Happy Thanksgiving

Written by Randy Watson

Thanksgiving is when we gather with family and friends to give thanks for all that we have.  It\'s a time for sharing and spreading happiness. We should remember those that cannot be home with their families this Holiday Season.

To all of our service men and women, a big THANK YOU for your service to our country! May everyone\'s travels be safe. Wishing all of you and yours a very safe and Happy Thanksgiving! and beginning of the Holiday Season.

Counting down to Christmas

by Celia Hayes

So, all our basic Christmas shopping has already been accomplished during the year. All we need to do is turn out the gift closet shelves and decided where to send the various choice items which we have bought and stored against the arrival of the season. Who needs to set foot outside the house on Black Friday? Certainly not us – not even for gift bags and wrappings, for we picked up what we required at the post-Christmas sales last year, when everything seasonal was marked down 70% or more. Hey, I am not a legendarily wealthy author, and my ability to shovel money into the commercial economy is limited and locally-based. But I could be tempted this year with a real Christmas tree; our local HEB put them out

by Randy Watson

October Existing-Home Sales Rise, Unsold Inventory Continues to Decline

For more information, contact:

Walter Molony 202-383-1177 wmolony@realtors.org

Washington, DC, November 21, 2011 Existing-home sales improved in October while the number of homes on the market continued to decline, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Total existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 1.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million in October from a downwardly revised 4.90 million in September, and are 13.5 percent above the 4.38 million unit level in October 2010.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market has been

 Farmers and Ranchers Require Agriculture Sales Tax Exemption Number

 Written by Randy Watson 

Texas Farmers and Ranchers... Have you submitted your application for a Texas Agriculture and Timber Exemption Registration Number? (Ag/Timber Number.) Under a new state law passed by the Texas Legislature in 2011, commercial agriculture or timber producers will need an Ag/Timber Number issued by the Comptroller's office to make eligible sales tax-exempt purchases for their business.

Beginning January 1, 2012 in order to make sales tax exempt agricultural related purchases you must have this number. To claim the sales tax exemption from the Texas Sales tax, the item being purchased must be used in the regular course of business exclusively on a farm

October 2011 San Antonio Real Estate Sales Statistics

Written by Randy Watson

The San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR) released their monthly housing report for the month. The October 2011 report indicated that 1349 single-family residential homes sold compared to 1285 homes that sold in October 2010.

“The healthcare, tourism, and defense industries have a major economic impact here, but there are also many financial services and manufacturing companies that provide opportunities for the local workforce,” says Scott Caballero, 2011 SABOR Chairman of the Board. “Eagle Ford Shale is said to bring nearly 4,000 jobs to the area as well. San Antonio’s cost of living supports the healthy economic climate. The steady, affordable housing market is

by Randy Watson

TEXAS "WHOLE WHEAT" ECONOMY

Material herein is published according to the fair-use doctrine of U.S. copyright laws related to non-profit, educational institutions. Items attributed to sources other than the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University should not be reprinted without permission of the original source. 

HOUSTON (Real Estate Center) – Add “baked goods” to the list of colorful analogies used to compare Texas’ relatively strong economy to that of the United States. That’s what State Comptroller Susan Combs did at yesterday’s 2012 Forecast Conference in Houston.

“The U.S. has what has been referred to as a ‘Twinkie

Christmas Fair Shopping

Okay, so maybe it is a little bit early to consider Christmas shopping, even though the Christmas decorations in retail stores went up as the Halloween decorations came down, with the speed of a Los Vegas blackjack dealer flipping through a deck of cards. It's time to consider Christmas, early or not. For myself, I developed the habit of doing so while stationed overseas, when the heavy parcels home had to be mailed by October in order to arrive by Christmas, which pushed my personal Christmas shopping back into the months of August and September . . . anyway, now I have a couple of shelves in the master bedroom closet that are dedicated to gift storage. That is, the things that we pick up throughout the year, thinking "Oh, that

Nature's Critters

by Celia Hayes

We were walking the dog this morning, when we noticed two of our neighbors deep in conversation in the driveway. The object of conversation seemed to be an occupied Hava-Hart trap, and naturally being terribly curious about anything going on in our neighborhood, we went over and joined the conversation, discovering that the occupant of the trap was a mature and deeply unhappy opossum. This was not entirely unexpected around here, actually. Possums turn up all the time – in fact, before we acquired the dogs, there were several of them that hung out in my back yard, going so far as to help themselves to the cat food that I put out for the outdoor cat. The cat, by the way, was perfectly amiable towards the opossum, as

Halliburton Jobs Come to San Antonio for the Eagle Ford Shale

Written by Randy Watson

The Eagle Ford shale operations may be the largest oil field ever discovered in Texas. They are predicting millions and millions of dollars worth of oil and hundreds to tens of thousands of new oil related jobs from San Antonio throughout South Texas. Houston based oilfield giant Halliburton, the world leader in the oilfield service industry with operation in more than 70 countries began work on a $50 million base of operation in San Antonio. The planned 400,000 square foot structure will be located near I37 and Loop 1604 in southeast Bexar County.

Halliburton's major business segment is the Energy Services Group which provides technical products and services to

 Veterans Day

Written by Randy Watson

Good morning everyone and Happy Veteran\'s Day to our honored Veterans. We at Mission Realty are wishing all who\'ve bravely served our country a Happy Veterans\' Day. Please give thanks to all the men and women who are serving today. Your dedication to our great country is appreciated!

May God continue to bless you and your families. God bless the USA.