Register Real Estate Advisors

The following article is from the Check A Pro Joe E-Newsletter.  RREA and Check A Pro have partnered to bring the Check A Pro opportunities to our home buyers and sellers.  This valuable coupon/credit card can be used over and over on home services.  Call RREA today to request your Check A Pro Card – 281.288.3500.  We will be happy to mail you this valuable offer.

Maintaining your wooden fence doesn’t have to be a hard task. Follow these guidelines to making your fence last longer.

1. Make sure your fence is sealed and treated. Untreated wood needs two coats of sealer to keep it safe from the weather and those pesky insects.

2. Create proper drainage to keep rain water from pooling at the bottom of your fence. An example would be to use pebbles or gravel.

3. Move your sprinkler heads away from your fence. When your fence is being constantly drenched with water, it will cause your fence to rot a lot faster.

4. Check your fence periodically throughout the year to see if it needs minor repairs.

5. Lastly, make sure leaves and other debris is away from your fence. When plants decompose, they attract insects that can damage the fence.

A Foreclosure Seminar will be held at Register Real Estate Advisors in Spring, Texas on Thursday, September 1, 2011. This foreclosure counseling will help consumers understand how they can stop the foreclosure process and sell their home as a short sale. It will also look at how to buy short sales and explain foreclosure purchasing. If you or someone you know is at risk of losing their home, please have them come to this seminar or contact a Realtor in confidence for help. Please forward this information to them becuase there is help for distressed homeowners. The seminar will be held at 1614 Louetta Rd. Ste I Spring, Texas, 77388 from 6-7pm. These informative seminars will be hosted by Realtors and will sometimes have guest speakers such as Title Company Representatives, Lenders, Inspectors, Appraisers, and other industry experts. We hope you will attend and bring your questions!

Below are some interesting seller facts from 2010…I found these in the Brian Buffini Real Estate Report and thought you would enjoy them.

The median age of a home seller is 49

The typical seller has owned their home for 8 years

The median time for a home on the market was 8 weeks (that’s fast ya’ll!)

Of sellers, 50% traded up while 28% purchased a comparable home

21% of home sellers traded down when they sold in 2010

The typical home sold for 96% of the final listing price

The main motivation for sellers to move in 2010 was the size of their home

15% of moves in 2010 were due to job relocation

This article was in the August 2011 Issue of the Houston Builder Magazine.  It gives some great information about the industry.

Dr. Ray Perryman, president of the economic and financial
analysis firm with Perryman Group, spoke to the approximately 560 guests at the
annual GHBA Mid Year Forecast Luncheon.
The following are key points made concerning the economy both nationally
and locally.

“In the third quarter of 2009, the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) grew by approximately 1.6 percent.”
While that number represents a small jump, it was significant in terms
of the context of the downturn.  Dr.
Perryman explained of that 1.6 percent, 1.5 percent was car sales.”  This phenomenon was due to the government
rebate program ‘Cash for Clunkers.’

In the fourth quarter of 2009, the GDP grew by a high rate
of about 5 percent.  In the first quarter
of 2010, it grew by about 3.7 percent.
“That’s when we said the GDP growth was slowing down a bit,” Perryman
reported.  “And then the next quarter
(second quarter of 2010) was about 1.7 percent.”

Midway through 2010, Dr. Perryman explained that the media
was dramatizing the doom-and-gloom of the economy.  There were many reports circulating noting it
was slowing dramatically and speculating a double-dip recession.

“It was only about 2 percent the next quarter (third quarter
of 2010),” said Dr. Perryman.  “It rose
slightly the fourth quarter, just over 3 percent.”  In the first quarter of 2011, it dropped to
1.8 percent.

“I think close to 3 percent is something that Houston can
probably sustain, “ said Dr. Perryman.
He concluded it wasn’t a trendsetter, “but demonstrated slow, healthy
growth.”

“If you give Houston 6 to 9 months, we are going to have a
very strong couple of quarters and that will help us get back on track.”  The slow recovery can be attributed in part
to corporate America’s uncertainty, which has historically withheld about $600
to $700 billion in cash on any given day.
Dr. Perryman said today, corporate America is sitting on about $2.4
trillion in cash, which is about four times the normal amount.

