The Top Five Places to Buy or Sell a Home
from ABC News/Good Morning America
The struggling housing market has sellers and buyers searching for the best regions to get a great deal. Nationwide, home values are down 12 percent, compared to the same time a year ago, according to real estate website Zillow.com. College towns are a good bet for buyers. And in Austin, Texas houses cost just $98 per square foot. That means more house for your money. More

Report: DFW Homeowners Likely to See Rise in Equity
from The Dallas Morning News
The prospects for rising home equity in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are improving, according to a new report. The Center for Economic and Policy Research and the National Low Income Housing Coalition looked at housing and economic conditions in 100 of the country’s largest metropolitan areas. More

Perry's Income Surpassed $1 Million for First Time in 2007
from The Associated Press via The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Gov. Rick Perry’s income surpassed $1 million for the first time in 2007, the year he sold a piece of lakefront property for more than triple the purchase price, documents provided Monday to The Associated Press show. Perry, who has been in state elective office since 1985, earns a yearly government salary of $111,000. But the longtime Texas governor has made a relative fortune in real estate, including land sold to Dell Inc. founder Michael Dell in 1995 and the lot he acquired on the shores of Lake Lyndon B. Johnson. More

Sales Fall, Prices Rise for Existing Single Family Homes in North Texas
from The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Sales of existing single-family homes in North Texas fell 7 percent in July from a year ago, but the median sales price rose 3 percent, monthly figures compiled by the Texas A&M Real Estate Center show. In the more than two dozen counties that make up the region, 7,127 houses were sold last month. While less than a year earlier, that was up 5 percent from June, when 6,782 houses were sold. More

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Obama Promises to Fix 'Broken Immigration System'
from The Houston Chronicle
President Obama vowed Monday to have a sweeping immigration reform package ready by the end of the year but said the issue likely will be on the back burner until 2010 - after pressing issues like health care and the economy are resolved. After a morning of meetings with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts in Guadalajara, Obama said he was committed to reforms that would guarantee tightened border and workplace enforcement but also provide a path to citizenship so illegal immigrants "don't have to live in the shadows." More

State Panel Disciplines Two Home Builders
from The San Antonio Express News
The Texas Residential Construction Commission has suspended the registration of a Spring Branch builder and levied a fine against the company, the result of a dispute over defects in a San Antonio home. More

Watson, Earle Mull Runs for Governor While Democrats Hope for Strong 2010 Ticket
from The Austin American-Statesman
A year after Texas Democrats relished record turnout for their presidential primary and gains in legislative seats, there's no sign that promising Democratic candidates will pile in behind former state Rep. Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth to seek top state offices next year. More

Luxury Home Development on Lake Travis Fails
from The Austin American-Statesman
A luxury residential development on the south shore of Lake Travis was posted for foreclosure Monday, the second major land foreclosure in Central Texas in just over a month. San Francisco-based Haas & Haynie had planned to build a $120 million development, Vizcaya (Spanish for an elevated plain), on 1,050 acres of the former Covert family ranch off Bee Creek Road near Pace Bend Park. But the Coverts have listed the property for the Sept. 1 foreclosure auction, according to a posting at the Travis County clerk's office. More

After Delay, Extra Unemployment Benefits Being Paid to Texans
from The Dallas Morning News
Texas has started automatically giving as much as 13 weeks of additional unemployment benefits to its long-term jobless, avoiding a four-month gap between payments that was originally projected, officials said Wednesday. About 15,300 jobless Texans are receiving the extra unemployment benefits; the Texas Workforce Commission last month estimated that about 45,000 laid-off Texans had exhausted 59 weeks of benefits and were eligible for the latest extension. More

Get the latest Texas Association of Builders news as well as information affecting the building industry by visiting www.TexasBuilders.org. For information about Education, Exhibits and Special Events happening at the 2009 Sunbelt Builders Show™, visit www.SunbeltBuildersShow.com.