Texas tech sector not too shabby, report says

March 31st, 2009 6:10 PM

Texas’ technology industry hasn’t been hit as hard as the total private-sector nationally, according to a new report.

The number of tech jobs in the Lone Star State declined 0.6 percent during fourth-quarter 2008 compared with 1.3 percent for the national private-sector. Texas lost 38,000 tech jobs during the three-month period, trade association TechAmerica reported.

The decline came one year after Texas’ tech job growth (14,700) was the largest in the United States. The number of tech workers in Texas ranks the state No. 2 in the nation following California, the report shows.

During 2007, the average tech wage in Texas reached $83,900, 84 percent higher than the state’s private-sector average.

In October 2008, a report by the American Electronics Association ranked Texas No. 2 in the nation in tech exports, with close to $36 billion in exports in 2007.

Texas generated $35.9 billion in technology exports in 2007. The study said those exports supported nearly 184,000 Texas jobs. California ranked No. 1 overall, with tech exports of $48.2 billion in 2007.

The leading destinations for Texas technology exports in 2007 included Mexico, about $13 billion; Canada, $3.5 billion; and South Korea, $1.9 billion.

TechAmerica, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association for technology companies, was formed in late 2008 by the merger of the AeA and the Technology Association of America. The newly combined group represents nearly 1,500 companies.

Homebuilder TOUSA to lay off 63 in Austin

March 30th, 2009 3:54 PM

Homebuilder TOUSA Inc. is laying off 63 employees in Austin and 219 statewide as the bankrupt company stops building new homes and continues to downsize.

Hollywood, Fla.-based TOUSA, which operates in Austin under the Newmark Homes brand, said in a letter to the Texas Workforce Commission that it will "wind down its current business operations" in coming months.

The letter said the first layoffs will happen in May, with the rest staggered through the remainder of the year.

TOUSA (PK: TOUSQ) has been in bankruptcy since January 2008. The company said in a recent statement that it would stop building new homes and focus on selling its remaining inventory of speculative homes and its land holdings.

Customers with homes under construction “can be assured that their homes will be completed,” the company said in a news release.

“While the market environment has impaired our ability to maintain our historical operating platform, we will continue to build out homes and sell our existing inventory during this process," CEO John Boken said in the release.

The process, he said, would continue for “a few years.”

The homebuilder was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on May 13, 2008.

In a public filing March 19, the company said it would attempt to get its hands on as much money as it could through the bulk sale of land and homes.

“The housing market has continued to deteriorate significantly since June, and we have not yet completed the analysis and processes required for the preparation of our quarterly report … for the period ended Sept. 30, 2008,” the filing said.

For the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30, 2008, TOUSA reported a loss from continuing operations, net of taxes, of $379.1 million and $661.8 million, respectively, compared with $122.1 million and $184.3 million, respectively, for the same periods in 2007.

The company said it was continuing to implement “strategies to aid our liquidity and our ability to continue as a going concern.”

However, the company noted in its public filing that it might not be successful.

Existing-home sales up in West

March 23rd, 2009 4:28 PM

Survey: Homebuyers, owners fearful but optimistic

March 23rd, 2009 4:13 PM

More than half of Americans fear they or someone they know will face foreclosure in the next year.

Still, 23 percent say they plan to purchase a home in the next five years, 12.8 percent plan to buy in the next two years and 11 percent plan to purchase in two to five years.

Those are some of the findings of a survey commissioned by Move Inc., an online real estate resource and operator of Realtor.com.

Despite the economic downturn, 18.1 percent say they plan to buy a home this year to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit recently passed by the U.S. Congress.

The survey also found nearly one out of five homeowners (18.9 percent) plan to take advantage of the Obama administration’s new program to help prevent foreclosures.

Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of adults reduced spending in the past year to be able to make monthly mortgage or rent payments; 75 percent cut discretionary spending such as vacations, entertainment and eating out; 72 percent cut down on personal items such as clothing, personal care and luxuries; while 71.6 percent cut down on energy costs such as gasoline and utilities.

“It’s not all doom and gloom. We found Americans are optimistic about homeownership despite concerns,” says Steve Berkowitz, chief executive of Move. “They’re doing everything they can, from reducing discretionary spending to pay their mortgages to planning to take advantage of the administration’s new program to stop foreclosures. They’re also working with lenders to modify loans.”

While looking for ways to save their homes, 21 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage said they contacted a lender in the last 12 months to restructure their loan. Half of those who contacted their lender experienced success.

More than half of those planning to buy this year are first-time homebuyers, compared with 41 percent in 2008.

Americans also are changing their views on home ownership. The survey found about two-thirds (62.5 percent) consider their home primarily a place to live, as opposed to an investment.

Americans believe the best way to stabilize the housing market is to crack down on mortgage fraud (56.9 percent), lower interest rates (51.6 percent) and give first-time homebuyers tax breaks as incentives to buy (43.5 percent).

Opinion is split over whether the government is doing enough to stabilize the housing market, with 46.2 percent saying “yes” and 43.8 percent saying “no.”

The results of the survey are based on 1,005 interviews conducted March 6-8.

