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2nd Quarter, 2000
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June 30, 2000
•MORTGAGE RATES REVERSE COURSE
•GOLF RESORT DEVELOPER BUYS TWO HOUSTON
COURSES
•AUSTIN CONTRIBUTES TO HOTEL
•TOWER SLATED FOR SOUTHAMPTON SITE
•PLAZA HOTEL READY FOR REDEVELOPMENT
•LOWE'S PLANS SAN ANTONIO STORE
June 27, 2000
•GOING UPTOWN
•RAILROAD TO CUT 200 JOBS
•HINES TO ADD DOWNTOWN PARKING
•EL PASO, LAREDO AWARD HUD GRANTS
•INVENTORY REBOUND RAISES EXISTING HOME SALES
•AMLI RESIDENTIAL ACQUIRES DALLAS APARTMENT COMMUNITY
June 22, 2000
•TREC TO CONSIDER ONLINE LICENSE RENEWALS
•NATURAL GAS STORAGE FACILITY PLANNED
•RESORT VENTURES INTO CITY TERRITORY
•SCHOOL GETS GRANT FOR CENTER
June 20, 2000
•RECYCLED WATER FLOWING INTO RIVER WALK
•CARPETMAX CLOSES STORES
•FIRST PROJECT SINCE 1980 TO UPGRADE AIRFIELD
•PARKLAND NEEDS $127 MILLION
June 16, 2000
•PREOWNED DFW HOME SALES BOUNCE BACK
•JOBLESS RATE REMAINS LOW
•PERILOUS PLACES FOR PEDESTRIANS
June 10, 2000
•ASTRODOME COMPLEX ADDS EXPO HALL
•MORE THAN JUST A GARAGE
•INNSUITES EXPANDS TO DALLAS-FORT WORTH
•DFW GETS NEW TERMINAL
•AVERAGE PRICE OF TEXAS HOMES UP 11 PERCENT
•APARTMENT RENTS HIT RECORD HIGH
•AUSTIN, DALLAS-FORT WORTH LEAD TEXAS
APARTMENT GROWTH
•BUILDERS ASK CONGRESS TO CONSIDER
REGULATORY IMPACT
•COPPER PIPE DETERIORATION MYSTERY
June 6, 2000
•BANKING ON APARTMENT TRIO
•$24.5 MILLION TO HELP PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS GET JOBS
•OZONE SPARKS HOT DEBATE
•RESORT PROJECT SET FOR ROCKWALL
•TIPS ON MANAGING SOUTHEAST TEXAS ACREAGE
June 2, 2000
•NEW HOME SALES RATE FALLS
•$87 MILLION RETIREMENT COMMUNITY PLANNED
•CONSUMERS SEND MIXED SIGNALS
•GROUP BUYS DALLAS BUILDING, HOUSTON ACREAGE
•HAWTHORN SUITES OPENS NO. 19 IN BROWNSVILLE
•LOWE'S, SUPER TARGET, OTHERS COMING TO SAN ANTONIO
•HYATT EXPANSION NEARS COMPLETION
•FREE HURRICANE, FLOOD BROCHURES
•SOUTH DALLAS MALL REBUILDING
May 26, 2000
•EXISTING HOME SALES DOWN, INVENTORIES UP
•DEBATE CONTINUES OVER HOME EQUITY
PROTECTION
•NEW PRODUCTS TO HELP TEACHERS
BECOME HOMEOWNERS
•DREAM HOME STUDIO LAUNCHED
•LUXURY APARTMENTS OPEN
•$18 MILLION TOWNHOUSE DEVELOPMENT TO BEGIN
•MORTGAGE LENDER FILES FOR CHAPTER 11
May 23, 2000
•HIGHER INTEREST RATES TAKE
TOLL ON TEXAS HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
•REALTOR INITIATIVE TO BEGIN AT GRASS ROOTS
•INTERNET SITE CONNECTS
TEXAS BROKERS AND BUILDERS
•FLORIDA HAS MOST EXPENSIVE
MEDIAN-PRICED HOMES
•NEW HOME SALES ON RECORD PACE
•AUSTIN APARTMENT RENT SURGES
May 16, 2000
•AUSTIN NAMED BEST PLACE TO DO BUSINESS
•TOYS R US BUYS HOUSTON
DISTRIBUTION FACILITY
•COLUMBIA/HCA CENTER TO EMPLOY 400
•CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON
AUSTIN SKYSCRAPER
•HOUSTON APARTMENT GLUT EASING
May 12, 2000
•3 - 4 PERCENT GROWTH SEEN FOR
REAL ESTATE THROUGH 2001
•TEXANS THIRD MOST MOBILE
•TEXAS, FLORIDA SENIORS HOUSING FINANCED
•AIRLINE TRAINING CENTER TAKES OFF
•FREDDIE MAC AND NATIONAL HISPANIC HOUSING
COUNCIL LAUNCH AFFORDABLE HOUSING EFFORT
•DALLAS TOWNHOMES COMING SOON
•OUTPATIENT CANCER CENTER APPROVED
•CITY WORKING OUT DEAL TO OWN HOTEL
•HIGH FASHION RETAILER COMING TO SAN ANTONIO
•LONG-TERM MORTGAGE RATES HIT FIVE-YEAR HIGH
•WEB SITE POPULATION BOOM
•COUNTRYWIDE OPENS PLANO BUILDING
•TEXAS LOSES NUMBER ONE RANKING. YEA!
•COASTAL RESIDENTS URGED TO PREPARE FOR HURRICANE SEASON
•APPRAISERS FIGHT PROPOSED FTC PRIVACY LEGISLATION
May 09, 2000
•TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTIONIZING HOMEBUYING
•VACATION HOME MARKET RED HOT
•FRISCO MEDICAL CENTER IN WORKS
•DELL MOVING HEADQUARTERS TO AUSTIN
•UPSCALE MEDITERRANEAN BUILDINGS PLANNED
•SCHWAB OPENING AUSTIN OFFICE
•ICE RINK PLANNED FOR ALAMO CITY
•OLDER AMERICANS WANT TO STAY AT HOME, BUT . . .
•BARGO OKLAHOMA PROPERTIES SOLD
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May 05, 2000
•CITY LIVING NOT ONLY CONVENIENT, IT'S PROFITABLE, TOO
•RAINFOREST SHAREHOLDERS NIX BUYOUT
•ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES COLONIAS DEVELOPER
•STAUBACH KICKS OFF COMMERCIAL WEB SITE
•COMMISSION TO CONSIDER RULE CHANGES
•MAJESTIC SELECTED TO BUILD MATTEL CENTER
•HARCOURT BREAKING GROUND IN AUSTIN
•TOMBALL TOWN CENTER UNDERWAY
•IBM COMPANY PLANS NEW AUSTIN CAMPUS
•FIRM OPENS D-FW OFFICES
•NEW BUDA H-E-B
May 02, 2000
•WHICH CITIES WILL ATTRACT TOMORROW'S WORKERS?
•TITLE COMPANIES REPORT RECORD
•CINEMAS ROLL FINAL CREDITS
•INTERNET FIRM MOVES TO LOOP 360
•TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANUFACTURER OPENS NEW OFFICE
•COPART BUYS SAN ANTONIO FACILITY
•BANKING OFFICE LEASES DALLAS BUILDING
•LASER ARENA OPENS
•ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS NAMED
•HUD BEGINS SELLING HOMES TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR $1
•HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX DROPS
April 28, 2000
•HUD HELPS AMARILLO FAMILIES
•TWO SAN ANTONIO OFFICE BUILDINGS BOUGHT
•EPA FINISHES GARLAND SITE CLEANUP
•BREAKING HISTORY
•CIRRUS COMING HOME
•COMPANY ON THE GROW
•COMMERCIAL GIANTS TEAM UP
•FORE!
•MALL SEEKS RETAILERS
•HOMEBUYERS HAVE MOST INTEREST IN LOW INTEREST
•TEXAS COLLECTS MORE, SPENDS MORE THAN MOST
April 25, 2000
•$1 BILLION COMPANY CREATED
•WORK BEGINS ON COMPLEX
•WAL-MART HEIR MAKES BIG PURCHASE
•AUCTION BIDS ON ABILENE
•INTOWN LIVING COMES TO THE FORE
•BREWERY TO CLOSE
•SOLD -- HISTORIC BUILDING
•TANGLEWOOD RESORT ADDS HOTEL
•HOSPITAL PLANS PUT ON LIFE SUPPORT
•REAL ESTATE FIRM ADDS TO BUYING BINGE
•RURAL HOSPITAL PLANS MAJOR FACE LIFT
•ARMY CHOOSES FIRMS TO TURN BROOKE PRIVATE
•SWIM COMPLEX SET FOR WESTOVER PARK
April 21, 2000
•WINN-DIXIE RESTRUCTURING
•MANUFACTURED HOME SHIPMENTS DOWN NEARLY 21 PERCENT
•DALLAS APARTMENT COMPLETIONS SURGE -- HIGHEST SINCE 1986
April 18, 2000
•HOUSING STARTS FALL
CROSSROADS MOVES HEADQUARTERS
•CARQUEST OPERATOR BUY COMPETITOR
•PORT ARTHUR SHOPPING CENTER SOLD
•AMERICAN FREIGHTWAYS OPENS TWO TEXAS CENTERS
•FREEWAY IMPROVEMENTS COULD YIELD $18 BILLION
•CARRAMERICA ANNOUNCES LEASE WITH AMERICAN HONDA FINANCE
•CALIBER BUYS ANOTHER LOCATION
•CONFERENCE PUTS WATER PIECES TOGETHER
•HOUSING MARKET INDEX RECOVERS SLIGHTLY
•NEW BRIDGE OPENS IN LAREDO
April 14, 2000
•TEXAS RECEIVES THIRD MOST FEDERAL FUNDS
•TEMPLE RESEARCH CENTER OPENS APRIL 19
•TEXAS REAL ESTATE STATS
•SYSTEM LAYS OFF 290
•TESTING FIRM TO EXPAND
•CANCER CENTER PLANS RESEARCH PARK
•EASTGROUP BUYS FOUNDERS
•SPECULATIVE BUILDING SIGNING TENANTS
•TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY EXPANDING
April 11, 2000
•ECONOMY, HOUSING CHANGING; REMAIN FAVORABLE
•TAX EXEMPTION COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF THOUSANDS
•ALL ABOARD
•OFFICE PARK TO BREAK GROUND
•RE/MAX OF TEXAS CHOOSES HOMES.COM AND ITS BROKER ADVANTAGE
•REGIONS FINANCIAL BUYS BANK
•LUCENT TO MOVE DIVISION
•CONDO PLAN PITCHED NEAR ENRON FIELD
April 07, 2000
•FIRM SEEKS ROOM TO GROW
•AMERICAN EAGLE TAKES FLIGHT AT DFW
•WOOD REFINERY SOLD
•LAND LEASED ON FARIAS RANCH
•REALTORS ALLIANCE ESTABLISHED WITH NAR
•MORTGAGE RATES CHANGED SLIGHTLY
•TWO PRODUCTION FACILITIES COMPLETE
•SHOPPING CENTER PLANNED FOR FORT BEND COUNTY
•THEATER FOR SALE
•TERMITES, TERMITES EVERYWHERE (EXCEPT ALASKA
•SOUTHERN LIVING 2000 HOME IN FORT WORTH
April 04, 2000
•LOWE'S TO OPEN NEW TEXAS STORE
•OFFICE BUILDING BREAKS GROUND
•MERGER CREATES HOUSTON-BASED COMPANY
•PAYROLL GROUP BUYS BANK BUILDING
•CENTEX RENEWS PRESERVATION COMMITMENT
•TEXAS SKATE PARK
•AUSTRIAN FIRM TO BUILD HEADQUARTERS IN SOUTHLAKE
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June 30, 2000
MORTGAGE RATES REVERSE COURSE
McLEAN, VA. -- Mortgage rates which have ticked down over the past several weeks, rose this week. According to a survey released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage climbed to 8.22 percent for the week ending June 29, 2000, up from last week's average of 8.14 percent. A year ago, the 30-year rates were at 7.71 percent. The average rate on 30-year mortgages hit a five-year high of 8.64 percent in mid-May.
For more information, go to http://www.freddiemac.com.
GOLF RESORT DEVELOPER BUYS TWO HOUSTON COURSES
DALLAS, Tex. /PRNewswire/ -- ClubCorp will acquire the Golf Club at Cinco Ranch and Greatwood Golf Club near Houston. The Golf Club at Cinco Ranch in Katy is an 18-hole championship course and is part of a master-planned community that will include 8,000 homes. The community was named the National Project of the Year for 1993 by the National Association of Home Builders Institute and offers amenities such as recreation centers, tennis courts, community pools and nature parks.
Greatwood Golf Club in Sugarland, an 18-hole championship course, is part of a 4,000-home master-planned community. Greatwood offers a range of community amenities, and the golf course is the development's most outstanding feature. ClubCorp's improvement plans include expanding and renovating the kitchen in the clubhouse.
