Government's Fannie-Freddie Takeover
September 9,2008

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – The federal government has taken control of twin mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the $5 trillion in home loans they back.
The move, announced Sunday, places the two companies into a "conservatorship" to be overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Under conservatorship, the government would run Fannie and Freddie until they are on stronger footing.
Fannie and Freddie suffered recently from the sharp decline in home prices as well as rising mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures. They have racked up about $12 billion in losses since last summer.

Freddie CEO Richard Syron will be replaced by David Moffett, while Fannie CEO Daniel Mudd will be replaced by Herb Allison
 

Oil Prices Plunge, Future Of Construction Material Costs Uncertain
September 2, 2008

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Oil prices dropped below $110 a barrel today, giving weight to predictions made 16 months ago by the chief economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

At the 2007 Rural Land Conference, Dr. Mark Dotzour mentioned that high prices for building materials and energy would hinder economic growth in the United States. He also suggested that the Chinese economy may be becoming overbuilt and overheated, and that commodity prices would decline in the weeks following the Beijing Olympics.
Less than two weeks after the Olympics ended, oil prices dropped. Dotzour says the jury is still out regarding the impact on construction costs.

"If China is indeed overbuilt, we could see further declines in the cost of construction materials similar to the decline in oil prices," he said. "If this hypothesis does not pan out and construction materials remain high through the end of the year, then we may be in for a paradigm shift where the cost of erecting buildings is going to be higher for a long time."
 

Investors Take 'Wait-And-See' Approach
August 19, 2008

AUSTIN (Austin American-Statesman, Real Estate Center) – "While Austin's long-term future is extraordinarily bright, the city is being buffeted by the wait-and-see attitude that causes business owners and investors to postpone decisions." Dr. Mark Dotzour delivered that message yesterday to a sold-out crowd at the downtown Hilton Hotel. Nearly 1,000 were on hand to hear what the Real Estate Center's Chief Economist had to say about current economic conditions.

"Gasoline prices are another serious drag on the economy," he said. "When gasoline was $3 a gallon, the economy was losing energy every month. As the price escalated toward $4, the impact on the American consumer has been dramatic.
"Higher gasoline, food and electric prices are draining Americans of discretionary spending. This is putting enormous pressure on a wide variety of retailers."
Dotzour said summer 2009 could could be pivotal. With a new president, presumably leveled-out gasoline prices and foreclosure numbers easing, those who have been postponing decisions may be ready to make major purchases.
 

Senate Passes Housing Rescue Bill
July 29, 2008

WASHINGTON (Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, National Association of Realtors) – The U.S. Senate on Saturday passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, a bill that would stem foreclosures by allowing some 400,000 homeowners to refinance into affordable, government-backed loans. The bill passed by a margin of 72-13. The House of Representatives approved the bill last week in a 272-15 vote. If passed into law, the program will begin Oct. 1 and end Sept. 30, 2011.

Houston's The Place To Live, Work, Play
June 10, 2008

WASHINGTON (Kiplinger.com) – Houston ranked first on Kiplinger's list of ten best U.S. cities in which to live, work and play. But the Bayou City wasn't the only Texas town to make the list — Austin landed at number six. According to Kiplinger.com, cities were selected based on their strong economies, jobs, reasonable cost of living and abundance of fun activities.
Kevin Stolarick, research director at the Martin Prosperity Institute, said the formula that was used "highlights cities not just with strong past performance, but also with all the ingredients for future success." For example, Stolarick said one key to a bright future is a healthy shot of creative people. People such as scientists, engineers, architects, educators, writers, artists and entertainers are catalysts for vitality and livability in a city.
 

Foreclosures, Mortgage Delinquencies Hit Record High
June 6, 2008

WASHINGTON (Associated Press) – The rate of new foreclosures and the rate of late mortgage payments were the highest on record going back to 1979 according to a reported issued earlier this week by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Nearly 1 percent of loans — roughly 447,723 — fell into foreclosure during first quarter 2008, surpassing the previous high of 0.83 percent from fourth quarter 2007. Meanwhile, the mortgage delinquency rate jumped to 6.4 percent — 2.87 million loans — compared with 5.8 percent for the previous three months.
California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona accounted for 89 percent of the total increase in new home foreclosures, said Jay Brinkmann, the association's vice president of research and economics. Those are places where prices have fallen sharply and there was a lot of home building, creating too much supply. The association's survey covers just over 45 million home loans. [ RE Center, Texas A&M ]
 

Texas Property Systems
May 12, 2008

 We are very excited to announce that Kim Terrell will be a guest speaker at the Realty Investment Club of Houston, Multifamily / Commercial Investing Focus Group meeting on Tuesday May 20th. In partnership with Zeus Mortgage.
 

