Stimulus Plan Should Boost Home Sales: NAR

NAR estimates that the recently enacted economic stimulus plan, along with lower interest rates and other mortgage relief measures, could help trigger 900,000 additional home sales in 2009 compared to conditions without the stimulus package. The association also expects home inventory to fall below an 8-month supply by the end of the year.

Treasury Details ‘Making Home Affordable’ Plan

The U.S. Treasury Department today announced new guidelines that will enable loan servicers to begin modifying eligible mortgages under the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan that President Obama unveiled two weeks ago. The rules will implement financial incentives for mortgage lenders to modify existing first mortgages and set standard industry practice for modifications.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says the Making Home Affordable program “will help make home ownership more affordable for nine million American families and in doing so, help to stop the damaging impact that declining home prices have on all Americans.”

The Treasury Department has published a wealth of professional and consumer resources that explain the details of the new Making Home Affordable policies at FinancialStability.gov.

TEXAS CITIES RECOGNIZED FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDINGS

WASHINGTON (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) – Texas' four major metros are among the 25 U.S. cities that boasted the most Energy Star–certified buildings last year.

Houston had 145 such buildings, the most of any Texas city, ranking it third on the list, which was compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Dallas–Fort Worth ranked fifth with 126 buildlings.

Austin, with 77 buildings, ranked 13th, and San Antonio, with 56, ranked 16th.

In 2008, more than 3,300 commercial buildings and manufacturing plants nationwide earned the Energy Star, representing savings of more than $1 billion in utility bills and more than seven million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. These buildings include schools, hospitals, office buildings, courthouses, grocery stores, retail centers and auto assembly plants.

According to the EPA, the energy efficient buildings in Texas' four large metros resulted in a total savings of $130.7 million. The emissions savings were equivalent to the electricity used by 109,000 households.

The EPA's complete list is available online.

Home sales are up in Williamson County

WOW!! Things are really picking up in Williamson County! Over 100 homes sold last week - that is the most sold in 1 week so far this year!

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.