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Texas tops NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index
NAHB
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The March National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) listed more improving markets in Texas than any other state. Twelve Texas cities made the list — including Austin and San Antonio for the first time. Other Texas markets on the list are Amarillo, College Station, Dallas, Laredo, Longview, McAllen, Midland, Odessa, Tyler, and Victoria.
The index measures employment growth (Census), house price growth (Freddie Mac) and single-family housing growth (Census) to identify the top housing markets throughout the country that are showing signs of improving economic health. In March, the tally of housing markets showing measurable improvement reached 99. "The point is that economic conditions have been consistently strengthening in a diverse array of individual markets nationwide," said NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg.
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Mortgage-bond yields that guide lending soar by most since 2010
Bloomberg
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Yields on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage bonds that guide U.S. home-loan rates soared in the biggest two-day jump in 15 months as borrowing costs rise from almost record lows. Fannie Mae's current-coupon 30-year securities climbed 0.15 percentage point to 3.16 percent, the highest level since Nov. 14, after an increase of 0.12 percentage point, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The two-day rise, after the Federal Reserve's better assessment of the economy, was the largest since December 2010.
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Roads killed: Texas adds up damages from drilling
State Impact Texas
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Texas could be looking at spending possibly hundreds of millions of dollars for road repairs and improvements to cope with the surge in oil and gas drilling. "We have a task force [that] in the next 90 days is going out and talking to all the partners involved in the activity to see what we can do," Mark Cross, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Transporation told StateImpact Texas.
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Some struggling homeowners more equal than others
USA Today
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Not all distressed home loan borrowers will benefit equally from the $25 billion national mortgage settlement filed in federal court recently. Part of the settlement requires the five leading mortgage servicers to forgive at least $10 billion in principal that homeowners owe on mortgages.
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The glacial pace of the housing recovery
MarketWatch
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The U.S. economy finally seems to be on a solid path to recovery three years after the recession ended. The struggling housing industry, not so much. The real estate market takes center stage in a typically slow week for U.S. economic data. Reports on new-home construction, new-home sales and purchases of existing homes are among the highlights.
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Texas Comptroller announces tax amnesty for businesses
Window on State Government
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Texas Comptroller Susan Combs has announced the opportunity for businesses to clear up their tax records without any penalty. The state's Fresh Start tax amnesty period is set for June 12 through Aug. 17, 2012. "The amnesty is a chance for businesses to set their tax records straight and save money by not having to pay penalty and interest on tax reports they had failed to file," Combs said. "During the two-month amnesty businesses can file those missing reports and pay the overdue taxes, or amend and pay previous reports in which they had incorrectly stated a lower amount than was due."
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Engineering for Texas builders since 1964, MLAW provides soils reports, foundation designs, framing plans, wind storm plans, forensic engineering and inspections. www.mlaw-eng.com
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Texas super PAC makes incumbents shake in their boots
Politico
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A super PAC funded by a handful of Texas conservatives and a shadowy corporation is wreaking havoc in primaries across the country. Up next: The Campaign for Primary Accountability is hoping to rack up two more victories on Tuesday by ousting incumbent Illinois Reps. Donald Manzullo, a Republican, and Jesse Jackson Jr., a Democrat. The stated mission of the Houston-based super PAC is simple: to oust congressional incumbents on both sides of the aisle. But while the group claims to be nonpartisan and transparent about its cash flow, its biggest donors have a history of backing establishment Republican causes.
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Voter ID laws in Texas, other states are facing stiff legal challenges
Houston Chronicle Texas on the Potomac Blog
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Legal challenges to a rash of state-passed voter ID laws, like one approved in Texas, may eventually lead to the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the statutes stop fraud or discriminate against minorities. A judicial outcome will determine whether the Texas voter ID laws requiring a photo can be implemented by the November general election.
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Homebuilder confidence in US holds at highest since 2007
Bloomberg Businessweek
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Confidence among U.S. homebuilders held in March at the highest level since June 2007 as sales expectations climbed for a sixth month. The reading of 28 in the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence was less than projected and followed a February figure that was lower than initially reported, figures from the Washington-based group showed.