AUSTIN CONTRIBUTES TO HOTEL
AUSTIN, Tex. -- The Austin City Council unanimously decided on Thursday to contribute $15 million to an 800-room hotel to serve the downtown convention center. According to today's Austin American Statesman online, once the bonds are paid off in 30 years, the city will own the hotel.
TOWER SLATED FOR SOUTHAMPTON SITE
HOUSTON, Tex. -- An 11-story mid-rise tower in the Southampton neighborhood is slated to go up by year's end. Just east of Kirby Drive, the $24-million South Boulevard Place will contain 64 residences ranging from 1,821 square feet to 3,837 square feet. According to the Houston Business Journal online, each unit will have a terrace, and the project will include four two-story penthouse units.
PLAZA HOTEL READY FOR REDEVELOPMENT
HOUSTON, Tex. -- A Houston developer has contracted to buy the old Plaza Hotel on Montrose Boulevard for a residential redevelopment project. The 1926, nine-story hotel will be converted into 45 apartments, according to the Houston Chronicle online.
LOWE'S PLANS SAN ANTONIO STORE
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Lowe's, the nation's second-largest home improvement retailer confirmed plans on Wednesday to build a San Antonio store. The 143,000-square-foot home-and-garden retail center will employ between 175 and 200 and occupy a 14-acre site at Bandera Road and Loop 1604, according to the San Antonio Express online. Lowe's will share a new 700,000-square-foot retail center with Super Target and a 60,000-square-foot grocery store.
June 27, 2000
GOING UPTOWN
DALLAS, Tex. -- Post Properties, Inc. has unveiled plans for a nine-story, 159-unit condominium building to be built just south of McKinney Avenue on State Street. According to the Dallas Morning News online, The Mercer in Uptown will be Post's first significant investment in the Dallas condominium market.
Condominiums in The Mercer will range from about 760 square feet to 2,900 square feet. Prices will start at more than $200,000 and go to $750,000 for the penthouses. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and officials expect it will take about 12 months to complete.
RAILROAD TO CUT 200 JOBS
DALLAS, Tex. -- Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. of Fort Worth has announced a second-quarter charge Monday of between $40 million and $50 million that includes severance expense for 200 workers. Officials from the second-largest U.S. railroad said the job reductions that primarily affect train crew workers and materials handlers would produce pretax savings of about $10 million annually. According to the Dallas Morning News online, railroad officials also plan to relocate 60 workers from its Fort Worth headquarters to Kansas City, Kansas, to staff a new train dispatching center.
HINES TO ADD DOWNTOWN PARKING
HOUSTON, Tex. -- Hines, a Houston real estate firm, is preparing to expand a downtown parking garage. Located across the street from the 55-story 1100 Louisiana Building, the expansion will add 679 new spaces, increasing the total to 2,265 spaces. According to the Houston Chronicle online, the expansion will be completed in the first quarter of 2002.
EL PASO, LAREDO AWARD HUD GRANTS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- About 700 low-income high school students in 15 communities will learn computer networking skills and help connect their neighborhoods to the Internet during summer internships funded by a $200,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by Communities in Schools, the nation's largest stay-in-school network. El Paso and Laredo were two of the communities to receive such a grant.
El Paso was awarded $15,675 and Laredo received $19,803. For more information, go to http://www.hud.gov.
INVENTORY REBOUND RAISES EXISTING HOME SALES
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- According to the National Association of Realtors, a greater number of homes placed on the market in March and April led to higher sales of existing single-family homes in May. Sales of existing homes rose 4.3 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.09 million units from a level of 4.88 million units in April. Last month's sale rate was 1.0 percent higher than the 5.04 million unit rate in May 1999.
For more information, go to http://nar.realtor.com.
AMLI RESIDENTIAL ACQUIRES DALLAS APARTMENT COMMUNITY
CHICAGO, Ill. /PRNewswire/ -- AMLI Residential Properties Trust announced it has purchased AMLI on Frankford, a 582-unit luxury apartment community in Dallas. Set on 29.8 acres adjacent to the recently opened George Bush Tollway, the community was constructed in 1998. There are 517,344 rentable square feet in 29 two- and three-story buildings, with 298 one-bedroom, 246 two-bedroom and 38 three-bedroom apartment homes. The average size of the apartment homes is 889 square feet. The community offers numerous amenities including two resort-style swimming pools and spas, sand volleyball court, state-of-the-art fitness center, resident business center, drive-through mail center and media center.
June 22, 2000
TREC TO CONSIDER ONLINE LICENSE RENEWALS
AUSTIN, Tex. -- In a meeting today, the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) will consider clearing a legal path allowing for electronic renewal of real estate broker and salesperson licenses. If adopted, procedures will provide added convenience and a major savings of time for some 110,000 real estate licensees throughout Texas, as well as an eventual reduction in agency costs from renewal processing.
NATURAL GAS STORAGE FACILITY PLANNED
HOUSTON, Tex./PRNewswire/ -- Western Hub Properties plans to construct a high-deliverability natural gas storage facility in Live Oak and Karnes Counties near San Antonio. The facility's initial phase will have a working gas storage capacity of 12 billion cubic feet with an injection capability of 450 million cubic feet per day and a withdrawal capability of 250 million cubic feet per day. Service is expected to begin in May 2001.
RESORT VENTURES INTO CITY TERRITORY
AUSTIN, Tex. -- A community made up of homes and townhouses totaling 452 people wants to become a city. On Tuesday, Travis County commissioners approved spending about $2,000, which Point Venture would repay, to hold an incorporation referendum in August. Should voters approve, this tiny village 40 miles northwest of downtown Austin, would become a full-fledged city with its own police force, taxes and municipal government.
According to the Austin American Statesman online, the community has about 200 single-family homes and about 193 townhomes. Residents must drive 20 miles to the nearest grocery, and the only businesses in the community are the pro shop and the Shades restaurant, which floats on Lake Travis.
SCHOOL GETS GRANT FOR CENTER
AUSTIN, Tex. -- The American Institute for Learning is planning an 18,000-square-foot arts and technology center at a warehouse on Fourth Street. Thanks to a federal grant on Tuesday, the school got a $75,000 boost. According to the Austin American Statesman online, school officials are studying whether renovating or razing the warehouse would be cheaper.
June 20, 2000
RECYCLED WATER FLOWING INTO RIVER WALK
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- The San Antonio River has received a new source of water, saving the Edwards Aquifer hundreds of millions of gallons of tap water each year. Officials began releasing highly treated wastewater into the headwaters of the river on Monday, shutting off one of three city pumps that use Edwards water, according the San Antonio Express online.
CARPETMAX CLOSES STORES
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Carpet and tile retailer Flooring American filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week and closed 35 of its stores, including the San Antonio outlets. According to the San Antonio Express online, the company cut its headquarters workforce of 300 by half as part of a sweeping cost-cutting effort. All of Flooring America's San Antonio stores operated under the name CarpetMax.
FIRST PROJECT SINCE 1980 TO UPGRADE AIRFIELD
FORT WORTH, Tex. -- The City of Fort Worth will spend almost $1 million over the next few months on improvements to the largely undeveloped Spinks Airport. According to the Dallas Business Journal online, money for the airport improvements will come largely from a $760,000 grant received earlier this month from the Texas Department of Transportation, along with a 10% match from the city of Fort Worth.
The project will include resurfacing portions of the 6,000-foot asphalt runway, restriping the entire airfield, upgrading the airport's signage, adding an automatic weather observation system and installing a new approach-path indicator, reflectors and a lighted wind sock. Work on the $830,000 project will begin in August and should be finished in 120 days.
PARKLAND NEEDS $127 MILLION
DALLAS, Tex. -- Parkland Health and Hospital System officials are searching for $127 million to fill the biggest hole their budget has ever seen. According to today's Dallas Morning News online, at worst, Dallas' public hospital would close clinics and scale back medical care offered to the county's poorest residents. And at the very least, staff positions will be cut, more money will be collected from patients and county commissioners will be asked for a tax increase.
Parkland administrators have already proposed ways to save about $58 million, including losing 200 staff positions, and asking patients to pay the full cost of their prescriptions if they are not covered by public or private insurance.
June 16, 2000
PREOWNED DFW HOME SALES BOUNCE BACK
DALLAS, Tex. -- After Dallas Fort Worth homes sales dropped in April, preowned home sales bounced back in May. According to the Dallas Morning News online, real estate agents sold 5,941 preowned homes last month, an increase of 4 percent from May 1999. The median price of preowned homes sold in the area last month was $125,500 -- up 5 percent from a year earlier; condominium sale prices were up 8 percent to $85,000 and condo resales rose 14 percent with a total of 324 units sold.
JOBLESS RATE REMAINS LOW
AUSTIN, Tex. -- The Texas labor market continued to grow in May, with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropping to 4.4 percent from the previous month's rate of 4.5 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Since May 1999, 288,100 jobs have been added to the market. The lowest unemployment rate among the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) was 1.5 percent in Bryan-College Station. Austin-San Marcos followed at 1.9 percent, Lubbock at 2.4 percent and Dallas and San Antonio at 3.0 percent. The highest rate was 12.5 percent in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission MSA.
PERILOUS PLACES FOR PEDESTRIANS
AUSTIN, Tex. -- The Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is the most dangerous city for walkers, with a yearly average of 3.04 deaths per 100,000 people, according to yesterday's Austin American Statesman online. The Austin-San Marcos MSA is the 25th most dangerous place to walk in the United States with 2.12 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people. Dallas has an average of 2.24, Houston had 2.36 and San Antonio had 2.66 deaths per 100,000 people.
June 13, 2000
OPENING SET FOR NORTH TEXAS GOLF COURSE
FRISCO, Tex. /PRNewswire/ -- Stonebriar Country Club announced it will open to Stonebriar members starting November 1, 2000. The club is the first Fazio-designed golf course in North Texas. Construction on the private club began in June 1999.
For more information, go to www.clubcorp.com
GROUP SELECTS HOUSTON FOR HEADQUARTERS
HOUSTON, Tex. -- Twenty-one North American energy and utility companies banded together to create a business-to-business Internet marketplace and have now chosen Houston as headquarters for the new business entity. According to the Houston Business Journal online, the group is reportedly looking at office space in The Woodlands. The most critical component in choosing Houston was the availability of skilled people. Fifty to 100 people will be employed initially.
EVERYONE'S COMING TO COMAL COUNTY
NEW BRAUNFELS, Tex. -- Comal County, one of the fastest growing areas in the state, is projected to quadruple in population over the next 30 years, county officials say. Most of the growth will be fueled by rural area development, according to the San Antonio Express online. Over the past year, plans to build 22 subdivisions totaling more than 7,700 lots were announced.
RESIDENTIAL RENAISSANCE
HOUSTON, Tex. -- Old commercial buildings and repair shops are giving way to expensive residential development on South Boulevard, according to the Houston Business Journal online. Most of the projects announced so far are small townhome projects. An 11-story, 64-unit condominium tower may really accelerate growth. Construction on the $24 million project is expected to begin by the end of 2000 with opening scheduled for the end of 2001.
The 1,800-square-foot homes, the smallest in the building, will be priced at $360,000. The 3,800-square-foot, two-level penthouses with four bedrooms and a rooftop terrace will cost more than $1 million.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY WORSENS AFFORDABLE HOUSING SHORTAGE
SEATTLE, Wash. -- The booming national economy and the growth of high-tech jobs have helped reverse decades of decline in America's cities. But the recovery has driven up home purchase prices at twice the inflation rate and rents at 1.5 times the inflation rate -- worsening an affordable housing shortage, according to a report issued Monday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The reports says growth in cities has been strong and sustained in high-tech and other jobs, business creation and homeownership. It points out that during the economic expansion, wage growth in cities surpassed that of their surrounding suburbs. Although there has been a strong recovery by cities, suburban growth continues to outpace urban growth -- especially in the important high-wage, high-tech industries.
REAL ESTATE COMMISSIONERS HOLD ARELLO CONFERENCE
AUSTIN, Tex. -- The annual Southern District of the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) is being hosted by the Texas Real Estate Commission on June 22 through June 24. The regional meeting will be held at the Radisson Hotel & Suites at 111 East Cesar Chavez in Austin. One hundred fifty real estate regulatory law officials and their staffs from 15 states and territories are expected to attend.
Program highlights include discussions on legal developments in real estate, recent and future economic trends, ethics in real estate and impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on cross-border real estate transactions. Real estate industry and regulatory field experts will conduct workshops on various topics of timely interest including: consumer protection involving internet activities; new trends in professional real estate business practices; fees for service versus one-stop shopping; and regulatory challenges dealing with affinity programs and referral fees.
