David and David

This really could be the best time for a first time home buyer to start building their nest egg.  For another 8 months the Federal Government will help you out.  After that, your guess is a good as anyone else's.  But for now, this is an offer of free money.  My advice, take it.

We still get lots of question regard the specifics.  So, let's go to the source.  Here is the link to the IRS page that explains it in a meaningful way and not just legal jargon.

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=206293,00.html

 If you still have a question, leave it in comments and I will get an answer for you.

Chief Executive magazine has again ranked Texas as the best state in the nation to conduct business.  If only the national news reporting of doom and gloom would ease, we could all get back to work.  Here is the article from Austin Business Journal.

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/03/16/daily36.html?surround=etf

The summary of housing prices in the nation for last year from the Federal Housing Finance Authority are out.  Nation wide housing prices fell 4.5%.  Texas home prices were up 2.1% in 2009.  Austin did even better with home prices increasing 4.4%.  Here are a few other select city results.

Abilene up 2.7%
Austin–Round Rock up 4.4%
Brownsville-Harlingen down 2.6%
College Station–Bryan up 5.5%
Corpus Christi up 1.8%
Dallas-Plano-Irving up 1.9%
El Paso down 0.4%
Fort Worth–Arlingtonup 1.2%
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown up 3.7%
Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood up 2.5%
San Antonio down 1.6%

Austin is still growing at a good pace and that will help us all through the rough times in the national economy.  The US Census Bureau now puts the population of the Austin MSA at 1.65 million.

 http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/03/16/daily51.html?ana=e_du_pub

Soon, the second largest employment sector in Round Rock will be Health and Medical.  This is great new for our regional economy. 

 http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=5B2F32F2B2D34CF17425CDE6369AFA79

When completed, this facility will accommodate over 11,000 students.

The $787 billion federal economic stimulus bill has several tax provisions affecting energy efficiency improvements in placed in service in 2009 and 2010. 

The tax credit for qualifying products has been increased from 10% to 30% up to a maximum allowed credit of $1,500.  This would allow a home owner to spend up to $5,000 on improved insulation, windows, duct work, etc and take the 30% tax credit on their 2009 or 2010 return.

The cap on the 30% tax credit for switching to renewable energy has been removed.  If you install a solar panel array at a cost of $15,000, your credit is now $4,500 instead of the previous cap of $2,000.

Remember, financing for many of these improvements is available and spreads your cost over the years of savings.  There are also programs through Austin Energy that provide incentives for many of the same projects.

For more information on the federal stimulus go to http://www.greeneconomyinitiative.com/news/185/ARTICLE/1449/2009-02-17.html

For more information on the Austin Enerty programs go to http://www.austinenergy.com/Energy%20Efficiency/index.htm

The following candidates (in no specific order) came together for the first time in one room at the Austin Board of Realtors forum on Wednesday 3/11:

• David A. Buttross, 39, real estate investor
• Josiah James Ingalls, 28, a Hilton houseperson
• Lee Leffingwell, 69, Austin City Council Member
• Brewster McCracken, 43, Attorney (Austin City Council Member)
• Carole Keeton Strayhorn, 69, founder and president of Our Texas Grandchildren Foundation

It certainly is too early to guess what will happen with this race….one poll shows Strayhorn ahead of favored council members McCracken and Leffingwell. The issues are many with the current economy and if you look back at the data when Will Wynn was elected, only 9000 members of our community voted. This is dumbfounding to me for a city our size. There is a lot at stake and how fast we are able to come out of the down economy will certainly be decided by our city leaders. Who offers the foresight and leadership ability to create more jobs and have more business move to Central Texas? Which of these candidates has the ability to find the balance between growth and environment protection and mostly which of these candidates is willing to make the tough decisions and take ownership for running the council instead of hiring tons of consultants and passing responsibility off to the city manager? Truly, I encourage you to stay on top of this race and be informed and certainly to get out and vote…our city is too important to have the Mayor selected by a so few.  

Election day is May 9th, if there is a run off which many expect, it will take place on June 13th ~ 

The number of foreclosures continues to increase.  However, we are now seeing the number of homes sold begin to increase again nationwide.

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/01/26/daily4.html?surround=etf

• 1,257 sq. ft., 1 bath, 1 bdrm single story - MLS® $226,000 - Rare $$ in Travis Heights

Travis Heights, Austin  -  Great location, rare chance for affordable living in original Travis Heights Subdivision.

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10 Great Cities for Salary Growth
 
 
by Siri Anderson, PayScale.com
 
We all want to know what's going to happen with the job market in 2009, especially where salaries are concerned. Is a raise in your future? It might just come down to where you live. Yet the most recent and complete numbers for salary growth in metropolitan areas are from 2007, and with everything our economy has been through in recent months -- unstable markets, major businesses collapsing, and an official announcement of a U.S. recession -- those numbers seem all but obsolete. So, how do you know which city might offer you a salary boost? According to Laurence Shatkin, author of the recently published "150 Recession-Proof Jobs," there is a pattern to discover in the places that do well in a recession. Industries such as basic health care, education, transportation services and government jobs stay strong in a recession because they cater to more basic societal needs. These industries will frequently concentrate in the same areas -- quite often state capitals -- maintaining job growth and wage increases, while other areas suffer more. Below are some profiles of the top-performing large cities of 2008 and their 2007 statistics on personal income growth, according to the Bureau of Economic Research. Looking at these numbers and how "recession-proof" their main industries are will hopefully give an idea how well they'll continue to perform into 2009.

