HAVEN FOR HOPE OPENS

SAN ANTONIO (San Antonio Business Journal) – The $100 million Haven for Hope campus is officially completed and dedicated after being under construction for three years.

The 37-acre, 280,000-sf facility will begin housing homeless individuals and families later this month.

“We are so grateful to the City of San Antonio, Bexar County and the State of Texas for dedicating funding, resources and other support,” said Haven for Hope Chairman Bill Greehey. “And we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the hundreds of private donors who have helped us raise over $58 million, which puts us within $2 million of our fundraising goal.”

SAMMinistries, a social service partner of Haven for Hope, will move ten single men from its shelters to the new campus every day for the first two weeks and then increase the number of moves after that.

Women and families from other SAMMinistries shelters will begin moving to the campus in early June. The campus is expected to be completely open to the public by mid June.

TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING!

Beautiful San Antonio!  Guaranteed sunshine 80% of the time, and here comes Spring with Bluebonnets starting to peek out on Highways and fields!  Something else is changing in San Antonio too!  

In a recent article by the San Antonio Business Journal, we now have a demographic of 24.6% population in this city of residents aged 18 through 34.   For the first time since I can remember it feels as though this city is "in step" with the fast moving locomotive that has swept our industry over the past 10 years - TECHNOLOGY.   

Real Estate is no longer practiced with Index Cards and paper snail mail.    Buying Real Estate has moved into the 21st Century, it is fast-paced and dynamic!   Computers, Scanners, Wi-Fi, Blackberrys and I-Phones, Social Media are all part of selling homes now!

Use a Realtor® who provides 21st Century technology.

At Realty Executives METRO SA, we strive to give you state of the art technology in marketing your homes AND the same 1st Class Service you have always had.    You don't have to sacrifice the personal touch.

Technology MINUS Service is Robotic.

Technology PLUS Service is the Benchmark.

We teach, preach and live out our commitment to provide top notch service in a fast-paced industry!

Every year in January, my industry gathers at the Omni Hotel for the latest predictions on our local housing market.   This year was a sell out as we anxiously awaited the verdict from Economic Gurus, Bank Presidents, the Mayor and the Head of Economic Development for San Antonio.

Not a peep was heard when the meeting started.  "Looking Up, Moving Forward, On the Rise"

TEXAS IS LEADING THE WAY.  Corporate Profits are up and the layoffs could end in the next 3-6 months, according to the experts.

Housing starts have fallen off a cliff--it just won't happen in 2010.  There is, therefore, no gross oversupply of new homes.   This sector recovers quickly, however, and predicted to be back on it's feet in 2011.    What this means is that there will be less new homes, which will benefit the pre-owned market.  At the Federal level, money has been choked off for the Builders and Developers, and until that changes, there will be very little activity.

These economists also stated that the problem is that jobs come from small businesses, and right now, they are "scared off the dance floor"! There is money on the sidelines just waiting for a little confidence in our government.   People stopped buying, but, Americans won't put up with this for very long--  we love to shop, buy, spend!

Right now, people are saving, not spending.

Home Sales:   10 - 12% below the year before.   It's a mindset, however, because San Antonio had all three components for a good year.  They are 1) job growth   2) cheap money    3) home appreciation (we had just a small appreciation in most price points).   

Buy now before the Tax Credit ends!

In the final analysis, we are so lucky to have the unprecidented interest rates that we now enjoy.   Interest is at a historic low, but is predicted to go up in 2010. 

Buy A Home Today!  There will never be a better time!

Happy New Year!

It has often been a myth that you should pull your home off the market during the Christmas season.    This is is part due to the hectic pace we all put ourselves through.   Many Sellers have told me that they don't like the intrusion or inconvenience.  

Consider this:  Your home should gleam and twinkle.   What better time to show off than this special season.   Any Buyer going around with a Realtor on a cold December day has to be a serious Buyer.    Some corporate executives use their Christmas vacation to house hunt with their family.    This would be the perfect opportunity to stage your home and give it beautiful curb appeal.

One last tip I read about in Realty Times this month--   leave some holiday treats and hot chocolate for your guests...they will love it!

Information has surfaced from the research department of the National Association of Realtors on this next generation of Buyers.  Their peak household formation years are 25 - 44  and they will help keep demand strong for the next 10 years.    Their markets will be rentals and starter homes.    They will enter the housing market with lower incomes than people their age did 10 years ago!   The Echo Boomers are just one of the many speciality markets surfacing in our real estate business!

