Check out current rates here: http://www.texaslending.com/mortgage-rates.htm

All conventional rates and APRs assume 80% financing on a $165,000 loan value with max loan of $417,000. Jumbo rate/APR minimum $417,000 loan amount and 70% financing. Offers may terminate at any time without notice. Rate/APR calculated on a 365 day year with typical closing costs. Rates/APRs subject to change in closing costs and properties. All rates as of date posted on this website with 40 day lock period. Signed loan application required to lock rate. Rates may be higher for credit scores below 740 middle score. APR will change with loan amount and percentage of home being financed.

* All rates quoted with 1% origination
*Based on loan amounts of $165,000+
*Subject to credit & income requirements
*restrictions apply
NMLS# 137773

Check out current rates here: http://www.texaslending.com/mortgage-rates.htm

All conventional rates and APRs assume 80% financing on a $165,000 loan value with max loan of $417,000. Jumbo rate/APR minimum $417,000 loan amount and 70% financing. Offers may terminate at any time without notice. Rate/APR calculated on a 365 day year with typical closing costs. Rates/APRs subject to change in closing costs and properties. All rates as of date posted on this website with 40 day lock period. Signed loan application required to lock rate. Rates may be higher for credit scores below 740 middle score. APR will change with loan amount and percentage of home being financed.

* All rates quoted with 1% origination
*Based on loan amounts of $165,000+
*Subject to credit & income requirements
*restrictions apply
NMLS# 137773

Check out current rates here: http://www.texaslending.com/mortgage-rates.htm

All conventional rates and APRs assume 80% financing on a $165,000 loan value with max loan of $417,000. Jumbo rate/APR minimum $417,000 loan amount and 70% financing. Offers may terminate at any time without notice. Rate/APR calculated on a 365 day year with typical closing costs. Rates/APRs subject to change in closing costs and properties. All rates as of date posted on this website with 40 day lock period. Signed loan application required to lock rate. Rates may be higher for credit scores below 740 middle score. APR will change with loan amount and percentage of home being financed.

* All rates quoted with 1% origination
*Based on loan amounts of $165,000+
*Subject to credit & income requirements
*restrictions apply
NMLS# 137773

That’s not because the Dallas-Ft. Worth housing market is in worse overall shape. Instead, it’s more likely because home prices in Dallas-Ft. Worth never crashed as hard as those in many cities did during the Great Recession, leaving there somewhat less room for a massive rebound.

According to The Dallas Morning News, many housing experts believe that this persistent dynamic is largely a sign of good health:

“I know everybody wants to be first, but you guys have been first in a better way,” David Blitzer, chairman of S&P’s index committee, said Tuesday. “In the last 10 years, when most of the country was going berserk with housing, you guys managed to keep your heads on your shoulders,” he said. He said the rebound in home values in North Texas is understandably more modest than in cities where prices collapsed. Moderation is a good thing, Blitzer said.

During the early and mid-2000s, when home prices in many coastal and Southwestern cities exploded by double-digit annual increases, price gains in Dallas and other Texas cities were much smaller. North Texas wasn’t one of the “bubble” markets with inflated residential values when the housing market crashed starting in 2006. So prices here fell a lot less than in other U.S. cities.

[...] “The Dallas increase reflects a far more stable, sustainable rate of increase rather than the high volatility of boom-bust,” said James Gaines, an economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

To further illustrate this point, despite the recent rapid growth, prices are still down nationwide roughly 30 percent from mid-2006, according to the Case-Shiller index. That number is much worse in some of the hardest-hit bubble cities. But in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, most homes have regained nearly all of the value they lost when the bubble popped (that also means they are still a long ways from where they would’ve been had the market never collapsed in the first place, but it’s still a good indicator of the relative health of North Texas housing). Housing markets in Houston, Austin and San Antonio are in similar shape.

