Four Stages To Becoming A First-Time Homebuyer
October 25, 2008
The Homebuying Process
Buying a home is a complex experience, especially if it’s your first time. We have broken down the process down into four easy-to-understand stages and offers helpful tips and advice for each one.
Stage 1: Evaluate Your Life and Finances
Owning a home is like any major commitment. You need to be mentally and financially ready for it. What stage of life are you in? Are you financially stable? Do you move around a lot?
Texas Home Foreclosures Down In September According To RealtyTrac Report
October 24, 2008
According to the September report compiled by RealtyTrac, Texas real estate foreclosure numbers are down for the month of September and for the third quarter, compared with the prior quarter. Over the month of September, a total of 9,193 homes in Texas entered the foreclosure process, a 15.4% decline from the volume of filings posted in August 2008.
Compared to a year ago, the September 2008 numbers mark a 37.4% decline from the number of filings posted in Texas over the course of September 2007.
TriStone Homes Opens The Ridge at Leon Valley
October 22, 2008
TriStone Homes announced the Grand Opening of their newest community, The Ridge at Leon Valley.
TriStone Homes will offer homes ranging from 1,519 square feet to 2,962 square feet, with base prices from the high 130’s. The model home, a “Medina” boasts 2,962 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a game room and chef;s kitchen. Located in the heart of Leon valley, The Ridge’s central location makes it an ideal place to live. Residents of the Ridge enjoy proximity to Medical Center, Ingram Park Mall, and local attractions, like SeaWorld.
San Antonio and Austin Lead Forbes List For America’s Best-Value Cities
October 11, 2008
If your looking to get the best value for your dollar, Forbes.com recommends heading to Texas.
That’s because Austin and San Antonio lead the list of places where your money goes farthest. Residents of both enjoy affordable housing and promising prospects for job growth in coming years. Houston and Dallas also land in the top 10, at Nos. 4 and 7, respectively.
“Texas, as a whole, is one of the few economies that’s performing extremely well because of the energy and technology sectors,” says Andrew Gledhill, an economist at Moody’s Economy.com. Plus, he added, military bases in San Antonio have continued to draw a steady steam of personnel and federal employees to the city, spurring widespread job growth.
San Antonio Makes HomeVestors Top 10 List Again
October 8, 2008
HomeVestors® of America, Inc., the company famous for its “We Buy Ugly Houses”® billboards and America’s #1 Home Buyer, has named the top 10 markets for real estate investing in the third quarter of 2008. They are as follows:
1. Dallas, Texas
2. Houston, Texas
3. Fort Worth, Texas
4. Atlanta, Georgia
5. San Antonio, Texas
6. Denver, Colorado
7. St. Louis, Missouri
8. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
9. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
10. Richmond, Virginia
San Antonio Market Still Considered A Low Risk
October 2, 2008
PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., the primary U.S. subsidiary of The PMI Group, Inc., today released its Fall 2008 U.S. Market Risk Index(SM), which shows increases in foreclosures and unemployment have significantly heightened the risk of future home price declines. PMI’s U.S. Market Risk Index(SM) ranks the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) according to the likelihood that home prices will be lower in two years.
Risk scores translate directly into an estimated percentage risk that home prices will be lower in two years. The Fall 2008 Risk Index is based on second-quarter Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) data. A complete copy of the Fall 2008 PMI Economic and Real Estate TrendsSM (ERET) report and an appendix that provides data for all 381 U.S. MSAs is available at: http://www.pmi-us.com/eret.