Reference:

Sophia Stuart, Marketing Associate, National Association of REALTORS®, "The Next Big Thing", Real Estate Business, Nov/Dec 2009

My 3 children are at the stage in their lives where they are beginning to think about acquiring real estate!   Joyous moment!

What advice do I give them?    "Don't fall in love with the home."  

One might ask why?   First of all, you won't live in this home all your life.    Second, it is an investment, just like purchasing stock.   Third, I am seeing far too many families today who purchased their "dream" home, upgraded far beyond what was wise, and now are stuck with an overpriced house that has lost it's value.  When the market declines, everyone loses.

Any house can become a HOME.  Take the things you love whether they are furniture, photos, special lamps or whatever, and most importantly take the love of the people you surround yourself with.   

Since this is a good time for Buyers to be in the market, chances are that you can make your money up front, not at the back end.   Who knows what market value will be next year or the next.   

Purchase Wisely!   Ask an Expert!   Use a Buyer's Agent and  make very sure the Agent representing you has YOUR best interest in mind!

I read an interesting article in this month's issue of TIERRA GRANDE, Journal of the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.    It states that the current economic downturn is in it's 23rd month, and "so far, no one can say for sure when it will end".  It also states that "it will take a reversal of most, if not all, of several interrelated economic forces to engineer a substantive recovery".

Business must make a profit.
Consumers have to spend.
Financial services must operate normally
Household Debt Service must revert to norm
Home prices must stabilize, then grow
Return of Investor Confidence must return

In summary, there are 3 legs to this stool:

Personal Consumption
Corporate Spending
Government Spending

Right now, 2 of the 3 legs are broken.

The article, written by James P. Gaines, a research economist with the Real Estate Center concludes that for now, the economy is the ultimate "reality show".   Government is carrying the other two legs in the form of bailouts, stimulus and unprecendented government spending.  

It also summarized the state of the economy as a puzzle for now with no predictions on when we might see an end to this recession, but all hoping to see a turn around in 2010!

As for my personal opinion, let the government back off and allow the system to correct itself.   Let's all work toward thard toward getting that 3-legged stool back on it's feet!!


Tierra Grande, October 2009,"Recession Rx", James P. Gaines 

Sometimes a listing just gets stale.   Even beautiful homes get stale, especially when we are sitting in a market where loans are tough and there is so much to choose from.   Pictures also grow stale on MLS when a listing has been on for a lengthy time.  

What I normally do in my office is take a good hard look at several things:   recent solds; comments from showings; how many other homes there are for sale in the neighborhood and how do they compare; and lastly, how does the home REALLY look to a stranger entering for the first time.

Re-staging a home is not a bad idea.   It puts a fresh new face on each room, it allows me to retake photos and present the home in a different way.   We recently did that for a client and the results were fabulous!  We rearranged sofas, dining room and exercise room.

Each room must have a purpose or the floorplan becomes confusing.  Don't grow stale in your home, and don't be afraid to move things around!

You’ve probably seen by now that all proposed constitutional amendments supported by the Texas Association of REALTORS® passed in yesterday’s election.

Propositions 2, 3, 5, 9, and 11 won by sizable margins despite an underhanded misinformation campaign and opposition by several newspaper editorial boards.

I want to thank all Texas REALTORS® for participating in our ongoing efforts to protect private property rights and advocate on behalf of what’s best for Texas property owners. Because of your actions, Texans will benefit from an improved appraisal system and stronger protections from unfair uses of eminent domain.

If you would like to learn more about the amendments and share this information with consumers, visit http://www.texasrealestate.com/.

Brooke Hunt
Chairman, Texas Association of REALTORS®

Tis the season...it's that time again.   Clocks fell back, the temperature is not 101 degrees, some of my flowers are blooming more in November than all year long.   What else needs to be checked?

Service your HVAC
Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Out with the summer annuals and in with the Petunias
Fall is for planting- cut back dead foilage
Caulk those windows and check for air leaks
Clean your gutters
and..
it's not a bad time to clean your carpets and add a fresh coat of paint for the Holidays!  Decorating is just around the corner!

Pride of Ownership, there's nothing like it!