Texas Mortgage Blog by KMA Loans

Census: Texas is the hot place to live

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We have updated our website to include all kinds of great information on FHA Loans. 

FHA Loans are becoming more and more popular now that banks are tightening their rules on lending.  Not all mortgage companies can do FHA Loans and many are not familiar with these loans so make sure you choose a company like KMA. 

We also have FHA information for just our Texas Customers.

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Wow.  these are the lowest since the summer of 2005 and in some cases the lowest since 01.  This is a great time to refinance and lock yourself into a low interest rate. 

check out this article from El Paso:

6. Consider refinancing your mortgage, especially if you have an adjustable one, McBride said.

“Mortgage rates are at their lowest level since September 2005,” McBride said. “Locking in a low fixed rate now can add some much-needed stability to your monthly budget, and you can avoid uncertain payment increases on an adjustable rate mortgage when it resets.”

Also, here’s an article from the dallas morning news on mortgage help:

Consumer advocates say they’re finding mortgage lenders and mortgage-servicing companies more willing to modify the terms of a mortgage with homeowners, especially if the homeowner has contacted them early enough so that they’re not way behind on their mortgage payments.

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a simple text message can immediately give you information about a house for sale. 

An Austin company is making shopping for real estate a little bit easier. Now, when consumers find a property they like, calling the realtor is a thing of the past.

Instead, buyers can just send a text message to get the information.

A really cool idea.

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First, why not just go ahead and buy an entire city.  It’s only 3.8 million!

Stumbled onto an article about East Texas and that regions real estate projections.  It’s one area of the state of Texas that we rarely see projections on as most publications are focused on Dallas, Houston, and Austin.  I recommend you check it out.

James Gaines, of the Texas Real Estate Center, said during an economic development summit in Lufkin that Texas is “poised for a boom that we haven’t seen in a lot of years.” By 2030, he said, Texas could grow by 13.6 million people — the equivalent of adding another Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, another Houston metropolitan area, another San Antonio metropolitan area and another Corpus Christi.

The population of 20 counties in East Texas — Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Hardin, Henderson, Houston, Jasper, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton, Panola, Polk, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Trinity and Tyler — is expected to grow by between 390,000 and 960,000 in the next 25 years, Gaines said. And he called that “a pretty conservative estimate.”

 And apparently the Houston market has been pretty good this year.

“Houston Association of Realtors: The Houston real estate market is on pace for its second-best year on record… There were 6,244 property sales in October, 8.6% fewer than in October 2006. However, this compared favorably with September sales, which were 16.7% lower in 2007 than in 2006. Properties sold during the month were worth $1.21 billion, 3.3 percent lower than October last year’s $1.25B.

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So which direction is it heading? 

So far, Austin has avoided the worst effects of the deepening national real estate slump. Sales are slowing, but prices are holding up in many segments.

Not so lucky are the former bubble markets on the East and West Coasts, where sales are downright cold and prices are sliding from their lofty highs.

And there’s more:

Austin, however, will see only a 4.4 percent drop in that price range, compared to 13.2 percent in San Antonio.

Prices in Dallas and Houston, which avoided the bubble, are forecast to rise a little bit.

There is also some advice here for those who are trying to sell their home. 

Curb appeal is definitely at the top of the list to tend too. Don’t underestimate the importance of curb appeal when selling a home. Most Buyers will drive by and check out a list of homes. You want your home to make it on that list so you can get them in the door. If you cannot attract Buyers to get in the home, you have no chance to sell. Keep the yard trimmed and cleaned up. If you don’t have the time yourself or have already moved out of town, hire a professional to come by every 2 weeks. The $100 or so a month to have someone polish the outside of your place is worth it. Once things get overgrown and die, the home looks completely neglected and run-down, even if the inside is spectacular.

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As we do a lot of mortgages in Austin TX this is always important to us.

Is the Austin Housing Market Cooling?

There’s some good and bad news in this article:

First the Bad:

Last month existing home sales fell 22 percent, marking the fourth straight month in a row there’s been a decline. Some local experts blame the Austin area slowdown on trouble on the national front including the mortgage crisis and sales slump.

Now Some Good:

Another positive indicator of the local housing market is the Median Home Price. According to the Austin Board of Realtors, the Median Price is $182,000 — that’s up 9 percent from last year.

And more Good

The hottest selling market continues to be houses centrally located for $250,000 or less. On the opposite end, homes in the $400,000 or higher range are selling at a slower pace.

So, it seems as though Austin isn’t doing too bad compared to the rest of the country.  I know that the Round Rock area is still growing.

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The Cameron Herald has a nice article on the dangers of mortgage fraud.

A new web page has been added to better assist Texans that are considering a mortgage loan. Go to www.oag.state.tx.us then look for “Avoiding Home-Buying Pitfalls and scams.” After reading this information, you can more easily identify the foreclosure rescue scam and equity-stripping schemes.

It also looks like Washington is helping out the Latino Community and making sure they are protected during this time.

“The foreclosure crisis we currently face in the Latino community is only going to get worse unless we act now,” said Esther Aguilera, CHCI President & CEO. “HOGAR’s recommendations are the first concrete steps we must take to protect countless Latinos from losing their homes. With 25 Members of Congress serving on our board, CHCI is uniquely positioned to inform policy makers on the critical significance of our findings.”

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Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today proposed a series of foreclosure prevention measures to three of the largest mortgage lending and loan servicing companies. At a meeting convened by the Attorney General, the industry leaders were asked to implement several important measures that are designed to prevent Texans from losing their homes to foreclosure.

Hopefully, this will help out struggling homeowners in the state. 

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“We are pleased that the statistics show the Houston real estate market remains healthy, aside from the relatively narrow price range that has unfortunately suffered most as a result of the mortgage fallout,” said Rob Cook, HAR Chairman and broker/owner of Robert D. Cook Properties.

 Looks like good news for our neighbors down in Houstin TX. 

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