June 10, 2000
ASTRODOME COMPLEX ADDS EXPO HALL
HOUSTON, Tex. -- The Astrodome's $600 million face lift was furthered by Harris County when ground broke on a giant exposition center yesterday. According to the Houston Chronicle online, the 1.4 million-square-foot center will be five football fields long and dwarf the city's 600,000-square-foot George R. Brown Convention Center. Completion is scheduled for May 2002.
MORE THAN JUST A GARAGE
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Alamo Architects have plans to make the $8.3 million, 700-space city parking garage not look like a boring block-long garage, as part of the Houston Street Redevelopment Project. The garage, fronting the entire block of St. Mary's Street, has design details that make the it look like a number of different buildings -- not one of them a parking garage, according to the San Antonio Express online.
INNSUITES EXPANDS TO DALLAS-FORT WORTH
PHOENIX, Ariz./PRNewswire/ -- The InnSuites Hotel System has completed the addition of the 166 Studio and Two-room Suite Fort Worth-Dallas Inn and Hotel. It is located 20 minutes or less from the DFW Airport, Six Flags Over Texas, Texas Ranger's Arlington Baseball Stadium, Fort Worth Zoo and other attractions. For more information, go to www.innsuites.com.
DFW GETS NEW TERMINAL
DALLAS, Tex. -- The first new terminal to be built at DFW Airport since its opening 26 years ago, Terminal D, will be completed in 2005. With a built-in 300-room hotel and automated people-mover system, the facility is expected to generate $34 billion and bring 77,000 jobs to North Texas in 15 years.
According to the Dallas Morning News online, the structure will be built on 29 acres south of Terminal B and house all international flights and some domestic ones among its 23 gates. Features include two 50,000-square-foot market spaces, a 7,000-space parking garage and 35,000-square foot plaza between the garage and plaza.
AVERAGE PRICE OF TEXAS HOMES UP 11 PERCENT
COLLEGE STATION, Tex. -- The average price of a Texas home increased 11 percent from $129,100 in April 1999, to $143,600 in April 2000. Abilene had the largest average price increase of Texas cities in the same period -- $68,500 to $99,300 -- a 45 percent increase. Austin was second with 20 percent.
Garland led with the lowest estimated days-to-sell -- 29; Austin was a close second with 32. McAllen had the most at 213. Texas' overall estimated days-to-sell dropped 6 percent from 71 a year ago to 67, according to TRENDS, a monthly statistical report from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
APARTMENT RENTS HIT RECORD HIGH
DALLAS, Tex. -- Average rent for a U.S. apartment was $869 per month during the first quarter, a March-to-March growth rate of 5.2 percent, according to M/PF Research. The increase is the biggest recorded since M/PF's national survey began in 1992.
The Northwest had the highest overall rents, averaging $1,027 per month. Monthly rental rates in the West averaged $1,013. The Midwest was third with $836, and the South remained the most affordable region with an average rent of $726.
The nation's most expensive rental markets are concentrated in California. San Francisco led the 57 major metros surveyed with a $1,840-per-month average.
For details, go to www.mpfresearch.com
AUSTIN, DALLAS-FORT WORTH LEAD TEXAS APARTMENT GROWTH
DALLAS, Tex. -- Total Austin apartments should increase 5.1 percent by March 2001, according to MPF/Research of Dallas. Austin has some 6,200 units under construction.
The Dallas-Fort Worth area has 21,400 units being built, which represents a 4.5 percent expansion of existing apartment inventory in the coming year.
BUILDERS ASK CONGRESS TO CONSIDER REGULATORY IMPACT
WASHINGTON, DC -- Housing costs will continue rising unless sweeping changes are made in the way new home construction is regulated, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) told Congress this week.
NAHB spokespersons say federal regulations have been layered upon existing state and local requirements, and the new homebuyer has shouldered the extra costs. In 1998, an NAHB study found that about 10 percent of the cost for building a typical new home can be attributed to unnecessary regulation.
COPPER PIPE DETERIORATION MYSTERY
Experts have yet to pinpoint the reason copper pipe has begun to deteriorate nationwide. Failures have been reported from Florida to California.
Soil characteristics, water quality and the flux used to solder pipe joints are among the culprits under scrutiny. The problem became so severe in Jacksonville, Florida, that the city banned copper pipe in residential construction. Phoenix builders are encasing underground pipe in insulation to help protect it.
Most problems seem to occur in homes less than ten years old.
June 6, 2000
BANKING ON APARTMENT TRIO
HOUSTON, Tex. -- Houston-based Buckhead Investment Partners have broken ground on three Houston-area multifamily properties totaling 496 units and $35 million. The new properties are located at 15330 Bammel-North Houston Road, 5000 Watkins Way in Friendswood and 15503 F.M. 529 at Highway 6 in Copperfield. According to the Houston Business Journal online, all units will include remote video-controlled access, vaulted ceilings and intrusion alarms.
The units will average 953 square feet in size. Construction should be completed by spring 2001.
$24.5 MILLION TO HELP PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS GET JOBS
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $24.5 million in grants to help public housing residents across the country get jobs and become self-supporting. Grants will go to residents in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Texas received $1,199,757. Grants were awarded under the Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficient Program. For more information, go to www.hud.gov.
OZONE SPARKS HOT DEBATE
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- A pollution problem blowing north across the Red River has Oklahoma officials upset with Texans. Smog and pollution have been invading the Sooner state, thanks to jammed highways and pollution-spewing plants as far south as Houston. According to the Houston Chronicle online, Texas doesn't get all the blame -- winds move pollution west from Louisiana into Texas, making the problem worse.
It could get expensive for residents of Texas and Oklahoma if they lose federal dollars for violating air standards. If the state gets blacklisted by the EPA as a non-attaining state, consumers could be forced to pay more for cleaner fuel and stricter auto emission standards.
RESORT PROJECT SET FOR ROCKWALL
DALLAS, Tex. -- An Italian resort-style development is planned for the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard. According to the Dallas Morning News online, the Villas de Portofino community is patterned after a Italian lakeside resort and will include 74 condominiums along a landscaped esplanade with a waterside boardwalk and marina. The condominiums will be located in four, three-story buildings stepping up from the lake along a hillside just south of I-30. Units will range from 1,700 square feet with three bedrooms and three baths, to 3,600-square-foot, two-story townhomes with five bedrooms and a study. Homes will be priced from $225,000 to more than $550,000.
The building was bought for more than $2.5 million. It is on Stemmons Freeway adjacent to two existing EastGroup interstate distribution centers.
TIPS ON MANAGING SOUTHEAST TEXAS ACREAGE
CONROE, Tex. -- Anyone considering buying land or building a home in southeast Texas might want to get a copy of a new 20-page booklet, "Tips on Management for Small Acreages in Southeast Texas."
The booklet covers a wide range of ideas on soil types, pasture production, grazing and fencing, weed control, wildlife management, ponds, forestry, choosing homesites and government resources.
The publication is a cooperative effort of the Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Individual copies are $2. Order forms are available at www.mcswcd.org.
May 26, 2000
EXISTING HOME SALES DOWN,
INVENTORIES UP
WASHINGTON, DC -- Sales of
existing single-family homes dropped in April, but inventory levels are recovering, and the overall market remains strong, National Association of Realtors officials said yesterday.
Sales of existing homes declined 6.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million units, down from a 5.2-million-unit pace in March. The April resale rate was 6.9 percent less than that recorded in April last year.
At the end of April, there were 1.57 million existing homes available for sale nationwide, a 3.9-month supply at the current sales pace. That was up 25.8 percent from the 3.1-month supply available in March. However, the inventory is 22 percent less than April 1999.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 8.15 percent in April, down from 8.24 percent in March. It was 6.92 percent in April last year.
The national median existing home price was $136,700, up 4.6 percent from the same month last year.
DEBATE CONTINUES OVER HOME EQUITY PROTECTION
WASHINGTON, DC -- Texans will be able to continue shielding much of their home equity from bankruptcy creditors, according to the Dallas Morning News online.
The protection afforded by the Texas Constitution had been in jeopardy from a banking reform bill passed last year. An agreement between the House and Senate places a $100,000 cap on homestead exemptions nationwide for those who have owned homes less than two years. After two years, state law prevails.
In other words, Texans who file for bankruptcy within two years of purchasing a home can shield as much as $100,000 of their home equity from creditors. After two years, an unlimited amount is protected.
NEW PRODUCTS TO HELP TEACHERS BECOME HOMEOWNERS
DALLAS, Tex. -- Texas teachers struggling to make the grade in buying a home have additional tools to help fight the high cost of homeownership thanks to two new home mortgage products unique to Bank of America.
Teacher Flex and Teacher Zero Down are mortgage loans esigned to help teachers and school administrators ease the homeownership cost. Loans as much as $252,700 are eligible for both products, which are available throughout Texas, even in markets without Bank of America offices.
DREAM HOME STUDIO LAUNCHED
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Dream Home Studio, a retail store selling builder's homes and home options has been launched by Kaufman and Broad Home Corporation. Dream Home Studio will replace New Home Showrooms as an outlet to sell homes and more than 5,000 designer options and home upgrades.
Dream Home Studio is linked to the company's web site, http://www.khomes.com, and eventually consumers will be able to select their home options online.
The first studio will be in Phoenix. San Antonio is the
only Texas site announced to date.
LUXURY APARTMENTS OPEN
AUSTIN, Tex. -- A 430-unit luxury apartment complex has opened in north Austin on Parmer Lane. Monthly rents at Spraddle Creek range from $710 to $1,390, according to the Austin Business Journal online.
The gated complex has two swimming pools with hot tubs, a fitness center, a business center and a clubhouse.
$18 MILLION TOWNHOUSE DEVELOPMENT TO BEGIN
COPPELL, Tex. -- The Townhouses of Coppell, an $18 million luxury townhouse development by C.N. Lemp Development Company, will break ground Tuesday, May 30.
Ninety-two luxury units are proposed on the ten-acre site. The two- and three-bedroom floor plans range from 2,000 to 2,500 square feet. Amenities include individual addresses, direct-access garages, outdoor lighting, clubhouse, pool, fitness center and a meeting area.
MORTGAGE LENDER FILES FOR CHAPTER 11
AUSTIN, Tex. -- Empire Funding Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 15, according to the Austin Business Journal online.
According to the report, Empire owes creditors more than $75 million.
May 23, 2000
HIGHER INTEREST RATES TAKE TOLL ON TEXAS HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
COLLEGE STATION, Tex. -- Tightening mortgage markets pushed interest rates higher in the first quarter of 2000, making it more difficult for Texans to buy a home, according to the latest Texas Housing Affordability Index (THAI) from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
"The THAI for the first three months of the year was 1.23, a significant drop from the 1.45 index recorded just one year ago," says Dr. Jack C. Harris, research economist. "The number of Texas households that could afford the median-priced home fell from 66 percent last year to 59 percent this year."
Harris says, however, the news is not all bad. A THAI of 1.23 means the Texas median household income is 23 percent more than the minimum needed to purchase a median-priced home. Prices are based on current sales closed through the state's Multiple Listing Services (MLS). Financing is based on the currently available interest rate on 30-year mortgage loans covering 80 percent of the home's value.
"Although the average interest rate paid on a Texas mortgage loan rose more than one full percentage point during the year -- from 6.86 to 8.03 -- demand for homes has not diminished," said Harris. "The number of sales closed through the state's MLSs were more than 5 percent higher in the first quarter than during the same quarter last year. Moreover, the median price paid rose almost 8 percent from a year ago. This price rise compares to an estimated 2.3 percent increase in median household income. The combination of a hot market and more expensive financing led to much lower affordability."
The first-time Homebuyer's Affordability Index (FTHAI) also fell compared to last year. The first quarter FTHAI was 0.99 compared to 1.16 one year ago. The FTHAI indicates the median income of a renting Texas household is lower than that needed to buy the median-priced starter home, based on financing with a loan covering 95 percent of value.
REALTOR INITIATIVE TO BEGIN AT GRASS ROOTS
WASHINGTON, DC -- A new program designed to provide educational tools and advocacy resources to members via a network of 1,600 state and local associations, received overwhelming support and a major financial commitment here this week.
Realtors attending the National Association of Realtors (NAR) mid-year governance meetings and trade expo approved bi-annual public opinion research, educational tools and information state and local associations can tailor to their needs.
NAR's board of directors approved $2.7 million in new funding for a total of $5 million to be spent during fiscal years 2000 and 2001. Funds will support the program's various activity elements and program branding.
INTERNET SITE CONNECTS TEXAS BROKERS AND BUILDERS
HOLLYWOOD, Fla./PRNewswire/ -- "Brokers Welcome," a website designed to expand, improve and speed up communication etween Texas home builders and real estate brokers, has been launched.
By going to http://www.brokerswelcome.com/texas.html, brokers can add their e-mail addresses to a master mailing list that home builders use to send announcements about incentives, bonuses, higher commission offers, contests, parties and immediate occupancy homes.
