Texas Realty Blog

El Paso Real Estate Market Slows!

Here's a quick story. I was reading a few stories about El Paso. Last year, it was an extremely hot market, but things seem to have cooled in 2007. Just like East Austin, sellers started pricing their homes ahead of the curve just as new home builders started catching up with demand.

According to news stories, homes that used to sell in weeks or days are not languishing on the market for months. See the news video on this story. I've come to realize that real estate is much like the stock market when it comes to predictions.

El Paso was at the top of many appreciation lists for 2007 due to previous growth expectations. Since so many investors flooded the market, the opposite has happened. The best bet when investing in an area, even as an owner-occupant, is to buy the best deal you can without betting on appreciation.

Read about the previous appreciation areas in Texas.

Memorial Weekend: Places to Visit in Texas

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?

Weekend Event Update: Cinco de Mayo in Texas

Texas has deep roots and a connection (besides our border) with Mexico. We were once called Tejas until the Battle of the Alamo in San Antonio. I grew up in San Antonio, so am familiar with celebrating Mexican Independence Day on May 5th of each year.

Here's a list of just a few Cinco de Mayo celebrations across Texas this weekend.

• AUSTIN Cinco de Mayo at Central Market. Former City Council Member Raul Alvarez hosts today's celebration. Sat., May 5, 4-10pm. Central Market North, 4001 N. Lamar, 206-1000. Free.
• AUSTIN. Annual Cinco de Mayo Music Festival at Fiesta Gardens. May 3rd-6th.
• EL PASO. May 5 -- This “Taste of the Border” festival featuring mariachis, margaritas, tequila and a mole extravaganza kicks off at 3:00 and goes into the wee hours of the night.
• HOUSTON has several events this weekend, including Cinco de Drinko and a parade.
• SAN ANTONIO. May 4-6--San Antonio draws about 30,000 to its festivities with food booths at its historic Market Square, street dancing, handicrafts, concerts and other commemorations.

See the Cinco de May celebrations in your state and remember...margaritas taste better outside.

Where will you be during the Texas real estate bust? (Part 1)

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).

Controversial Bill Forces Texans to Disclose Sales Price

The new Senate Bill 270 is currently being discussed in legislature. The bill would require Texans to disclose the sales price of a home before the deed can be recorded. This presents a big controversy since Texas is currently a non-disclosure state, which means the sales price of a home is kept out of public record.

HERE ARE THE TWO SIDES

AGAINST: From Houston Real News, Investors

The past President of the Texas Real Estate Investors Association is opposed to Texas Sales Price Disclosure. According to Ms. Crowe-League:

Senate Bill 270 by Wentworth would prohibit the recording of an instrument that conveys real property under a contract of sale unless the instrument contains the sales price of the property...We need to do something...I just feel that it should be your business to know what you paid, and I think people will use it against you if they know what you paid.

El Paso, San Antonio Texas Tops Real Estate Market Predictions for 2007

It's almost the end of 2006, so it's time for people around the nation to do three things:

1. Summarize 2006, the year "in review".
2. Drink stuff.
3. Predict stuff.

I don't drink much and enjoy market predictions more than reviews. It's always fun listening to the smart people tell us which stocks to buy or which real estate markets will be hot in 2007.

I used to buy stocks based on the advice of these experts, but the rest of the world always seemed to disagree with me, as they'd normally tank within months of my purchase. Now, I choose to take most predictions with a grain of salt, but I do see merit in the real estate market predictions that were reported in the recent Fortune Magazine.

Foreclosures fall in El Paso, TX

Earlier this year, El Paso was undergoing a real estate makeover. I haven't been keeping up on the market that much since then, so wanted to revisit their real estate market. The following story is from the El Paso Times.

The number of El Paso residential properties entering some phase of foreclosure declined almost 15 percent in the first eight months of this year, while those numbers have risen substantially in Texas and the nation, data from a foreclosure tracking company show.

El Paso had 1,820 residential properties go into some phase of foreclosure, from notices of default to full foreclosures sold at auction or repurchased by the lender, from January through August, compared with 2,137 properties for the same months in 2005, data from California's RealtyTrac show.

El Paso had one foreclosure action per 123 households in the first eight months of the year, which was lower than Texas overall but higher than the national rate, the RealtyTrac data show.

According to the article, appreciation is still up in the area. I have family members looking at land in the city since it's so cheap, but it's not for investment purposes. They're wanting to buy in El Paso because it would be less expensive that central areas such as Houston or Austin.

Read more about El Paso Real Estate:  El Paso Times - Foreclosures fall in El Paso.

El Paso Entertainment District Fading

A plan to develop an entertainment district with commercial and residential development in Downtown El Paso is under review by the city and the San Francisco (CA) design firm which put it together.

The El Paso Times reports that activities along Texas Avenue, the main thoroughfare in the district, are waning with the departure of two art galleries and a nightclub.   The controversial plan is on hold, despite the construction nearby of a $74 million federal courthouse and the plans of an El Paso real estate agent to redevelop some existing buildings.

El Paso has seen significant appreciation the past few years due to out of town investors. The jury will still be out on how this will affect the city.

Texas Attorney General Puts Stop to El Paso Real Estate Scam

The Insurance Journal recently reported that the "Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced he has filed a court action to stop an El Paso, Texas, father and his two sons who operate an unlicensed "real estate" business from illegally taking earnest money from potential homeowners when the properties offered for sale face imminent foreclosures."

According to the story, "The suit also freezes the assets of Nebram Enterprises, operated by Gilberto Romo and his sons, Edward and Paul Romo, and stops the trio from soliciting money from consumers for property they have no right to offer for sale. They must also obtain a proper license from the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) before conducting any further business in Texas."

Read the full article online.

Downtown El Paso Business Concerned About Development

The El Paso Times reported that several downtown El Paso business owners were surprised to realize that they may soon be forced out of the area. "The plan received several standing ovations from about 900 people almost two weeks ago at its public unveiling at the Plaza Theatre...(but there is a) 127.5-acre Redevelopment District, where business and property owners will be asked to sell out or possibly be forced out by condemnation if needed."

"The plan calls for forming a Real Estate Investment Trust to buy properties in the Redevelopment District. Sanders said the hope is that property and business owners can be presented with a "compelling enough" business proposition and agree to sell "before we have to flex our muscles and use eminent domain (condemnation)."

This could definitely change the landscape of El Paso's downtown.