Jonathan Stempel of Reuters wrote yesterday that Berkshire Hathaway's "oracle" Warren Buffett sees the housing crisis as mostly behind us, as do we at our firm. Writes Stempel:

The inestimable Dawn Kopecki of Bloomberg posts this headline yesterday about some possible White House moves to ban some foreclosures -- at least for people under review for permanent loan modification. Right now, foreclosures are still allowed even while homeowners are under review for a loan modification program. Apparently the action under consideration at The White House would now allow foreclosure during that period. This would help. It would help homeowners acting in good faith to keep their homes - and it would help communities who suffer high foreclosure rates, which affect, at least for now, property values.

Many people want to know about the relationship between a county assessed value of their home versus the "true" market value of their home. Boy does this issue change over the years back and forth.

1. Remember Texas is a no-income-tax state. So the primary tax revenue vessel is property tax. So when business taxes and sales taxes are down, the state needs money elsewhere, and by "state," I mean taxing authorities allowed by law to tax your property. You can see that list by going to your county property county appraisal district website and searching for your property. I.e., for Harris Co (Houston), you go to hcad.org and on your property sheet under "Jurisdictions," (click to see example of a public property) you will see a list of taxing entities and their little piece of your overall tax rate -- the entities range from hospital districts to school district to municipal water district (if you're in one) to emergency service district, etc. When you add up all the pieces, you get your total property tax rate. The other part of the tax revenue equation is what your property value is assessed at.

Rate x Assessed Vaue = Annual Tax Revenue to the Great State of Texas and its municipalities, school districts, highway patrols, etc.

2. Most people are sensitive to tax RATES and feel that RATE hikes are tax hikes, but when their home values are raised by assessors' offices, they don't think of that as a tax hike as much. They still protest when their home assessments are raised because many homeowners feel the impact, but a) they have to argue that their home is worth less (which isn't a good feeling for a lot of people), and b) with the past several "plush" years when appraisal districts could afford to regularly under-assess property values, they now have room to push those assessments up and stay within "market value" reason, and a majority of property owners don't have much of an argument given how property values are generally holding in major Texas metro areas -- this is what we think we're seeing.

3. But to answer the issue question directly: No, assessments by tax workers are not de-facto fair market value. They are merely a derivative of data that professionals like real estate brokers and appraisers actually have and use to render professional and I'd argue far more accurate judgments of real market value, plus you can talk through the numbers with these professionals if you hire one of these professionals instead of just looking at a number some bureaucrat has plopped out for purposes OTHER than for selling your home.

Hope this helps or entertains or otherwise takes your mind off something...

Not every city requires that you live close to work. I have always lived close to work and I have lived in several cities from Texas to multiple cities on the east coast including New York, Boston, and DC. But a carefully planned commute can give home buyers surprising new options in their home search in large well-planned cities such as Houston. There are survivable and livable commutes.

Houston and its outlying areas are built for "sprawl" - and I mean that in a positive sense - in the sense that residents have many good options and can live in almost any part of town (relatively) that fits their lifestyle and they can have a reasonable commute if they have a professional job and any degree of flexibility at all. We have the best highway infrastructure in the world here in the 4th largest city in the United States, and for example the med center in particular (including the burgeoning "satellite" centers) are built exactly off of those satellite rings and spokes so to speak, as are other professional centers.

So buyers working in these "hubs" can study the specific communities in which they might be interested. An affordable budget will buy you a respectable home in a respectable community and it should make you a happy buyer in a happy home in a happy, safe community. There are many pitfalls, make no mistake, so don't take with whom you work lightly when it comes to mortgage or real estate brokering, even if you decide to buy "new" -- but you can find it! (We recommend you use a REALTOR(r) even if you buy from a new home builder so your interests are represented.)

You do NOT need to live "near" your workplace to live comfortably in Houston. There are several commute patterns that could work for you where you could live in the neighborhood where you want to live, such as in Cypress or Clear Lake, or on the desirable north side in Spring or The Woodlands as many do (The Hardy Toll Rd is the Houston Autobahn) -- be open to the possibilities and above all else -- work with someone who knows the possibilities and can help you with them. Best wishes to all buyers and keep reaching out for advice. Some of your best advice may come from a broad survey of your coworkers and friends, too! Good luck.

Nick Will is the Managing Broker of Lelda Will Properties, the private real estate practice of brokers Lelda Will and Nick Will, and also of the forthcoming Will & Allen REALTORS(r), the separate brand under which their agents will practice, to launch in the new year 2010.

We often get asked by people across the country this time of year: should we put our house on the market now or wait until the spring? Here's our answer now that we're telling people and posting on other sites nationally where we maintain a presence:

Depends on where you are! In general, many people will believe that "it's not a good time to sell in the winter months" and will take their homes off the market until the spring, which will only reduce the amount of competition on the market for sellers who remain on the market.