FLORIDA HAS MOST EXPENSIVE MEDIAN-PRICED HOMES
NEW YORK, NY /PRNewswire/ -- According to Worth magazine's rankings of the "250 Richest Towns" in America, Jupiter Island, Fla., has the nation's highest median-priced home at $1.9 million.
Aspen, Colo., is second with a $1.75 million median. California has 76 towns on the highest-price list. New York has 46, New Jersey 26, Massachusetts 18 and Illinois 17. The median home price for all 250 towns -- $555,841.
NEW HOME SALES ON RECORD PACE
WASHINGTON, DC -- The nation's housing sector registered first quarter increases in building permits, housing starts and completions, according to a report released Monday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The HUD report shows March new home sales reached the second highest monthly level ever recorded, and the first quarter level was the second highest quarterly value. If this level were to continue through the year, 2000 will be the best year ever for new home sales.
AUSTIN APARTMENT RENT SURGES
DALLAS, Tex. -- Rent growth in Austin's apartment market has accelerated dramatically during
recent months, according to M/PF Research. Measured on a
same-store basis, rents climbed 7.3 percent during the year
ending first quarter 2000. This compares to annual growth
generally around 3-4 percent in 1998-99.
Among 57
major metros tracked by M/PF Research, Austin ranked No. 8 in
rent growth during the pat year.
"Austin's sharp
upturn in rent growth reflects that the robust local economy
is generating considerable household growth at a time when
relatively few new apartment units are coming on stream," said
M/PF Research President G. Ronald Witten.
Austin
apartment occupancy reached 97.4 percent in the first quarter
-- up 1.9 percent in the last year and now at the highest
point since M/PF began surveying the market in 1992. Austin's
occupancy rate is 2 points higher than the national
norm.
Austin added 32,900 jobs in the past year.
Net apartment move-ins reached 1,250 in the past quarter and
4,920 during the past year. Apartment deliveries were more
modest at 675 units during the first quarter and 2,784 units
in the year ending in March
May 16, 2000
AUSTIN NAMED BEST PLACE
TO DO BUSINESS
A study of 294 U.S. cities by the
Milken Institute of Santa Monica, Calif., picks Austin as the
top metropolitan area in which to conduct business. The
rankings will be published in the May 29 issue of
Forbes.
Texas had 17 cities and
metropolitan areas in the ranking. Only California (20) had
more. Here's how Texas fares in the ranking:
1.
Austin
8. San
Antonio
15. Fort
Worth
24. Dallas
33.
Brownsville
36. McAllen
39.
Houston
57. Waco
101. Corpus Christi
106. Killeen-Temple
108. Lubbock
119. Longview
124. Amarillo
181. Beaumont
186. El Paso
192. Odessa
200. Galveston
TOYS R US BUYS HOUSTON
DISTRIBUTION FACILITY
NEW YORK, NY /PRNewswire/ --
Lexington Corporate Properties Trust, a real estate investment
trust, has sold its Houston distribution facility to Toys R
Us, Inc., the lessee, for $4 million.
The 123,293-square-foot-facility
was leased by Toys R Us through August 2006. Lexington bought
the property in 1996 for $3.6 million.
COLUMBIA/HCA CENTER TO
EMPLOY 400
IRVING, Tex. -- Four hundred will
be employed eventually at a revenue service center at The
Offices @ Valley Ranch scheduled to open in November.
According to today's Dallas Business Journal online, the
Valley Ranch service center will initially occupy about 75,000
square feet.
CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON
AUSTIN SKYSCRAPER
AUSTIN, Tex. /PRNewswire/ --
CarrAmerica Realty Corporation announced yesterday the start
of construction at 300 West Sixth Street in Austin, site of a
23-story office building.
The
442,759-square-foot building at Sixth Street and
Guadalupe is a joint venture between CarrAmerica and JER
Partners. The project is 40 percent pre-leased to law firms.
Completion is projected for January 2002.
HOUSTON APARTMENT
GLUT EASING
HOUSTON, Tex. -- At one time,
Houston was so overbuilt with apartments that some landlords
offered free rent in the suburbs. Now, according to Ralph
Bivins writing in the Houston Chronicle online, the glut may
be easing because construction is slowing.
This year 15 apartment complexes
have been built, and another 38 are under construction. Last
year 61 complexes were constructed.
Leasing remains strong, however,
in the inner loop and areas near downtown.
"Only some pockets in the
suburban areas -- where developers were overzealous-- have an
oversupply that may take a year or more to fill," said Bivins.
May 12, 2000
3 - 4 PERCENT GROWTH SEEN
FOR REAL ESTATE THROUGH 2001
WASHINGTON, DC -- According to
the annual "Urban Land Institute 2000 Real Estate Forecast,"
the real estate market will grow 3-4 percent through
mid-2001.
"The real estate industry will
remain quite healthy over the coming year, with profits steady
even as property performance slips a bit," says the report.
"Construction levels are at their peak and are expected to
decline in nearly every property sector over the coming year,
reducing the risk of overbuilding."
The report says rents and
property values will grow modestly and at a somewhat slower
pace than 1999 but still greater than the current inflation
rate.
TEXANS THIRD MOST
MOBILE
NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Allied Van
Lines carried 17,892 shipments into and out of Texas last
year, making the Lone Star State population the third most
mobile in the United States.
Only California with 23,989
shipments and Florida with 19,022 recorded more moves. In
Texas, 48.7 percent of the moves were outbound, and 51.3
percent were inbound.
TEXAS, FLORIDA SENIORS
HOUSING FINANCED
HORSHAM, Penn. -- GMAC Commercial
Mortgage Corp. has arranged $4.7 million in financing for
seniors housing facilities in Texas and Florida.
Pinnacle Professional Care
Center, a skilled nursing center with 155 beds, at 1950 Record
Crossing in Dallas, received a floating-rate interim loan for
nearly $2.1 million with a 25-year amortization.
An intermediate-care facility in
North Fort Meyers, Florida, received a ten-year, fixed-rate
permanent loan for more than $2.6 million with a 25-year
amortization.
AIRLINE TRAINING CENTER
TAKES OFF
HOUSTON, Tex./PRNewswire/ --
Today, Continental Express unveiled the Continental
Express Training Center. The new $25-million facility will be
used by flight operations, in-flight and airport services
training departments. The 32,000-square-foot center houses all
the equipment necessary for the airline to train pilots
completely in-house.
FREDDIE MAC AND NATIONAL
HISPANIC HOUSING COUNCIL LAUNCH AFFORDABLE HOUSING
EFFORT
MIAMI, Fla./PRNewswire/ --
Freddie Mac and the National Hispanic Housing Council have
announced a $40 million initiative to expand new home
construction, quality rehabilitation and affordable
homeownership opportunities for Latino families in California,
Florida, Illinois, Texas and Massachusetts. The two-year pilot
is expected to help hundreds of Latino families obtain
affordable purchase and rehabilitation mortgage
financing.
DALLAS TOWNHOMES COMING
SOON
DALLAS, Tex. -- Construction
on a townhouse community will soon begin, according to today's
Dallas Morning News online. The first 17 of the 76
planned townhouses will be built along the north side of
Canton Street just east of Central -- right across Canton
from the Park at Farmers Market apartments. The sales office
is scheduled to open June 1.
The three-story townhouses will
range from about $260,000 to $380,000 and will average 2,300
square feet. Homes will include a double garage on the ground
floor and a rooftop terrace. Five to six of the townhouses
will be grouped together in a single building.
OUTPATIENT CANCER CENTER
APPROVED
HOUSTON, Tex. -- University
of Texas System Regents have approved the construction of
a 12- to 15-story outpatient care building at the M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center, according to yesterday's Houston
Chronicle online. Containing approximately 600,000 square
feet of space, the facility will be connected to M.D.
Anderson's main campus by a pedestrian bridge over
Holcombe.
Regents voted Thursday to approve
$229 million in funding for the building and an adjacent
parking garage. The center will include outpatient clinics,
diagnostic imaging services, treatment and surgical areas,
patient care services and staff offices. The project is
expected to be completed in three to four years.
CITY WORKING OUT DEAL TO
OWN HOTEL
AUSTIN, Tex. -- Negotiations are
under way that will eventually allow the City of Austin to own
a $225 million, 800-room convention center hotel. According to
today's Austin American Statesman online, the details
have not been completed, but an agreement between the city and
the facility's developer could come up for City Council
approval within the next few weeks. Construction on the hotel
is expected to begin later this year.
HIGH FASHION RETAILER
COMING TO SAN ANTONIO
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Nordstrom,
Inc. announced yesterday it will open a store in 2003 at the
yet-to-be-built Shops at La Cantera. According to yesterday's
San Antonio Express online, the two-story retail
establishment will occupy 144,000 square feet. Its opening
will coincide with the completion of the one
million-square-foot upscale shopping center planned for a site
near I-10 and Loop 1604.
Before Nordstrom's San Antonio
store opens, two more will open in Texas: one in Frisco, set
to open in August, and the other in Hurst in 2001. Both
will occupy 149,000 square feet.
LONG-TERM MORTGAGE RATES
HIT FIVE-YEAR HIGH
McLEAN, Va. -- The 30-year
fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 8.52 percent, with an
average 1.0 point, for the week ending May 12, 2000, up from
last week's average of 8.28 percent, according to Freddie
Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year FRM
average was 7.10 percent a year ago and has not been higher
since the week ending March 10, 1995, when it averaged 8.62
percent.
The average for 15-year FRMs is
8.17 percent this week, the highest ever since the week ending
March 10, 1995, when it averaged 8.24. The rate for one-year
Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 6.96 percent this week -- the
highest since the week ending August 23, 1991, when it
averaged 7.03 percent.
COUNTRYWIDE OPENS PLANO
BUILDING
PLANO, Tex. -- Sounding a strong
chord of national growth and local commitment, Countrywide
credit Industries, Inc., has officially opened two new
five-story buildings in the Legacy master-planned business
community.
The structures add 541,000 square
feet and underground parking to the existing
230,000-square-foot Countrywide complex.
TEXAS LOSES NUMBER ONE
RANKING. YEA!
DALLAS, Tex -- The
good news: Texas no longer leads the nation in toxic
emissions discharged into the environment. According to the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Texas now
ranks fifth. The bad news: the improved ranking is not
because Texas has less pollution, it's because EPA has changed
which toxic emissions are measured.
EPA has expanded its toxic
release inventory to include coal and metal mining; electric
utilities that burn coal, oil or both; hazardous waste
treatment and disposal facilities; wholesale bulk petroleum
distributors; chemical wholesalers; and solvent recyclers. EPA
receives reports on more than 600 specific chemicals in 28
categories.
The new measurements were good
news for other nearby states. Arkansas drops from 16th to
33rd, Louisiana from second to tenth and Oklahoma from 30th to
31st. In other Texas news from EPA:
Cleanup at the former Ice House
Drums site on 7th Street in Mineral Wells has been completed
by EPA. The site was abandoned in 1980 and contained some 70
unlabeled 55-gallon drums of hazardous materials and about
1,000 cubic yards of contaminated soils.
It was announced this week that
EPA proposes to add the Palmer Barge Line site near Port
Arthur to the federal Superfund National Priorities List.
Metals from the former barge cleaning and maintenance
operation could migrate to Sabine Lake, an active commercial
and recreational fishery.
COASTAL RESIDENTS URGED
TO PREPARE FOR HURRICANE SEASON
BOSTON, Mass. -- Residents along
the Atlantic and Gulf coasts should take action now to protect
themselves against the more-than-average number of hurricanes
predicted this year.
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration forecasts 11 or more tropical
storms. As many as seven are likely to become
hurricanes.
Harvey Ryland, president of the
Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) points out that
58 percent of homeowners in the South and 76 percent in the
Northeast say they are unprepared for hurricane season which
begins June 1.
Here are steps IBHS officials say
will better the chance your home will survive a
hurricane:
-- add impact-resistant windows
or shutters,
-- brace garage doors to make
them stiffer and more wind resistant,
-- reinforce double-entry doors
with heavy-duty foot and head bolts,
-- glue roof sheathing to the
rafters or truss (if reroofing, use extra 8d nails or #8
screws),
-- brace gables and walls,
and
-- trim trees, shrubbery,
climbing roses and vines.
APPRAISERS FIGHT PROPOSED
FTC PRIVACY LEGISLATION
CHICAGO, Ill. -- Voicing support
for consumers' rights and at the same time seeking to
differentiate themselves from financial institutions, real
estate appraisers are lining up to fight the Federal Trade
Commission's (FTC) proposed legislation on the privacy of
consumers' financial information.
As proposed, the FTC plan,
"Privacy of Consumer Financial Information," specifically
mentions property appraisers as having to comply with the same
rules that financial institutions would.
The Appraisal Institute, American
Society of Appraisers and the National Association of
Independent Fee Appraisers are spearheading the fight to
distinguish valuations experts who generally work in small
businesses from large financial institutions.
