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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 Apri... Read Full Post

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 itse... Read Full Post

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... Read Full Post

Mortgage rates increased this week after holding steady for the last 3 weeks. Rates seemed to move up across all of the major mortgage products. Below are the rates on the different mortgage products over the last few weeks. 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 April 3rd, 2008 30-yr 5.88 15-yr 5.42% 5-yr ARM 5.59 1-yr ARM 5.18 T... Read Full Post

The Austin market contines to move along at slower yet steady pace. Since all the subprime issues in September the Austin market,like most of the country, has taken a noticeable hit. On the one hand the Austin real estate market is slower than this time last year. But it is still outperforming a extremely anemic national market. Basically it seems many parts of the country had underlying problems that were exposed by the subprime meltdown. On the other hand Austin didnt seem to have the same ... Read Full Post

The University of Texas at Austin is one of the five largest universities in the country, and currently nearly fifty thousand students attend the university, which is home to the U.T. Longhorns. Most of the students live in the U. T. campus area, which encompasses an area from Interstate 35, which runs along the eastern perimeter, to Lamar Boulevard, which circles the western edge of the campus, including numerous fraternity and sorority houses. The campus also extends to Martin Luther King t... Read Full Post

Austin has many colorful neighborhoods and shopping venues, but most inhabitants of the city will tell you that Austin is divided into two distinct areas: South Austin, and North Austin. The Colorado River runs directly through the central part of the city, encircling the downtown business district on its southern perimeter, and as is flows west, the river skirts the northern edge if Zilker Park and the Barton Springs area. The part of the river which flows through the metro area was recently... Read Full Post

Just north of Hyde Park, with approximately 1400 homes, lies the neighborhood of North Loop. Also referred to as “Northfield”, the North Loop neighborhood boundaries are 51st street, Lamar Boulevard, Airport Boulevard, and Koenig Lane. Like many of Austin’s central neighborhoods, North Loop got its start once soldiers began returning home from World War II. Other soldiers cashed in their GI Bill, and attended the university to get a college education. With the mass influx of people movi... Read Full Post

Some streets lead to wherever it is you want to go. Some lead to surprises both bad and good. Some streets are destinations in themselves, stretches of thoroughfare where the journey itself is all that matters. South First Street between Riverside and St. Elmo’s is one of those streets, one of the last in Austin where , block after block, the old magic of the city that once attracted musicians, artists and other creative minds to move and settle down here, is still palpable, still crackling... Read Full Post

With East Austin’s affordable housing prices and close proximity to downtown, it’s long been a hub for Austin’s musicians and artists. Over the years the different artists in East Austin started to work and collaborate with each other. Over time this has turned into an event called the East Austin Studio Tour. This allows for artists to see what other people are working on and a chance for people to purchase art directly from the creator, in addition to seeing the studio where the piece... Read Full Post