White House Rescue Plan Announced Today–All $75 Billion Of It

By Molly Greaves
 

President Barack Obama on February 18 rolled out the White House’s Rescue Housing plan of $75 billion to help struggling families avoid foreclosure and to bring some order to the housing market.  The President said taxpayer money could help save  between 7 – 9 million families who are risking foreclosure because they cannot [...]

AUSTIN RANKS #11 FOR FOREIGN REAL ESTATE INVESTORS

By Molly Greaves

Sunday through Sunday construction is taking place all around the streets of Austin. Locals love it here as do non-locals, including real estate investors.  Investors from all over the globe are buying our real estate. Some of these folks are calling Austin their home, while others are buying up our real estate purely [...]

HOME SALES UP NATIONWIDE

 
By Molly Greaves

According to the Austin Business Journal, the number of foreclosures may be up, but there are people out there buying too.
Sales of previously owned homes rose 6.5 percent to 4.74 million last month, up from 4.45 million in November, according to the National Association of Realtors.
And while sales are up, prices continue to go [...]

GOING GREEN? THEN TAKE THE RED…LINE THAT IS.

By Molly Greaves
 

Going Green? Then take the Red…Line that is.
I’m happy to note that the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority has released a tentative schedule for its new commuter rail service, the Capital MetroRail, aka the Red Line.
The Red Line will run on 32-miles of existing freight tracks between Leander and Downtown Austin.
Practice runs of the [...]

Report outlines decline in Texas construction

By Molly Greaves

According to the Austin Business Journal today, they report that Texas is expected to experience a considerable slowdown in construction activity in 2009, according to a report issued by McGraw-Hill Construction.

The outlook for the coming year calls for construction spending of roughly $54.4 billion in Texas, down 13 percent from 2008, the report indicates. However [...]

HOME SALES DROP IN AUSTIN. HOW FAR DID THEY GO?

By Molly Greaves

Guess what percent single-family home sales in the Austin metro area were down in December 2008?
21 percent compared with the same month last year, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. They also add that mediam prices declined 4 percent compared with December 2007, according to their research. 
But the drop in single-family home sales [...]

WONDERING IF YOU SHOULD REFINANCE YOUR MORTGAGE?

Posted by Molly Greaves 
According to Money Magazine’s January 2009 issue, they say you should use these three things to help you decide if it makes sense for you or not.
Last year, the average rates on 30-year fixed loans plunged to 5.1%, their lowest level in decades.  IF the three statements below describe you, a refi might [...]

AUSTIN RENTAL OCCUPANCY DOWN IN Q3…Only the second time in history that occupancy has fallen during a 3RD quarter

By Molly Greaves
I’m on a newsletter mailing list and thought this was good to post for my real estate investor friends, AND of course anyone else that happens to be checking out my blog and interested in reading further.
“…After 15 consecutive quarters of increasing rental rates, third quarter put the brakes on Austin’s momentum causing [...]

Why Ask For An FHA Loan?

 
 
 
 
 
By Molly Greaves

With participating and studying in real estate investing, I’ve been spending a lot of time learning about first time home buying, Down Payment Assistance, etc. so I can help others figure out how to become a qualified home-owner while taking advantage of as many financial assistance programs as possible that are available to them.
Here [...]

WORST 25 U.S. HOUSING MARKETS

By Molly Greaves      
Hopefully you’ve read, or are planning to read my other blog, the Top 25 APPRECIATING Markets in the US. I got this information from HousingPredictor.com and they have some wonderful resources on their website. I thought this information was valuable and worth sharing with you.  Hopefully if your in Ontario, Vegas or Miami [...]