Register Real Estate Advisors » Houston

What a Community – Champions Forest

Jack Haymes, Realtor — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:45:24 +0000

We have great schools, shopping, golf and restaurants galore. My Champions Forest has it all. We are lucky enough to be surrounded by 2 Championship Golf Courses both of which have held PGA events. –I hate to tell some of you that it’s not just about the golf—but Champions is a great community and it’s people like you and I that make this a great area. My wife and I shop, eat, socialize and most important we live here. So when you are looking for a community that has it all, look for me in the Champion Forest area, I’ll be at the Starbucks in Randall’s or Barnes and Nobles answering my email from the day or maybe at Lowes looking at how to spend my 10% off coupon. If you would like to receive a discount coupon for our Lowes just email me at jack@rrea.com and I will put you on the Lowes mail out and when your interested in becoming part of our community or relocating from our area contact me at 936.777.2265 or jack@rrea.com.

Building community one home at a time.

"What a Community – Champions Forest" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on February 12, 2012.

Short Sales Can Be Money Makers

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:34:05 +0000

One of my clients emailed me the link below. He and I were talking the other day and he could not believe that we have had clients at RREA that have been over a year behind on their mortgages and still not foreclosed on. It would have been unbelievable years ago, but in today’s market, it’s become the norm. One of my agents closed on a short sale and the owners of the home walked away with $8K dollars after closing. WOW! The agent’s commission was less than $1,000 on the house. The house was sold for less than $50K. So the owner that got foreclosed on walked away with almost one third of what the house sold for as a short sale. This is free government money being given away to people who do not pay their mortgages. What is wrong with this picture??

I worked on a short sale last year where the homeowner had a first and second mortgage. After we found a buyer for the home, the second lien holder refused to take a settlement. So although the first lienholder agreed to the deal, the buyer could not purchase the home because the second lienholder refused to take a settlement. I have found that trying to do short sales on homes that have a first and second lienholder are much more difficult that short sales with just a first lien. Unfortunately, the home foreclosed and the buyers lost the opportunity to purchase the home. Short sales are tricky, so you need an experienced agent that can work the system to negotiate on your behalf with the mortgage company. After you read this article, please leave thought below. I would like to know how you feel about short sales. If you or someone you know could potentially lose their home to foreclosure, please have them call me early enough so that we have time to sell the home before it forecloses.

National Article on Short Sales

"Short Sales Can Be Money Makers" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on February 12, 2012.

Galveston Pier: Something Old, Something New

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:01:38 +0000

GALVESTON (Houston Chronicle) – Landry’s founder Tilman Fertitta is restoring a little of Galveston Island’s history.

The Houston Chronicle reports that construction has begun on Fertitta’s $60 million Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier, an amusement attraction much like the one that opened in 1943 at 25th St. It was destroyed by Hurricane Carla in 1961.

The new attraction will be built at the same location, jutting out 1,000 feet over the Gulf. The site was most recently home to the Flagship Hotel.

Plans call for 16 rides (including a roller coaster and Ferris wheel), carnival games, souvenir shops, food vendors and the state’s first Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant.

Pleasure Pier is slated to open in May.

"Galveston Pier: Something Old, Something New" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on February 9, 2012.

Houston Office Market: Job Growth Spurs Leasing

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:17:32 +0000

HOUSTON (CB Richard Ellis) – H-Town’s office market finished 2011 with more than three million sf of positive net absorption, reports CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) in its latest market analysis. The firm credits area job growth, increasing shale exploration activity and stronger oil prices for the surge in leasing. According to the report, predictions for the city’s 2010 employment gains of 13,700 were later revised to reflect the addition of around 40,000 more new jobs than anticipated. The Greater Houston Partnership’s figures show the city gained 170,700 jobs since economic recovery began. That’s 111.7 percent of the 152,800 jobs lost because of the recession. In addition, CBRE said employment forecasters expect 84,000 jobs to be added this year. Office space absorption in the early part of 2011 was the result of several large transactions that had been shelved during the recession. Fourth quarter absorption, on the other hand, was from many small to medium-sized deals. Class-A vacancy dropped 150 basis points from 12.14 in fourth quarter 2010 to 10.6 percent a year later. With the decreasing vacancy rate and shrinking Class-A available space, proposed developments and new construction are on the rise in the suburban markets.

"Houston Office Market: Job Growth Spurs Leasing" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on February 4, 2012.

Texas Gets $31 Million in Wildfire Recovery Funding

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:54:43 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Associated Press) – Texas is getting $31 million in federal funding to help with wildfire recovery. At least 80 percent of it will go to Bastrop County, which was devasted by fires that began late last summer.

Community development block grants will help pay for housing, business and infrastructure needs beyond other public and private help.

The money is part of $400 million in nationwide natural disaster assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

According to the Texas Forest Service, last year’s wildfire season was the worst in the state’s history, covering nearly four million acres and destroying 4,000 structures, and resulting in ten deaths.

"Texas Gets $31 Million in Wildfire Recovery Funding" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on February 2, 2012.

Houston Industrial: Construction Uptick Indicates Market Strength

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:57:04 +0000

HOUSTON (CB Richard Ellis) – An increase in building activity marked the strengthening of Houston’s industrial market in fourth quarter 2011, according to CB Richard Ellis’ latest market analysis.

The report showed that 4.1 million sf of active building was taking place at the end of 2011, up 14 percent from the end of the third quarter and more than 450 percent over the end of 2010.

