The UT Golf Club clubhouse has been under construction, and highly anticipated for the better part of a year. The clubhouse was 70% completed, when it caught fire yesterday. It burned beyond repair, and collapsed. Steiner Ranch residents were able to see the blaze throughout the neighborhood, and one resident recorded these videos:

This really isn’t new news, but it’s part of what makes Austin great. Austin Energy leads the nation in energy efficiency rebates. When you factor in the rebates, it really makes sense to go ahead and make your house extremely efficient. This isn’t a big deal if you live in a newer home, but if your house is even 10 years old or older, it’s really worth a look. I have a lot of personal experience with these programs, so I thought I would list them. Here’s a list of some of the rebates (in order of coolness.)

1. Solar Rebates: Austin Energy offers the best solar rebates in the country. They rebate $4.50 per watt - to simplify, just think ~45% of the system. A system will cost roughly $6k-$10k, before rebates. The best time to install solar is when you need a new roof. If your roof faces predominantly north, or is heavily covered by trees, you won’t be eligible. Here’s my house - you can probably guess, I’m ineligible.
2. Free Programmable Thermostats: If you become a “power partner” then Austin Energy will come install a free programmable thermostat. You have to agree to allow them to “cycle off” your air conditioner for up to ten minutes once per day during peak periods (during the summer.) I’ve been a “power partner” for 3 years - I have never noticed it. The programmable thermostat lowered my monthly bill by ~25%.
3. Refrigerator Recycling: Old fridges suck juice, and they do NO good in the landfill. Austin Energy will pay $50 per unit to single family home customers & $35/unit to customers who live in multi’s. They haul off for free, as well.
4. Solar Water Heater: This is a new one, so I don’t have any experience with it. Also, I know that my house will be automatically out from its positioning & design. Austin Energy will rebate $1500 to $2000 for the system, and then you’ll get a 30% tax credit for a total savings of $2250 to $3000.
5. Home Performance Rebates: Austin Energy offers ~$1500 in rebates for “energy audit” items. A participating vendor comes out and gives a free audit, and advises you what to buy. I know how this sounds - the auditor will just try to sell you everything, right? I had them out, and they told me my ductwork (in a 1972 house) was incredibly efficient, and that I would do better with solar film (cheaper) than solar screens on my 10 picture window doors. Definitely worth the time.
6. Air Conditioning Rebates: If your a/c is 10 years old or older, it’s not energy efficient. Austin Energy offers rebates to customers who purchase new, high efficiency a/c’s.

So, there are more programs available the Austin Energy website, but I wanted to highlight my favorites here. Shoot me a comment if you have any questions - I can probably answer them, but if not, I’ll point you in the right direction.

Last Friday, the Senate passed an “FHA Modernization” bill in a landslide 93 to 1 vote.  If the president signs it in, it will increase the loan amounts that FHA can insure, and will cut down the minimum 3% down payment to 1.5%.  It will also require more counseling to those getting FHA loans.

In my opinion, if the bill is signed in, it will apply necessary pressure to conventional lenders to introduce competing products.  This would mean a much needed loosening of lending standards.

I started a blog on the shortcomings of MLXChange and it seems that quite a few people would prefer to simply bring back Tempo. The Austin Board of Realtors used a poll of 250 Austin Realtors (out of roughly 8000) to make their decision to move to MLXChange. If you would like to voice your concerns about the shortcomings of MLXChange, please do so on this thread. If you would like to simply sign the online petition to revert to Tempo, please comment with your name & what you don’t like about Tempo! Let’s get ABoR’s attention!

Forward this on to anyone you think wants Tempo back!

1. Eric Bramlett
2. Kimbrough Gray
3. Crystal Guthrie
4. Jim Olenbush
5. Holly Stockton
6. Ryan DeLong
7. Jodi Gregg

I typed this to an investor client today, and thought it would be good to go ahead & post it here as a “quick & dirty market update.”

The market here has somewhat stagnated. Properties are still moving, but they’re taking longer than previously. Prices aren’t going down, but we’re not seeing the rapid appreciation we saw last year. This spring will be telling to see what kind of appreciation we’ll see until 2009. The California market has affected us because not as many Californians can sell their homes, so we’ve seen a slight decrease in migration. The mortgage market has had the biggest effect on our market - it took ~25% of the buyers out of the market. Everything I’ve read indicates that the mortgage market will have worked itself out by the first of 2009, so I expect our market to be gunning full bore ahead at that time.

I honestly believe that this is the best time to buy real estate in Austin for the foreseeable future. We’re able to come in ~5-10% below asking and be taken seriously. I’m seeing my clients successfully negotiate the prices to ~95% of asking price.