"For small appraisal firms, these
requirements would be a huge financial burden," said Walter
Carpenter, MAI, chair of the Appraisal Institute's Government
Relations Committee.
May 09, 2000
TECHNOLOGY
REVOLUTIONIZING HOMEBUYING
WASHINGTON, DC -- Nearly four in
ten buyers now use the Internet to shop for a home, according
to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey released
today.
The NAR survey found that 37
percent of all homebuyers use the Internet to find a home, an
18-fold increase in only four years.
The survey also found that
Internet shoppers are more likely to use real estate
professionals than are non-Internet shoppers. Eighty-seven
percent of web home shoppers use a real estate salesperson or
broker, while 76 percent of traditional buyers work with a
licensee.
Despite predictions the Internet
would diminish the role of practitioners, the study found only
16 percent of homes were sold directly by owners in 1999, a
slight reduction from 18 percent in 1997.
The median selling price of a
home sold by an owner was $113,000, while the median sales
price of a home sold by a professional licensee was
$129,900.
VACATION HOME MARKET RED
HOT
WASHINGTON, DC -- The market for
vacation homes couldn't be much hotter, and demand is pushing
prices through the roof nationwide.
According to a new NAR survey,
the vacation-home market has risen 9.3 percent since 1997,
while prices have gone up 50 percent since 1991 to a median
sales price of $127,800.
FRISCO MEDICAL CENTER IN
WORKS
FRISCO, Tex. -- One of the
state's fastest growing areas will soon have a new medical
center, according to today's online edition of The Dallas
Morning News.
Two buildings valued at more than
$30 million will be built initially on a 63-acre site on
Warren Parkway west of the Dallas North Tollway. Developer Jim
Williams Jr. says the complex could eventually be a
$200-million project.
DELL MOVING HEADQUARTERS
TO AUSTIN
AUSTIN, Tex. -- According to
yesterday's Austin Business Journal online, Dell
Computer Corp. is moving its headquarters from Round Rock to
Austin.
Some 100 employees will use
80,000 square feet of space at Las Cimas in southwest Austin.
The office will house Dell executives, selected corporate
functions and Dell Ventures, a venture capital
fund.
Dell's Round Rock campus will
continue to operate. Dell also plans to add 750,000 square
feet to its facility in northeast Austin.
UPSCALE MEDITERRANEAN
BUILDINGS PLANNED
HOUSTON, Tex. -- A $20 million
project planned for 6.5 acres off the Southwest Freeway near
Hillcroft will include eight upscale Mediterranean-style
professional buildings, the Houston Business Journal
online said yesterday.
Houston developer Andrew Choy
will construct the buildings adjacent to his Windwater
Village, a $50 million residential development.
SCHWAB OPENING AUSTIN
OFFICE
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.
/PRNewswire/ -- Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., will open an
investor center in Austin at 12402 Research Boulevard.
The first of four anticipated
buildings will open in July and house 750 employees.
Eventually the company may have as many as 3,500 at the
complex. The Austin offices will be the fifth investor center
for Schwab.
ICE RINK PLANNED FOR
ALAMO CITY
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- If anyone
should know about ice rinks, it's a hockey person. That should
give John McAllister, former assistant general manager of the
original San Antonio Iguanas hockey team and marketing
director for the San Antonio Dragons, an
advantage.
According to yesterday's San
Antonio Business Journal online, McAllister plans to
build the Fiesta Community Ice and Family Center on San
Antonio's north side. Retail and office space, a restaurant
and sports bar, a pro shop and skate rentals will be part of
the ice rink complex.
OLDER AMERICANS WANT TO
STAY AT HOME, BUT . . .
WASHINGTON, DC -- Most (82
percent) of older Americans want to remain living
independently in their own homes and communities for as long
as possible. But according to a new AARP survey, nearly 23
percent predict they or someone they live with will have
difficulty getting around the home in the next five
years.
"These are real concerns to a
growing number of Americans," said AARP Board Member Doug
Holbrook. "More and more baby boomers are having to address
the difficulties facing their elderly parents. They're also
starting to think ahead and may be wondering how well their
own homes will meet their needs as they themselves grow
older."
The new survey, called "Fixing to
Stay," found that seven in ten of those who are able to make
changes to their homes have made at least one modification to
make it easier for them to get around. Two-thirds (67 percent)
of those who have made home modifications believe those
actions will allow them to live in their homes longer than
they would have been able to otherwise -- perhaps another ten
years or more.
BARGO OKLAHOMA PROPERTIES
SOLD
HOUSTON, Tex. /PRNewswire/ --
Bargo Energy Company announced yesterday it will sell all its
Ardmore basin producing oil and gas properties in southern
Oklahoma to Le Norman Partners, LLC, for $31.9 million.
Closing is expected at the end of May.
CITY LIVING NOT ONLY CONVENIENT, IT'S PROFITABLE, TOO
COLLEGE STATION, Tex. -- Advocates of city living now have another reason for avoiding the suburbs. Owning a home in the city can be a better investment than buying one in the suburbs.
According to Dr. Jack C. Harris, research economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, single-family homes within Austin's city limits appreciated on average 15.8 percent last year. Those in areas of the county outside the city limits appreciated 9.8 percent. Single-family homes in the metropolitan area outside Travis County appreciated 7.7 percent.
"In NorthTexas, the value of single-family homes gained 10.5 percent in Fort Worth and 10.4 percent in Dallas. In other areas of Dallas and Tarrant Counties, homes appreciated at 6.6 percent. Homes in other counties in the MSA grew 4.9 percent in value," says Harris.
Condominium markets do not present as clear a pattern. Austin's in-city condos appreciated 11 percent on average while elsewhere in Travis County they gained 13 percent. Dallas' 9.2 percent average gain was the highest rate for condos in North Texas. In-city condos averaged only a 2.4 percent gain in Fort Worth, while in other areas of Tarrant County, the appreciation rate was 6.4 percent.
"Various statistical tests showed that initial price, pace of market activity and relatively tight inventories had no significant effect on appreciation," says Harris. "The difference in appreciation by location cannot be easily explained away by pointing to higher prices in the city or lack of homes available in close-in neighborhoods."
Harris concludes that the research shows inner-city housing can be a solid investment in growing urban areas.
RAINFOREST SHAREHOLDERS NIX BUYOUT
HOUSTON, Tex. -- Rainforest Cafe shareholders have voted against selling the Minneapolis-based restaurant chain to Landry's Seafood Restaurants of Houston. According to Shopping Centers Today, Landry's responded by withdrawing its $125 million offer.
Rainforest officials said they would abandon attempts to sell the restaurant in favor of other restructuring possibilities.
ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES COLONIAS DEVELOPER
AUSTIN, Tex. -- Texas officials have fired another salvo in their attempts to prevent the spread of colonias, Substandard housing projects along the Texas-Mexico border.
The latest target is Eloy Vera and his company, Vera Enterprises, Inc. According to Texas Business online, the developer sold at least eight lots in a subdivision in Starr County between Rio Grande City and Roma.
Texas Attorney General John Cornyn filed a lawsuit and obtained a temporary injunction against the developer. The injunction requires the defendants to provide sewage and water service to the subdivision.
STAUBACH KICKS OFF COMMERCIAL WEB SITE
DALLAS, Tex. -- The Staubach Company has launched www.staubachdispositions.com, a web site featuring commercial real estate portfolios and individual buildings for sale or lease. The site posts detailed information including property descriptions, nationwide location data and aerial photographs of retail, office and industrial buildings and real estate portfolios. The site currently lists 195 properties valued at nearly $1 billion.
COMMISSION TO CONSIDER RULE CHANGES
AUSTIN, Tex. -- A proposed rule requiring real estate schools to disclose financial information when applying for re-accreditation will be considered Monday by the Texas Real Estate Commission.
Under the proposed rule, detailed financial information would be required only if there are unsatisfied final money judgments against the applicant. New schools filing initial applications would still be subject to providing currently required financial disclosures.
Commissioners will discuss prospective amendments to standard promulgated new home contract forms. Possible rule changes relate to real estate license renewals, fees, inactive licensees and change of broker sponsorship.
Also at Monday's 9 a.m. meeting, commissioners will review administrative rules and procedures to improve and update the agency's effectiveness. TREC's strategic plan also will be reviewed. The meeting is in Room 235 of TREC headquarters, 1101 Camino La Costa, Austin.
MAJESTIC SELECTED TO BUILD MATTEL CENTER
FORT WORTH, Tex. /PRNewswire/ -- Los Angeles-based Majestic Realty Co. will build Mattel, Inc.'s massive new 1,007,500-square-foot distribution center in Fort Worth.
Scheduled for completion in February 2001, the project could be north Texas' largest commercial development project of the year. The center in the Railhead Industrial Park along Meacham Boulevard will be large enough to hold two Queen Marys, a horizontal Empire State Building and three reclining Statues of Liberty -- all under one roof.
The Fort Worth project is the largest yet for Mattel. Last year, Mattel shipped more than 18.5 million cartons of toys from its existing Dallas-Fort Worth facilities and received more than 12,600 truckloads of inbound product.
Mattel's new center is a quarter mile south of Loop 820 and just west of I-35 West.
HARCOURT BREAKING GROUND IN AUSTIN
WASHINGTON, DC /PRNewswire/--CarrAmerica Realty Corporation has begun construction on a 192,000-square-foot, build-to-suit project for Harcourt, Inc., at Braker Pointe in Austin.
Located at the northwest corner of Braker Lane and MoPac expressway, the three-building project totals 360,000 square feet. CarrAmerica plans to sell the corner parcel for a full-service hotel. CarrAmerica's Austin portfolio includes 19 buildings with some 1.6 million square feet of office space.
TOMBALL TOWN CENTER UNDERWAY
TOMBALL, Tex. -- Tomball Town Center, a shopping center with a Lowe's Home Improvement Store, a Kmart and 65,000 square feet for other retailers is being built, according to Ralph Bivins in a Houston Chronicle copyrighted story.
The shopping center is on FM 2920 west of Texas 249. Lowe's will open this summer, and Kmart will open next year.
IBM COMPANY PLANS NEW AUSTIN CAMPUS
AUSTIN, Tex. -- (Business Wire)-- Tivoli Systems Inc., has announced plans for a new 90-acre corporate campus in Austin. Featuring more than one million square feet of office space, the new facility will unify Tivoli's 2,000 plus Austin-based employees. Plans include a dining facility, structured parking, customer visitor center, development labs, ATM machines, concierge services for employees and a special location for Tivoli's Friday afternoon employee gatherings.
FIRM OPENS D-FW OFFICES
DALLAS, Tex. -- Austin Ventures is opening its first satellite locations outside its headquarters in downtown Austin. According to yesterday's Dallas Morning Newsonline, the firm is expanding into the Dallas area, with an 8,000-square-foot main office in the West End entertainment district. A smaller office will be opened in Richardson. Both offices are expected to be operating by the end of June.
NEW BUDA H-E-B
BUDA, Tex. -- A new H-E-B Grocery is underway in Buda, according to the Austin Business Journal online.
The 61,543-square-foot store is on a 12.8-acre site near I-35. Officials project completion later this year.
May 02, 2000
WHICH CITIES WILL ATTRACT TOMORROW'S WORKERS?
COLLEGE STATION, Tex. -- In the fast changing world of business, creativity is essential to superior performance. At the recent meeting of the American Real Estate Society, Stephen Roulac, CEO of The Roulac Group, Inc. in San Rafael, Calif., suggested that companies in cities known for enhancing and stimulating creativity are more likely to attract tomorrow's workers.
According to Roulac, cities that encourage creativity are characterized by:
-- a high degree of ethnic, cultural and generational diversity in population;
-- a high degree of population mobility;
-- concentration of people with cultural creative values;
-- a large immigrant population;
-- presence of a research university;
-- a high concentration of cultural resources, museums and performing arts venues;
-- strong communications resources, including fiber-optic infrastructure;
-- institutions that stimulate creativity;
-- physical beauty in urban areas and surrounding natural environment; and
-- physical space inventory sufficient to incubate new enterprises.
TITLE COMPANIES REPORT RECORD
FREDERICK, Md. -- Title insurers reported a record $8.7 billion in revenue last year, according to the 12th edition of "CDS Performance of Title Insurance Companies."
Fidelity National Financial had 30 percent of industry revenues. Fidelity owns Chicago Title. Richmond Virginia's LandAmerica Financial Group was second largest with 21.6 percent of revenues. California's First America Financial Group had 21.1 percent. In all, more than half of all U.S. title revenue flowed to Orange County, Calif.
The CDS report is $275 and can be ordered at 800-296-1540.
CINEMAS ROLL FINAL CREDITS
DALLAS, Tex. -- (Business Wire) -- Silver Cinemas Iternational, Inc. has closed 17 unprofitable theaters and reduced its employee base by approximately 160. The closed theaters consisted of 15 discount theaters and two first-run theaters. None of the facilities closed were operated by Silver's art exhibition subsidiary, Landmark Theaters.