Industrial vacancy rates have declined over the past two years. The overall vacancy rate dropped to 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter from 5.9 percent in the previous quarter and 6.5 percent in fourth quarter 2010.

At the end of fourth quarter 2011, Houston’s industrial market posted 25 million sf of vacant space alongside 2.1 million sf of positive net absorption, pushing year-to-date absorption to 3.8 million sf.

In its report, CB Richard Ellis says “employment now exceeds its prerecession peak in several sectors — oil and gas extraction, food and beverage stores, utilities, and trucking to name a few. The recovery has been rough, and job growth will repeat that trend with only construction and real estate showing signs of significant improvement next year.”

"Houston Industrial: Construction Uptick Indicates Market Strength" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on February 1, 2012.

Oil Industry Boosts Texas Job Growth

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:46:08 +0000

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Texas’ mining and logging industry ranked first in job creation in the past year, followed by the professional and business services industry, and the leisure and hospitality industry, according to the latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy.

Overall, the state’s economy gained 205,100 nonagricultural jobs from December 2010 to December 2011, an annual growth rate of 2 percent compared with 1.3 percent for the United States. The state’s nongovernment sector added 261,200 jobs, an annual growth rate of 3 percent compared with 1.8 percent for the nation’s private sector.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 8.3 percent to 7.8 percent while the nation’s rate decreased from 9.4 percent to 8.5 percent.

All Texas industries except the information industry, construction industry, and the state’s government sector had more jobs in December 2011 than in December 2010.

All Texas metro areas except Abilene, Wichita Falls, College Station-Bryan, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Brownsville-Harlingen and Beaumont-Port Arthur had more jobs in December 2011 than in December 2010. Laredo ranked first in job creation followed by Corpus Christi, Victoria, Lubbock, Midland and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown.

The state’s actual unemployment rate in December 2011 was 7.2 percent. Midland had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Amarillo, Odessa, Lubbock, College Station and San Angelo.

"Oil Industry Boosts Texas Job Growth" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on January 29, 2012.

Job Flows from Oil Patch

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:59:46 +0000

By David S. Jones, Senior Editor, RECON Magazine

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (Real Estate Center) – Texas added more than 41,000 “mining and logging” jobs during the year ending in December. Most of these were in the resurgent oil patch.

“The average number of active rotary rigs increased from 719.8 in December 2010 to 873.4 in December 2011,” said Dr. Ali Anari, author of the Monthly Review of the Texas Economy published by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

The state’s mining and logging sector posted an 18.8 percent job gain for the year, easily outpacing all other job categories. Professional and business services and leisure and hospitality were second with 4.1 percent more jobs.

Laredo ranked first in job creation followed by Corpus Christi, Victoria, Lubbock, Midland and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown.

It was not a good year for Texas’ construction, government or information industries.

The state’s construction industry lost 6,500 jobs. Job gains in the construction of buildings sector and in heavy and civil engineering construction were more than offset by the loss of 8,600 specialty trade contractor jobs.

The government sector lost 56,100 jobs, an annual decline rate of 3 percent. Government job losses included 2,500 among Texas-based federal workers; 42,100 in local governments and 11,500 at the state level.

Texas’ information industry (Internet service providers, web search portals, publishing industries, broadcasting and telecommunications) lost 7,800 jobs, a 4 percent rate decrease.

“The state economy gained 205,100 nonagricultural jobs December to December,” said Anari. “That’s an annual growth rate of 2 percent. By comparison, the United States grew 1.3 percent during that time.”

Texas’ nongovernment sector added 261,200 jobs, an annual growth rate of 3 percent. The nation’s private sector grew 1.8 percent.

"Job Flows from Oil Patch" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on January 28, 2012.

Housing Market is Strengthening

Jay Richardson, Realtor — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 06:33:49 +0000

NAR released its latest pending home sales index figure last week and for the second month in a row the index is up. But more than that, the index has broken 100. This is significant because the only time since the housing boom collapsed that the index has broken 100 is when the home owner tax credit was in effect. The fact that the index has returned to that level a year since the credit has been in effect means the housing market is strengthening completely on its own, without any stimulus.

"Housing Market is Strengthening" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on January 28, 2012.

H-Town Housing Market: Full Steam Ahead?

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:44:36 +0000

HOUSTON (Metrostudy) – Houston’s housing market appears to be building up steam, according to a recent report by housing data and consulting firm Metrostudy.

Area homebuilders started 18,417 new homes in 2011, a 2 percent decline from the 2010 total. But the 4,387 homes started in fourth quarter 2011 represent a 24 percent increase over last year’s tax credit-depressed quarterly starts count. Just over 4,890 new homes were closed last quarter, 388 more than the year before.

At the end of 2011, the city’s new home market had an inventory of fewer than 10,000 homes, a first since 1997. A 10 percent decline in new home closings in 2011 caused new home inventory to rise from 5.9 last year to 6.4 months.

But the city’s job growth should mean more work for builders this year.

“Based on the job growth of the last 12 months, the tight housing supply and the building confidence of the Houston market should lead to an increase in new home starts through the end of 2012,” said David Jarvis, director of Metrostudy’s Houston division.

Metrostudy said the city’s unemployment rate dropped to 7.6 percent in fourth quarter 2011, a full percentage point less than the previous quarter’s reading. Employment also grew by 3.3 percent annually.

"H-Town Housing Market: Full Steam Ahead?" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on January 27, 2012.