Austin 2nd fastest growing city in the nation

March 20th, 2009 3:57 PM

Mortgage rates near all-time low

March 19th, 2009 3:46 PM

Texas AG: Beware of grandma scam

March 19th, 2009 9:37 AM

The Texas Attorney General has issued a warning to all retirees and their families, advising them to beware of a scam in which a caller reaches a senior over the telephone and claims to be his or her grandchild.

Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office said the callers involved generally introduce themselves as “Hi, grandma,” or they say, “Hey, it’s your favorite grandson.” They use such openers to get the person to say their actual grandchild’s name. In some cases, the caller already knows the name of the grandchild.

The con artists then claim they are in trouble, possibly stranded in a situation, and need cash immediately. In many cases, the caller claims to be visiting Canada. The point of the call is to get the senior to wire money.

The Texas Attorney General’s office says those involved are generally pulling information about families from family blogs, genealogy Web sites, networking Web sites and online newspapers.

Texas still tops for business, CEO study says

March 19th, 2009 8:51 AM

Texas holds its place for the fourth year in a row as the best state to do business in, according to Chief Executive magazine.

The magazine ranks the states on what it calls “a broad range of issues” including natural resources, regulation, tax policies, quality of living, education and infrastructure.

Texas was giving top ratings for both transportation and economy, and was also noted for its access to capital and technology and innovation.

Following Texas was North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. The worst states to do business with, according to the study was California, New York, Michigan, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

The magazine’s list was based on surveys done by 543 CEOs.

The magazine said states that perform well in the rankings tend to have lower taxes and low rates of unionization.

“Our survey, year-over-year proves that those states with the worst records continue to practice the same policies that alienate businesses,” JP Donlon, editor-in-chief of Chief Executive magazine, said. “As the nation’s economic problems continue to snowball and an increasing number of states experience budgetary problems, state governments ought to take a hard look at their taxation and unionization policies if they want to turn the page and attract new businesses and capital to their provinces.”

New-home construction rebounds

March 17th, 2009 5:06 PM

New-home building unexpectedly rebounded last month nationwide as builders increased their housing starts to a 583,000 annual pace from a record low of 477,000 set in January.

Nationwide, new home construction rose 22 percent from January to February, but remained 48.5 percent below year-ago levels, according to the Commerce Department on Tuesday. The surge was led by an 83 percent jump in multi-family construction. Single-family homebuilding rose a modest 1.1 percent.

Only one region reported a drop in housing starts: the West where starts declined 24.6 percent. The largest increase was in the Northeast where starts increased 88 percent.

Permits for future new-home construction in the South rose 5.9 percent from January to February but were still 46 percent lower than the year before.

Nationwide, permits rose 3 percent from January to February but remained 48.8 percent lower than a year ago.

Keller Willams in Dripping Springs Grand Opening March 26th!

March 12th, 2009 4:54 PM

Come on Texas, get happy

March 12th, 2009 9:31 AM

When it comes to happiness, Texas is middling.

The Lone Star State is the 21st happiest in the nation, according to a survey by the Gallup Organization and America’s Health Insurance Plans.

States and congressional districts were ranked by residents responses to survey questions related to the economy, work environments, emotional and physical health.

Seven of the top 10 states for “well-being” are in the West with Utah ranking No. 1; Utah, second; Wyoming, third; Colorado, fourth; Washington state, seventh; California, ninth; and Arizona, tenth.

West Virginia ranked last on the list just ahead of Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio.

Among other states, Nevada came in at No. 38, Florida 30th, Illinois 31st and New York 35th.

The Gallup/AHIP survey questioned 1,000 respondents throughout January.

Survey shows 17% of local companies expect to hire in coming months

March 10th, 2009 6:47 PM

About 17 percent of Austin-area companies plan to hire additional employees in coming months, according to the latest report from Manpower Inc.

Combined with another 10 percent of local employers who say they anticipate cutting staff between April and June—the local job market should experience a modest increase by early summer.

About 69 percent of employers expect to maintain their current staff levels while the remaining 4 percent are unsure about their hiring plans.

The local jobs picture is a bit more positive than the national one. Fifteen percent of U.S. employers expect to increase their headcount over the three-month period, while another 14 percent are anticipating a reduction.

Manpower’s survey is based on interviews with 31,800 employers nationwide.

Business leery of president's tax plans

March 9th, 2009 5:29 PM

The nation’s most successful small business owners would pay higher taxes under President Barack Obama’s budget plan.

The income of most small businesses is taxed at the individual level. Obama calls for increasing the top two tax rates to 36 percent and 39.6 percent in 2011, up from the current 33 percent and 35 percent.

These higher-income taxpayers also would not receive the full value of their itemized deductions. In addition, they would see their capital gains and dividends taxed at a 20 percent rate, instead of 15 percent.

That is bad news for small business owners who report more than $200,000 in income as individuals or more than $250,000 as joint filers. However, only 9 percent of taxpayers who report small business income make this much money, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Also, many of these taxpayers are passive investors in small businesses, not owner/operators.

