(1)  BOULEVARD owners can head straight to the bank.  (2) PLACE perchers are more likely to turn a profit.  (3)  ROAD warriors are living richer.  BOULEVARD homes brought more money while the cheapest are those on STREET.  About a 36% price difference!  Homes on a ROAD sell for 8% to 9% more than homes on COURT & CIRCLE.  BOULEVARD has only 2% of total listings while 22% of listings are located on a DRIVE.  NEXT is  street with 19%, ROAD at 16% & AVENUE  with 15%.  So back to the original question,  which is more expensive Wisteria Lane or Sesame Street?  Based on market analysis, the price per square foot of Cookie Monster’s home could be 17% cheaper than the other one.  Cash left over to buy cookies!  Cookies!! Cookies!!!  Incidentially BOULEVARD locations are often apartments and condos.

The Texas housing market posted a 14% increase in sales volume with roughly a 6% increase in both median & average sales prices, according to the 2012 edition of the TEXAS QUARTERLY HOUSING REPORT.  Median salesprices were $161,500 & now up 6.46%.  Average sales prices have a similar increase to $208,515.  This represents a shift to a seller’s market and data shows this is true of local real estate markets,  although inventory needs to be down to about a 6 month inventory and Tyler’s is higher than that.  In spite of this Tyler and East Texas are desired places to live, work and retire.

Texas’ state & local tax burden is once again among the lowest in the nation according to the Tax Foundation’s annual ranking.  For 2010, Texans paid some $3,104 per capita in state & local taxes.  The per-capita income of $39,142 yields a state-local tax burden of 7.9%, ranking the state 45th.  Top-ranked New York had a tax burden of $6,375 (12.8%).  Next is New Jersey, then Connecticut.  At the other end of the spectrum are Alaska with $3,214 (7%) & South Dakota at $3,035 (7.6%).  The burden is calculated by taking the total state & local taxes paid by state residents to both their own & other governments, then dividing by each state’s total income.

A 30 year fixed-rate mortgage hasn’t always been the standard.  As part of FDR’s NEW DEAL in 1934, the Federal Housing Administration was created to help Americans purchase homes with affordable terms.  Prior to then, many loans had an amount due at the end of the term called a balloon.  Most mortgages had adjustable interest rates, even though some might be fixed for a short term.  While banks would loan money on a home, they retained the right to call the note due at any time putting stress on borrowers.  FHA, during this time, introduced mortgages that offered a fixed rate of interest to the borrower for a 30 yrs term.  This fully amortized loan provided borrowers a financial vehicle that would help them achieve the AMERICAN DREAM while minimizing the risk of have a loan called without the resources to pay it off.  It brought long term stability to the house market and helped stimulate the economic recovery at a difficult time in U. S. history.  Roughly, 1/3 of the mortgages created in 2011 were less than 30 year terms.  Many homeowners want to get their mortgages paid off as quickly as possible, so shorter term mortgages with a lower interest rate, but higher payments due in fewer years to amortize the mortgage, accomplishes this.