Dr. Perryman concluded with the factors contributing to the
success of Texas.  They include our
robust mineral sector and a strong conservative banking industry.

“Another factor was that our housing industry was not dramatically
overbuilt.  We gained in round numbers
about 400,000 people a year.  On average
there are approximately 1,200 people a day moving to Texas,” Dr. Perryman
noted.

“If you add 400,000 people a day to an economy, you’re going
to need 150,000 to 160,000 housing units,” he said.  “At the peak of construction during this
mortgage crisis, Houston goes through approximately 215,000 houses.”

Comparatively, he explained that in 1983, when the state was
smaller and needed approximately 130,000 units, “We didn’t build 215,000, we
built 290,000.  This resulted in a huge
inventory that could not be absorbed.”

Dr. Perryman commended in this last recession, the builders
stopped building very quickly once the downturn was imminent.  The immediate response to the economy enabled
a much quicker absorption rate.

Perryman concluded by saying, “Nationally, the bottom line
is we are probably about 6 to 9 months waiting on any little spurt in
growth.  But overall, here in Texas,
we’ve done a bit better.”

If you are thinking about purchasing a home I want to give you some updated information to help you understand the 2010 buyer facts, trends, and demographics. Brian Buffini puts out stats in his real estate report and I think they will help you better understand what home buyers are focusing on.

First time home buyers are usually married couples and repeat home buyers are most likely married couples. We know the typical buyer purchased a 3 bedroom/2 bath home in 2010. Twenty percent of buyers were women while fifty nine percent were married couples and twelve percent were single men. The average buyer searched for 12 weeks and viewed 12 homes before purchasing. With new technology, such as videos of virtual tours, hopefully you won’t have to waste time viewing that many homes. A good Realtor can find the best home to suit you quickly and efficiently using the MLS Database. You can preview the homes online through the RREA.com website.

Most buyers needed help from their Realtor with finding the right home, negotiating the terms of the sale, negotiating price, and completing the paper work. Before you purchase a home in The Woodlands or Spring area, call an RREA Realtor to help you. Our Realtors are trained to assist both Buyers and Sellers with all of their Real Estate needs. You can reach a Realtor at 281.288.3500.

One of the most highly sought after feature when purchasing a home in 2010 was energy efficiency. More than one third of buyers did not make any compromises on their home while 19% compromised on price and 19% compromised on size. Very few buyers own more than one home. Repeat buyers plan to hold their property for 15 years, but many times they sell sooner due to job changes and economic and marriage changes.

The top features that influenced where buyers purchased are listed below:

1. Neighborhood Quality
2. Commute to Work
3. Price

When you are in the market to purchase a home, you want an experienced Realtor to work with you every step of the way. You want someone that knows the area and can answer all of your questions and be available to you. Call RREA today to find a Realtor that can assist you throughout the whole transaction!
281.288.3500

The whole world has changed, and so has the marketing of products and services. Since the invention of the internet, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogging, and the smart phone we are seeing use changes in the way companies market their products. You can now contact and stay in touch with people all over the world without leaving your home or office. All of the new tools available make life much easier.

You still need to practice the old ways of marketing; face to face for me is still the best way. I understand some of the new technology can be somewhat intimidating. There are a lot of free webinars available to help you learn how to use this new technology. Get all the training you can, especially if it’s offered free. Do not try to overload yourself. You can come up with a schedule for learning each new type of media available. That way you are taking on one thing at a time, starting slowly, so you will not be overwhelmed.

My suggestion would be to set a side one hour per day in the beginning. This way, you’re not dedicating too much time on learning new things which can be counter productive. The more you learn and become comfortable, with each new piece of technology, the more time you can spend on it. If you’re not convinced, go online and look at all the statistics, and the demographic, for each new technology.

I bet you will be amazed, and wonder why you haven’t done it before now. I hope this has been informative for you, and at least get you to look at how your marketing your business in 2011.

At Register Real Estate Advisors, we use all of the social media tools available and extensive new technology to market and sell your home. If you are interested in selling in the Spring or Woodlands area, don’t hesitate to give me a call.

The Dean Thornton Team is here to help you with all of your real estate needs! 281.288.3500

DALLAS (Dallas Business Journal)
– The Metroplex’s housing market had its first quarterly increase in
home starts and closings in a year, according to Metrostudy.

