Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Overall rank: 5

The sprawling, vibrant, and diverse metro has a major international airport, professional sports teams, and large corporations. It is home to ExxonMobil, J.C. Penney, and TXU Energy. Employment in the Dallas metro peaked in the second quarter of last year. Gross metropolitan product in the second quarter was down just 1.7% from the peak in the third quarter of 2008. Home prices grew 3% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. And the unemployment rate in June was 8.2%, up 3.1 points from a year earlier. (Please see below for the various criteria used by the Brookings Institution to determine the overall ranking.)

Job growth (since peak) rank: 13
Gross Metro Product (since peak) rank: 11
Unemployment change (year over year) rank: 32
Home price change (year over year) rank: 3

Rates on 30-year home loans dropped below 5 percent for the first time in four months, but still remained above this year’s record low, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.94 percent, down from 5.04 percent last week, Freddie Mac said. The last time the 30-year home loan averaged less than 5 percent was the week ending May 28, when it was 4.91 percent.

Rates hit a record low of 4.78 percent hit in the spring, and remain appealing for people interested in buying a home or refinancing.

On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors said the number of signed sales contracts rose for the seventh straight month in August, as homebuyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit for first-time owners that expires in November.

“Low mortgage rates are helping to stabilize home sales,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

But borrowers may want to consider the Federal Reserve’s announcement last week that it is slowing down a program intended to lower mortgage rates and boost the housing market. Analysts say mortgage rates should remain low for now but could eventually move higher, and homeowners who want to refinance mortgages shouldn’t delay.

Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.36 percent from 4.46 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac. This week’s rate on 15-year mortgages was the lowest since Freddie Mac started tracking it in 1991.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.42 percent, down from 4.51 percent a week earlier. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 4.49 percent from 4.52 percent last week.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac’s survey averaged 0.7 point for 30-year mortgages, and 0.6 point for 15-year and five-year loans. The fee averaged 0.5 point for one-year mortgages.

Random acts of kindness remind us of the good in people that often times are overshadowed by life’s disappointments and setbacks.  Act of kindness such as opening a door for a stranger, sending a “get well” card to a good friend or allowing a car to merge into your lane are small but important gestures that build relationships and make our society stronger.

Acts of kindness can happen just about anywhere at anytime.  They happen when someone chooses to “leave themselves” and gives “of themselves” to someone else. 

Take for example Steamin Bean coffee shop located in Blue Springs, Missouri.  On July 6, 2009, a drive-through customer ordered a cup of coffee.  As she was paying for her coffee, she offered to pay for the next customer’s coffee as well.  In a few minutes, another customer came to the store and ordered a cup of coffee.  When told that the cup of coffee would be free – paid by another customer – he said he would do the same.  The tradition has continued to this day.  As of the date of this story, the Steamin Bean has served over 6,232 “pay it forward” cups of coffee 

Owner Garin Bledsoe says no one, it seems, wants to break the chain of good deeds.

“It’s hard times, but people are wanting to be part of something, knowing their five cents, their dollar goes to a greater good,” said Bledsoe. “They may not be able to change the economy, but they can change one person a day by doing a simple little gesture.”^[i]

Just imagine the impact of those 6,232 customers — an unbroken chain of kindness.  The cup of coffee provided a jumped start their physical bodies but emboldened their hearts in ways we can only imagine.  In fact, the “pay it forward” policy has been adopted by other businesses in Blue Springs.

What act of kindness can you or I start today?

Texas cities continue to lead the nation in homebuilding, even in the face of huge construction cutbacks.

Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth are the top markets in the country for building permits for single-family homes, based on numbers for the 12-month period ending in May.

And Texas had more homebuilding permits than California and Florida combined, according to data provided by California-based John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

Austin and San Antonio also rank among the country’s 10 busiest homebuilding markets.

“Texas didn’t see the downturn in the housing market the other states did,” said Lesley Deutch, a vice president at John Burns.

“Florida and California have really pulled off their permit totals, but Texas is still high up there.”

During the 12 months ending in May, almost 64,000 single-family homebuilding permits were recorded in Texas.

Houston had almost 22,000 permits, and more than 15,000 were recorded in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

“It’s not surprising that we lead the country – both because every place is really hurting and we’ve held up relatively well,” said Dr. James Gaines, an economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

“We do have to be careful that we don’t build just for the heck of it.

“Most of the builders I’ve talked to say they are doing mostly contract work with just a few speculative homes here and there and only by those with capital resources to be able to finance it.”

Gaines is forecasting a 25 percent drop in homebuilding permits in Texas this year, “the lowest level we’ve had since 1992.”

“Builders have to build somewhere, and Texas is about the only game in the country,” he said.

“We still have a growing population – although not as much – and our home prices and markets have held up pretty well.”

At midyear, home starts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area were down about 70 percent from mid-2006 levels.

“The industry understands that Texas has performed much better than the rest of the country throughout the downturn,” said Ted Wilson, a housing analyst with Dallas-based Residential Strategies Inc.

“But to say that there hasn’t been pain here is a misstatement.

“Yes, the market has been better here, but you aren’t going to find many builders crowing about local market demand.”

Addison Kaboom Town-
Friday, July 3 5:00p to Saturday, July 4 12:00a
at Addison Circle Park, Addison, TX

Arlington,  Saturday  July 4th

Bedford, Saturday July 4th

Cleburne, Saturday July 4th

Dallas Fair Park, Saturday July 4th

Denton Fourth Jubilee, Saturday July 4th

Farmer’s Branch Celebration, Friday July 3rd

Frisco Freedom Fest-
Saturday, July 4th at 4:00 p.m.
Address is 6101 Frisco Square Blvd. (Main St. and N. Dallas Tollway)

Flower Mound, Saturday July 4th

Fort Worth, Saturday July 4th

Lewisville Red White Festival, Saturday July 4th

McKinney Red White & Boom-
Soccer Complex at Craig Ranch
Fireworks start at 9:30 p.m.

