Aaron Layman's Katy Texas Real Estate Forum

New Village DaVinci In Cross Creek Ranch With 13,000 S.F. Lot For $389,807 - 6215 Mustang Trail Lane

If you are in the market for a new home in the Katy area with an oversize lot to accommodate a swimming pool, this Village DaVinci at 6215 Mustang Trail Lane might be your ticket. The original buyer busted out on this home in Cross Creek Ranch, and Village Builders is ready to move it. It's a 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath home with a game room and media room. The back yard is huge and will easily accommodate a swimming pool and more. With incentives, this Village DaVinci is priced at $389,807! That's only $90 per square foot. That's a price you'll be hard-pressed to find anywhere in Cinco Ranch.

Buyers take note! Area Realtors may be advertising this home at $399,807, but that is NOT the real price of the home. Any Realtor who's advertising this home at $399,807 is attempting to pocket a BTSA of $10,000 on this home offered by the builder. In Layman's terms, that's called an adverse compensation structure and a conflict of interest!

For more information on new homes in Katy, Texas just give me a call!

*Pricing and incentives subject to change*

Why Some Housing Markets Do Better Than Others: What Houston TX and Midland TX Have In Common

Texas has some of the best housing markets in the country. That's no secret. While many areas in the U.S., particularly the sand states, have seen home prices plummet during the past few years, cities like Houston and Midland have seen home prices move upward. While home prices in Detroit are 52% less than they were a decade ago, the Bayou city and the Permian Basin have seen a recent growth in demand for housing.

Bloomberg economist Edward Glaeser attempts a data-mining exercise to explain why some housing markets have fared better than others. Being a Harvard economics professor, you'd think Glaeser would have a better grasp on macroeconomic trends affecting housing. After weighing factors such as weather, education and technology, Glaeser seems to overlook the elephant in the room. I grew up in the Permian Basin, and I've now spent 15 years in Houston. I can tell you with a fair degree of certainty that any economist or professor who doesn't grasp the relationship between Texas housing markets and oil needs to polish their research skills.

Supply and demand are the ultimate driver of housing markets. Both Houston and Midland have benefited from a quick rebound in oil and gas exploration and energy prices in general. Most real estate markets in Texas were already experiencing lower than average home inventory levels, so the recent strength in the energy sector has only served to boost demand for housing in two of Texas' top-performing real estate markets.

Heat Maps Show Density Of Violent Crimes In Houston Area Neighborhoods

Trulia's crime maps have been around for over a year. The company recently expanded coverage of crime mapping in U.S. counties, showing crime density to make it easier to see areas with the most crimes. Now there's also a feature to view the ratio of violent-to-nonviolent crimes with local crime heat maps. Crimes such as shootings and assaults would be considered "violent" whereas vandalism and theft would be considered "nonviolent.

These snapshots of the Houston and Katy area show some startling differences. It's apparently a lot safer in the suburbs, than in most of central Houston. That's not a huge surprise for those familiar with the area. Southwest Houston, in particular, is a notable hot spot for criminal activity. Areas just to the north and south of downtown Houston are also hot with violent criminal activity.

Regarding Katy, it's not surprising to see little violent crime around the City of Katy. Areas inside the city limits of Katy are patrolled by City of Katy police. You don't have to travel far in Katy proper before seeing a City of Katy patrol officer. That highly visible presence stands in contrast to the Fort Bend County Sheriff's charged with policing a larger area South of I-10.

Houston Texas Violent Crime Heat Map

Katy Texas Violent Crime Heat Map

Leases Accounted For 51 Percent Of Katy TX Real Estate Transactions In 2011, 35 Percent In Houston TX

HAR MLS data showed that leases accounted for 35% of Houston area residential real estate transactions last year. That translated to roughly 34,000 leases for 2011. Activity of singly family leases is higher still in 2012, with January 2012 figures up 15% compared to January 2011. Lease activity accouted for 32% of Cinco Ranch transactions last year, and a whopping 51% of transactions in the Katy area for 2011. There were 2231 lease transactions closed in Katy last year withing the boundaries of Katy ISD, compared to 4354 sales transactions.

The data is not surprising considering the current state of the mortgage market. Lenders are still being very stringent with underwriting standards. Anyone who's tried to refinance lately can attest to that. While purchasing a home still makes sense for many people these days, the single family lease market should remain active for years to come.

The decision to rent or buy a home is often difficult, and there are a number of factors to consider. The availability of inventory is often a big part of the decision-making process. You can view my recent post on renting vs. buying in Cinco Ranch for more information about costs here in Katy,TX.

Gotye - "Somebody That I Used To Know" Reaches 100 Million Views

From the Album Making Mirrors, Gotye featuring Kimbra.  "Somebody That I Used To Know" has over 100 million views.  Find out more about the making of the album at http://gotye.com

 

Vacouver B.C. Real Estate Prices vs. Donegal Ireland: What Does $890,000 Buy?

Vancouver's overpriced real estate is no secret.  Here Mike Shedlock takes a look at the nosebleed prices of Vancouver B.C. vs. Donegal Ireland.  A cursory glance at listings in East Vancouver will turn up beauties such as this listing on East 3rd Ave for $899,500.

As is turns out, for the same price of a run-down 3 bedroom cottage in Vancouver, you could have purchased the beautiful 55-bedroom Sandhouse Hotel in Donegal Ireland.  The 50-year-old hotel recently sold at acution for $860,000.

 

 

 

Bank Of America Imposing New Fees On Checking Accounts, Charging Benefits Recipients With Fees On Prepaid Debit Cards

Bank of America, the poster child of bailout moral hazards, is apparently looking for more ways to boost sagging revenues by experimenting with new feesto "Essentials" accounts, as well as other monthly charges.  The move follows a failed attempt by Bofa to hike fees on consumer debit cards.

While Bank of America wasn't able to institute across-the-board fee hikes for debit cards, they did manage to create a back-door fee structure on debit cards in South Carolina.  Bofa has apparently struck a deal with the state where tax returns will be issued on a prepaid debit card.  The Bank of America debit cards come with a host of charges to access the funds.

"Last week, the Charleston Post & Courier’s David Slade wrote a column about South Carolina’s new practice of issuing tax returns in the form of prepaid debit cards from Bank of America. The state Department of Revenue announced the program back in December, but conveniently left off the long list of feeswhich customers without BofA accounts will be subject to.

For every withdrawal from a non-Bank of America ATM, BofA will take $2.50 off the top — in addition to any fees the ATM owner might charge. Want to get your money directly from the bank? The first time’s free, but every withdrawal after that comes with a $10 fee. Leaving the country? Bank of America takes 2% of every single transaction you make outside the United States. Had enough and want to close your account? No problem — after a $5.00 closure fee, of course.

As Slade puts it, why should you have to pay to access your own money? “They’re not even nickel and diming people, they’re five-dollaring and 10-dollaring people,” commented consumer advocate Sue Berkowitz, Director of the Appleseed Legal Justice Center."

Considering recent developments with the national mortgage settlement, Bofa's legalized theft of funds in South Carolina is not all that surprising.  What's surprising is why anyone, particularly a government agency, would do business with Bank of America at all.

Fannie Mae REO Inventory Declined 27% In 2011

Fannie Mae reported that REO (Real Estate Owned) inventory declined by a net 43,961 units in 2011.  Fannie was selling properties faster than they were acquiring (foreclosing) them. 

Fannie Mae REO Acquisitions and Dispositions
	2011	2010
Acquisitions	199,696	262,078
Dispositions	243,657	185,744
Net	-43,961	76,334