All Blog Entries by Jim Olenbush 
There are currently 125 blog entries published by Jim Olenbush.
Pictures of Austin’s Recent Snow
Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 6:42pm. 92 Views, 1 Comments.
Snow is a rare event for Central Texas, but the Austin area recently had some of the best snow we have seen in years. This last Tuesday the snow started to fall in the morning and by the end of the day some areas had up to two inches of snow on the ground. The northwest side of Austin saw the most accumulation. Here are some pictures:
Austin-Round Rock Area Experiences a Drop in Unemployment Rates
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 2:00am. 133 Views, 1 Comments.
According to the Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment levels within the Austin and Round Rock area fell by 6.9% in November. While this is still up from the 4.9% rate that the area was experiencing just one year ago, it does represent a decline in unemployment when compared to the previous month.
Previous data indicated that the unemployment rate in the Austin and Round Rock area was 7.2% in October. Compared to the state average of 7.9%, the Austin and Round Rock area is doing quite well with its 6.9% rate. This pattern remains true to the rates from the previous month, with the…
Austin Realtor James Brinkman discusses the situation in Haiti on KEYE News
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 2:34pm. 459 Views, 0 Comments.
Cantera Real Estate Team member James Brinkman is an active member of North Hills Community Church and has traveled to Haiti on missionary trips in the past year. He has been planning a return trip to the country and was set to leave again next week. James was interviewed on KEYE-CBS News today about the situation in Haiti.
Here is a link to the video and text: http://weareaustin.com/content/news/story/?cid=45691
And you can donate here: http://www.rminet.org/
Text from the Keye news story:
Central Texans want to get involved to help Haitians affected by the massive earthquake…
Austin Ranks Well On Many Surveys
Saturday, January 9th, 2010 at 10:58am. 294 Views, 1 Comments.
Austin and Central Texas are at the top of many lists in terms of educational attainment, quality of life, low crime rates, economic growth potential and many other areas. Here's a look at a few of the honors that Austin and the Central Texas area have received over the past year:
- Austin was ranked number one by the Milken Institute for creating jobs, with the Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood MSA ranking second.
- Austin was ranked #2 out of 100 metro areas for employment potential and for having the highest metropolitan growth potential (MGP) by Business Week and The Brookings…
Freddie Mac Reports an Increase in Mortgage Rates
Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 12:16pm. 224 Views, 0 Comments.
The financial experts at Freddie Mac have reported that mortgage rates have moved higher for the second week in a row. According to the report, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan averaged a rate of 4.94% during the week ending on December 14, which is up from the previous week's 4.81%. This figure is still down when compared to the rate from one year ago, however, which averaged 5.19% at the time. When it comes to one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates increased to 4.34% for the week ending on December 14, which is an increase from the 4.24% rate from the previous week.
Modern Home in trendy SOCO area
Thursday, December 31st, 2009 at 8:05am. 211 Views, 0 Comments.
Modern & Sophisticated Travis Heights urban detached condo Home on Big Stacy Park! This new construction home has 250sf of covered patio in back, plus a 200sf balcony w/ tigerwood decking & gas grill connection! Fantastic penthouse-style floor plan with Living/Kitchen/Dining/Master upstairs - office & guest suite downstairs. The home was also designed so that an elevator can be added if you desire. The property has dramatic, oversized windows, elegant stained-concrete, indoor rock garden & fountain, strand-woven bamboo floors, high-end fixtures & hardware, and exposed grain custom…
Texas housing market on the rebound according to economist
Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 8:56pm. 271 Views, 2 Comments.
According to Mark Dotzour, who is the director of Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center, it looks as if the state of Texas may have reached the bottom of its housing market a few months back. As such, he is ready to proclaim the inventory of homes through Texas - both unsold new homes and existing homes - are in a promising position.
“I feel now is the time to buy a house in most Texas cities,” said Dotzour through RECON, which is the center’s online newsletter “Housing affordability has never been higher, and I never thought I would see 5 percent mortgages in my lifetime. If…
Existing Home Sales Climb Throughout Texas
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 4:19pm. 395 Views, 2 Comments.
News just in from the Texas Real Estate Center – A total of 19,347 existing single-family homes were sold in Texas last month, a 15 percent increase from October 2008, according to MLS data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
The median price rose 1 percent to $143,300 during the same period, and the state finished the month with a 6.9-month inventory of existing homes.
Here is how select Texas cities fared in October (data current as of Nov. 24, 2009):
Additional home sales data for these and other major Texas cities are available on the Center's…
The Number of Austin Foreclosures Continues to Drop
Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 7:15pm. 353 Views, 1 Comments.
For homeowners around the country, facing foreclosure became an unfortunate reality during the recession. While a number of homeowners have been forced into foreclosure on their homes in Austin, the good news is that RealityTrac Inc. has determined that foreclosures in Texas were actually down 7% during the month of August.
For the month of August, the state recorded a total of 11,261 default, bank repossession and auction notices. While this number may sound a bit disheartening, it is actually 6.8% less than the numbers that were posted in July. In fact, during July, these sort…
Homeownership still a Solid Investment
Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 7:12pm. 300 Views, 1 Comments.
Americans have long believed that purchasing a home is a good investment. Thanks to the recession, many experts hypothesized that many would no longer view home ownership as a great investment. According to a recent study conducted by Bankrate Inc., however, home ownership is still viewed as a solid investment by most.
According to the study, more than 9 out of 10 people who participated inn the survey still feel that owning a home is a good investment. This may seem like a bit of a shock considering that 25% of Americans currently owe more on their homes than what their homes…