INTERNET FIRM MOVES TO LOOP 360
AUSTIN, Tex. -- Internet professional services firm marchFIRST Inc. has moved its Austin offices into a recently completed office building on Loop 360. According to yesterday's Austin Business Journal online, the company has moved into 22,000 square feet of office space in The Reserve at Bull Creek. Over the past year, the number of employees has grown from 20 to 60.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANUFACTURER OPENS NEW OFFICE
AUSTIN, Tex. -- (Business Wire) -- General Bandwidth Inc. has opened a 20,000-square-foot development center in Richardson in the Courtyard at Arapaho. The new facility gives the Austin-based telecommunications equipment manufacturer proximity to major players in the telecommunications industry.
For more information, go to www.generalbandwidth.com.
COPART BUYS SAN ANTONIO FACILITY
BENICIA, Calif. -- (Business Wire) -- Copart, Inc. has purchased the Texas Alamo Salvage Pool, Inc. of San Antonio. The new facility includes 40 acres of property and facilities for storage, preparation and sale of salvage and other auction vehicles. The acquisition expands Copart's national network of vehicle auction and storage locations to 75 sites in 35 states. The facility will serve southern Texas and is Copart's ninth facility in Texas.
BANKING OFFICE LEASES DALLAS BUILDING
HOUSTON, Tex. /PRNewswire/ -- Sterling Bancshares, Inc. has signed a lease to open a banking office in Dallas. The new office will be located in a six-story office building near Mockingbird Lane and Stemmons Freeway. Sterling Bank will also lease space in the building for its technology and operational support in Dallas. The company's first bank outside of its traditional Houston market is set to open during the second half of 2000.
LASER ARENA OPENS
HOUSTON, Tex. -- (Business Wire)Entertainment Technologies & Programs Inc. has announced that all construction, installation and testing has been completed for the opening of 3,500-square-foot laser arena at Hero in Pasadena, Texas. The 16,000-square-foot facility previously had batting cages in half the building. Late last year, the batting cages were removed, and almost 8,000 square feet was transformed into a state-of-the-art laser arena, pool tables and hobby shop.
ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS NAMED
AUSTIN, Tex. -- (Business Wire)-- Gov. George W. Bush and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TRNCC) are awarding 11 Texas Environmental Excellence Awards today to companies, organizations, and individuals that have earned the state's highest honor for outstanding environmental achievement.
Winners include: Texas Agriculture Experiment Station, Texas Agricultural Extension Service -- San Angelo; Galveston Bay Foundation -- Webster; Texas A&M University -- Corpus Christi; Texas Department of Transportation -- Austin; Specified Fuels & Chemicals -- Channelview; Karen C. Overgaard -- The Woodlands; Lucent Technologies -- Mesquite; Nalco/Exxon Energy Chemicals -- Sugar Land; Texwood Furniture -- Taylor; and the University of Texas at El Paso -- El Paso.
For more information, go to www.trncc.state.tx.us.
HUD BEGINS SELLING HOMES TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR $1
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development is selling homes to local governments for $1 each in a effort to create housing for families in need and to help revitalize neighborhoods. Under the $1 Home Initiative, single-family homes that are acquired in foreclosure actions by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) are eligible for sale to local governments around the nation for $1 whenever FHA is unable to sell the homes for six months.
More than 1,000 homes are eligible for sale under the initiative, and additional homes will become available for sale each month. For more information, go to http://www.hud.gov.
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX DROPS
WASHINGTON, DC -- The ability of the typical American family to buy a median-priced existing home dropped slightly during the first quarter of 2000 compared to a year earlier, announced the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR's composite Housing Affordability Index was 131.8 during the first quarter, down 1 percentage point from 134.8 reported in the fourth quarter of 1999. The first quarter index is 13.8 points less than the same period a year earlier when it stood at 145.6.
The index shows half the households in the nation had at least 131.8 percent of income needed to buy a home at the first quarter median existing-home price -- $133,400. According to NAR, the median family income was $49,616 during the quarter.
At the same time, the association's First-time Homebuyer Affordability Index dropped 2 percentage points to 77.9 in the first quarter. This index showed a typical first-time homebuyer household, aged 25 to 44, had 77.9 percent of the income needed to purchase a typical starter home -- $113,400 during the first quarter. The typical first-time homebuyer, earning $28,737, could afford a home costing $88,300 during the first quarter.
For more information, go to http://nar.realtor.com/news.
|
April
28, 2000
HUD HELPS
AMARILLO FAMILIES
AMARILLO, Tex. -- As many as
200 Amarillo families will have access to low mortgage rates, low
down payments and closing-cost assistance through a $15 million
mortgage revenue bond agreement. The agreement is between the
Amarillo Housing Finance Corporation and Fannie Mae.
The initiative is available
to qualifying, first-time, low- and moderate-income homebuyers
wanting to live in the city.
TWO SAN ANTONIO
OFFICE BUILDINGS BOUGHT
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Two
former Norwest Bank buildings in the Alamo City have been purchased
by Trammell Crow Co. and South Charles Realty Corp., according to
today's San Antonio Express-News online.
One is a ten-story building
at U.S. 281 and Thousand Oaks Drive, and the other is a nine-story
building at 6100 Bandera. The buildings total some 280,000 square
feet.
EPA FINISHES GARLAND
SITE CLEANUP
GARLAND, Tex. -- The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed work at the
former Aurum Etching site, an abandoned gun and knife etching
facility.
The EPA and the city
supervised removal and off-site disposal of drums of hazardous
materials, small containers and piles of metallic power residue
found on floors.
BREAKING
HISTORY
WASHINGTON, D.C. --
America's homeownership rate rose to a record high in the first
quarter of 2000, with 67.1 percent of all families owning their
homes, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development. A total of 70.7 million American families owned their
homes in the first quarter of the year -- more than any other time
in American history.
All-time record quarterly
homeownership rates were set in the first quarter of this year for
African Americans, 47.8 percent, and for central cities, 51.2
percent. Despite these gains, however, minority and urban
homeownership rates still lagged far behind the white homeownership
rate, 73.4 percent, and the suburban homeownership rate, 73.8
percent.
CIRRUS COMING
HOME
AUSTIN, Tex. -- Cirrus Logic
Inc. is moving its corporate headquarters from Fremont, Calif., to
Austin. According to yesterday's Austin Business Journal
online, officials believe the move makes sense because most
corporate functions and 900 of Cirrus' 1,300 employees are in the
area. The move will allow Cirrus to become the largest Austin-based
semiconductor maker.
COMPANY ON THE
GROW
DALLAS, Tex. -- (Business
Wire) -- MAYAN Networks has announced a major expansion of one of
its development facilities in Dallas. MAYAN has moved into a
11,000-square-foot facility, known as the "Telecon Corridor" of
Dallas. Officials also announced plans to move its corporate
headquarters in San Jose, Calif., from an 18,000-square-foot
facility to one of 95,000 square feet.
COMMERCIAL GIANTS
TEAM UP
DALLAS, Tex. -- Trammel Crow
Co. of Dallas is joining forces with commercial real estate giants
Crow Co., CB Richard Ellis and Jones, Lang, LaSalle to develop
an Internet business. According to yesterday's Dallas Morning
News online, the e-commerce operation will be set up as a
separate business jointly owned by the three commercial real estate
companies. The business will provide services for all types of
commercial real estate, including office, retail and industrial
properties.
FORE!
CARROLLTON, Tex. --
According to yesterday's Dallas Morning News online,
Carrollton officials will begin seeking developers' proposals next
week to build a hotel-resort complex near a city golf course, a
longtime economic dream. Under a conceptual plan, Carrollton would
offer public assistance to help lure a developer into building a
hotel at the Indian Creek Municipal Golf Course. A formal
announcement is scheduled Monday. City officials will allow a
company to build on as many as ten acres and sell a proposed $12
million in general-obligation bonds to pay for upgrades at the golf
course.
MALL SEEKS
RETAILERS
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. --
Developers have lined up anchor tenants Dillard's and Foley's for
the upscale Shops at La Cantera mall planned near I-10 and Loop
1604. According to Wednesday's San Antonio Express online,
plans for the new mall call for restaurant space, cinemas and two
additional department stores, as well as retail pavilions and garden
courtyards. The mall will be built on 160 acres on the east side of
La Cantera Parkway.
HOMEBUYERS HAVE MOST
INTEREST IN LOW INTEREST
PARSIPPANY, N.J. (Business
Wire) -- When it comes to purchasing a new home, 70 percent of
consumers agree they are most interested in finding the lowest
interest rate on their mortgage, according to a Coldwell Banker Real
Estate Corporation survey. The survey drew responses from website
visitors during its No Interest/Spring Open House
promotion.
Homebuyers' top six wishes
also included finding a real estate professional that can guide them
through the process, an easy mortgage process, receiving seller
disclosure statements at the beginning of the process, access to
home-buying information online and "a real estate company that stays
in touch, even after the transaction."
TEXAS COLLECTS MORE,
SPENDS MORE THAN MOST
WASHINGTON, DC -- Texas
government takes in the third most money of any state. It also
spends the third most.
According to data released
this week by the U.S. Census Bureau, Texas' revenue in 1998 was
$57.8 billion, and it spent $51.1 billion. Only California and New
York took in more and spent more.
Texas recorded the lowest
revenue per capita at $2,926 but also spent the least per capita at
$2,584
April
25, 2000
$1 BILLION COMPANY
CREATED
NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Entergy Corp. and
Koch Industries are forming a new company that will market and trade
power, natural gas, oil and coal in North America and Europe.
According to today's Austin American Statesman online, the
company will be known as Entergy-Koch LP and have assets of about $1
billion. The company's headquarters will be in
Houston.
WORK BEGINS ON
COMPLEX
DALLAS, Tex. -- Construction has begun
on a project that will turn two blocks of vacant downtown Dallas
buildings into a new campus for high-tech and telecommunications
companies, according to today's Dallas Morning News online.
The owners of the Dallas Infomart and developer Brook Partners are
spending more than $15 million to renovate the
buildings.
Built in the late 1950s and 1960s, the
three buildings contain almost 400,000 square feet. Empty since the
mid-1980s, the buildings are sandwiched between the Fairmont Hotel
and the Dallas Museum of Art.
WAL-MART HEIR MAKES BIG
PURCHASE
DENVER, Colo. -- Wal-Mart heir Stan
Kroenke, a 52-year-old real estate developer, is set to buy the
Colorado Avalanche, the Denver Nuggets and their arena, according to
today's Dallas Morning News online. Outbidding a group
led by former Bronco John Elway, Kroenke will pay $450 million.
Scheduled to close June 30, the agreement must be approved by the
National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association, Liberty
Media Group shareholders and the city of Denver.
AUCTION BIDS ON
ABILENE
BENICIA, Calif. /PRNewswire/ -- Copart,
Inc. has announced the acquisition of Broka's of Abilene, Texas. The
new facility, expanding the company's national network of vehicle
auction and storage locations to 74 sites in 35 states, serves the
West Texas area including Abilene, Lubbock, Odessa and San
Angelo. The facility includes 11 acres of property and facilities
for storage, preparation and sale of salvage and other auction
vehicles. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
INTOWN LIVING COMES
TO THE FORE
ATLANTA, Ga. /PRNewswire/ --
Post Properties, a nationally recognized leader in building intown,
mixed-use neighborhoods, has announced the lease-up and completion
of three live-work-walk communities. The largest of the three
developments is phase two of Post Addison Circle in Dallas -- an
80-acre mixed-use project. Post also announced the completion and
lease-up of Post Midtown Square in Houston and Post Parkside in
Atlanta.
BREWERY TO
CLOSE
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Pearl
Brewery will turn off its taps this summer after more than a century
of brewing one of Texas' best-known beers. According
to Monday's San Antonio Express online, officials said
they will lay off 161 workers in June and close the 114-year old
plant. The brewery's board voted to close the plant and move
production to the Miller Brewing Co. plant in Fort Worth.
SOLD -- HISTORIC
BUILDING
AUSTIN, Tex. -- The Olson
Group is leaving its offices atop the San Jacinto Tower and moving
into a 120-year-old building on Congress Avenue. According to
Monday's Austin Business Journal online, the company will
nearly double its current office size to occupy about 8,000 square
feet of the 14,720-square-foot building. Additional office space
will be available for lease.
TANGLEWOOD RESORT ADDS HOTEL
POTTSBORO, Tex. -- The
700-acre Tanglewood Resort, located on the shores of Lake Texoma, is
scheduled to open a new 125-room hotel next month, according to
Monday's Dallas Business Journal online. The hotel
will standardize the property's guest-room accommodations, which
currently include 13 different types of accommodations. The new
85,000-square-foot facility will open Memorial Day and will add
lounge and meeting-room space.
