The real estate industry is making a backlash against the national news media for "overblown" hype around the supposed "real estate bust" for 2007. Texas REALTORS® have especially been trying to make it clear that, while the national market has cooled, Texas has always been considered one of the best places to buy.

Austin, Dallas, and Houston are particularly great real estate markets and were reported among the Top 10 U.S cities to boom in 2008. Here’s some of the recent acclaims for Austin:

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There’s a lot of investors and commercial construction experts looking for senior housing projects in Texas. The Baby Boomer Generation has started to retire. Many look to Texas for affordable living space in a warm climate.

Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio are some of the most popular Texas cities for second homes or retirement besides the coast. i read today that a Dallas-based company refinanced a 649-unit portfolio for three upscale senior housing projects.

Due for completion in late 2007, the Class A portfolio includes a
senior housing community and two traditional multi-family properties.
Amenities at the properties include clubhouses, fitness centers,
40-seat movie theatres, business centers, game rooms, pools and
libraries.

Among the properties are the 237-unit Conservatory at Alden Bridge,
located in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands; the 190-unit
Conservatory at Champion Forest, in the Houston suburb of Spring; and
the 222-unit Conservatory at Plano in the Dallas suburb of Plano.

Link: $93M Financing Upgrades 3 Texas Seniors Projects.

Read about the Baby Boomer Generation’s impact on real estate. See the previous story…Retirees flock to Texas.

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Despite the slowing national real estate market, North Texas is still doing pretty well this year. Rockwall County was on CNN Money’s top list of growing housing markets. If you think about it, during a tough time, to see ANY growth is good.

Dallas and Plano residents and investors had experienced phenomenal growth. Harris (Houston), Bexar (San Antonio) and Travis (Austin) counties weren’t too shabby last year either. They’re not really on the list, but have been growing.

BOTTOM LINE IN 2007
The real estate market slowed for most states, partially due to the national bust in some areas as well as mortgage fallout. In Texas, economic conditions are looking good.  Unemployment is still down and job growth up.

See the list on CNN Money: Fastest growing housing markets

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Here’s a good question. If the Texas real estate market is so hot, why are our best cities (Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio) experiencing the highest foreclosures in the nation?

Great question! In recent years, Texas home sales outpaced our counterparts along with nice appreciation in our largest cities. My hypothesis is that foreclosures are the downside of a frenzied real estate market.

FACTORS IN THE TEXAS FORECLOSURE RATE

1. Home seller refinances. In 2003-2004, mortgage rates were at historic lows. Many home owners refinanced to make improvements or purchase consumer goods. This is a set up for a foreclosure because the owner has removed their equity, perhaps overimproved the property and now have higher property taxes and mortgage payments.
2. Adjustable rate and zero down loans. Texas was a buyer’s market at the same time rates were historically low.  Zero down loans or adjustable rate mortgages were the mortgage product of choice. Most of those adjustable loans were 3-5 year, so the rates have been increasing every 6 months. A refinance in Texas requires at least 80% loan to value ratio on homestead properties and 90% on investments. For buyers with no equity, but an increasing payment, a foreclosure is one of the few options.
3. Risky investor loans. Investors have been buying in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio in droves. Most were putting less than 10% down and had high interest rates, but little or no cashflow. In Austin and Dallas, it was common to buy negative cashflow and negative equity properties on speculation. Now, San Antonio and Houston are especially seeing a glut of low-end investment properties, so days on market has increased.

The bottom line is that no market is ever going to be completely predictable. Texas is unique in many aspects, but home buying decisions should always be based on the property’s current value.

Link: San Antonio foreclosure and the Texas A&M research on the issue.

Check out the interesting post about Affordable, Luxury and Modern Home market in Texas.

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There sure is are lot of revitalization efforts going on in Texas! That’s a very good sign.

I wanted to note that San Antonio has done a great job over the past decade bringing new life to it’s downtown area. I was there a few weekends ago and noted how enjoyable it is to visit. I realized that I didn’t enjoy living in San Antonio as much as I enjoy visiting now. Oppositely, I’m not sure what I’d do as a visitor to Austin (that I haven’t done already), but I really like living here.

Anyway, there are efforts in Fort Worth to revitalize their downtown, but it’s not in the traditional way. Fort Worth will try to have more street events, fairs, and other attractors to keep people coming to the central part of the city. They hope that this will spur interest in downtown, which then leads to development. We’ll see if their lower-cost revitalization efforts work. Typically, the city will invest a portion of taxpayer funds into projects or offer incentives to builders.

Austin, for instance, has done a great job of creating more interest in our downtown districts by encouraging mixed-use retail developments so people can live near the places they work. Although fort Worth doesn’t have the same goal at the moment, they may take that route later.

Read about it: Bringing People To Downtown To Spur Development | Planetizen.

