LAKE TRAVIS, AUSTIN TEXAS REAL ESTATE LAND FOR SALE

 96-acre Red Sky Ranch on the northern shore of Lake Travis west of the Travis-Burnet county line is being divided for sale.

Two of the four tracts of the ranch, south of the intersection of FM 1431 and Muleshoe Bend Trail, are being sold at auction July 26. Read the rest of this entry »

Austin Texas

Median home price: +6.4%

Unemployment: 3.6% (from 3.8%)

Key growth: Natural resources and construction, +5.1%; leisure and hospitality, +5.3%

One of the hippest cities in the country has one of the lowest unemployment rates. The Austin region is home to Dell, and many tech companies from Apple to Sun Microsystems also maintain a significant presence. One difference between “Silicon Hills,” as some call Austin’s tech sector, and Silicon Valley? In Austin, the median home price is still under $200,000.

http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/29/cities-recession-places-forbeslife-cx_jz_0429realestate_slide_2.html?partner=yahoore

Today’s Current Mortgage Refinance Rates| Austin Texas Home Loans | May 12, 2008

Today’s 30 year mortgage rate is 5.875%-6.00% depending on your credit. Today’s 15 year mortgage rate is 5.375%.

Home Equity loans (Texas)have slightly higher rates than traditional rates, however with mortgage rates in the 6% range; this may be a great time to consolidate your high interest-debt with a home equity loan. This allows you to reduce the amount you pay each month. My average client saves over $400/month when they consolidate their debt using a home equity loan.  

We also offer 20 year mortgage rates and today’s 20 year rate is also 5.875%

40-Year Fixed Mortgage 6.375% 6.573%
30-Year Fixed Mortgage 5.875% 6.099%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage 5.875% 6.174%
15-Year Fixed  Mortgage 5.375% 5.746%

Texas Mortgage Application (secure mortgage application)

Austin Texas Jumbo Mortgage– Amounts that exceed conforming loan limits $417,000
40/30 Fixed-Rate Balloon 7.500% 7.647%
30-Year Fixed 7.125% 7.282%
15-Year Fixed 6.250% 6.498%
10-Year ARM 7.625% 6.975%
Read the rest of this entry »

Relatively low taxes have kept pump prices far below most other developed nations, which some say is precisely why the current runup is so painful.Despite daily headlines bemoaning record gas prices, the U.S. is actually one of the cheaper places to fill up in the world.

Out of 155 countries surveyed, U.S. gas prices were the 45th cheapest, according to a recent study from AIRINC, a research firm that tracks cost of living data.

The difference is staggering. As of late March, U.S. gas prices averaged $3.45 a gallon. That compares to over $8 a gallon across much of Europe.

The U.S. has always fought to keep gas prices low, and the current debate among presidential candidates on how to keep them that way has been fierce.

 But those cheap gas prices - which Americans have gotten used to - mean they feel price spikes like the ones we’re experiencing now more acutely than citizens from other nations which have had historically more expensive fuel.

Cheap gas prices have also lulled Americans into a cycle of buying bigger cars and bigger houses further away from their work - leaving them more exposed to rising prices, some experts say. Read the rest of this entry »