Mischer News

Throughout the brutal recession, one metropolitan area floated serenely above the carnage: Washington, D.C. Buoyed by government spending, the local economy expanded 17% from 2007 to 2012. But for the first time in four years, the capital region has fallen out of the top 15 big cities in our annual survey of the best places for jobs, dropping to 16th place from fifth last year.

It’s a symptom of a significant and welcome shift in the weak U.S. economic recovery: employment growth has moved away from the public sector to private businesses. In 2011, for the first time since before the recession, growth in private-sector employment outstripped the public sector. More than half (231) of the 398 metro areas we surveyed for our annual study of employment trends registered declines in government jobs, with public-sector employment dropping 0.9 percent overall. Meanwhile, private-sector employment expanded 1.4 percent.

Instead of government, the big drivers of growth now appear to be three basic sectors: energy, technology and most welcome of all, manufacturing. Energy-rich Texas cities dominate our list — the state has added some 200,000 generally high-paying oil and gas jobs over the past decade — but Texas is also leading in industrial job growth, technology and services.

To determine the best cities for jobs, we ranked all 398 current metropolitan statistical areas based on employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics covering November 2000 through January 2012. Rankings are based on recent growth trends, mid-term growth, long-term growth and the region’s momentum.

In addition to energy, the technology sector has been on a tear. After a decade of tepid growth and some years of job losses, Silicon Valley has blown itself another huge tech bubble, this time driven by the social media craze and a surge in private-equity investment. In the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area, the number of information sector jobs is up 36 percent over the past five years; this year the epicenter of Silicon Valley jumped 22 places to No. 5 among the 65 biggest metro areas.

Here are the five best big cities for jobs, according to the data:

No. 5: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
2011 Rank: 27th
2012 Overall Rank: 38th
Employment Growth (year-on-year): 2.8%

No. 4: Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
2011 Rank: 15th
2012 Overall Rank: 37th
Employment Growth (year-on-year): 2.7%

No. 3: Salt Lake City, Utah
2011 Rank: 20th
2012 Overall Rank: 22nd
Employment Growth (year-on-year): 3.3%

No. 2: Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas
2011 Rank: 3rd
2012 Overall Rank: 8th
Employment Growth (year-on-year): 3.3%

No. 1: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas
2011 Rank: 1st
2012 Overall Rank: 5th
Employment Growth (non-farm, year-on-year): 2.2%

Source:   Joel Kotkin, Forbes.com

Mischer Development, the developer of the master-planned community Cypress Creek Lakes, has announced plans for a major expansion to include 700 acres that will consist of new building programs, new builders, a recreation center complex and a community welcome/information center.

Located less than two miles from US 290 in the Cypress area, Cypress Creek Lakes, which first opened in 2004, will add a 50-foot and a 70-foot building program to its existing 60-foot and 80-foot programs that have been a part of the community since its beginning.

Currently, Perry Homes and Coventry Homes are building on 80-foot home sites in the active Phase 2. The next phase of Cypress Creek Lakes will include Ashton Woods and Lennar in a new 50-foot program, Perry Homes and Newmark Homes in a 60-foot program and Darling Homes and Village Builders in a 70-foot program. New homes will range in price from the $190,000s to the $600,000s.  Phase 3 will add over 1,000 new homes to the community.

“The additional programs represent a growing demand we’re seeing among new-home buyers and will be a great complement to our existing building programs,” said Randy Corson,Vice President of Mischer Development.

Sales in Cypress Creek Lakes were even with projections in 2011, and to date, are already ahead of last year. Corson believes that recent improvements in the housing market and the completion of major roadway expansions make now an ideal time to open this newest phase of the community. “The expanded building programs will help us meet a significant part of the market that we were missing previously,” he said. In addition to an increased interest among new-home buyers, Cypress Creek Lakes is benefiting from the expansion of Tuckerton Road which runs through the new Phase 3. Tuckerton is now a major east-west connector, open from Fry Road to Huffmeister, and is greatly enhancing access within the Hwy. 290 corridor. The expansion of Tuckerton will also provide opportunities for future commercial development in Cypress Creek Lakes. Already, Metropolitan Baptist Church, The MET, purchased 100 acres at the southeast corner of Fry Road and Tuckerton for its West Campus that will begin construction later this year.

