Westhaven is a "sister" community to Tucker Hill in McKinney, TX. very impressive as the picture reveals.

North Texas offers unique challenges for gardeners and landscapers. We sometimes have winters that rival those of many states much farther north. We often have summers that rival those of New Mexico or Arizona. I also have struggled recently with landscaping because of the limited rainfall we have had. Just when everyone thought we were going to have to switch to desert plants we have started having very substantial rains. The good news is we have discovered a tool to help us select plants for our climate and rainfall needs. Visit www.txsmartscape.com . This interactive site will help you pick plants for annual or perennial plantings. The pictures of each plant type helps me put a name with a flower.

North Texas real estate is still hanging in there. The Case-Schiller data was just released. Dallas still looks like the place to be. See the full story here: http://tinyurl.com/ctty4g. Word must be getting out. I am seeing a lot of license plates on the streets from the troubled states especially Michigan and Florida. We put a house under contract today that had only been on the market for four days.

 The mortgage insurance provider, PMI Group, has released a study assessing the risk of substantial, lasting declines in residential real estate values in various markets around the country. The good news for the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex is that the area has only a 2.5% risk of housing prices being lower two years from now than they are today. Some short term fluctuations are expected due to increased unemployment, but Texas cities in general are at the bottom of the 300 markets studied. Markets at the top of the list are are looking at an almost 100% chance of declining prices. The news is still good for places like McKinney, Texas and Collin County. With interest rates at all time lows, this is still a good time to buy a home. There are some bargains in existing builder inventory and some bank owned properties. Both of these inventories are being depleted by buyers who are looking for bargains. Even the youngest people in the market today are very unlikely to ever see a confluence of housing values and interest rates that exits today.

Everyone who is bemoaning the fact that 100% financing has vanished will be glad to hear about this. There is 100%government financing available. It just depends on where you want to live. In an effort to spur rural development the federal government is making loans available in selected communities. Several of these communities are the suburbs of McKinney like Melissa and Anna to name just a couple. The property can be in small developments in rural areas. Several areas near McKinney are eligible for these loans. Visit this US Department of Agriculture web site for all the details or contact us. http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/

I have a client who had a loan on their current home of $193,000 financed three years ago. Sold their house in 7 days. Found a new home for $262,000. Loan amount $252,000. Interest rate 4.75%. Result is their monthly payment went DOWN by almost $200 per month. They have a new home and one that better fits their needs. They are beside themselves. There are tremendous opportunities out there. You just have to think creatively. McKinney, Texas is different than most of your situations. Things are not all bad.  

A lot of people are not doing well around the country. I feel for them. Our problems in McKinney, Texas are far smaller that those being experienced by most of you. Business, however, is beginning to pick up. Buyers are getting the word that they may not ever see interest rates or prices lower than they are today. My little three person group contracted on 4 properties last week. Two buyers bought and two listings sold. We even sold one only seven days after it came on the market. Our seller in one case turned around and made the purchase of a lifetime in new construction. The house will serve their family well for many years to come. The opportunities are great right now. I really wish the government would calm down and quit messing things up with their dire pronouncements.  

Most of us won't comprehend this the first time we see it. I began working in electronics when most equipment was powered by vacuum tubes. I worked with my first computer in 1970. This video was shown to Sony executives last year.  http://tinyurl.com/5o4jva

Well worth the time.

McKinney's current square is the home to Landon's Winery. This marks quite a change considering that in 1987 when we moved here you couldn't buy wine in the local grocery or convenience store. Today wine is available locally and is actually made at Landon's and has won awards in tasting competitions. Landon's is also the focal point for the monthly gathering called 2nd Saturday. Today the street in front of Landon's Winery and Rick's Chop house is closed to traffic and tables and chairs fill the street the second Saturday of each month. Musicians play light jazz weather permitting.

Inflation may be our economic savior.

Inflation is coming. After years of the FED fighting it we may fall into its arms and welcome it. Everything being done to save us from economic collapse is pointing in that direction. All the bailout money, bank purchases, tax rebates, second half of the TARP money and the $900 billion economic stimulus package being debated and voted upon in congress are or soon will be pumping funds into the economy. This is happening in countries across the globe not just in the U.S. Governments everywhere are printing money and throwing it at the problem.

How will this help real estate? Inflation will cause the value of commodities like gold, oil and real estate to increase without any increase in demand. Real estate has the advantage of usually being leveraged through its mortgage. For real estate inflation will return a higher percentage return than other commodities. An interesting phenomenon is that the inflation will tend to reverse fortunes for some of the people who find themselves upside down in their mortgages and even prevent some future foreclosures.

Governments will probably conclude that this is a good thing. Individuals nearing foreclosure may be bailed out without any politicians having to vote for it. The distressed assets at the banks will gain value bailing out the banks before they have to mark assets to market value. Inflation can also reduce the impact of future debts like autoworker pensions, Social Security and national debt payments. I suppose after all these years we will learn to embrace inflation as our friend.

Unfortunately the widows, orphans and retirees (or would be retirees like me) will be adversely affected by this friend of the real estate market.

The concept for this post was included in a presentation before the Collin County Association of REALTORS monthly meeting by Britt and David Fair of Hexter-Fair Title. This interpretation is my own.