HOSPITAL PLANS PUT
ON LIFE SUPPORT
HOUSTON, Tex. -- Plans for
the new $75.9 million Memorial Hermann Cypress Hospital in Northwest
Houston have been put on hold as the hospital turns its resources
toward a major expansion in The Woodlands. According to Monday's
Houston Business Journal online, hospital officials have
confirmed that plans for the new 74-bed, four-story,
230,000-square-foot hospital have been put on hold indefinitely and
will be revisited in about 12 months.
REAL ESTATE FIRM
ADDS TO BUYING BINGE
HOUSTON, Tex. -- This week,
CMD Realty Investors Inc. closed on its biggest building in the
local Houston market -- 200 West Loop South. According to
Monday's Houston Business Journal online, industry
observers estimate the 355,631-square-foot building sold for roughly
$35 million, although the actual price remains undisclosed. The
22-story structure stands just south of San Felipe inside the 610
Loop in the Galleria submarket and includes an attached five-story
parking garage. Major tenants in the building are Pace
Entertainment, Hewlett Packard, United Health Care, Chubb Group and
Pakhoed Corp.
RURAL HOSPITAL PLANS
MAJOR FACE LIFT
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Late
last month, Fredricksburg-based Hill Country Memorial Hospital broke
ground on its biggest addition to date. According to the San
Antonio Business Journal online, the project involves a
30,000-square-foot expansion, and another 30,000 square feet is set
to be renovated. The entire project is slated to be completed in
November 2001, costing more than $7.7 million.
ARMY CHOOSES FIRMS TO TURN
BROOKE PRIVATE
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Army officials
have chosen a Pennsylvania firm, along with a group of partners, to
redevelop Fort Sam Houston's former Brooke Army Medical Center and
put it to private use. An agreement has been made for developers to
renovate and locate tenants for 521,000 square feet of historic
buildings on the post, including the old BAMC building and the Beach
Pavilion Complex, according to yesterday's San Antonio
Express online.
SWIM COMPLEX SET FOR WESTOVER
PARK
HOUSTON, Tex. -- Developers of the
500-acre Westover Park in League City have dropped plans for a golf
course and will add a natatorium complex instead. According to the
Houston Chronicle online, the park will have 1,350 new
homes when completed in a few years. Westover Park will be on
the south side of FM 518, about two and a half miles west of the
Gulf Freeway.
The natatorium will have an
olympic-size swimming pool, allowing competitive swimming by aquatic
teams. Cypress Realty, which purchased the property about two years
ago, plans to donate 16 acres for the recreational facilities. Some
land will go to the city for the natatorium and other land will be
given to the YMCA for additional recreational use.
April 21, 2000
WINN-DIXIE
RESTRUCTURING
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. announced plans yesterday to close 114
stores. The chain announced earlier this year it will sell another
69 stores to Kroger.
Winn-Dixie operates more
than 1,100 supermarkets, primarily in the Southeast. The company
will cut more than 11,000 jobs, including many executives. The
restructuring includes renovation of 600 other stores.
MANUFACTURED HOME
SHIPMENTS DOWN NEARLY 21 PERCENT
ARLINGTON, Va. -- More than
22,800 manufactured homes were shipped by 317 builders during
February, a decrease of 20.7 percent from the same month last
year.
According to the
Manufactured Housing Institute, manufactured home shipments through
February represented 20.6 percent of all new single-family housing
starts and 22.7 percent of all new single-family homes
sold.
DALLAS APARTMENT
COMPLETIONS SURGE -- HIGHEST SINCE 1986
DALLAS, Tex. -- Deliveries
in the Dallas-Fort Worth apartment market climbed to more than 7,100
units during the first quarter. This new supply is the largest block
of completions in any three-month period since fall 1986. The pace
of deliveries increased by one-third during the past year to an
annual figure of 21,000 units.
"The good news was first
quarter's robust demand," said M/PF Research President G. Ronald
Witten. "Net move-ins in early 2000 almost doubled the norm
established for the January-March time frame over the previous five
years.
"Unfortunately,
demand is only half the story. The volume of construction activity
also affects project performance in the apartment industry, and
completions continue to top the levels that would yield a balanced
marketplace."
April
18,2000
HOUSING STARTS
FALL
WASHINGTON, DC -- March
housing starts were down 11 percent from February to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 1.6 million, according to estimates released
today by the U.S. Commerce Department. Compared to last year, starts
are down 8 percent.
Single-family housing
starts were virtually unchanged, but starts of buildings with five
or more units numbered only 272,000, 41 percent fewer than the
February estimate of 460,000.
CROSSROADS MOVES
HEADQUARTERS
AUSTIN, Tex. --
Crossroads Systems Inc. has relocated to 63,000 square feet of
office space, according to the Austin Business Journal
online. The Park office complex is at 8300 MoPac Expressway.
Officials say the new space will offer 400 percent more laboratory
space and a new home for the company's executive and administrative
staff.
CARQUEST OPERATOR
BUY COMPETITOR
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. --
Straus-Frank Co. has acquired the eight-store Winston Warehouse
Corp. chain based in Alice, according to the San Antonio Express
online.
The deal gives
Straus-Frank 122 company-owned outlets in Texas and surrounding
states. The company plans to change Winston's eight south Texas
stores to Carquest outlets and close two of its own south Texas
shops.
PORT ARTHUR
SHOPPING CENTER SOLD
NORTHBROOK, Ill.
/PRNewswire/ -- A 244,258-square-foot Jefferson City Shopping Center
in Port Arthur has been sold to the Malachite Group of Mineola, N.Y.
The community shopping center was 70 percent occupied at the time of
the investment sale.
AMERICAN FREIGHTWAYS OPENS TWO TEXAS
CENTERS
HARRISON, Ark.
/PRNewswire/ -- American Freightways Corporation has announced the
relocation of 12 customer centers to newly constructed
facilities, two of which are in Texas. The centers double the
company's capacity to serve customers in these markets.
In Round Rock, the new
facility resides on 19.2 acres and includes 40 loading doors that
can be expanded to 100 doors. In Lufkin, the center is situated on
7.3 acres and has 20 loading doors that can be expanded to 60
doors.
FREEWAY
IMPROVEMENTS COULD YIELD $18 BILLION
WASHINGTON, DC
/PRNewswire/ -- A report released by the American Highway Users
Alliance found that Houston-area residents and commuters would reap
$18 billion in economic benefits if needed improvements were made on
U.S. 59 (Southwest Freeway) at the I-610 Loop Interchange and the
I-610 at the I-10 Interchange.
According to the report,
completion of those improvements would result in individual savings
for commuters using the bottlenecks of up to $954 per
year.
CARRAMERICA
ANNOUNCES LEASE WITH AMERICAN HONDA FINANCE
WASHINGTON, DC
/PRNewswire/ -- CarrAmerica Development, Inc. has announced the
signing of a 65,000-square-foot lease agreement with American Honda
Finance at Royal Ridge Building VII in Dallas.
Royal Ridge Building VII
is one of two with a total office space of 260,000
square feet. American Honda Finance will occupy 50 percent of
the 130,000-square-foot, two-story office building.
Completion is scheduled
for December. Construction is for Building VIII is expected to
begin this summer.
CALIBER BUYS
ANOTHER LOCATION
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. --
Caliber Collision Centers has acquired Sanders-Fisher Auto Body in
San Antonio, according to the San Antonio Business Journal
online. The 27,000-square-foot facility is located within one mile
of Caliber's Blanco Road facility and will expand the company's
capacity to service consumers and insurers.
CONFERENCE PUTS
WATER PIECES TOGETHER
SAN MARCOS, Tex. -- A
workshop tomorrow will enable decision makers to make
effective choices concerning future water needs in their
communities.
"Water Puzzle: Putting
the Pieces Together" will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the
San Marcos Activity Center. City and county officials and all
interested citizens are invited to participate.
Private planners and city
officials will discuss water planning, recycling and reuse of waste
water, legal responsibilities, marketing groundwater, supply
options, brush removal, home conservation, land management, drought
management and subdivision restrictions.
Registration is $50. For
more information, contact Bill Kniffen, Hays County Extension agent
at 512-393-2120, or the Southwest Texas District Extension Office at
830-278-9151.
HOUSING MARKET
INDEX RECOVERS SLIGHTLY
WASHINGTON, DC
/PRNewswire/ -- As higher interest rates continued to negatively
influence the nation's housing market, the National Association of
Home Builders Housing Market Index (HMI) rose a single point to 62
in April, up from March's 26-month low of 61.
NAHB President Robert
Mitchell said builders remain less optimistic about market
conditions for new single-family homes than they were before
interest rates started going up.
NEW BRIDGE OPENS
IN LAREDO
LAREDO, Tex. -- A new
international bridge opened last week in Laredo.
The eight-lane bridge is
open only to trucks and commercial vehicles. Two older bridges
remain open for cars and
pedestrians.
TEXAS RECEIVES
THIRD MOST FEDERAL FUNDS
WASHINGTON, DC -- Federal
domestic spending was up 4 percent last year, and Texas received the
third most funds behind California and New York, the Census Bureau
announced today..
California received $166
billion, New York $102 billion, Texas $98 billion, Florida $87
billion and Pennsylvania $69 billion. Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid accounted for 48 percent of the $735 billion
total.
Harris County, Texas,
received the fourth most federal funds at the local level. Houston's
home county received $14 billion. New York, N.Y., led the list with
$44.2 billion. In fact, New York City and Los Angeles County ($43.5
billion) received more than 41 states.
Federal per capita
spending was highest in Alaska ($8,521), Virginia ($8,416) and
Maryland ($8,119). Defense Department domestic spending totaled $237
billion last year -- up 4.9 percent from a year earlier. At $17
billion, Texas received the third most Defense Department dollars.
Only California and Virginia received more.
TEMPLE RESEARCH
CENTER OPENS APRIL 19
TEMPLE, Tex. -- Grand
opening ceremonies for the new Blackland Research and Extension
Center building will be held Apr. 19 at 2 p.m. U.S. Rep. Chet
Edwards, State Rep. Dianne White Delisi and Howard Graves,
chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, are scheduled to
participate.
The center is at 720 East
Blackland Road in Temple. The public is invited. As part of the
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, the center is one of 13
off-campus research and extension centers conducting research and
education programs.
The 12,000-square-foot
building incorporates the latest computer technology. Funding came
from the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and a $250,000 grant
from the Temple Economic Development Foundation.
TEXAS REAL ESTATE
STATS
The following is taken
from the April 2000 issue of TRENDS, the monthly statistical report
on major Texas markets. Data is for January and
February.
-- Most (10.8 percent)
existing homes sold so far this year in Texas have been in the
$100,000 to $119,999 range.
-- The typical Texas home
is on the market 65 days before it sells; that's 2 percent less time
than in 1999.
-- There were 65,490
existing homes for sale in major Texas markets at the end of
February, 6 percent more than at the same time last year.
-- MLS home sales are
up 36 percent for the year in San Marcos -- highest in Texas.
Wichita Falls is second with 23 percent more than last year.
Statewide, the nearly 23,000 homes sold thus far in 2000 through
major MLSs is 6 percent more than 1999.
-- Austin has the state's
smallest inventory of unsold existing homes -- a two-month supply or
33 percent fewer than last year. McAllen's inventory of 13.9 months
is the state's largest.
-- Collin County's
$153,100 MLS median existing home sales price leads Texas thus far
in 2000. Other markets with medians more than $130,000 are: Austin
($135,100); Denton County ($133,500); Montgomery County ($131,100)
and Northeast Tarrant County ($134,500). Through the end of
February, the state-wide median was $103,900, up 8 percent from last
year.
SYSTEM LAYS OFF
290
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Baptist Health System laid off 290 workers
on Thursday, according to today's San Antonio Express
online. Officials blame the layoffs, which represented 6 percent of
the work force, on cuts in Medicare and managed care payments and on
increased medical costs. The action was taken in an effort to
staunch financial losses nearing the $5.3 million range in the first
half of this fiscal year, and is expected to save $10 million.
TESTING FIRM TO
EXPAND
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Harcourt Inc. has
announced it will build a new campus in north Bexar County,
according to yesterday's San Antonio Express online.
The complex will be located on 92 acres east of Loop 1604 and
Boulevard Road and should be complete by spring 2001. The campus
will consist of a two-story, 150,000-square-foot office
building and a 410,000-square-foot facility.
CANCER CENTER PLANS RESEARCH
PARK
HOUSTON, Tex. -- A 60-acre life science
technology research park in The Texas Medical Center is being led by
the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in an effort to transform Houston's
massive amount of medical research spending into commercial
ventures. According to yesterday's Houston
Chronicle online, plans call for 1.5 million square feet of
research and office space. Some 70 percent of the space would be
devoted to lab facilities with the plumbing and ventilation
necessary for advanced research.
EASTGROUP BUYS
FOUNDERS
JACKSON, Miss. /PRNewswire/ --
Eastgroup Properties has announced the acquisition of the
77,000-square-foot Founders Business Center in El Paso, Texas for
more than $2.3 million. Founders is strategically located in the
Butterfield Trail Industrial Park adjacent to the El Paso
International Airport, and is 100 percent leased.
