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Are you asking yourself when are interest rates going to drop? Or is the housing market going to crash? These are very common questions with today’s market and the answer is that things are often changing. What we can see as of most recent is that things are looking up and there’s opportunity out there if you have the right realty team behind you to get you there. Keep reading as we get into Inflation predictions and the state of the housing inventory and what that all means for you and future mortgage rates.

State Of Inflation

As you can see in the chart here, inflation is heading back to the Federal Reserve’s set target. This means that ultimately with the rate of inflation decelerating, mortgage rates should gently decline over the remaining course of 2023. The National Association of Relators (NAR), predicts that 30-year fixed mortgage rates will progressively fall to 6% this year and 5.6% in 2024.

Housing Inventory

Since the 2008 c; ...

Today we're talking about the potential property tax cuts on the horizon for our fellow Texans. This month, a new law has been approved, aiming to increase the homestead exemption to $100,000, decrease the tax rates for schools and implement a limit on property appraisals for both residential and commercial properties, along with several other accompanying measures.
Governor Greg Abbott signed the cut-creating legislation, ending months of negotiations. But before taking effect, Texas voters must decide on Nov. 7 whether to permit spending billions in taxpayer funds, primarily collected from the past two years, for the cuts. If likely approved due to prior support for tax cuts, changes would impact 2023 tax bills, due in January.
Here are the five key-parts to the tax-cuts package to know:
1. $100,000 Homestead Exemption
Roughly $5.6 billion is projected to be allocated in order to significantly increase the existing property tax exemption from $40,000 to over double that amount f. ...

The Farmer's Almanac is predicting rain for our part of the United States.  Do you believe them?  

Well, our "region" according to them includes everything from New Mexico to Louisiana.  Now, I don't know about you, but I've never run into any gators in Santa Fe, and I've not had amazing authentic Mexican food in New Orleans.  Seems to me that to be trustworthy...the Farmer's Almanac should be a bit more "hyper local...."  You know, like Real Estate is. 

It's been a buyer's market in recent months. But relief is coming...even if it doesn't look like rain just yet.  

Property Tax Relief
In July, the Texas legislature reached an agreement to give Texans the largest property tax cut in history.   That is certainly welcome news.  Details are not fully understood quite yet, but there's an increase in your homestead exemption AND new rules for investment properties that will give them an annual cap on increa ...

Russ is here to check in with our community! Keep reading to get his rundown on the Silicon Valley Bank Failure, Interest Rates, and more:
I bought a horse last weekend. Even though I have 4 other ones already. More on that and how it relates to today's topics later.
So, I have begun to REALLY LIMIT my "news intake." Not because I want to be out of touch....but because I want to be out of touch with "agenda driven news." In fact, so much of it is not really news, it's op-ed, crafted to look like broadcast news. People in suits, behind desks, with endless talking points about how "that other side" is out to ruin the country. I think politics ruins EVERYTHING it touches.
That said, there are some news items that ARE important to watch and so I have limited myself to reading the WALL STREET JOURNAL and to a podcast I enjoy called "The World and Everything In it." I recommend both.
I also listen to people smarter than me in their fields of expertise. This blog is about some of what ...

It's that time of year to start thinking about taxes once more. Tax season may not be your favorite time of year, but for homeowners who purchased a home in Texas the previous year, it might provide some pretty sweet benefits.

Every homeowner has the chance to apply for the Residential Homestead Exemption from January 1st to April 30th of the tax year. To help you get started, we've compiled a list of frequently asked questions about filing an exemption, as well as all the tools you'll need to get started right away!

What Is a Homestead Exemption?

The Homestead Exemption is essentially a property tax exemption that homeowners can claim on their primary dwelling. It lowers your taxes by exempting a portion of your home's worth from taxation. If your home is valued at $300,000 and you qualify for a $25,000 exemption, for example, you will pay taxes on it as if it were only worth $275,000.

The only property that qualifies for the Homestead Exemption is your primary residence. . ...