AUSTIN (Houston Income Properties)
May 8, 2008

Spearhead Oak Grove Ltd. has purchased a 62-unit apartment complex in south Austin from Rivers at Austin Inc. Located at 3625 S. 1st St., Oak Grove Apartments consists of ten two-story buildings with a mix of one- and two-bedroom units averaging 781 sf. Monthly rents average 95 cents per sf. The 30-year-old complex was about 98 percent occupied at time of sale. Houston Income Properties’ Austin office represented the seller in the transaction.
 

Rental Costs Going Up, Too
April 8, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. (National Association of Realtors) – It is getting more expensive to keep a roof over your head — even if you rent. The first three months of 2008 marked the 24th consecutive quarter that rental rates have gone up nationwide, according to Reis Inc., a New-York based research firm.
 
A soft home market, falling home prices and stricter loan terms are combining to send more Americans into rental housing. Higher demand causes higher rents. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual report “Out of Reach,” rents across the country are up. According to the study, one in seven U.S. households is using more than half their income for shelter. Low-income, minority and first-time homebuyers are being hit especially hard.
 

Officials Hope New Plan Eases Credit Crisis
March 21, 2008

WASHINGTON (Associated Press) – By reducing the nearly $20 billion mandatory cash cushion for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac nearly a third, government officials hope to ease the credit crisis that has made it difficult for consumers and businesses to borrow. An announcement Wednesday unveiled a plan officials hope will help existing homeowners refinance into more affordable mortgages.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), which oversees Fannie and Freddie, will consider further capital requirement reductions. Fannie and Freddie are expected to raise billions of dollars through special stock sales. This week's announcement is the third step to help Fannie and Freddie manage larger burdens in the mortgage market despite multibillion-dollar losses in fourth quarter 2007 and those anticipated in 2008.

National Foreclosure Activity Up 8 Percent
February 26th 2008

IRVINE, Calif. (RealtyTrac.com) – RealtyTrac’s January 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report showed foreclosure filings were reported on 233,001 properties last month, an increase of 8 percent from the previous month. At .597 percent, Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate among the 50 states, followed by California (.44 percent) and Florida (.365 percent). Rounding out the top ten were Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Georgia, Connecticut, Ohio and Michigan.

These states accounted for nearly two out of three of all properties on which foreclosure filings were reported. Texas ranked 13th with a monthly foreclosure rate of .163 percent, less than the .187 percent national average. The number of properties on which foreclosure filings were reported last month was down 0.2 percent from January 2007 while the rest of the country was up nearly 57 percent. Foreclosure filings include default notices, auction sales notices and bank repossessions.
[ RE Center, Texas A&M ]

Cascade Complex's New Owner
February 5, 2008

HUMBLE (globest.com) – Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. has purchased the nearly completed Cascade at Fall Creek apartment complex from Martin Fein Interests Ltd. The 246-unit complex is being built on almost 13 acres at 8330 N. Sam Houston Pkwy. Units average 937 sf with pro forma rents at $1.14 per sf. Apartment Realty Advisors brokered the transaction.
[ RE Center, Texas A&M ]

HAA Installation & New Year Gala
January 21, 2008

Friday, January 25, 7 p.m. to midnight at the Hilton Americas, 1600 Lamar. Join us in celebrating and congratulating 2008 HAA President John Ridgway and the other association officers. Call 713-595-0300 or e-mail educ@haaonline.org to make reservations.

• Tickets are $75/person or $750/table of 10 with company name.

• Tickets must be picked up at the HAA Offices.

• No tickets will be available for purchase or pick-up at the event.

• For hotel rooms, call the Hilton Americas directly at 713-739-8000 and ask for the HAA rate. Rooms will be available for $169 until sold out.

• Click here for complete details and a list of sponsors.