Housing experts don’t expect the nationwide growth rates to continue for the foreseeable future, and fears of another bubble have been rising in cities especially prone to severe boom/bust cycles such as San Francisco and Miami. Texas cities, where housing is generally more abundant and affordable, are somewhat less prone to this.

So that’s the landscape heading into the summer home-buying season. If it looks like a good time to buy for your family, TexasLending.com is here to help with a extensive variety of Texas home loan options, including Houston home refinance loans, Dallas home equity loans and Austin home purchase loans.

Check out current rates here: http://www.texaslending.com/mortgage-rates.htm

All conventional rates and APRs assume 80% financing on a $165,000 loan value with max loan of $417,000. Jumbo rate/APR minimum $417,000 loan amount and 70% financing. Offers may terminate at any time without notice. Rate/APR calculated on a 365 day year with typical closing costs. Rates/APRs subject to change in closing costs and properties. All rates as of date posted on this website with 40 day lock period. Signed loan application required to lock rate. Rates may be higher for credit scores below 740 middle score. APR will change with loan amount and percentage of home being financed.

* All rates quoted with 1% origination
*Based on loan amounts of $165,000+
*Subject to credit & income requirements
*restrictions apply
NMLS# 137773

The statistics now appear to back this up. Population growth is determined by a number of factors, including several obvious ones such as the total number of births or deaths in a state, as well as how many immigrants arrive from other states (this will make a bigger difference, of course, in border states than those farther inland, and historically it’s what made New York and California so populous). But there’s another factor that is perhaps the most most indicative of a state’s overall health and desirability: net domestic migration. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, net domestic migration is defined as the overall gain or loss of population among people moving to or from other states.

The Texas A&M Real Estate Center describes the effect this way:

“Net domestic migration” is a handsome phrase. It’s got a real ring to it, like “warm southern breeze” or “mom’s meatloaf.” Business owners love it. States love it. Cities do, too. It’s great for real estate owners as well.[...]

All four of these components have important social implications, but I view net domestic migration as a key barometer of the economic viability of a city or a state. In my opinion, states that have positive net domestic migration are states that are creating jobs and have a brighter outlook for economic growth. These are areas that more people move into than out of.

According to his research, Texas led the way in domestic migration in 2012, with a net gain of 140,888 people moving in from other states. Florida came in second with a gain of 101,411 new residents, followed by a big drop-off to the other gainers: Arizona (34,456), Colorado (27,962), Georgia (19,928) and Nevada (13,918).

By comparison, states with negative net domestic migration — if more families are leaving your state than those that are arriving — it’s probably an indication that something might be wrong — often high taxes, high cost of living or lack of employment. Last year’s biggest net losers were New York (-115,754), Illinois (-73,453) and California (-44,541) — all states with expensive housing markets and relatively high taxes. (You can access more of these sorts of statistics here.)

Long story short, Texas is clearly a great place to call home. And TexasLending.com is here to welcome you with a vast array of Austin home loans, Houston home loans and Dallas home loans. Contact us to learn more.

Check out current rates here: http://www.texaslending.com/mortgage-rates.htm

All conventional rates and APRs assume 80% financing on a $165,000 loan value with max loan of $417,000. Jumbo rate/APR minimum $417,000 loan amount and 70% financing. Offers may terminate at any time without notice. Rate/APR calculated on a 365 day year with typical closing costs. Rates/APRs subject to change in closing costs and properties. All rates as of date posted on this website with 40 day lock period. Signed loan application required to lock rate. Rates may be higher for credit scores below 740 middle score. APR will change with loan amount and percentage of home being financed.

* All rates quoted with 1% origination
*Based on loan amounts of $165,000+
*Subject to credit & income requirements
*restrictions apply
NMLS# 137773

Real estate agents credit low mortgage rates, as well as increasing rents in apartments for the increase in activity. And a relatively low number of available condos and townhouses in Dallas — due, in part, to the increasing popularity of urban living here in the Metroplex— is contributing the higher prices.

