The Bains

(1)  start with GREEN CAREERS.  Look at   www.bis.gov/green   to get an idea of green jobs for your kids.  By 2030 there should be 37 million jobs from renewable energy industries in the U. S.  (2) GREEN COLLEGES.    www.greenreportcard.org         keeps tables on universities & colleges who give these courses and compare them.  (3)  there are scholarships for kids who are interested in a green career.  Again look on the internet for schools that offer these  type scholarships.  (4)  LOW IMPACT COLLEGE TOURS.  Go to     www.greencollegetour.com       to narrow your choices and save gas running to colleges.   (5) GREEN is such a new topic that we all have to stretch our mind and take in what is available.

the borrowers owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.  Texas has 10.1% and 5.4 in near-negative equity loans at the end of 1st quarter 2011, according to CoreLogic data compiled by Real Estate Center Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines.  Nationally there were 22.7% of residential properties with a mortgage with negative equity.  Down a bit from 4th quarter 2010.  Additionally 2.4 million borrowers have less than 5% equity, referred to as near-negative equity.  Negative equity and near-negative equity mortgages accounted for 27.7% of all residential properties with a mortgage nationwide.  Texas ranked 33rd out of 44 states for which the data was reported.

A recent analysis by USA TODAY concluded that following a recent cut in Social Security tax stemming from a December 2010 budget deal between Republicans & Democrats, Americans are currently paying the smallest share of their income for taxes since the 1950′s.  The total tax burden which includes all federal, state & local taxes, DROPPED from 27% to 23.6%.  The USA TODAY’S analysis was not limited to personal income tax, but included Medicare, Social Security, property tax for schools, etc.   This means a great amount will stay in OUR pockets, but less for the U. S. Government & they are struggling to pay bills & not go further in debt.  As a country, we are perpetuating a vicious cycle of borrowing more to pay the interest on the debt, etc.  It is like your personal finances – at some point it has to maintain a balanced income to debt ratio.  The government CANNOT MANAGE ITS DEBT.  Somehow this will have to dealt with & it may be out of our pockets.

Tyler area home sales were down 3.9% in May, compred to the same time last year.  The median home price ws down to $137,000 in May 2011 or 4.2 %  less than a year ago.  Home inventory in the Tyler area is 14.5 months with a TX average of 7.6 months.  Home inventory deals with how long – based on the past year’s sales rate – it would take to clear out existing  inventory, with no more introduced on the market.  This depresses the market!    Realtors maintain that home ownership has a significant impact on net worth, educational achievement, civic participation, health & overall quality of life.  Home ownership also helps create job & many analysts say the housing market is the key to recover.

Overlays are intended to ensure that loans are offered only to borrowers who have the ability to make the payments, according to Tom Goyda, a spokes for Wells Fargo in St. Louis.   The lender has to ensure the people loaning the money that the borrower can afford the payments and will pay.  Those with higher credit scores and down payments  -  loans and interest rates likely will get better deals as opposed to folks who are not as qualified.  FHA will still do 3.5% cash down loans, but credit score could be a minimum of 500, but more likely a 640 gets it now.   The FAH overlays may have the greatest impace on borrowers who are on the margin of qualifying an FHA-insured loan.

Why does one buy?  For a place to raise & educate children, a place where the family will feel sale, plenty of living space and to have control over that space.  PRICES COULD CONTINUE TO FALL, but will hit bottom soon & have in some price ranges & locations + interest rates are still low, so DO IT NOW.  It will probably be into 2014 or 2015 before we will see an appreciate in homes, but in the meantime you have a place to live that you like and put your money into.

This law helps strengthen a property owner’s right to defend again eminent dmain from both U. S. and Texas govt. agencies & private entities.  The bill was one of Governor Rick Perry’s “emergency” initiatives for the  current legislative session.  This bill was spearheaded by Todd Staples an owner/Realtor in Palestine and currently the commissioner of agriculture.  Todd is now running for lieutenant governor.

Expect thenumber of households choosing to rent to go up, credit underwriting to remain tight, inventory of available properties to continue to rise and Texas home prices to remain stable through 2011.  Home values have taken a beating the past several years.  The federal Reserve estimated U. S. households lost nearly $6.7 trillion in home equity since 2005, nearly half the total value.  We could be headed for a “double dip” this year.  Most major home price indicators are suggesting another round of declining home prices is now occurring.  The stimulus of a year ago may only have delayed market stabilization by shifting demand forward to take advantage of the benefits & depleting future demand that could lead to recovery.

Newly built homes in 2015 will be smaller, they will include more environmentally friendly features & their living rooms will either merge with other spaces in the home or be eliminated altogether, according to a study by the National Association of Home Builders.  Survey respondents say they expect the average size of single-family homes to be 2,152 sq ft by 2015 or 10% smaller than ones now being built.  2/3 said their homes would have more green features, with 29% putting in more technology features, 20% with universal access & 10% more outdoor living space.  More than 52% expect the living room to merge with other spaces in the homes, while 30% said it will vanish to save square footage.  So-called Great Rooms and walk-in closets in the master will become more common, while 2nd master bedroom suites, sunrooms & media rooms will be less popular.

TAR (Texas Association of Realtors) released 1st quarter 2011 figures & TX homes maintained their value.  This despite a decrease in sales volumn, indicating that the economic recovery continues in TX.   While there was a decrease in sales, it is encouraging to see homes prices hold their value in the 1st quarter.  The median price of existing single-family homes increased 1.3% to $143,300 compared to the 1st quarter 2010.  Volume of home sales decreased by 7.3% from previous year.  Remember there was NO stimulus as in March of last year with the homebuyer tax credit.  While down some, not as much as expected with no stimulus.  TX has a 7.5 months inventory, which is higher in the Tyler area.  This indicates that TX is absorbing foreclosures and other distressed properties without experiencing harmful excess supply.