TEXAS HOME PRICES UP, REPORTS FHFA

WASHINGTON (FHFA, Real Estate Center) – Latest home appreciation rates released this week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) indicate Texas home prices increased 2.1 percent last year.

Midland led the way with a 10.4 percent increase between fourth quarter 2007 and fourth quarter 2008. At the other end of the spectrum were Odessa and Brownsville, where prices fell 2.7 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.

In the final quarter of 2008, Texas home prices increased 0.2 percent.
"The data indicate what we have believed all along," said Real Estate Center Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines. "Texas fared well in 2008, especially compared with the rest of the country."
According to FHFA, here's how home prices in select Texas cities did last year:

Abilene up 2.7%
Amarillo up 0.1%
Austin–Round Rock up 4.4%
Beaumont–Port Arthur up 3.1%
Brownsville-Harlingen down 2.6%
College Station–Bryan up 5.5%
Corpus Christi up 1.8%
Dallas-Plano-Irving up 1.9%
El Paso down 0.4%
Fort Worth–Arlington up 1.2%
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown up 3.7%
Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood up 2.5%
Laredo up 4.7%
Longview up 1.9%
Lubbock up 4.5%
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission up 0.1%
Midland up 10.4%
Odessa down 2.7%
San Angelo up 4.1%
San Antonio down 1.6%
Sherman-Denison up 2%
Texarkana up 1.1%
Tyler up 1%
Victoria up 6.2%
Waco down 1.7%
Wichita Falls down 2%

Nationally, prices dropped 4.5 percent last year for the overall index (which includes financings and refinancing) and 8.2 percent based on purchases-only data.

The FHFA's complete report is available online.

FIVE TEXAS CITIES NAMED HEALTHIEST HOUSING MARKETS

TEXAS (Builder) – Five Texas cities swept the top spots on Builder magazine’s list of “Healthiest Housing Markets for 2009.”

Houston ranked first, Austin second, Fort Worth third, San Antonio fourth and Dallas fifth.

Rounding out the top ten were Raleigh, N.C., Seattle, Indianapolis, Ind., Fayetteville, Ark., and Washington D.C.

To compile the list, Builder analyzed the top 75 housing markets in the country, ranking them based on population trends and job growth, perennial drivers of housing demand. They also looked at home prices and the number of building permits.

TEXAS HOUSING MARKETS AMONG MOST AFFORDABLE

WASHINGTON (National Association of Home Builders) – Five Texas markets were among the ten most affordable housing markets in the south during fourth quarter 2008, according to housing opportunity index (HOI) data compiled by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Housing.

In Sherman-Denison, 87 percent of new and existing homes sold during the final quarter of 2008 were affordable to middle-income earners, ranking the city third in the region.

Wichita Falls ranked fifth at 82.6 percent, San Angelo seventh at 79.8 percent, Fort Worth–Arlington eighth at 79 percent and Beaumont–Port Arthur ninth at 77.5 percent.

Nationally, 62.4 percent of all new and existing homes were affordable to families earning the national median income of $61,500, up from the previous quarter's 56.1 percent and the 46.6 percent from the end of 2007.

TEXAS HOME TO 41 LARGEST LANDOWNERS

TEXAS (The Land Report) – The Land Report has ranked the top 100 landholders in the country according to number of acres owned, and 41 of them are in the Lone Star State.
Nine Texas landholders are ranked in the list’s top 20. The King Ranch heirs are sixth in the nation with 851,642 acres.

The Texas ranches included in the top 20 have a combined acreage of over 4.6 million. Texas’ largest landowners reach as far north as the Panhandle’s Four Sixes Ranch and as far south as Victoria County and Kingsville.
To view all of the Texas landholders included in the list, visit "The Land Report’s 100."

TEXAS TOPS IN JOB GROWTH

TEXAS (St. Paul Business Journal) – Texas was top in job growth last year, according to a recent analysis by bizjournals.com.

Five Texas cities ranked among the top ten, with three securing the top three spots.
Houston added 57,300 jobs in 2008, giving it the best year of any U.S. market. Dallas–Fort Worth was next with 43,300 additional jobs, then San Antonio, which was up by 14,900 jobs.
Austin ranked fifth with 9,600 jobs added, and El Paso’s 5,300 additional jobs landed the city at ninth.

Bizjournals.com examines markets that have at least 250,000 nonfarm jobs and compares employment figures for the final month of the past two years. Seventy-two of the 88 markets studied suffered declines in employment in 2008.

Pet Vaccination Clinic TODAY (1/20/09) 5-7 PM

Pet Vaccination Clinic with John Y. Tarlton, DVM
Tuesday, January 20th 5 – 7 p.m.
at Liberty Hill Foundation Park Pavillion

Benefiting Liberty Hill Youth Football and Cheer

Rabies: Dogs and Cats - $5.00
Dog vaccines: DHLP/Parvo/Corona - $15.00
Bordetella (Kennel Cough) - $10.00
Cat vaccines: PRCC/Feluk - $15.00

Complete yearly vaccine - $20.00
Flea & Heartworm preventative will also be available.

For additional information, please call:
Lana Tarlton ~ 238-1093
Dr. Tarlton ~ 512-863-5319
Tessa Sowell ~ 512-507-2007

Simple Home Improvements for Function and Flair

1. Securely weatherizing your home—sealing windows, doors and other gaps with acrylic caulk and weather stripping saves energy and decrease utility bills—by as much as $275 to $300 a year by some estimates.

2. A new coat of paint on a home’s exterior is functional—it protects the home from rain, snow, wind, and sun damage. In addition to improving the life of its ‘skin,’ paint revives curb appeal and pumps up the value of a home.

3. Properly insulated walls and ceilings saves 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, and can generate about $250 in annual energy savings, according to www.stopglobalwarming.org.

Courtesy of Fidelity National Home Warranty (FNHW) February 2009 Newsletter