All Blog Entries by James Brinkman 
There are currently 17 blog entries published by James Brinkman.
New Property Appraisal Laws in Effect in Texas
Saturday, March 13th, 2010 at 7:56pm. 63 Views, 0 Comments.
Several new laws affecting homeowners went into effect on January 1 of this year. Although there are numerous new laws that Texas residents should learn more about, those that specifically affect homeowners include new laws that are meant to lower property taxes as well as those that are meant to improve the home appraisal process.
Several new pieces of legislation related to property taxes were passed by lawmakers last year. One of these includes legislation that will limit what is known as a "comparable sale" as well as creating a new arbitration process. Additional legislation…
Austin Housing Market Showing Signs of Stability
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 3:27pm. 174 Views, 0 Comments.
As the country works toward digging its way out of the recession, all eyes have been focused on the housing market. After all, the fall out of the housing market was the biggest contributor to our current economic situation and, therefore, stabilizing the market is the key to enjoying a full economic recovery. Unfortunately, many markets are still continuing to struggle throughout the country, but others are starting to show signs of stabilization. In fact, according to the Austin Board of Realtors and the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, Austin's home market has neared…
Survey Finds the State of Texas is Showing Signs of Economic Improvement
Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 11:00am. 213 Views, 0 Comments.
According to the most recent Beige Book survey to be released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, economic conditions in the state of Texas are showing signs of improvement. In fact, the report found that economic conditions through November had "firmed" and that a number of industries are showing signs of improvement.
The Beige Book survey, which is conducted on a periodic basis and evaluates the economic conditions of the Federal 11th district that includes Central Texas, found that the paper, high-tech manufacturing, housing, staffing, energy and petrochemicals industries are…
Austin-Round Rock Area Ranked #1 Most Secure Metropolitan Area in the Country
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 10:53am. 324 Views, 0 Comments.
A study conducted by Farmers Insurance Group of Companies mirrored the results of a recent FBI report, which listed the city of Round Rock as one of the safest places to live in the United States. According to the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies report, which looked at 379 large metropolitan areas with a population of 500,000 or more, the Austin-Round Rock area is listed as number one among the Most Secure U.S. Places to Live.
A number of different factors were considered when conducting this study, including all of the following:
• Extreme weather conditions
• Crime…
Austin Traffic: How does it compare?
Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 1:37pm. 253 Views, 0 Comments.
It certainly isn't uncommon to hear Austinites complain about the traffic they experience while traversing the city. But, according to a report recently released by the Texas Department of Transportation, Austin does not rank at the top of the list of congested traffic areas throughout the state. In fact, within its list of the top 100 most congested roadways in the State, downtown's Austin’s I-35 was ranked at number 26. Highways and interstates running through Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, on the other hand, were listed far ahead of Austin's I-35.
I-35 wasn't the only Austin…
Austin Housing Market Shows Improvement
Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at 12:49pm. 511 Views, 2 Comments.
Although Austin has been ranked by Forbes.com as the city that is most likely to experience the fastest economic turnaround, it doesn't mean the city is quite ready to proclaim that all is well. In fact, home sales still remain down year-over-year, but they are showing improvement when compared to earlier this year.
According to the Austin Board of Realtors, a little more than 1,700 homes were sold in May 2009, which is down by 19% when compared to May of 2008. In addition, the median price for single-family homes declined by 1% when compared to one year ago, resulting in a…
Austin Receiving $132 Million for Government Building Improvements
Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 5:52pm. 487 Views, 0 Comments.
The General Services Administration, which is responsible for providing support to other federal agencies and for managing approximately $500 billion of Federal property, will be dispersing money to over 100 different development projects across the country. The funding, which became available through the recently passed stimulus package, is meant to help produce new jobs while also improving government facilities throughout the country.
In all, the state of Texas will be receiving $325 million from the stimulus package, which will be used to fund 18 GSA projects throughout the…
More Foreclosures on High-End Homes
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 at 5:50pm. 498 Views, 0 Comments.
The current economic conditions have resulted in an increase in foreclosures around the country, but new data released by the Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. located in Addison has shown that the foreclosure on higher-end homes have seen the largest gain in Bastrop, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties.
Although foreclosures on homes valued at less than $200,000 are still responsible for the bulk of foreclosures within the Austin metro area - with 71% of foreclosed upon homes fitting within this price range - the number of higher end homes that have gone into foreclosure has…
Texas Schools to Receive Funding for School Lunch Programs
Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 5:00pm. 791 Views, 0 Comments.
Students throughout the state of Texas should soon see an improvement in the quality and the nutrition of their school-provided lunches. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, the state recently received $11 million in federal funding - all of which is part of the recently passed stimulus package - with which they will be able to upgrade, update, and replace food preparation equipment throughout the state's schools.
"Schools can use this money to replace old, worn-out equipment and make sure our children are receiving healthy meals," said Todd Staples, who is the…
Austin Community College Breaks Ground on New Round Rock Campus
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 at 7:35pm. 752 Views, 0 Comments.
Round Rock will soon be home to a new $119 million Austin Community College District campus. According to Austin Biz Journals, the college broke ground on the new campus recently and will expects to be open to students by 2010.
The new campus, which will be able to serve 11,500 students, will cover approximately 600,000 square feet. The building, on the other hand, will cover 275,000 square feet. This building will include both classroom and administrative space. In addition to housing traditional classrooms, it will also be home to science labs as well as several specialized…