Plano All American 4th-
Oak Point Park
2601 Spring Creek Pkwy.
9:30 p.m.
Tune into 97.5 KLAK for simulcast

Richardson’s Family 4th,
Breckenridge Park
Fireworks start at 9:30 p.m.
On-site parking is very limited, so beginning at 6 p.m. on July 4th the City of Richardson will provide free round-trip DART shuttle service from the Rockwell-Collins International Campus located at the intersection of Renner and Shiloh roads.

Rockwall July 4th Celebration, Saturday July 4th

Spirit of Coppell, July 3-4

Southlake Stars & Stripes,  Friday July 3rd

Trinity River Fiesta, July 4th

Trophy Club Celebration, Saturday July 4th

5 cities where Americans are relocating

U.S. migration may be down overall, but these vibrant metro areas are still attracting newcomers.

By Forbes

Austin, Texas, is No. 2 on the list of cities where Americans are relocating. © Brandon Seidel/Shutterstock

Unemployment is on the rise, credit is tight and consumers aren’t spending — which means they aren’t picking up and moving much, either. Very few places in America saw significant population growth in 2008.

Despite the overall economic slowdown, some parts of the country keep on moving ahead, attracting more and more newcomers — even if it’s at a slower pace than in more sound economic times. These places still offer a semblance of stability, as well as great weather, cultural life and, in many cases, affordability.

Behind the numbers
To determine the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, Forbes used 2008 population estimates for metropolitan statistical areas with a population of more than 1 million, released March 19, 2009, by the U.S. Census Bureau. MSAs are geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics.

Forbes then compared the 2008 population estimates to the previous year’s data to see which areas had grown the most, percentagewise.

The cities that made the list share similar qualities: more business opportunities, better weather and more affordable housing. The top three areas according to the data are Raleigh, N.C., ranking first, which jumped 4.29% to nearly 1.9 million; Austin, Texas, which came in second, with a 3.77% increase to almost 1.7 million; and Charlotte, N.C., which moved up 3.36% to 1.7 million.

All these areas’ increases were smaller in 2008 than they were in 2007 (Raleigh increased by 4.7% in 2007, Austin by 4.29% and Charlotte by 4.2%), but a slight slowdown is not necessarily a bad thing, says William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, an independent research and policy group based in Washington, D.C. “Part of the story here is the rapid rise in growth in the middle of decade,” he says. “That growth was unnatural.”

The in-migration that happened in the middle of this decade certainly had a lot to do with the housing boom. When that went bust, so did those crazy population balloons. But these particular places are still growing because instead of building an economy that relies heavily on one industry, most of the metro areas on Forbes’ list serve as headquarters for a diverse range of companies.

For example, Austin’s biggest employers include the University of Texas, Advanced Micro Devices and Dell. That wide range might have something to do with the area’s relatively low January 2009 unemployment rate of 6.4%.

This is the opposite of what happened in true housing boom-and-bust towns like Las Vegas. In 2004, Las Vegas — a foreclosure mecca — saw a population increase of 4.6%, followed by 3.66% in 2005, 3.98% in 2006 and 3.22% in 2007. In 2008, that number fell to 2%.

The power of business
When it comes down to it, a buzzing business community is a metro area’s most important characteristic, says Sean C. Safford, a professor at the University of Chicago and author of “Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save Youngstown: The Transformation of the Rust Belt.” He studies the social economics of U.S. cities and metro areas.

However, that doesn’t mean that these metros won’t suffer from a slowdown in population growth when 2009’s numbers are released next year. Charlotte, for example, reported a 10.5% unemployment rate for January 2009, likely related to the fact that Bank of America is headquartered there. That high unemployment rate almost guarantees stunted growth in 2009.

“We don’t quite yet know what the impact (of the ongoing recession) will be for 2009 populations,” Frey says. “But we do know it’s not going to get any better.”

Indeed, where Americans are relocating today has little to do with where they’ll be moving tomorrow.

Top 5 cities where Americans are relocating

1. Raleigh, N.C.

2. Austin, Texas

3. Charlotte, N.C.

4. Phoenix

5. Dallas

This article was written by Lauren Sherman for Forbes.

Home Maintenance Tasks: May

The Metro Tex Association of Realtors, DFWRealtors, reported a 23 percent increase in North Texas existing-home sales during the month of February compared to January of 2009.

According to the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, in February, 5,126 houses were sold in Tarrant, Dallas, Denton, and Collin counties in North Texas. In January, 3,972 homes were sold in the region.

DFWRealtors President Howard Zielke says the increase in sales comes at a perfect time in North Texas, calling the February numbers “great news.”

“Traditionally, spring kicks off the home-buying season,” Zielke explained. “More and more home buyers are learning about the $8,000 tax credit and the impact it can have when deciding to purchase a house.”

Zielke said he expects a boost in North Texas home sales as buyers who have been waiting for additional housing provisions in the economic stimulus package, such as the tax credit, step off the sidelines.

Zielke also praised the Federal Reserve’s announcement last week to purchase an additional $750 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to drive down mortgage rates even further. “This is great news for American home buyers and homeowners because mortgage interest rates will continue to remain at historic lows. That along with a large inventory of homes makes now a great time to buy,” Zielke said.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Monday that first-time home buyers boosted the sales of existing homes across the nation. Existing-home sales jumped 5.1 percent in February from the number of units sold in January. According to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, nationally, first-time buyers accounted for half of all home sales last month.