Register Real Estate Advisors

WASHINGTON, D.C. (U.S. EPA) – The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force yesterday released its final strategy for long-term ecosystem restoration for the Gulf Coast, following extensive feedback from citizens throughout the region.

According to a press release from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this ”marks the beginning of the implementation phase of the strategy by announcing new initiatives, including $50 million in assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to help agricultural producers in seven Gulf Coast river basins improve water quality, increase water conservation and enhance wildlife habitat.

“USDA’s multi-year environmental restoration effort, known as the Gulf of Mexico Initiative, or GoMI, represents a 1,100 percent increase in financial assistance for Gulf priority watersheds.”

The EPA said this the first restoration blueprint developed for the Gulf to include input from states, tribes, federal agencies, local governments and thousands of citizens and organizations across the region.

Did you know that the average rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage over the past 30 years has been about 6.5%?

Did you know that a borrower who earns $100K per year and has $1K in monthly debt can typically be approved for a loan amount of about $350K at 6.5%?  That
same borrower can get approved for about $400K at 4.5%.  (Assuming a 3% tax rate, 20% down payment, and $100 per month for homeowners insurance.)

Low rates mean you can buy more house for your money!  Call me today to get pre-approved for your mortgage.  At RREA, we have agents ready to show you any home on the market!  Call 281.288.3500 Monday-Friday 8:30a.m.-5:30p.m.

HOUSTON (realtynewsreport.com) – In what is being pronounced the world’s largest office lease of the year, Shell Oil has renewed its 1.2 million sf lease in downtown Houston’s
Class-A Shell Plaza.

The company renewed 804,491 sf at One Shell Plaza and 471,934 sf at Two Shell Plaza.

The 15-year lease term is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2011, and expires in 2025.

The two million-sf Shell Plaza has been owned, managed and leased by Hines since it was developed in 1970.

Cushman & Wakefield represented Shell in the transaction. Hines used in-house representation.

Trader Joe’s announced that it is moving to The Woodlands in the Spring of 2012.  They will be moving into The Woodlands
Crossing Shopping Center located at 10868 Kuykendahl.  They are also opening stores in downtown Houston and Fort Worth.

NEW YORK (Forbes.com) – When it comes to which states will add the highest percentage of jobs over the next few years, Forbes reports Texas will lead the way.

Total employment here is forecast to expand 2.9 percent annually through 2015, according to research firm Moody’s Analytics. That represents 1.6 million new net jobs for the state over five years.

Forbes points to Texas’ “low tax, business-friendly climate with a surging population that offers a nearly unlimited supply of young labor” as reasons for the growth. However, it also acknowledges that the state’s rapid population growth has pushed its unemployment rate to 8.5 percent, the highest in 24 years.

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Texas’ employment growth rate is
slowing down thanks to government job losses, but the state’s private sector is
still cranking out jobs and offsetting government job losses, according to the
latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy.

The state created 15.4 percent of total jobs created in the United States
from October 2010 to October 2011.

Texas gained 232,500 nonfarm jobs during the period, an annual growth rate
of 2.2 percent compared with 1.2 percent for the United States. The state’s
private sector added 287,900 jobs, an annual growth rate of 3.4 percent
compared with 1.7 percent for the nation’s private sector.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.4 percent
in October 2011 from 8.2 percent a year earlier. The nation’s rate
decreased from 9.7 to 9.0 percent.

All Texas industries except the information industry and the state’s
government sector had more jobs in October 2011 than in October 2010. The
state’s mining and logging industry ranked first in job creation, followed by
the professional and business services industry, and the leisure and
hospitality industry.

All Texas metro areas except Abilene, Wichita Falls, Texarkana and College
Station-Bryan had more jobs in October 2011 than in October 2010. Victoria
ranked first in job creation followed by Laredo, Corpus Christi, Odessa and
Lubbock.

The state’s actual unemployment rate in October 2011 was 8 percent. Midland
had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Amarillo, Odessa, Lubbock and
College Station-Bryan.