Starts during second quarter 2011 were up 18 percent from the
first quarter. Closings were up 9 percent from the first quarter as well.

These increases are the first since the end of the homebuyer tax credit in
April 2010.

We're sorry, but we couldn't find MLS # 42227914 in our database. This property may be a new listing or possibly taken off the market. Please check back again.

Great article from Brian S. Wesbury – Chief Economist and Robert Stein, CFA – Senior Economist, from Morgan Stanley. Thanks to Gary Wulf for the link. You can read the source here.

Two-hundred and thirty-five July 4th’s ago, the United States became reality. While there have been plenty of stumbles along the way, other than during the Civil War, doubts about its continued existence have been few and far between. Lately, however, government spending and debt levels have created a mainstream fear that the US is possibly on its last legs – destined to become a future version of Greece.

We don’t agree and, no, we are not sticking our heads in the sand. Our problems are clear. The budget deficit will be about 8.5% of GDP in 2011, down slightly from 9% in 2010 and 10% in 2009. These deficits are impossible to sustain over the longer run.

Meanwhile, the total public debt of the US is now $14.3 trillion and future promised, but as yet unfunded, Social Security and Medicare benefits amount to about $60 trillion in present value terms. Combined, this $75 trillion is roughly five times annual GDP. With numbers like these, how could we not think serious, economy-threatening problems are on the way?

Well, for one thing, the very obvious problems in Greece (and other countries and the states) and the fact that politicians can’t hide from the Internet are forcing the issue. Second, the political landscape in the US has changed – perhaps because of point one. Third, the solutions are relatively simple in reality, even though very complicated politically.

Part of the solution is higher revenues, and this will happen even if tax rates are not increased. In the past 12 months, revenues have climbed by about $220 billion over the previous 12 months – or, about 0.5% of GDP. We expect revenues to continue this trend, rising from their current level of 14.5% of GDP back to about 18.5% of GDP (a 4% move).

Meanwhile, current debt-limit negotiations are likely to cut federal discretionary (non-entitlement, non-interest) spending. In the 1990s, discretionary spending fell from about 9% of GDP to 6%. So let’s say, we go from 9% today to 7.5%, which could be a “low hurdle” given the eventual reduction in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Combining this 1.5% of GDP cut with the 4% rise in revenues (total of 5.5%), could bring the annual deficit down to 3% of GDP.

Of course, that still leaves the long-term entitlement problem. But even there we can see the outlines of solutions looming in the distance. For Medicare and Medicaid, which are much bigger problems than Social Security, we think ultimately the forces of smaller government win. We do not know whether it will be in 2012, 2016, or 2020. But one of those elections is likely to result in a Republican in the White House with control of both the US Senate and House. And at that point, they can enact major reforms along the lines of some recent proposals to turn Medicare into premium support and turn Medicaid into block grants to the states.

Parliamentary rules will allow the GOP to enact these changes with only a simple majority in the Senate (with no chance for a Democratic filibuster). And to reverse these reforms, because it would make future budget deficits larger, Democrats would need 60 votes in the Senate!

On Social Security, any change requires 60 votes in the Senate. This means tax hikes (to fill the gap) are as much in play as benefit cuts and this is why it will likely be put off for many years into the future. In the meantime, news stories suggest even AARP is now willing to consider some reductions in benefits. In other words, fiscal reality is beginning to bite.

In the end, the road to fiscal redemption is a long one and we’ll be on it for many years. But we think the ultimate destination will be smaller government and more manageable deficits than most investors realize.

Exxon Mobile’s CEO made the big announcement.  There is a new campus being built near The Woodlands,
Texas.  If you are one of the employees that will be working out of the new campus you may want to start thinking about relocating to The Woodlands/Spring area. 

I have been a real estate investor for many years and when an announcement like this comes out I have seen in the past the housing cost increase due to similar changes. I understand completion of new campus isn’t until 2013/2014, but if you wait until than you will most likely pay more.  Now is a good time to buy a home in the area.  House’s in the area are still moderately priced.  Also summer is a good time to put your present home on the market. 

I would enjoy helping you with all your real estate needs.  To list your present home for sale or assisting you in finding your new home please call Dean M. Thornton @ 281-924-3032 or you can email me dean@rrea.com.