Most small business owners are middle-income people who would receive tax cuts under Obama’s budget and benefit from his proposal for health care reform, said Robert Greenstein, the center’s executive director.

“In fact, small businesses would win under this budget,” he said.

Small business owners who make the most money, however, also are the most likely to invest in their businesses and hire additional workers, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“If we take away their incentives to take risks, grow and succeed — as this budget does — we will be unnecessarily shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Bruce Josten, the chamber’s executive vice president for government affairs.

The effects of higher tax rates on business decisions “are almost theological questions,” said Clint Stretch, managing principal for tax policy at Deloitte Tax. Some business owners may decide not to expand because of higher taxes, but others may invest more in their businesses so they can earn extra money to make up for the increased tax burden, he said.

Obama’s budget plan also includes a limit on itemized deductions for upper-income taxpayers, which would reduce the value of the mortgage-interest deduction for many homeowners.

“There is never a good time to propose something that undermines the basic foundation of homeownership, but, given our current housing crisis, this has to be the worst possible time,” said Charles McMillan, president of the National Association of Realtors and broker of record for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Irving, Texas.

Commercial real estate investors are concerned about Obama’s proposal to tax “carried interest”— a share of profits paid to managers of investment funds — as ordinary income, rather than as capital gains. Taxes on these payments could jump from the current 15 percent to as high as 39.6 percent.

This change would apply not only to private equity firms and hedge funds, but also to 1.2 million real estate partnerships that own everything from office buildings to rental housing.

This provision “would create more downward pressure on real estate values at a time when property values need support,” said Jeffrey DeBoer, chief executive officer of the Real Estate Roundtable. “It would discourage equity investment at a time when more equity is needed.”

U.S.-based multinational companies also would see higher taxes in Obama’s budget.

The president wants to change laws that allow U.S.-based businesses to defer taxes on income earned abroad until they bring that money back to the U.S. Obama pledged to “end tax breaks for corporations that send jobs overseas.”

That’s “a great one-liner,” said Martin Regalia, chief economist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The proposal, however, would make U.S.-based multinational corporations less competitive against their global rivals.

Most foreign-based companies are taxed only in the country where the income is earned. U.S.-based companies, on the other hand, are taxed twice on foreign profits — overseas and in the U.S. Allowing corporations to defer their U.S. taxes until they bring the money back to this country takes some of the sting out of this double taxation.

Ending the deferral “could really hurt businesses that are trying to expand outside of their current client base” into other countries, said Mike Metz, executive vice president of tax services at RSM McGladrey.

“This doesn’t seem like the time for us to be doing that,” he said.

New government program to help homeowners keep their houses

March 4th, 2009 3:30 PM

The Obama administration on Wednesday kicked off a new program created to help up to 9 million borrowers restructure or refinance their mortgages to avoid foreclosure.

The government said that with so many people being laid off or having their hours cut back, nearly 6 million homeowners are now facing a possible foreclosure.

The U.S. Department of Treasury released guidelines outlining how the lending industry can enroll borrowers.

“It is imperative that we continue to move with speed to help make housing more affordable and help arrest the damaging spiral in our housing markets,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement.

Highlighs of the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, or “Making Homes Affordable” program include:

• Refinancing mortgages.

• Creating a $75 billion homeowner stability initiative to help those who are struggling to afford their mortgage payments, but cannot sell their homes because home prices have fallen.

• Strengthening confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

To qualify, borrowers will have to provide their most recent tax return, two pay stubs, an “affidavit of financial hardship” and proof that the loan was made before Jan. 1, 2009, and that the single-family mortgage does not exceed $729,750. Borrowers can only have their loans modified one time.

The loan restructuring program, for which the government said up to 4 million borrowers are expected to qualify, will run through 2012.

The up to 5 million borrowers with mortgages held by the government-controlled mortgage finance entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be eligible to refinance through June 2010.

Keller Williams becomes nation’s third-largest RE franchise

March 3rd, 2009 10:02 AM

Keller Williams Realty Inc. has grown to become the third-largest residential real estate franchise in the United States by number of associates, according to 2008 figures from industry publication Real Trends.

Austin-based Keller Williams had 72,794 U.S. associates at the end of last year, overtaking RE/MAX International as the third-largest domestic real estate franchise, Real Trends data show.

From 2006 to 2008, Keller Williams increased its associate count by 52 percent, while market share for its offices increased 83 percent and agent gross commission income went up 35 percent, the company said. Currently, the company has 679 offices operating in the United States. In Austin, Keller Williams has more than 1,800 employees.

“The success of Keller Williams Realty can be directly attributed to the hard work and perseverance of our associates and the soundness of our economic and organizational models,” said Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams. “While others might be looking at this market and seeing fear and uncertainty, we have always approached it as our opportunity to shine and grow. And that mindset has paid off.”

Last fall, the company announced the launch of KW Commercial, a new division of dedicated to providing commercial real estate associates with specialized technology, marketing tools and resources. KW Commercial already has more than 220 active brokers across the U.S. and Canada.

Type the characters you see in this picture, click "Submit" when finished.

		This helps us prevent automated programs from creating bogus contacts and adding them to your contacts database.