HOUSTON (Houston Business Journal ) – The Texas economy showed signs of improvement in the past six weeks through November, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Beige Book survey.

 Industries looking up include high-tech manufacturing, paper, petrochemicals, staffing, housing and energy.

 New and existing home sales improved over the six-week period, but the level of activity remains weak.

 The financial services and commercial real estate industries continue to report deteriorating conditions.

 Overall, prices remained steady during the period and construction costs low.

 The Beige Book survey evaluates economic conditions in the Fed’s 11th district, which includes the Houston area.

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – The Texas economy is in a deep recession but is still weathering the downturn better than the nation’s economy. The state’s economy lost 274,600 jobs from June 2008 to June 2009, an annual job loss of 2.6 percent. Over the same period, the U.S. economy lost more than 5.8 million jobs or 4.2 percent of its total nonfarm jobs.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 4.8 percent in June 2008 to 7.5 percent in June 2009. The U.S. rate rose from 5.6 percent to 9.5 percent during that time.

Only two Texas industries (education and health services and leisure and hospitality) and the government sector had more jobs in June 2009 than in June 2008. Nine industries had net job losses over the same period.

Only three Texas metro areas had positive employment growth rates from June 2008 to June 2009. Twenty-three metro areas had net job losses. Odessa ranked first in job creation followed by Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission.

The state’s actual unemployment rate in June 2009 was 8 percent. Amarillo had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Lubbock, Midland, Abilene and Texarkana.

The complete Texas monthly economic review is available on the Real Estate Center’s website.

TEXAS (Real Estate Center, The Herald-Zeitung) – Despite rising foreclosure rates in the United States (now nearly 32 percent), the rate in Texas is down 14 percent since last year.

Jim Gaines, research economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, said the Texas housing market is doing very well compared with the rest of the nation.

“We’re being compared to large, high-growth states like Florida, New York, California and Illinois, and our housing market is in much better shape. This is partly because about four or five years ago, we didn’t have the big run-up in prices that many of those states had,” Gaines said.

Texas also benefits from a lack of overbuilding, which often creates an excess of inventory to drive down home prices.

Affordable homes, low mortgage and interest rates, and first-time homebuyer tax credits also make this an ideal time to buy a home, according to Gaines.

by Ralph Roberts

Read the entire article.

The Treasury Department recently released its Home Affordable Modification Program Guidelines (part of its Making Home Affordable initiative), which include eligibility requirements to determine which homeowners qualify for relief under the plan. Following are the eligibility requirements as specified in the guidelines:

 

 

• Mortgage must have originated on or before January 1, 2009. 
• Home must be an owner-occupied primary residence (verified with tax return, credit report, and other documentation such as a utility bill) – this program is not designed for investor-owned properties. 
• Home must be a single family 1-4 unit property (including condominium, cooperative, and manufactured home affixed to a foundation and treated as real property under state law). 
• Home may not be vacant or condemned. 
• Borrowers in bankruptcy are not automatically excluded from consideration. 
• Borrowers in active litigation regarding the mortgage loan can qualify for a modification without waiving their legal rights. 
• First lien loans must have an unpaid principal balance (prior to capitalization of arrearages) equal to or less than:

 
1. 1 Unit: $729,750 
2. 2 Units: $934,200 
3. 3 Units: $1,129,250 
4. 4 Units: $1,403,400

 
• Foreclosure actions are suspended (not cancelled) during the trial period or while borrowers are considered for alternative foreclosure prevention options. If homeowners fail to qualify, foreclosure proceedings may resume. 
• No minimum or maximum LTV ratio for eligibility purposes. 
• Loans are eligible for only one loan modification under the program. 
• Subordinate liens (such as second mortgages or home equity loans or lines of credit) are not included in the Front-End DTI calculation, but they are included in the Back-End DTI calculation. Back-End DTI is used to determine whether the borrower will be required to undergo credit counseling as a condition to modification. 
• Servicers should follow any existing express contractual restrictions with respect to solicitation of borrowers for modifications. Applicants will be accepted into the program only until December 31, 2012 (the program expiration date), but incentive payments will continue up to five years after the date of entry into the Home Affordable Modification Program. Monitoring will continue through the life of the program.

When discussing this program with homeowners in your area, it’s a good idea to point out the following:

 
• Eligibility requirements are simply government guidelines. Guidelines may change, and lenders make exceptions, if it is in their best interest to do so. In other words, homeowners should not count themselves out. If they are having trouble making their house payment, they should explore the loan modification option. Sometimes, the only way to determine whether you qualify is to apply. 
• Not all servicers, lenders, or investors are required to participate in the program at this time. The program is designed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages, but the plan’s incentives may encourage servicers, lenders, and investors to modify other types of mortgages, as well. 
• The individual servicers that agree to participate in the program are required to sign a contract agreeing to abide by the program guidelines. If the servicer does not contract under the program, they are not eligible for incentive payments. 
• Homeowners should consult a specialist who works with lenders on a daily basis to review their situation and determine whether the homeowners are likely to qualify for whatever workout options are available through the lender. Sometimes the only way to determine whether a homeowner qualifies is to submit an application.

During this unprecedented crisis in the housing industry, you can play a valuable role in keeping homeowners in your area well-informed of the programs available to help them keep their homes. I encourage you to do your part to preserve the American Dream of Homeownership and stabilize your corner of the housing market.

Click on this link for an amazing video about Texas.  With all of the media doom and gloom and negativity in the housing market, this is a wonderful video from YouTube about Texas Real Estate.  We still have the best housing market in the country.  We have people relocating here every day.  We still have job growth.  Texas is an amazing place to live!

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