Quick facts

• Austin is the state capital and is located in Central Texas on the Colorado River.
• The Texas Capitol building, built from locally quarried Sunset Red granite in the mid-1880s, was based on the architecture of 15th century Italy and is about 15 feet taller than the U.S. Capitol.
• The Alamo is a Spanish mission and in 1718 became the first mission established in San Antonio.
• The Battle of the Alamo lasted nearly two weeks and ended on March 6, 1836, with the deaths of all 190 of its defenders. The Mexican army numbered 4,000-5,000 during its final charge.
• There are three Indian reservations in the state: the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation, located east Texas; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (Tigua Indian Reservation) near El Paso; and the Kickapoo Reservation in the Rio Grande Valley. Texas' Native American population ranks sixth among the states, with approximately 65,000 — most living outside reservations.
• Texas was an independent nation from 1836 to 1845.
• Texas became a state on December 29, 1845.
• Six national flags have flown over Texas since the original Spanish expeditions. They are:
  1. Spain — 1519-1685; 1690-1821
  2. France — 1685-1690
  3. Mexico — 1821-1836
  4. Republic of Texas — 1836-1845
  5. Confederate States of America 1861-1865
  6. United States of America — 1845-1861; 1865-present
• Enchanted Rock, which lies on the border between Gillespie and Llano Counties rises 425 feet above ground, 1825 feet above sea level, and covers 640 acres.
• The King Ranch near Corpus Christi is larger than the state of Rhode Island and includes 50,000 head of cattle.
• There are four national forests (Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine and Sam Houston); and two national parks (Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains).
• On September 8—9, 1900, an estimated 8,000 people were killed in the disastrous Galveston hurricane and flood. As a result, the community constructed the seawall, an effective means controlling storm surge.
• NASA is based in Houston. In fact, the first word spoken from the moon on July 20, 1969 was Houston.
• The Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) airport is larger (in acres) than Manhattan Island.

News Release

Keller Williams Realty Ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Home Buyer and Seller Segments by J.D. Power and Associates


AUSTIN, TEXAS (August 16, 2012) — According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Home Buyer/Seller Satisfaction StudySM released yesterday, Keller Williams Realty, Inc. ranks highest in customer satisfaction in both the homebuyer and home seller segments. Keller Williams Realty, Inc. achieved the highest scores in all measured factors across both segments, receiving the highest JDPower.com Power Circle RatingSM among its competitors overall.

“We are so proud to have our associates be recognized once again for leading the industry with the influence and reputations they have in their local communities. They continually demonstrate not only their level of talent, but their commitment to serving our communities with the utmost integrity and highest level of service,” Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty, Inc., stated. “Congratulations to all Keller Williams Realty associates. They have certainly earned this prestigious distinction.”
The fifth annual J.D. Power and Associates study measures customer satisfaction with the largest national real estate companies within the home buyer and seller segments. Scores are determined by examining three factors of the home-buying experience: agent/salesperson; office; and variety of additional services. For the home-selling segment, agent/salesperson; marketing; office; and variety of additional services are examined.

J.D. Power and Associates stated, “[The uncertain economic times] present a challenge for the real estate companies to really work closely with the customers and really hold their hand through the entire process to make them feel more comfortable in the decisions. Keller Williams has set itself apart by performing high in all the areas that are most important to customers specifically with the agent, the offices, and the services that they provide.”

“Our agents go above and beyond to help their clients at one of the most personal times in their lives – when they are buying or selling a home. We are incredibly honored and humbled that our associates have been recognized yet again for their incredible levels of service,” says Mary Tennant, President of Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

In The News…

1. New Home Starts up 15.7% over last year in the second quarter.  Sales were up 5.4% over the same time period.  In the first half of the year, builders started 3904 homes or an increase of 13% over last year.  Inventory of completed homes is at its lowest point in recent years with only 1311 homes on the ground.
2. Eagle Ford contends for No. 1, report suggests it may overtake play in N. Dakota and Montana.  Highly productive wells & the vast size are combining to make it a contender for being the best in the nation.
3. Unemployment continues to fall…SA 6.7%, Texas 7% and U.S. 8.2%.
4. Solar deal for CPS set to bring 805 jobs to SA.  Part of the deal calls for a $100 million, high-tech manufacturing plant to be built by Nexolon America on the South Side.
5. Texas Top-Ranking State for Housing Affordability.

In the NEWS...

Home Builder confidence soared last month, the most in nearly a decade Texas Cities still among the Nation's fastest growing with 6 of the Nation's top 7 fastest growing cities Texas Tops Nation in job gains.  Texas has gained 410,400 jobs from May 2007 to May 2012.  Coming in a distant second New York with 88,600 jobs.  California has lost 891,200 jobs. Eagle Ford shale growth...number of well permits issued in 2009 were 94, over 2800 in 2011 with an estimated total of 22,000 well permits coming.  It will take 20 years to drill all of these wells and each well might last 20 years.  We are looking at this lasting possibly 40 years. Home Foreclosures continue to decline.  YTD 2012 = 9,477 last year 10,042 and 2010 = 11,095

An email from a friend...good information

--- This is Interesting

This probably sounds crazy, but just yesterday I was in Wal-Mart
looking for a wastebasket. I found some made in China for 6.99.
I didn't want to pay that much so I asked the lady if they had any
others. She took me to another department and they had some
at 2.50 made in USA .. They are just as good. Same as a kitchen
rug I needed. I had to look, but I found some made in the USA
and they were 3.00 cheaper. We are being brain washed that
everything that comes from China and Mexico is cheaper. Not
so. That is also why I don't buy cards at Hallmark anymore. They
are made in China and are expensive. I buy them at Dollar Tree
.50 cents each and made in USA ..

One Light Bulb at a Time

A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while
one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very
much, a billion of them would. 

Your update and what's trending now

1. Fewer Bexar County properties up for Foreclosure in September.  Down 17% from last year.  YTD foreclosures in Bexar County are down 10%.  Foreclosure numbers are down everywhere because of procedural changes with institutions, so we will have to wait to see if they are really down or if they will catch up as the new procedures start to take place.
2. Ocwen which services 460,000 loans and is acquiring 250,000 more next month have started a Pilot loan-modification program that has worked very well.  The program works like this if you are underwater on your loan and cannot make the payments…Your loan is reduced to 5% below the current appraised value…your loan payments are then reduced to match the new loan balance…then over the next 3 years they write off the reductions.  In exchange for two things, stay current on the loan and agree to share 25% of the future gain on the house sale.
3. New FHA loan limits for Bexar County that go into effect Oct. 1^st are $287,500.  You must have final loan approval by 9-30-2011 for the old loan limits.
4. SA Real Estate is ‘lumbering’, Volume is up vs. July 2010, but median price is down.  July 2010 median price $163,600, this year $157,000, down 4%.  Total sales for July 2011 up 11% over last year.  Average sales price $194,408 a 6% decrease from last year.
5. Halliburton who purchased 150 acres at 1604 & 37 is possibly shopping for a “supersite” to service the Eagle Ford area.  They are looking to employ 100’s in the SA area.

San Antonio ranked #4 on Forbes Magazines next big boom towns

Forbes magazine has named San Antonio among the nation’s next boom towns.

The Alamo City snagged the No. 4 spot on the list, which ranked the top 52 largest metro areas in the country based on past, present and future vitality.

The survey included data on economic growth over the past two years, family formation rates, growth in educated migration, population and a broad measurement of attractiveness to immigrants.

Three other Texas cities were also in the top 10, with Austin grabbing the No. 1 spot, Houston ranked No. 5 and Dallas coming in at No. 7.