Has The Housing Market Hit Bottom?

Mortgage rates moved very little last week, even with the release of the first quarter’s GDP and a
meeting of the Federal Reserve. As expected, the rate of economic growth in the US slowed during
the first quarter to 2.2%. While this rate is often considered a healthy rate, it is nowhere near high
enough to help reduce the nation’s employment issues. On a positive note, however, a sub-indicator
in the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index revealed that consumers believe jobs are
getting easier to find. The Fed’s policy announcement provided little new insight to the Fed’s thinking or future policy, but as is always the case, it left itself open to act when and if needed.
This week is a busy week for financial markets. Dominating the week’s data will be the ISM reports
and the monthly employment report. With signs that manufacturing is beginning to slow, a dip in the
ISM reports will help hold mortgage rates low. If more than 200K jobs were created last month, we
could see rates moving upward. Otherwise, rates may remain stable again for the week.

The Housing Market Has Hit Bottom?

"The crash is over," stated Mark Zandi, respected chief
economist for Moody's Analytics in an interview with
Bloomberg last week. While definitions of what characterize
the end of the housing market crisis vary widely, more and
more economists are predicting that we have finally reached
the bottom. While many are expecting sales volumes to pick
up, and inventories to dwindle, very few experts are
expecting prices to move significantly higher for many years.

If you are in the market to buy or sell your Houston Home please give us a call at 281-326-HOME or visit our website at www.davidthelocator.com. Have a great day and we look forward to assisting you with your purchasing and selling goals!

Moving to Texas? Requirements From The Texas Dept. Of Motor Vehicles:

If you are moving to Texas, chances are you will be driving, Here are the requirements for your vehicle & Texas drivers license as stated by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles:

New residents are required to do the following within 30 days of moving to Texas:

• Get a vehicle inspection
• Register and title their vehicle

New residents must have their vehicles pass inspection before having it registered and titled. After having it inspected, owners should take the following to their county tax office:

• inspection certification,
• proof of liability insurance,
• the vehicle's odometer reading if it is less than 10 years old,
• ownership document, which may be:
  • an original out-of-state title,
  • proof of registration (for non-title state),
  • current foreign/military ownership document, or
  • foreign evidence of ownership
• completed Form 130-U (if applying for registration only, without a Texas title, please attach a completed Form VTR-272), and
• the following fees:
  • registration fee,
  • title application fee of $28 or $33, depending on the county, and
  • new resident tax of $90 or proof of sales tax payment

Additional fees may also be due at the time of registration. For more information, contact your county tax office. For information about the new resident tax, contact the Comptroller of Public Accounts.
Active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces and non-resident, full-time students attending a Texas college or university are not required to title or register their vehicles in Texas.
Driver License
New residents are required to get a Texas driver license within 90 days of moving to Texas.
For more information, read our FAQs or Put Texas in your corner^®.