Existing Home Sales Lowest Since 1997

Sales of existing homes fell in January to their lowest levels in nearly 12 years, with a real estate group saying buyers delayed purchases in anticipation of government programs to boost the housing market. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that existing home sales dropped 5.3 percent last month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.49 million units from a rate of 4.74 million in December. More

Choice Homes Suspends Operations

One of North Texas’ largest homebuilders is suspending operations because of the tight credit markets. Choice Homes, which has been in business for 21 years, constructed more than 580 houses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area last year. The Irving-based high-production builder is the latest in a string of local builders forced to shut down because of the lack of lending. More

Homes Sales, Outlook Getting Better

A February survey of public and private builders across the country from John Burns Real Estate Consulting shows that Texas saw new home sales, traffic and expectations pick up in January. The survey gathered information from 236 home building industry executives. “I spent several days in Texas this month and can confirm that the pick-up is real and is driven by lower mortgage rates in an area where home price appreciation was insignificant and the economy is still OK,” said John Burns, CEO of Irvine, Calif.-based John Burns Real Estate Consulting. More

Trinity River Debate Revived After Dallas Levees Fail Review

After a few months on the back burner, Dallas' greatest saga – the Trinity River project – is again topic No. 1 at City Hall. A day after city officials announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers judged that Dallas' primary floodway is in unacceptable condition, the City Council dived headlong into the issue again. Members had a tense and tough exchange Wednesday over the viability of building a toll road inside the Trinity levees, along with the possibility that a grand park along the river will never be realized. More

Perry Says Texas Needs to Spend Money on Water

Gov. Rick Perry says it's time for Texas to put some money into water. The Republican governor told the Texas Water Conservation Association on Wednesday that lawmakers should spend $260 million to help speed the building of water reservoirs. More

$16 Billion Stimulus Windfall Dividing Texas Legislature

Texas lawmakers, given a $16 billion windfall from the federal stimulus bill, are forming two camps. One sees "great danger" of government creep, as Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, warned the House on Wednesday. The other sees great opportunity for very practical advances, but only if the Legislature can see through "red herrings" being raised by conservative demagogues, said House Democratic leader Jim Dunnam of Waco. And then, there's the perennial question of which lawmakers get to decide. More

Poll Shows No Clear Favorite for Hutchison's Senate Seat

The race for Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison’s U.S. Senate seat will likely be close should the seat become available soon, according to a poll released Wednesday by a North Carolina firm. Two potential Republican candidates - Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Attorney General Greg Abbott - have the best chance of winning the seat, according to the poll from Raleigh-based Public Policy Polling. More

Greener Future for San Antonio Buildings?

Under a proposed ordinance presented Wednesday to the Real Estate Council of San Antonio by members of the Sustainable Building Task Force, new buildings would be required use 15 percent less energy than the existing code. In 2012, buildings would be required to use 30 percent less energy than the current code. By 2030, the goal is to build new buildings that are carbon-neutral, meaning they create no greenhouse gases. More

Perry Wants 1,000 More Troops on Border

Gov. Rick Perry said he has asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to send resources and "1,000 more troops" to the border in Texas as violence continues to mount in northern Mexico. "I've been in direct contact with Secretary Napolitano ... and I've asked her for a substantial amount of technology, in the form of aviation assets as well as 1,000 more troops that we can commit to different parts of the border," Perry told reporters after meeting with state, local, and federal authorities at the Chamizal National Monument, just across the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juarez. More