, Patti P.
Lofts are rising all over Austin overnight like a newly planted bean seed—pushing up clumps of earth in the “clubby” warehouse district, trailing up in the refreshing work/live East side, winding tendrils on vibrant South & North Lamar, reaching for the sun in the heart of SOCO, and [...]
Market Trend Analysis: Austin Strong
Ladybird Lake & View of Downtown
Mortgage Guarantee Insurance Corp (MGIC) continually researches and analyzes the real estate and employment markets of 73 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) & takes that information and publish market trend analysis on a quarterly basis.
The summary for Austin: Despite the slowdown in job growth, Austin has one of the better performing [...]
What the Fed Really Did
Posted on May 2, 2008. Filed under: Finance, Smart Real Estate | Tags: austin real estate, lending commentary |
– from one of our favorite mortgage voices, David Reed, CD Reed Mortgage Bankers, Austin
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )The 1/4 point Fed Funds rate cut was expected. The Fed did what was expected of them. Mortgage lenders had anticipated such a move and had priced that 1/4 cut in some time ago. Rates moved down just a tad [...]