Texas homes continued to hold their value as sales jumped up in the third quarter of 2011.

For the period of July through September 2011, the volume of single-family home sales in Texas was 58,019, nearly 18% more than the same quarter in 2010. Real estate prices remained flat in the third quarter with the median price statically unchanged from Q3-2010 at $151,800 and the average price down less than one percent to $197,833, according to the latest Texas Quarterly Housing Report issued by the Texas Association of REALTORS®.

Read More: http://www.texasrealestate.com/web/2/25/

The Tyler area saw a 17.27 percent increase in home sales in September compared to the same time a year ago.

Last month, 258 homes were sold in the area, compared to 220 sold in September 2010, according to figures released Tuesday from the Greater Tyler Association of Realtors.

read more: http://www.texasrealestate.com/web/3/31/News/102711.cfm

Real estate agents in Lubbock had a strong September, racking up home sales nearly 40 percent better than a year ago, according to figures released by the Lubbock Association of Realtors.

And preliminary indications suggest October is on track for another good showing.

read more: http://lubbockonline.com/business/2011-10-12/hub-city-realtors-post-strong-september-sales-numbers%23.tphedbl17gc

Against the worst national economy in more than 60 years, the Austin area stands out as the best market in the nation.

That's the bottom line from Mark Sprague, an expert who follows the economy and housing markets both locally and nationally.

Read More: http://www.statesman.com/business/economist-austin-economy-keeps-outperforming-nations-as-a-1696191.html

Appraisals are supposed to be unbiased assessments of a property's value. The housing bubble that burst a few years ago was inflated, in part, by overly generous appraisals. Now, lenders are pressuring appraisers to come in with lower estimates, some real-estate professionals say. Banks also are using less-experienced appraisers, who often don't appreciate factors that make a home worth more, they say. And valuations are being heavily influenced by distressed sales priced at a discount to the rest of the market.

Read More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904006104576500170808091148.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

The Dallas Federal Reserve notes that Texas entered the Great Recession late and came out of it early, with 2-percent job growth in 2010 and an expected 3 to 4 percent for 2011.

Of the 496,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy between fall 2009 and spring 2011, more than half of that job growth came from Texas – a finding Perry has bragged about recently.

Read More: http://elpasoinc.com/readArticle.aspx?issueid=350&xrec=6707

Foreclosures and short sales made up 30 percent of all existing-home sales in June, according to data released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). 

The market share for distressed properties, as anticipated, has been steadily dwindling with the onset of warmer weather. In May, foreclosures and short sales accounted for 31 percent of home resales. As recently as April their share was 37 percent, and in March it was 40 percent.

Read More: http://www.linkedin.com/news?actionBar=&articleID=647397754&ids=0Qc3kRcPcVd3oIc3cOejoUdPgSb3wQdPwSc3gQdyMQdjsTejcTd3oIdjsVej4PejgS&aag=true&freq=weekly&trk=eml-tod-b-ttle-44

During the recent session, Texas Realtors championed legislation that eliminated private transfer fees on real estate transactions and implemented disclosure and notification requirements about existing fees, protecting homeowners from hidden fees when buying and selling a home.

The Texas Association of Realtors was also successful in urging lawmakers to enhance protection of private-property rights in cases of eminent-domain takings by government entities. The new law limits the purposes for which a property may be condemned and specifies the original landowners can buy back their property if not used for its intended purpose after 10 years.

Read More: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/texas-association-of-realtors-highlights-82nd-session-wins-on-behalf-of-texas-homeowners-124188574.html

With foreclosures overhanging the home sales market, weak jobs numbers and looming changes that likely will make getting a mortgage more difficult, many economists and real estate industry leaders are pointing to the rental market as real estate's latest boom market.

“The stage is being set for very strong rent increases,” said Stan Humphries, chief economist of Zillow, who spoke to members of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, which met at the Menger Hotel in San Antonio.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/Multifamily-trumps-home-market-1429437.php#ixzz1PaJMH4BF

According to The Business Journals, Texas created 732,800 jobs over the last 10 years.  No other state tops 100,000 jobs!  Arizona and Utah were right behind Texas at 92,000 and California suffered the largest decline across the nation.

View the chart of all 50 states: http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2011/05/texas-adds-732800-jobs-in-10-years.html?ana=twt