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According to HoustonFacts.org, now is the time to buy. Unlike the booming years where the sellers were the ones in control; today the buyers are calling the shots. All the components are in a buyer’s favor. Homes are competitively priced, interest rates are lower, and sellers are willing to negotiate.

"If my neighbor sold his house for $250,000 six months ago, why should I have to settle for $225,000 today?"

Attempting to regain this loss could cost more in the long run because it’s not so much a loss on the current home as it is a discount on the new, upgraded home. When the market comes back on an upswing, the new home’s value will increase, greater than the value of the original home. Purchasing a home has tax benefits and is usually one of the best financial investments. The national average of appreciation is between 5 to 6 percent, meaning every 13 years the value of a home doubles.

To learn more and to find a neighborhood that's right for you, visit Mischer Investments planned communities.

The Texas Legislature has made significant changes to the requirements for homestead exemptions.

These affect all types of homestead exemptions, not just the regular homestead exemptions. The changes also affect over-65 exemptions, over-55 surviving spouse exemptions, disability exemptions, and the 100% Disabled Veteran exemptions (all of which are considered homestead exemptions). Any new applications as of September 1 must comply with all requirements.

Effective September 1, 2011, in order to qualify for a residential homestead exemption you must provide HCAD with a copy of either your Texas driver’s license or Texas ID Card. This address must also be the same as the address on your vehicle registration. Attach a copy of your vehicle registration receipt to your homestead application.

Remember: Your physical street address must match the address on your vehicle registration and both must match the address on your driver’s license or state ID card. All three must have the same address.

Read more at http://www.hcad.org/.

UNDERSTANDING THE PROPERTY TAX PROCESS

The property tax is the primary source of local government revenue in Texas and provides funding for the services provided by counties, cities, school districts, and a variety of special entities such as community colleges, port authorities, hospital and flood control districts, and municipal utility districts. While the total combined state and local tax burden in Texas is among the lowest in the nation, the portion of the tax burden borne by property taxpayers in Texas is relatively high.

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According to the Houston Business Journal, "sales of single-family homes in Houston in June totaled 5,422, the highest number since August 2008, according to statistics released by the Houston Association of Realtors." A healthy real estate market normally has six month inventory of home, Houston has an almost eight month supply! The median home price as of June was $164,500 which is up 2.8 percent from June 2008.

The national median price is $173,000 according to the National Association of Realtors. Year to date sales continue to rise at 0.6 percent with single-family homes sales in Houston totaling 5,571 in June, the highest number since August 2008.

"The Houston real estate market has shown incremental improvement each month this year, both in terms of sales volume and the pricing stability that others around the country envy," said Vicki Fullerton, HAR chair and broker of record at Re/Max of The Woodlands & Spring.

If you are considering a home improvement, retirement, sending a child off to college, or any other unexpected expenses, you may want to consider a home equity loan.

A home equity loan is basically borrowing against the equity you’ve already paid into your home. Generally a borrower can request a loan in any amount up to 80 percent of their equity. Just like your existing mortgage, you will incur a fixed or variable interest rate, and in some cases, fees and closing costs.

The Pros of a Home Equity Loan

Home equity loan interest is tax deductible up to $100,000 and often the money can be borrowed at a lower interest than conventional loans or credit cards. Also, if you have tremendous card debt AND the interest on a home equity loan is less than what the credit cards are charging AND you have exhausted all efforts to negotiate a lower rate with them, then you may want to consider using your home equity to pay it off.

The Cons of a Home Equity Loan

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As the spring winds blow in, the home buying season starts to heat up too. Just remember to plan for the less obvious costs associated with your purchase.

Thanks to continued low interest rates and an abundance of newly constructed homes, there are definitely bargains to be found. Even with those bargains, doo you have enough in your account to handle closing costs? Do you have cash on hand for the appraisal, necessary inspections and earnest money?

Here is a quick breakdown of the costs you can expect during the home purchase process, how to minimize them and whether you or the seller will be expected to cover these expenses.

Buyer:

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