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"The Live Music Capital of the World." That's what Austin, Texas is best known for. Every other Wednesday evening during the summer Zilker Park becomes the mecca for all Austin music lovers. Blankets are spread out, families are relaxing, people are dancing, and everyone is having fun as they all listen to the great musicians that are playing. For eighteen summers, 107.1 KGSR has sponsored Blues On the Green, Austin's largest free concert series. The shows are held every other wednesday from June 11th through August 22nd from 7:30 - 9:30pm.

The stage is set so that all who come out to hear the music (even the thousands that are usually in attendance) can all see, hear, and enjoy the show, because the outdoor stage faces Town Lake and allows plenty of…

Ok I just ran stats on my market and found this pretty intereting.

First here is the months of inventory.



Whats interesting is not just that the months of inventory is improving. But for the last two years at this time Months of Inventory was actually increasing and this year its decreasing.

Ok so now lets look at prices



Basically whats happening here is that prices had one of largest year over year drops in Austin for the last few years. Wierd? So basically the fundamentals of the market are improving while prices are going down. It looks like sellers might be affected by the negative hype about the national real estate market.

Is anyone seeing similar trends in their area?

Though the heat of the summer in Austin can be a real drain on exercising or any outdoor activity, the city is blessed with several public pools in which to cool off.

Probably the most well known pool to Austinites, and those visiting, is Barton Springs Pool located near the Barton Hills neighborhood. The pool sits on a lovely 3 acres of hillside, with a nice shallow end for children, and a deep end for those who brought their floats, as well as others who want to swim a lap or two. The pool is a natural spring, and got its name in 1837 from William “Uncle Billy” Barton, who owned the tract of land which included the springs. Once the area became a city park in 1917, the residents began to flock to the refreshing spring water, which averages 68 degrees…

Mortgage rates on 30 year and 15 year mortgages stayed pretty constant they week. In fact for 4 weeks in a row now 30 year fixed rates have stayed between 6.01 and 6.06. But 5 Year and 1 Year Arms stayed relatively constant.

May 15, 2008
30-yr 6.01
15-yr 5.60%
5-yr ARM 5.57
1-yr ARM 5.18

May 8, 2008
30-yr 6.05
15-yr 5.60%
5-yr ARM 5.67
1-yr ARM 5.29

May 1, 2008
30-yr 6.06
15-yr 5.59%
5-yr ARM 5.73
1-yr ARM 5.29

April 24th, 2008
30-yr 6.03
15-yr 5.62%
5-yr ARM 5.68
1-yr ARM 5.29

Below is what the mortgage payment would be on a 200k House based on current interest rates for the different products.

May 15th
30-yr $1200.38
15-yr $1711.46
5-yr ARM $1144.37
1-yr ARM $1095.75

I am actually a… Read Full Post

Just east of IH-35, in the center of Austin, lies an area that is becoming a popular destination for Austinites looking for a central location that doesn’t come with the price tag one would pay in other centrally located areas. They also don’t lose any of the historic charm or lack of small local businesses within walking distance by moving to East Central Austin.

There are several small central east side neighborhoods, such as Blackshear and East Cesar Chavez, but the Cherrywood area is quickly becoming a new favorite; its subdivision known as French Place is being referred to as the new Hyde Park. Lying between 35 and Airport boulevard, north of Manor and south of 38th ½ Street, French Place was originally owned by the Giles family in the 1940s. It…

Compared to last week mortgage interest rates on 30 Year and 5 year ARM's went down a little and rates on 15 year mortgages went up a little.  But basically, for the second week in a row mortgage rates did well pretty much nothing. 

May 8, 2008
30-yr 6.05 15-yr 5.60% 5-yr ARM 5.67 1-yr ARM 5.29

May 1, 2008
30-yr 6.06 15-yr 5.59% 5-yr ARM 5.73 1-yr ARM 5.29

April 24th, 2008
30-yr 6.03 15-yr 5.62% 5-yr ARM 5.68 1-yr ARM 5.29

April 17th, 2008
30-yr 5.88 15-yr 5.40% 5-yr ARM 5.48 1-yr ARM 5.10

April 10th, 2008
30-yr 5.88 15-yr 5.42% 5-yr ARM 5.56 1-yr ARM 5.19

Based on today's rates the mortgage on a 200k house would be $1205.53 compared to last week when it was $1206.82.  Nothing really to write home about.

May 8th, 2008
30-yr $1205.53
15-yr…

With over 50,000 students there are numerous entertainment venues around the University of Texas. Austin is frequently referred to as the live music capital of Texas. And although when people talk about the music scene in Austin they usually think of downtown the campus area also reflects this saying with nightspots such as the Hole in the Wall, which is an Austin institution and has been the home of many local recording artists for more than twenty-five years, as well as the U.T. campus itself, which hosts regular live music performances in the Cactus Café, which is adjacent to the student union and which is located in the West Mall area. There are also faculty-oriented clubs and restaurants such as the Campus Club, at the corner of 24th and Guadalupe,…

At the beginning of March mortgage rates on 30 Year loans were around 6.25. Following cuts by the Federal Reserve board mortgage rates fell over the next two weeks. Since the middle of March mortgage interest rates have remained relatively stable fluctutating between 5.85 and 6.06. The Federal Reserve board cut rates this week right after the weekly rates were released by Freddie Mac. So I expect rates to fall over the next week. And those might be the lowest rates we will see for awhile. Why? After the FED cut rates they indicated that they would not likely cut rates at the next meeting. So we might be at a low point as far as mortgage rates are concerned. If you are thinking of buying a property and getting a loan this might be a good time to make the…