SPECULATIVE BUILDING SIGNING
TENANTS
HOUSTON, Tex. -- The largest
speculative building to be constructed in recent years has announced
its first tenants, according to yesterday's Houston
Chronicle online. One BriarLake Plaza, a 20-story,
500,000-square-foot building has signed four tenants. Microsoft,
leasing 32,000 square feet will be the first tenant to move in late
this month.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY EXPANDING
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Qwest Communications International Inc.
has announced it will hire 700 to 1,000 people over the next two
years, according to today's San Antonio Express
online. The positions will be created as the company moves
more of its customer service and phone-operator functions to San
Antonio and launches an effort to build fiber-optic networks in
large U.S. cities
April 11,
2000
ECONOMY, HOUSING CHANGING; REMAIN
FAVORABLE
WASHINGTON, DC -- According to the National
Association of Realtors (NAR) latest "Real Estate Outlook,"
the dynamics of the U.S. economy and housing market are changing but
still favorable. The existing-home market this years should be the
third best on record. NAR expects home resales to drop 8.7 percent
in 2000 to total 4.74 million units. New home sales are expected to
slide 5.3 percent to 858,000 units. Housing starts are predicted to
decline 3.6 percent this year to 1.61 million units.
The association expects 30-year,
fixed-rate mortgage rates to rise slightly to 8.5 percent and hold
at that level for most of the year. One-year adjustable-rate
mortgages should average 7 percent in 2000. U.S. economic growth is
projected to rise 4.4 percent this year. Consumer price inflation
should average 2.5 percent in 2000.
TAX EXEMPTION COULD RESULT
IN LOSS OF THOUSANDS
OVERTON, Tex. -- A provision in a
state law will allow forestry landowners to save tax dollars by
having restricted-use zones designated around streams, wetlands and
publicly traveled roads this year. Once in effect, the
restricted-use zones must remain in place indefinitely, or the
landowner will face tax penalties.
The Texas Reforestation and
Conservation Act, Senate Bill 977, allows landowners to reduce their
taxes for forested land by as much as 50 percent in certain areas by
setting up restricted-use management zone. Applications for all
types of restricted-use management zones must be filed and approved
with the local county assessor. In effect, the landowner enters a
contract with the state of Texas to abide by the restricted
harvesting provisions of the law. If the landowner reverts to using
the land for the timber, then the assessor may impose rollback taxes
for the tax difference for the last five years, plus a 7 percent
annual interest.
ALL ABOARD
FORT WORTH, Tex. -- The Longhorn Trolley
was launched on Monday, linking tourists to the city's key
attractions, according to today's Dallas Morning News
online. The trolleys carry visitors April to September
among the popular downtown, cultural district, stockyards and zoo
attractions. Four trolleys, new wood-paneled, rubber-wheeled
incarnations of the historic cars, serve 24 stops every 20 minutes.
Tourism contributes about $1 billion annually to the Fort Worth
economy.
OFFICE PARK TO BREAK
GROUND
AUSTIN, Tex. -- A 700,000-square-foot
office park on Loop 360 near Bee Caves Road could break ground this
year, according to Monday's Austin Business Journal. The
site plan, which has been idle for several years, involves six
office buildings totaling 700,000 square feet, a 128-room hotel and
a small amount of retail including a restaurant pad and a bank on 50
acres.
RE/MAX OF TEXAS CHOOSES HOMES.COM
AND ITS BROKER ADVANTAGE
MENLO PARK, Calif. -- (Business Wire) --
RE/MAX of Texas has inked and agreement with Homes.com, providing
its real estate professionals with a regional web marketing and
customer service solution. RE/MAX's 150 Texas offices and 3,000
agents will benefit from Homes.com's Broker Advantage Solution,
enabling real estate brokers with Homes.com's proprietary web
technologies boost marketing efforts and increasing brand
awareness.
REGIONS FINANCIAL BUYS
BANK
AUSTIN, Tex. -- Texas Heritage bank, with
six locations in the Austin area, agreed to be purchased by Regions
Bank, according to today's Austin American Statesman
online. Regions Financial Corp. purchased the bank through a
stock swap of about $17.3 million. The deal is expected to be
completed by August.
LUCENT TO MOVE
DIVISION
AUSTIN, Tex. -- Lucent Technologies Inc.is
moving the headquarters of a new 1,000-member division to Austin.
The move will not initially bring division employees to Austin, but
its long-term goal could mean a gradual move of many BMP employees
to the area, according to Monday's Austin Business
Journal.
CONDO PLAN PITCHED NEAR ENRON
FIELD
HOUSTON, Tex. -- A 25-story high rise residential tower with
backyard views of Enron Field has been blueprinted, according to
Monday's Houston Business Journal online. The building will
comprise 117 units in 275,000 square feet of living area, including
96 flats and 21 two-story lofts. Prices will range from $275,000 to
$650,000. The building's 12 penthouse units will start at $1.5
million.
FIRM SEEKS ROOM TO
GROW
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- SBC
Communications Inc. is looking for 200,000 square feet of office
space in north central San Antonio, according to yesterday's San
Antonio Express online. SBC expects to add hundreds of jobs to
the city within the coming months. The company has its eye on One
Countryside Place at 12500 San Pedro Avenue and One International
Centre at 100 Northeast Loop 410. A lease may be signed within the
next 30 days.
AMERICAN EAGLE
TAKES FLIGHT AT DFW
FORT WORTH, Tex.
/PRNewswire/ -- American Airlines has been cleared to build a $17
million temporary terminal housing American Eagle's regional jet
passengers. The new 26,000-square-foot terminal will open in
September and feature 13 covered boarding gates.
WOOD REFINERY
SOLD
HOUSTON, Tex. /PRNewswire/
-- Equilon Enterprises LLC has announced it has signed a letter of
intent to sell the 295,000-barrel-a-day Wood River Refinery in
Roxana, Illinois, to Tosco Corporation for $420 million. The
companies expect to close the deal by June 1.
LAND LEASED ON
FARIAS RANCH
SAN
ANTONIO, Tex. -- The Exploration Co. has
announced it will lease 95,000 acres on the Farias Ranch, southeast
of Exploration's existing acreage block in the Maverick Basin. An
amount was not disclosed. Exploration will schedule a new 3-D
seismic program when it finds a suitable partner, according to
Thursday's San Antonio Business Journal
online.
REALTORS ALLIANCE
ESTABLISHED WITH NAR
WASHINGTON, DC
/PRNewswire/ -- A new Realtors Commercial Alliance has been
established within the National Association of Realtors in an effort
to bring market leaders together to provide a framework of
collective leadership and direction in developing a common, unified
voice for the commercial real estate industry. The alliance
advisory board has been appointed and the first meeting is scheduled
for May 16 in Washington.
MORTGAGE RATES
CHANGED SLIGHTLY
McLEAN, Va. -- The 30-year
fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 8.20 percent with an average 1.0
point for the week ending April 7, according to Freddie Mac's
Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That was down from last week's
average of 8.23 percent; a year ago, the 30-year FRM average was
6.87 percent.
The average for 15-year
FRMs is 7.83 percent this week, with an average 1.0 point,
almost unchanged from last week's 7.84 percent. A year ago, the
15-year FRM averaged 6.47 percent. The rate for one-year
Treasury-indexed, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 6.79
percent this week, with an average 1.0 point, up from last week's
average of 6.76 percent. This time last year, the one-year ARM
averaged 5.56 percent.
TWO PRODUCTION
FACILITIES COMPLETE
HOUSTON, Tex. /PRNewswire/
-- HumaTech Inc. has completed two new production facilities that
will increase production capacity and efficiency. Production
capabilities for both facilities are estimated at more than $40
million in products annually.
SHOPPING CENTER
PLANNED FOR FORT BEND COUNTY
HOUSTON, Tex. -- A $40
million shopping center is planned for a prime corner near Fort Bend
County's Riverpark community, according to Tuesday's
Houston Chronicle online. The center will have a grocery
store, larger stores and restaurants and is expected to be open by
summer 2001. The 325,000-square-foot shopping center will be built
on a 40-acre tract at the northeast corner of Grand Parkway and U.S.
59.
THEATER FOR SALE
AUSTIN, Tex. -- Regal
Cinemas is selling the Metropolitan 14 at 910 Little Texas Lane as
part of a multicity package. The Austin theater is listed along
with ten other theaters in seven states, according to Tuesday's
Austin Business Journal online.
TERMITES, TERMITES
EVERYWHERE (EXCEPT ALASKA)
COLLEGE STATION, Tex. --
Dr. Roger Gold, professor of entomology at Texas A&M University,
spoke yesterday at a continuing education program for Texas real
estate licensees on "Potential New Liabilities for Real Estate
Agents." The program was sponsored by the Real Estate
Center.
"At any given time, 45
percent of all structures in Texas are infested with termites," said
Gold. "The damage insects can do to a building is massive. Termites
cause more damage than tornadoes, hurricanes and wind storms
combined. The National Pest Control Association estimates the
eastern termite results in $1.7 billion in the damage, repair and
prevention industry. In Texas alone, this cost reaches $350
million."
Termites, active year
round in most parts of Texas, are commonly found in coastal regions.
But as landscaping materials, such as railroad ties, are transported
northward from the coast, termites are being moved along with them.
Alaska is the only state that has not recorded a case of
termites.
SOUTHERN LIVING
2000 HOME IN FORT WORTH
FORT WORTH, Tex.
/PRNewswire/ -- One of three Southern Living 2000 Idea Houses is
being built in Fort Worth. The homes offer a chance to see the
Southern Living lifestyle up close and personal.
Opening for tours in early
summer, houses will remain open until early fall and will be
featured in the August issue of Southern Living.
The Fort Worth Idea House,
named Sienna Park, is in Trinity Heights, a new planned community
just off Bryant Irvin road in the southwest section of the city. Rob
Sell is the builder, and Michael Dike is the architect.
After the homes open, plans will be available by
calling 800-755-1122.
LOWE'S TO OPEN NEW
TEXAS STORE
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. --
Lowe's Co. Inc. will open its first San Antonio area store,
according to today's San Antonio Express-News online.
The chain of home-improvement warehouses has signed a letter of
intent to build a 160,000-square-foot center in a new retail
development now under construction at Bandera and Loop
1604. Lowe's will co-anchor the 700,000-square-foot retail
center that will include the area's first Super Target.
OFFICE BUILDING
BREAKS GROUND
DALLAS, Tex. -- Hall
Financial Group has begun construction on a 150,000-square-foot,
six-story office building that will include parking facilities. The
building is the fourth one developed at Hall Office Park and should
be completed in early 2001. The developer's original plan
called for 18 office buildings totaling 3.7 million square feet,
according to the Real Estate Forum.
MERGER CREATES
HOUSTON-BASED COMPANY
HOUSTON, Tex. -- One of
the largest independent exploration and production companies in the
world, in terms of 1999 reserves, production and drilling activity,
has been created through a merger of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
and Union Pacific Resources Group. The combined company will be
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and will be headquartered in Houston.
PAYROLL GROUP BUYS
BANK BUILDING
SAN ANTONIO, Tex.
-- The American Payroll Association (APA) has purchased the
40,000-square-foot Compass Bank building. The association plans to
renovate the building to house its headquarters, training
facilities, a payroll museum and archives, according to San
Antonio's Business Journal online. Building renovations are set
to begin in October with APA moved in by January. Compass Bank will
maintain a full-service banking facility in the lobby of the
building.
CENTEX RENEWS
PRESERVATION COMMITMENT
DALLAS, Tex. (Business
Wire) -- Centex Homes has announced it has renewed its annual
commitment to The Nature Conservancy, an environmental organization
promoting the preservation of natural habitats and ecological
resources. Centex Homes' first-year commitment ended March 31 and is
expected to result in approximately $600,000 in donations.
More than $700,000 is expected to be donated during the second year
of the partnership. Centex Homes provides each of its new
homebuyers a one-year, free of charge membership to The Nature
Conservancy.
TEXAS SKATE PARK
SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif.
(Business Wire) -- Vans, Inc. has announced it will open a Houston
skate park in the Marq-E, a 350,000-square-foot entertainment
center. The park will be approximately 30,000 square feet and is
scheduled to open in September of this year. The park is modeled
after the VANS skate park at the Block in Orange County and will
feature an emphasis on street course skating.
AUSTRIAN FIRM TO
BUILD HEADQUARTERS IN SOUTHLAKE
DALLAS, Tex. -- ISIS,
Papyrus is planning to build its North American headquarters and
training center in Southlake, according to Monday's Dallas
Business Journal online. The company plans to hire 150 addition
employees by completion in 2001. The 25,000-square-foot central
building and five other buildings -- between 4,000 and 5,000 square
feet each -- will cover more than six acres. Construction will cost
more than $6 million and is scheduled to begin in June.
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