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I noticed today that I haven’t written much about Dallas-fort Worth. Perhaps it’s because Houston, San Antonio, Killeen and Brownsville are only hours away from Austin. Or, maybe it’s because I don’t have a personal connection or family in Dallas.

Dallas is large, metropolitan city in Texas that is an appreciation market like Austin, but we’re more eclectic here. When I visited Dallas in the past, the downtown area was what you’d expect if you were coming to Texas. The buildings, cars and cowboy hats were all over-sized. 

A small-town person may get overwhelmed in Dallas. It seemed like Los Angeles, California in cowboy boots.

Here’s what people I know think about Dallas:

• Football and cheerleading is HUGE.
• Pageants are important.
• "Big" hair will always be a trend. You quickly learn the art of teasing bangs when you visit Dallas.
• They’re cooler and richer than the rest of us.

Now, that’s just stereotypes, so I welcome other thoughts!

Read more about development in Dallas: Developers tout need for teardowns.

Forest Heights residents make a stand to get their neighborhood back.

Austin…one of the Best Places to Live in Texas.

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Memorial Day weekend is a wonderful time to remember those who have served America. In our time of war, I find it ironic that the gas industry helps us celebrate by hiking gas prices to the highest they’ve been in American history. I understand that it’s customary for gas companies to raise rates during the "travel season" in the U.S, but reporters are speculating we will approach the $4 mark by end of Summer.

You can have much more fun with your $4 in Texas this weekend or others!

• Austin. If you’re under 18, you can visit the Bob Bullock Museum for only $3. It’s only a few dollars more for the rest of us, but seniors have a discount.
• Southeast Austin. Visit McKinney Falls State Park, which is only $4 per day.
• San Antonio. Park near the River Center Mall and take a stroll down the San Antonio Riverwalk.
• Corpus Christi. Children and Seniors can visit the very beautiful South Texas Botanical Gardens for less than $4. Adults pay only $5.
• Houston. Buffalo Bayou, a very cool master-planned community in Houston, has boat cruises the 2nd Saturday of every month for only $3 for children under 12 years-old. Adults pay $5.

I’ve reached the pain threshold of paying at the pump, so am looking into buying a motorcycle or moped at Woods Fun Center here in Austin or on Craigslist.

If you like the outdoors, try buying a Texas Parks Pass.

Read more: Gas prices approach record high.

What are some other great things we can do in Texas this weekend instead of spending our $4 on a gallon of gas?

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I find myself defending Texas real estate on a weekly basis from people who feel threatened by the sagging national real estate market. I have to remind them that Texas job growth, population increases, relocations, etc. are driving a strong economy here. If I were to invest anywhere in the U.S, it would be Texas.

Now, I have more ammo for these discussions. The Chief Economist at the Texas A&M Research Center said Texas is bucking trends due to our affordability and net population growth. Austin only had about 3.2 months of inventory on the market, so we’re even ahead of larger Texas cities like Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

While other states like California, Arizona and Florida are feeling the temporary pain of a market correction, our Texas real estate market is one of the strongest in the nation.

Link: Economist: National real estate attention focused on Texas

San Antonio Real Estate Hot.

Read about the Texas Buyer Market Apocalypse…

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Yesterday, I wrote part 1 of my article on the Texas real estate bust that was based on hearing war stories from real estate agents and mortgage brokers who were in the business in the 1980s.

So with the 1980s not being very far away, have we learned anything?

• Reports from the Austin Board of REALTORS shows that about 1 in
  every 3 or 4 homes are a secondary purchases (non owner-occupied). Most
  local agents can tell you that about 20-40% of their business been
  out-of-town buyers and investors.
   
• Homes are being built at a ratio of more than 1:1(one home for every 1 job). See our previous forecast.
• Properties in some areas are being purchased for greater than asking price because "they will appreciate". No thought is given to debt burden, cash flow, or profitability. Previous article.

Although interest rates are still at historic lows, one thing is true.
Real estate goes through a constant cycle of inflation and recession.
Houston and San Antonio are flatter markets while Austin and Dallas have higher peaks and lows.

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Each generation has a big event that we remember with such passion that people know where they were when it happened. I’d seen a recounting on the History Channel in which U.S. Citizens described where they were when John F. Kennedy Jr. or Martin Luther King was shot. It has been said that Generation X and older will remember where they were on September 11th.

In residential real estate, we hear of Texas during the 1980’s. Interest rates were in the 20s, so homes with 24% interest rates were common. There was no use of Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) or zero-down loans. Homes were selling like hotcakes. The Multiple Listing System(MLS) did not exist, so you had to visit an agent who would look up listings in a big, thick book.

Then, President Ronald Regan recalled a tax incentive that was causing investors to buy properties at an alarming rate just so they can deduct the loss as a write off. The Savings and Loan Crisis sealed our fates.

HAVE WE LEARNED ANYTHING?

Please come back to read the continuation of this story, (Part 2 of 2).

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