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Texas company could bury first nuclear waste in April
The Associated Press via The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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Trucks carrying low-level radioactive waste from 38 states will likely be rolling along Texas highways as early as April, bound for permanent burial at a dump near the New Mexico border. The arrival of the low-level radioactive waste will end a years-long effort by a Dallas-based company, whose majority owner is big-time political contributor Harold Simmons, to win permission from Texas officials to accept the waste at a 1,340-acre tract of scrub brush terrain about 360 miles west of Dallas.
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Lawmakers seek to tax buyers and refinancers for oil spill
HSH.com Blog
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Lawmakers are thinking about taxing borrowers with a hidden fee to help benefit the states hurt by the 2010 BP oil spill. Senators Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., and Richard Shelby, R-Ala., want to tax homebuyers and refinancers by increasing the guarantee fee or G-fee collected by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The plan is to then divert that money to fund local development projects in their states.
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Xella Aircrete North America, the leading manufacturer of Aerated Concrete Autoclaved Hebel® (AAC) is an amazingly innovative building material that has been used in Europe for more than 80 years and in the US for more than 15 years. MORE |
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SmartTouch Interactive builder clients recognized for multiple builder and real estate marketing awards
MarketWatch
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SmartTouch Interactive®, an interactive real estate marketing agency and real estate marketing automation and CRM software and services company, today announced that three of its marquee clients, Brohn Homes, MileStone Community Builders and Ash Creek Homes, were recently recognized for a number of builder and real estate marketing awards.
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Colleges pay for growth in Texas veterans tuition program
Houston Chronicle
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Texas veterans, going back to Spanish-American War soldiers and World War I doughboys, have benefited for nearly 90 years from a state law providing tuition and fee exemptions to public universities and colleges. Over the last two years, however, the number of participating students has mushroomed and the financial burden to schools, which must absorb the costs, has nearly tripled. This is due in large part to a 2009 amendment expanding the program to include children of veterans.
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Education backlash could fuel turnover in the Legislature
Austin American-Statesman
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More than a dozen Republicans and Democrats who have sat on school boards are running for the Texas House this year, and a backlash over spending cuts and standardized testing might help them get there. Legislators sliced per-student spending last year, prompting schools to trim programs, increase class sizes and enact new fees. The publicity surrounding those cuts could persuade voters to change their representation in Austin, particularly if the alternative is a candidate seen as friendlier to public schools.
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Cedar Planks | Cedar Panels | Cedar Accessories | Cedar Moulding | Cedarsafe by Giles and Kendall provides the ultimate in closet beauty and protection. Visit www.cedarsafeclosets.com MORE |
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NAHB CEO sees bright spots in housing market
Fox Business
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NAHB CEO Jerry Howard weighs in on the current state of the housing market in this video from Fox Business.
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Opponents in border county aim to stop coal rail plan
Texas Tribune
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If members of the Maverick County Environmental and Public Health Association live by the adage that when it rains it pours, in their eyes the next set of thunderstorms could come in the form of rail cars loaded with low-grade coal running through the border county. The group has spearheaded a fight against a company whose Mexican investors and American subsidiaries want to mine about 6,300 acres of land for low-quality coal within the county.
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Meet Professional Builder's 40 Under 40 class for 2012
Professional Builder
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An alligator hunter, break dancer, horse trainer, and former professional basketball player are among home building's young superstars to be named 40 Under 40 winners for 2012 by the editors of Professional Builder magazine.
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Houston residents concerned after sinkhole swallows fence, yard
KHOU-TV
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A pair of fast-growing sinkholes sparked fear and concern among homeowners in two Houston neighborhoods as residents braced for the onslaught of heavy rains that were forecast to hit the area. One of the sinkholes appeared behind a home in the 500 block of Falloon Drive northeast of downtown. Marcus Ibarra noticed it over the weekend when he peered out his bedroom window.
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