According to The Dallas Morning News,

“We are seeing a lot of empty nester and professional types coming into the higher end product,” said real estate agent Kyle Crews with Allie Beth Allman & Associates. “About half of them pay cash. “They have done well with other investments, or there is some family assistance.”

“That’s a big driver for the market now,” said Jeff Updike with Dave Perry-Miller & Associates. “There are still some good values out there. “There is more confidence in the marketplace, and people are looking at rents and want to buy.”

Low mortgage costs are also a big factor, he said. “The availability of condo financing has gotten a lot better.”

We’ve talked a little bit in the past here at Texas Lending Today about some of the advantages of buying a Dallas condo or Dallas town home rather than a typical house. Small, higher-density living has become popular among the young and old alike — say, young professionals looking to live close to work and nightlife options while essentially testing out the home ownership experience with something a little bit more manageable than a full house and yard. This sort of real estate is often attractive for older homeowners looking to downsize when kids move out, give up long commutes from the suburbs (the savings on gasoline, toll fees and auto wear-and-tear can offset some of the added costs of urban living, such as condo association fees or parking fees) or find a tight-knit community of people in a similar stage of life.

If you find condo or townhouse life ownership attractive — whether in Dallas, Austin, Houston or any other urban environment in Texas — and are considering taking the plunge, give us a call. At TexasLending.com, we offer a diverse range of Dallas home loans, Austin home loans and Houston home loans, including ones ideal for condos and townhomes.

Get Ready for Sizzling Summer Home Loan Rates

The summer home-buying and home-selling season is almost here, and housing markets in cities around Texas already appear to be heating up quite a bit. In addition to some of the positive statistical signs we’ve looked at in recent weeks, we’re also seeing some other types of promising indicators. For example, real estate agents we work with have been increasingly busy. And for the first time in years, we’ve seen some competition for homes in certain neighborhoods.

This last point is especially key. For example, according to the Wall Street Journal:

In a reversal from just two years ago, the biggest challenge facing housing markets today is too few homes being offered for sale, according to industry executives. The lack of supply is fueling activities that are reminiscent of the housing boom of the past decade: bidding wars, lotteries to purchase new homes, home flipping, and letters like the one Mr. Patterson received.

“Almost everyone wants to buy a home right now—interest rates are low, the market has turned, and they want to get in on the bottom—and they can’t,” said Glenn Kelman, chief executive of real-estate brokerage Redfin, which does business in 21 markets. While the housing-market revival shows few signs of reversing, Mr. Kelman worries that the “inventory crunch has become self-perpetuating: people can’t find a new house, so they’re hesitant to sell their old house.”

In other words, it’s a good idea to be as ready as possible with a Texas home loan in order to be ready to pounce when you find the right home at the right price. Here’s how TexasLending.com can help:

1. With our e-signature application system, you can shave weeks off the home loan process.

2. If you call us, you’ll usually be speaking with a qualified loan officer within nine seconds. Speed matters with home loans, so we strive to make our entire process as smooth and efficient as possible. A few seconds here and there add up.

3. You can apply online today. It’s fast. It’s easy. It’s as affordable as you’ll find for Dallas homeloans, Austin home loans and Houston home loans.

Give us a call to be ready for the moment that “for sale” sign pops up in the front yard of your dream home.

Check out current rates here: http://www.texaslending.com/mortgage-rates.htm

All conventional rates and APRs assume 80% financing on a $165,000 loan value with max loan of $417,000. Jumbo rate/APR minimum $417,000 loan amount and 70% financing. Offers may terminate at any time without notice. Rate/APR calculated on a 365 day year with typical closing costs. Rates/APRs subject to change in closing costs and properties. All rates as of date posted on this website with 40 day lock period. Signed loan application required to lock rate. Rates may be higher for credit scores below 740 middle score. APR will change with loan amount and percentage of home being financed.

* All rates quoted with 1% origination
*Based on loan amounts of $165,000+
*Subject to credit & income requirements
*restrictions apply
NMLS# 137773