Also, people need to move throughout the year. Jobs always require moving. The 4Q and preparations for 1Q in the new year typically require many relo clients to find homes to close by the end of the year. December is usually an active month for resales -- not a slow month -- in most parts of the country, certainly I can speak for the Houston area and particularly the north Houston area. If your house isn't on the market, you won't sell it! You can't sell it if you don't list it; you can't sell it if you don't show it.

One important caveat is that buyers in general, and this is true in the major suburban Texas markets and most metro markets in the U.S. -- buyers don't want "projects." Investors want projects, but they also want to pay pennies on the dollars. So if you have a quality property, and particularly a property with a pool or other commonly desired amenity, then you're going to fare better in "off season" months (or any time of year frankly). Quality properties will typically spend less time on the market and will hold value better than properties that have not been as well maintained or are not as well updated as other properties against which they are competing in the same market -- so start by looking at your own property.

Find someone with experience and expertise in your market to advise you about a) how your property make perform in comparison to other properties in your market, and b) what the particular dynamics of your market are right now and are expected to be through the coming months.

But our general advice is: if you want to move, don't delay, compete aggressively and get it on the market! It's not a bad time to sell. Good luck!

Nick Will is Managing Broker of Lelda Will Properties, the private practice of Brokers Lelda Will and Nick Will, and of Will & Allen REALTORS(r), the brand under which their agents practice.

Okay so reading this blog is like getting the news 6 weeks early. Granted, I thought it would make the news at the end of September, and here it is in today's Times:

The new law extending the existing new home buyer tax credit of a refundable $8,000 for "new" home buyers (there are details of course) includes a new "move up" or "down sizing" existing home buyer tax credit refundable and non-repayable tax credit of $6,500 if you have owned a home 6 of the past 8 years and your income is less than $125,000 if single or $250,000 if married (with some other details you can google). You do not have to sell your existing home by the deadline of April 30, 2010, but the home you buy does have to become your new principal residence.

This is a fantastic tax refundable (meaning the government refunds you the money when you file your taxes; it is not a mere tax deduction), especially in the north Houston areas such as Spring, The Woodlands, and quality neighborhoods like Northampton, Auburn Lakes, The Woodlands, Augusta Pines, Wimbledon Falls, Gleannloch Farms, Champions, Creighton, and areas in Magnolia, Tomball, and Montgomery among others, where $6,500 will allow buyers to walk into a home with a good chunk of instant equity.

As you can tell, the offer expires right now at April 30th of 2010, so act now! There are deals already on the market, and if you work with experienced, full-time brokers who know the areas and how to find good deals, you can sell your existing home well in good time and you can buy even better and with up to a $6,500 limited time tax credit! The time to act is now. Interest rates won't always be this low, and the good deals won't stay on the market forever. And the biggest secret out there right now on the north side of Houston especially in the areas I named above is that quality properties are holding their values very well, so it's even a reasonable time to sell, especially if you have knowledgeable and experienced real estate brokers by your side.

Consider the opportunity. 2010 could really be the big "come back year." Start planning your come back now. $6,500 is nothing to sneeze at. Congress has finally let you in on the game if you have owned your home and are looking to move up or downsize. Don't turn your back when you've just been let in on what you've been waiting for and deserve!

The Seattle Post PI.com is reporting that after clearing a Senate hurdle this week that the New Home Buyer Tax Credit of $8,000 is widely expected to pass congress this week to extend the credit into the spring season of 2010, which would be most welcome across the country. The program essentially creates a refundable $8,000 tax credit for qualified first-time home buyer tax credits (some limitations apply and "first" doesn't always mean "first"). This is very welcome news.

The inestimable Lucia Mutikani reports for Reuters that existing home sales rose to a 2-year high in September. These numbers are more meaningful than how, in two posts ago as I mentioned, new home builders have just been messing all over themselves. From Mutikani's article:

The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes jumped 9.4 percent in September to an annual rate of 5.57 million units, the highest level since July 2007. Financial markets had expected sales to rise to a 5.35 million unit pace...

I can't emphasize enough, especially now that the new home buyer tax credit should be extended into the spring this week in congress, that figures of existing home sales along with forward indicators of durable goods orders and business sentiment indicators (precursors to job growth) are the real numbers to watch. Don't look at the bad numbers arising from bad strategy from bad managers at bad builder corporations.

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2008 to govern certain aspects of closing most residential transactions in the United States. RESPA had a giant impact on how business is conducted in certain segments of the real estate industry, especially in title/escrow companies and mortgage lending companies.