Austin-Round Rock, TX - pop. 840,066 - 7.7% avg. salary increase
Building off of an already robust government labor sector, the University of Texas at Austin is a huge source of innovation. The area has been using UT's excellent programs from bioengineering to pharmaceutical research programs to invigorate both the technology and burgeoning pharmaceutical industries.

Bakersfield, CA - pop. 315, 837 - 6.6% avg. salary increase
Oilfields and other natural resources created a lot of opportunity for growth around this city recently, and increased demand for services has spurred along the education and health-care sectors. Wages grew here much faster than the national average in recent years, and though that rate is expected to taper, nearby Edwards Air Base and Chevron should help to stabilize the economy and maintain a decent wage growth for transportation and logistics jobs.

Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC - pop. 245,472 - 8.1% avg. salary increase
The Medical University of South Carolina gives weight to this area's healthcare industry and is inspiring recent investment in the biosciences. This adds to Charleston's already strong transportation/logistics industry -- the Port of Charleston is among the most efficient ports in North America, and that should keep business rolling and wages rising.

Huntsville, AL - pop. 171, 327 - 6.4% avg. salary increase
Yet another city whose strong and growing economy is due to the technology industry, Huntsville's U.S. Army post is also expected to grow over the next few years. In addition, it has just opened the doors to HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology which should only encourage more growth in jobs and wages in 2009.

McAllen-Edinburgh-Mission, TX - pop. 197, 183 - 7.1% avg. salary increase
Call centers established by Convergys and T-Mobile in this area have created a healthy chunk of jobs recently. The area has also strengthened its home healthcare industry, which is now the second largest employment sector after state and local government. Drawing off these "recession-proof" industries gives hope that wages will continue to grow.

Orlando-Kissimmee, FL - pop. 289,684 - 5.2% avg. salary increase
The health-care industry has been the impetus behind this area's growth, so odds are that the downturn won't hit this area very hard. The Burnham Institute for Medical Research and a new medical school at the University of Central Florida are expected to attract other industries to the area, particularly high-tech firms, all of which point to good chances for wage growth.

Provo-Orem, UT - pop. 210,670 - 9.7% avg. salary increase
Benefiting from the innovative brain-power of Brigham-Young University, the information service industry in this city has been fueling rapid growth over the last five years. Business investment in the tech sector remains strong, which should help Provo-Orem ride out the ,slowdown in good form.

Raleigh-Cary, NC - pop. 375,806 - 8.7% avg. salary increase
State government employment gives this capital city a sturdy backbone for economic security. High quality educational centers (North Carolina State; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) inject creative brainpower into Raleigh's thriving tech companies and its growing biopharmaceutical sector -- all good signs for strength in the coming year.

Salt Lake City, UT - pop 180,651 - 9.2% avg. salary increase
Like Raleigh, Salt Lake City boasts great tech and government jobs. In addition, health care (Intermountain Health Care) and education (University of Utah) add extra spark to SLC's economic fire. Based on this, expectations are high that wage growth will remain comparatively strong.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA - pop. 912,077 - 8.4% avg. salary increase
Microsoft and Boeing are the main jolts of force behind this area's continued growth. Looking into the future, with the heightened interest in green technology, Boeing's push for a more fuel-efficient commercial aircraft will likely reap great rewards. Strong health-care and research institutions also keep paychecks growing in slower economic times.

Sources: Best Performing Cities 2008 (Milken Institute and Greenstreet Partners, September 2008); Personal Income for Metropolitan Areas 2007 (Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, August 2008); "150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs" (Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D.)

South Lamar, Austin  -  Announcing a price reduction on 2200 Dickson Drive #203, a 903 sq. ft., 2 bath, 2 bdrm single story. Now $229,000 - .

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First Complex Rated 4 Star Austin Energy

• 664 sq. ft., 1 bath, 1 bdrm single story - $148,900

South Lamar, Austin  -  Akoya is the first multi-family 4-Star Austin Energy Green Building in Austin. Michael Hsu Design Office, Located in vibrant South Lamar District we are close to Kerby Lane Cafe, Broken Spoke, Horseshoe Lounge, Uchi etc.

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This is from the latest report from the U.S. Department of Labor.  Over the previous year, non-farm employment rose in 11 of the 38 metropolitan areas surveyed with the largest year-over-year percentage employment gain recorded in Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown (up 2.1percent), followed by San Antonio (up 2 percent); Austin-Round Rock (up 1.6 percent) and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (up +1.6 percent).

 The report went on to say that 121 metropolitan areas had jobless rates reaching 7% or above, up from only 18 areas the year before. In addition, 34 areas had rates below 4%--far fewer than the 133 areas that had jobless rates below 4% in Nov. of 2007.

The report goes on to say the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington unemployment rate hit 5.7% in Nov. of 2008, which is higher than the area's unemployment rate of 4.1% a year ago.

Although the slowing in job creation in Austin is a concern to economists, we are still one of the best places to bo for real estate in 2009.  Here is the artice from the Austin American Statesman.

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/realestate/entries/2009/01/05/report_austin_office_retail_ma.html

As long as Austin continues to create jobs, we well fair quite well through this economic downturn.  As the following article shows, our new home construction remains in line with what our current economy can absorb.

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2008/12/29/daily14.html?ana=e_du_pap