Kimball Hill Homes Announces New Boerne Community SableChase
March 30, 2008
Kimball Hill Homes, one of the nation’s leading homebuilders, is excited to announce the opening of eight new communities in the Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio areas.
Coming soon to north San Antonio, in Boerne, is the community of Sablechase. The community is tucked in the luxurious Hill Country while maintaining the convenience of “Big City” living. With easy access to Hwy 1604 and l-10, it is close to the Medical Center and the San Antonio International Airport. The children of Sablechase will attend the award-winning Boerne Independent School District.
Builders/Remodelers Must Have Certain Projects Inspected Starting September 1, 2008
March 29, 2008
In Texas, residential builders and remodelers have not had to secure inspections on projects in unincorporated areas. On September 1, 2008, however, all that changes.
Part of House Bill 1038, co-authored by Reps. Allan Ritter and Ruth Jones-McClendon, mandates code inspections on every new home construction and remodeling project built in unincorporated areas of the state or in municipalities that do not conduct such inspections, if the project is required to be registered with the Texas Residential Construction Commission. The law requires inspections on qualifying new construction that starts after September 1, 2008.
Top 10 U.S. Metro Areas With The Highest Population Growth
March 28, 2008
Dallas-Fort Worth had the largest numeric gain of any metro area between 2006 and 2007, increasing by 162,250, according to July 1, 2007, estimates of metro area population size and growth released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Atlanta (151,063), Phoenix (132,513) and Houston (120,544) rounded out the metro areas with a gain of at least 100,000.
The Midwest metro area with the greatest numeric change between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, was Chicago (seventh overall nationally), while the Northeast metro area with the greatest numeric change over the same period was New York (21st overall nationally).Eight of the 10 fastest-growing metro areas between 2006 and 2007 were located in the South.
Foreclosure Prevention Workshop Offers Homeowners Options
March 27, 2008
Newly-created San Antonio Foreclosure Prevention Taskforce offers assistance
The City’s Department of Community Initiatives (DCI) is presenting a free workshop to help prevent San Antonio homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments from losing their homes. The free workshop is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 at Northwest Vista College, Huisache Hall (Student Center), 3535 N. Ellison Drive. Free parking in front of the building and refreshments will be provided.
From 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., attendees will learn from mortgage lenders about options to keep their home. After the presentation, homeowners will have an opportunity to meet one-on-one with their lender or a certified housing counselor to discuss work-out options to prevent foreclosure.
San Antonio Ranks 34th Best Place To Live and Launch by CNN
March 27, 2008
CNNMoney.com ranked the top 100 cities to live and launch your own company based on the best mix of business advantages and lifestyle appeal. San Antonio came in at 34th out of 100 with the only con being the “Hot Summers.” Stats are below along with the link to the article.
San Antonio Real Estate Market Report February 2008
March 26, 2008
San Antonio home sales for February drop 10 percent from 1,701 a year ago to 1,529, as well as a 0.3 percent drop in the median home price from $143,100 to $142,800, according to the Texas A&M University Real Estate Center.
The average home price drop 2.45 percent from $175,800 a year ago to $171,500.
Meanwhile, the inventory of homes in San Antonio rose in February to 12,631 total listings or 6.5 months of inventory from 4.8 months a year ago.
Texas Real Estate Market In Much Better Condition Compared To Other States
March 25, 2008
Foreclosure rates on loans in Texas went up slightly this past year, but at a much slower clip than the national rate, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest national delinquency survey.
The Washington, D.C.-based industry organization’s survey shows that Texas’ foreclosure rate rose from 1.24 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 to 1.36 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The U.S. foreclosure rate over that same period increased from 1.19 percent to 2.04 percent.
The story was the same for the subprime loan market. A subprime loan is one that is offered at a higher interest rate to borrowers who have nicks in their credit history.
San Antonio Is Still A Great Place To Invest
March 24, 2008
This information is from “San Antonio heats up for spring” written by Robin Rogers at the National Association of Residential Real Estate Investments Advisors (NARREIA).
Best Places To Buy Foreclosed Homes by Forbes
March 20, 2008
Forbes magazine released the Best Places To Buy Foreclosed Homes.
To compile our list, we started with the country’s 100 largest metro areas and ranked them by annual foreclosure rate, based on data from RealtyTrac, a listing firm that tracks foreclosures. To give a sense of scale, hard-hit markets have foreclosure rates in the 3% or 4% range. Riverside, Calif., has a foreclosure rate of 3.8%, and Detroit has a foreclosure rate of 4.9%. By contrast, Seattle, has a foreclosure rate of 0.4%, and Austin, Texas, has a rate of 0.8%, two figures which are within a healthy range for
foreclosures, as all markets, at all times, have them.
San Antonio Ranks 2nd For Most Affordable Home Markets
March 19, 2008
Bizjournals compared median home payments and household income levels in the nation’s 50 largest metros. The study was based on statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey, the most up-to-date source of federal data on housing costs. I must point out that the study shows the typical monthly housing payment for San Antonio at $747 dollars a month. While this is possible just realize that monthly payments for a house located in Alamo Ranch or the Stone Oak’s of San Antonio would be much higher but still very affordable compared to other markets. Links to the full article and slideshow are provided below.