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Sales of existing single-family Texas
homes in October were up 8 percent from a year ago, according to the
most recent Multiple Listing Services (MLS) data compiled by the Real Estate
Center at Texas A&M University.

More than 15,600 existing single-family homes were sold, data showed. The
median home price was $147,500, up 2 percent from a year ago, and the state’s
overall inventory was at 6.9 months.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported
yesterday that, nationally, existing home sales rose 1.4 percent to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million in October from a downwardly
revised 4.9 million in September, and are 13.5 percent above the 4.38 million
unit level in October 2010.

The national median price for existing homes was $162,500, which was 4.7
percent below October 2010.

Talking about the national numbers, Center Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines
said homebuyers continue to be frustrated by stiff mortgage underwriting and
appraisals despite favorable buying factors such as low interest rates,
sluggish but positive job creation and lower home prices.

“NAR reported contract cancellations at 33 percent in October, meaning that one in three sales contracts failed to close,” Gaines said. “Sales agents should be very circumspect when qualifying buyers for mortgages, rather than being frustrated later because the deal does not close.”

October 2011 MLS data for many Texas cities are available on the Center’s
website. Here is a sampling (data current as of Nov. 21, 2011):

The Harris County Flood Control District recently launched a new tool to help Harris County residents gain knowledge about floodplains and
their flooding risks—the Flood Education Mapping Tool at www.hcfcd.org.   The mapping tool replaces the mapping tool formerly found on the
Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Project (TSARP) website.

The Flood Education Mapping Tool builds on the interactive mapping tool created through TSARP, a multi-year, joint initiative spearheaded
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Flood Control District in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Allison in 2001.  TSARP produced a new Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM or floodplain map) that was adopted by Harris County, the city of Houston and the county’s 33 municipalities in 2007.

New Mapping Tool Has User-Friendly Features

Since TSARP, Harris County real estate professionals and property owners have used the mapping tool on the TSARP website as an
educational source to learn the location of structures relative to the mapped 1 percent (100-year), 0.2 percent (500-year) and coastal floodplains.

“Having recently marked the 10-year anniversary of Tropical Storm Allison, the Flood Control District is launching a mapping tool with an
updated look and new features,” said Heather Saucier, Flood Control District spokeswoman.  “Having served a valuable
purpose for nearly a decade, the TSARP website has been retired with the launch of the Flood Education Mapping Tool.”

Some of the prominent new features of the Flood Education Mapping Tool include:

• Regular updates to mapped floodplains in Harris
  County as they are revised by FEMA
• An interactive legend with pop-up “tool tips”
  that help users get the most out of each legend item
• Easy map navigation
• Known pending areas where stormwater typically
  collects when rainfall exceeds the capacity of a street’s drainage system or
  the land’s ability to drain.

The Flood Education Mapping Tool features a glossary and frequently-asked questions that address topics about flooding risks, floodplains and flood insurance.  It also contains updated information about TSARP.

While the floodplains shown on the new mapping tool are the floodplains delineated on the FEMA effective FIRM for Harris County, the mapping tool is not the effective FIRM.
Residents are urged to visit FEMA’s Map Service Center at www.msc.fema.gov to view the effective FIRM, and to contact an insurance agent or mortgage lender for an official floodplain
determination.

Introducing the Floodplain Information Line

Complementary to this effort to provide the public with tools to better understand flooding risks, the Flood Control District also
recently introduced the Floodplain Information Line at 713-684-4150.

The Floodplain Information Line provides answers in English and in Spanish to frequently asked questions about topics including:

• General floodplain information
• How to obtain an official FIRM
• How to obtain an official floodplain
  determination from official sources, such as mortgage lenders and insurance
  agents (floodplain determinations are not made by FEMA, the Flood Control
  District or by local floodplain administrators)
• Information on flood insurance and elevation
  certificates.

This is a reprint of an Article in the October 2011 Houston Realtor® Magazine.