The Bains

(1) outdoor kitchen, (2) outdoor fireplace, (3) sun room, (4) butler’s pantry, (5) media room, (6)
desk in kitchen, (7) two-story foyer, (8) eight-foot ceiling on first floor – 9 foot is more popular,
(9) multiple shower heads in master bath, (10) smaller kitchen area than in recent years. Builders
will focus more on energy-saving reatures according to Rose Quint, assistant VP for NAHB’s Survey
Research Conoomics & Housing Policy Group. “Things we though were consumer necessities – such as
granite countertops in the kitchen or home offices – are not on the list.” Buyers will look for ways to
save money, such as water-saving toilets, etc. Ms. Quint made this presentation at the 2010 National Assoc. of Home Builders International Builders’ Show. The builders at the show helped compile this list.

(1) walk-in closet in mst bdr, (2) separate lalundry room, (3) insulated front door, (4) Great Room,
(5) low-E windows, (6) linen closet, (7) programmable thermostat, (8) energy-efficient appliances
and lighting, (9) separate shower and tub in mst bdr, (10) nine-foot ceilings on 1st floor. Tall ceilined entryways are are energy-guzzlers. Water-saving toilets are popular. This according to National Association Home Builder’s Survey Research Conomics and Housing Policy Group and told at the
International Builders’ Show. The LEAST likely will be in Friday’s blog and next Tuesday’s will be
wants of older buyers from others.

The U.S. economy is compared to an armored vehicle, well made, equipped & manned by talented
operators, but the drivers have 4 land mines ahead, like in Afghanistan, according to the Chief
Economist for the Real Estate Center at TX A&M Mark Dotzour. The question is how the vehicle will
perform as each mine explodes. (#1) is the budget crisis faced by states, cities & school districts, the result of falling tax revenues. (#2) is the pervasive contraction of credit occurring in the U. S.
as business loans, mortgage loans & consumer credit continue to fall. (#3) is what will happen to mortgage rates when the Federal Reserve stops buying all of the new U.S. mortgages at the end of
March. (#4) Congress changing the rules for taxes, capital gains taxes, cap & trade, possible windfall profits taxes & new regulations of financial institlution. ” THE DANGERS MUST BE CONFRONTED BEFORE JOB GROWTH RESUMES IN A MEANINGFUL WAY.”

according to economist Ray Perryman. This is the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression. Will be slow & marked by ups & downs. In Tyler, it will take to the year end for
construction, employment & manufacturing to steadily improve. Better off than last year. Perryman
says the key to Tyler’s economic future lies in the hands of the education community, an asset he
calls “THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY”. Tyler has the potential to be a technology & biotechnology hotbed, but other communities are developing this also. The competition makes this a tough road.
The natural gas industry will be boost for East TX. The stable banking community has helped Tyler
from slipping deeper into the recession.

1,138,070 live in homes valued at $300,000 or LESS or 90% live in homes under $1 million. 403,211
millionaries live in homes valued at $1 million or more. 67,000 live in mobile homes. 41% of homes
valued at $1 million or higher are owned by folks with an annual income of $200,000 or more. 27% of
homes vlued at $1 million or higher are owned by millionaires. All this from STOP ACTING RICH …..
AND START LIVING LIKE A REAL MILLIONAIRE by Thomas J. Stanley, PhD.

10 years ago 37% of buyers used the Internet in their home seach and now 90% us the Internet,
according to the National Assoc. of Realtors. Married couples bought 68% of homes 10 years ago &
now 60% with single men purchasing 10% of homes in 2009 , but 7% in 1999. Single women now
buy 21%, up from 15% 10 years ago. Most still consider a home an investment in the future. Over
past 10 years home prices increased 25% in the U. S. from $137,600 to $172,600 now. Tyler & area
home average prices in 2009 are at the lower figure, which is why WE ARE A GOOD AREA TO BUY IN.

It is the HOME VALUATION CODE OF CONDUCT guidelines to track appraisal rules & agreed by
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac & NY State Attorney General. HVCC was founded to keep an arm’s length
between the lenders ordering the appraisal & those who benefit on a commission basis from the outcome of that appraisal. Nowhere does it say you have to (1) us an appraisal management company, (2) pay the appraisers less or (3) get appraisers to drive to a remote location where they
don’t understand that market. It says the appraiser should be from the local area & should understand the area, which is required by the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice
anyway. This brief from a longer article by David H. Stevens, President Obama’s assistant secretary for housing-federal housing commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development.
This code is being hailed by most in the industry as improving the HVCC.