Texas Housing Market Update

FIVE TEXAS CITIES NAMED HEALTHIEST HOUSING MARKETS IN TEXAS (Builder) - Five Texas cities swept the top spots on Builder magazine's list of "Healthiest Housing Markets for 2009. "Houston ranked first, Austin second, Fort Worth third, San Antonio fourth and Dallas fifth. Rounding out the top ten were Raleigh, N.C., Seattle, Indianapolis, Ind., Fayetteville, Ark., and Washington D.C.

To compile the list, "Builder" analyzed the top 75 housing markets in the country, ranking them based on population trends and job growth, perennial drivers of housing demand. They also looked at home prices and the number of building permits.

NEW LAW TO HELP HOUSING MARKET, CREATE GREEN JOBS IN WASHINGTON (Texas Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) - President Obama earlier this week signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which contains provisions intended to help the housing market and create jobs that benefit the environment.

Among the housing provisions: An $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers who purchase a principal residence between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 1, 2009. The credit does not require repayment. Reinstatement of last year's 2008 loan limits for FHA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae loans.

$2 billion in additional funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which provides grants to states and localities to address problems that can be created when whole neighborhoods are decimated by foreclosures.

The law also includes $7.22 billion for projects and programs that will protect and promote both green jobs and a healthier environment. These environmental areas include: $4 billion to assist communities with water quality and wastewater infrastructure needs and $2 billion for drinking water infrastructure needs. A portion of the funding will be targeted toward green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency, and environmentally innovative projects.

$100 million for competitive grants to evaluate and clean up former industrial and commercial sites.

OBAMA UNVEILS PLAN TO HELP HOMEOWNERSWASHINGTON (Texas Association of Realtors) - The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, introduced this week by President Obama, is intended to help seven million to nine million families avoid foreclosure by restructuring or refinancing their mortgages.

The plan includes three main elements: Government-sponsored enterprise refinancing for responsible homeowners suffering from falling home prices; Three-year $75 billion initiative to reduce monthly payments for three million to four million at-risk homeowners; and Support for low mortgage rates through strengthening confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

HIGHEST HOME APPRECIATION IN TEXAS (First American CoreLogic) - Texas continues its trend of weathering the recession better than most other states. The state's major metros top the nation in home price appreciation over the last year. Austin-Round Rock leads the country's largest core-based statistical areas (CBSA) in home price appreciation with a 3.7 percent increase in 2008, according to First American CoreLogic. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown experienced a price appreciation of 3.3 percent over the last year, putting it right behind Austin-Round Rock. Dallas-Plano-Irving homes appreciated 1.92 percent and San Antonio's homes 0.17 percent, putting them third and fourth in the nation. Only one other major CBSA, Denver-Aurora, Colo., showed an increase in home price, according to CoreLogic.

Of the 958 smaller communities the study observed, College Station-Bryan experienced the sixth highest home price appreciation, with an increase of 6.78 percent. Overall, Texas homes saw an appreciation of 1.83 percent in 2008, putting the Lone Star State sixth among all state rankings.

New Stimulus Package Proposes Tax Credit for Home Buyers

Last week, the Senate verbally approved the Fix Housing First Act, an important amendment to their version of the Economic Stimulus Bill. The piece of legislation and the Stimulus Bill are still awaiting Senate and House negotiations, but could provide all home buyers of primary residences over the next year with a tax credit of $15,000 or 10 percent of the cost of the home, whichever is less. The credit will not need to be repaid unless the home is sold within two years of purchase. This Senate's version of the tax credit, if implemented, will replace, or “sunset” the current $7,500 credit. Should the legislation become a law, it will act as a major incentive for home buyers and, coupled with several years of pricing corrections could boost the number of home sales around the country. Until then, get free information on the current $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers.