2010 Real Estate headlines

Heading in to the new year, I think the theme should be:

Blame someone else and get on with your life.

Most folks agree that 2010 wasn't a good year for real estate (unless you were one of my few buyers). And lots of focus is on who to blame. Let's see ... there are economists, congress, the current president, past presidents, builders, commercial property managers, appraisers, investors, mortgage lenders, wall street, the media,  foreigners, real estate agents, homeowners, .... The list goes on.

These headlines give you lots to choose from.
CEOs trade blame with Congress - Washington Times
Wall Street Blame Rift .... - Business Week
McMansion economics - LA Times
Banks Set to Point Blame at Fannie, Freddie  - Fox Business News
U.S. panel sifts subprime wreckage, blames Greenspan - Reuters
Profiteers, Not Government, To Blame ..... - Wall Street Journal
Why You Should Blame Your Grandparents For The Mortgage Crisis - Business Insider

Since there seems to be plenty of blame to throw around, why not focus on getting on with our lives? Life is too short to put on hold while we wait for government/big business/someone else to make it better. Lets learn from our past, make a plan and move on. I'm ready, are you?

Dallas Christmas Tree Recycling

Time to take down the tree. But do us all a favor and keep the curb clutter off your block (for those picky buyers shopping for homes on your street).

Oh, and help the environment too. You can even get free mulch for your garden when you drop off your tree (and bring your own container). Make sure you remove all tinsel, lights, decorations and the tree stand.

Places to recycle your Christmas tree in Dallas (any day except Sundays):
Flag Pole Hill Park (at Northwest Hwy /Audelia, north on Doran Circle)
Fair Oaks Ave (next to Moss Park, east of Greenville, south of Walnut Hill )
Bachman Dump (off of Harry Hines and south of Northwest Hwy)
4610 Westmoreland (next to the Redbird Airport in Southwest Dallas)
And on Saturday, January 8 at Central Market at Lovers Lane and Greenville.    (where: 75230]

Looking forward to 2011 in Dallas Real Estate

This should be a good year for Dallas real estate.

The PMI Group's market risk index (which measures the expected price changes over the next 2 years) still shows the Dallas Ft. Worth area as the lowest risk in the country for price declines. That's one list where we love to be on the bottom.

The bogey man of real estate - Uncertainty - seems to be disappearing. Uncertainty prevents people from making financial decisions, especially big decisions like buying a home. As people feel more comfortable about our economic future, they'll start buying homes.

DFW leads the country in job growth and people continue to move to here every day. They all need a place to live. Fortunately, Dallas builders (or maybe just their lenders) have shown significant restraint in keeping new housing starts low. That has helped keep our prices from taking a nose dive like they have around the rest of the country. Comparatively, our market has taken a small and short dip.

The Barnett Shale has been the biggest boost to our economy since DFW airport and the death of this economic bonus has been greatly exaggerated. Jobs creation continues in North Texas.

January is always the slowest closing month of the year, but June will come again! And sales will be stronger than they are now - just like every year. I'm refueling my engine for a strong 2011!
[where: 75230]

North Dallas restaurants open Christmas Day

Need a break from cooking, cleaning and entertaining? Several local restaurants are open on Christmas Day. However, you may need a reservation or want to call ahead for their hours. Here are a few in North Dallas that I'm aware of:

Buca Di Beppo across from Northpark
Citrus Bistro in the southwest corner of Preston Royal (set menu)
Indian Palace at Preston & LBJ
Maggiano's in Northpark
The Mansion on Turtle Creek
McCormick & Schmick's Seafood in Northpark
Ruggeri's located at the southwest corner of Preston and Royal
Sevy's Grill in Preston Center
Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant on Central at Meadow

Buying a Foreclosure in Dallas

Too many folks think foreclosure = bargain. But in fact, there are much better deals to be gotten in today’s market and most of those bargains are not foreclosures.

[where: 75230]

Buying wine in Preston Hollow

No, it hasn't happened yet. But it is just around the corner. North Dallas grocers will have their shelves stocked within a couple of days of approval - but they don't expect that to happen until January. The Tom Thumb folks are just waiting for the signature of a Dallas judge to begin what voters approved last month.     [where: 75230]

Buy your new appliances Next Week

The new and improved Texas appliance rebate program starts Monday. Unlike the reserve-in-advance, mail-in rebate fiasco last spring, this one seems to make sense.

Consumers can start buying new energy efficient appliances on December 20 and, after installation, mail in a completed rebate application form and a copy of the receipt to get a rebate. The mail-in rebate program will remain open until the available funds ($18 million+) are distributed.

The application form for the Texas Appliance Mail-In Rebate Program is available here. The new appliance must be Energy Star efficient to qualify. An application form is not required at the time of purchase, but is needed at the time of installation for disposal or recycling information.  You may also want to review the Frequently Asked Questions page for basic information on the new program.

I plan to replace my old refrigerator with a nice new efficient one and get a $250 rebate. Click here to see how much you can get back on your purchase. Please note - This is not an excuse to buy your spouse an appliance for Christmas. That means you honey :)   [where: 75230]

Christmas Freddie won't Foreclose

Freddie Mac announced it has ordered all evictions involving occupied homes that are foreclosed and have Freddie Mac mortgages to be suspended from December 20, 2010 until January 3, 2011. I guess those scheduled this week are out of luck.
[where: 75230]

Habits

"We first make our habits, and

then our habits make us."

- John Dryden

Preston Royal Gift Coins!

The Preston Royal Southwest shopping center will begin selling gold gift coins (like the Northpark Gold) next week. They will come in $10 and $50 denominations and can be purchased at Citrus Bistro starting December 16th.

The Northpark Gold coins must be purchased with cash or check to avoid their 3% service charge. You can buy Preston Royal Southwest gift coins with cash or credit card and there is no service fee.

These coins will be redeemable at the following restaurants, stores and businesses:

Al’s Steakhouse
Arty Wear
Bolivar Salon
Citrus Bistro Seafood
Dorette Green
Gary D. Salon
Gazeebo Burgers
Hope Help Heal
mHe3 Productions
My Fit Foods
Natalie’s Restaurant
Park Cities Yoga
Pargatzi Embroidery, LLC
Royal Reweave Shoppe
Ruggeri’s Italian Restaurant
Sushi Star
The UPS Store
[where: 75230]

Santa is coming to Preston Royal

... this Saturday from 11:00 until 4:00. Bring the kids and your camera!

  [where: 75230]

Time for a free bagel

Update at 1:25 : They just stopped serving for the day. But get up early tomorrow when they open at 5:30 a.m. and will be giving the first 100 customers free breakfast bagels for a year.


The new Einstein bagel store at Preston Royal is conducting their practice run today and serving free bagels and coffee and such. Drop by and enjoy. [where: 75230]

Frustration

I usually enjoy learning new things, but after banging my head against my crashing computer all day, I need to wear one of these signs on my forehead this week -

Can you relate to one of these?  [where: 75230]

Are the Feds stepping in the right direction to help recovery?

I just need to get this off my chest. When Federal Reserve President Sandra Pianalto spoke at a housing conference in Washington recently, she suggested a community focused approach to the foreclosure crisis. No surprise that she pointed out that a healthy housing sector is critical to the overall economy and recovery.

Pianalto suggested immediate help for low income communities and that regulators should try to find ways to better implement the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the Community Reinvestment Act.

While that is a fine goal, it is not the path the feds should be starting down right now. When it comes to homeownership and financing, we need to first help those that can help themselves. By this, I mean the people with jobs, some kind of financial stability, ability to repay loans and ability to pay taxes.

Way too many of those employed taxpayers can't get home loans or refinance their existing mortgages to take advantage of today's low interest rates. We need to help them with reasonable mortgage underwriting standards. This will create more homeowners. Then we can begin helping those that can’t help themselves. The money generated by helping this first group can be used to create opportunities needed in low income communities – not the other way around.

Help the homeowners who are in their homes and have been making payments regularly. That might sound a little harsh, but why not first help the homeowners who have the best chance of helping themselves out of this mess first?   [where: 75230]