In Texas, autumn is an ideal time to be outdoors and the perfect chance to add color to your landscaping with trees from bright yellows to fiery reds.  Fall planted lawns, shrubs, perennials, and trees enjoy the warm soil and cooler air temperatures.  Here are three tips on fall additions to your landscape.

Add some mums and asters for color and interest.  These perennials can provide instant interest now and establish themselves for future years of enjoyment.  Mums are an excellent choice.  Their blooms last for weeks, not days, and one plant boasts an overabundance of blooms.  In addition to perennials, add some pansies or other annuals that flourish in the cooler weather, like ornamental kale.

Add a tree or flowering shrubs.  Many trees and shrubs are at their best in the fall season for providing color, and they seamlessly blend into the scenery in the Texas Hill Country.  In addition, these trees appreciate a fall planting to establish roots in your landscape and will reward you with years of enjoyment.  Make sure they’re in the ground in time to establish a good root system, which should not be too difficult in Texas.

Finally, adding a light layer of mulch provides some protection for plants for the winter season while adding color and texture to the fall landscape.  In summer, mulch helps retain soil moisture, but it’s just as useful when the temperature drops for protecting shallow-rooted plants.

Land in Texas is perhaps the state’s best natural resource, and affordable Texas living is attracting new land buyers.  If you’re interested in land for sale in Texas, Texas Homesites is an excellent source of information on Texas real estate, including master planned communities in Texas.  Find us on Facebook and Twitter today.

Texas Soil

Texas has a wide range of soil just as diverse as the state itself. Soil types and qualities vary greatly depending on where you decide to hang your hat. You will rarely start off with soil that is perfect for gardening. Consequently, the first step is to learn something about the soil where your Texas real estate is located. Soils in Texas are divided into five basic types: clay, sand, silt, peat and loam. Soils also have varying amounts of organic matter, such as minerals, large and small rocks and organic matter.

Understanding pH

If you want a successful, productive garden in Texas, you will likely need to know the pH of your soil. Soil pH refers to how acidic or alkaline a certain area of soil is. Fortunately, it is easy to adjust pH so that soil is not too alkaline or acidic. Once the soil pH is balanced, plants should grow just fine throughout the growing season, which extends well into fall in many parts of Texas. Soil pH is measured from 0 to 14. Alkaline soils have larger pH numbers while acidic soils have smaller numbers. Arid areas of Texas generally have alkaline soils. Regions with heavy rain are usually more acidic.

Finding a Balance

Most gardeners want a balanced pH of around 7, but realistically a 6.5 also provides productive growing soil. At this level, trace minerals and nutrients are easily absorbed by growing plants. Soil pH is easy to test. There are a few ways you can do this. Electronic garden soil testing kits make it very easy to determine pH. Organic compost can be added to the soil to adjust the pH and drainage to produce quality soil ideal for desired growing.

Texas Homesites is your top choice for affordable Texas land. Wherever your Texas dream home is located, the beauty and bounty of nature is sure to be in abundance. Look for Texas Homesites on Facebook and Twitter.

When you think of playing golf, you may not think that it is the most energetic sport. However, you would probably be surprised to find out that there are many physical and mental health benefits to the game.

• Cardio: Playing golf is great exercise for your heart, and if you walk the course, you can really get a good workout. On average, you can burn 300 calories an hour from walking a round of golf. You won’t burn as many calories riding around in a golf cart!
• Muscles: By carrying your clubs, you can build muscle mass and increase your muscle tone while strengthening your arms and shoulders.
• Sunshine: When you are out playing a game of golf on a beautiful day, you get an adequate dose of vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for building strong bones and good overall health.
• Sleep: People who exercise and work out are proven to sleep better at night. Exercise helps wear off excess energy, helps you fall asleep faster, and helps you stay asleep through the night.
• Social: Golf is an entertaining sport that you can enjoy with your family and friends. The game is a way to bond with others and build connections with new friends.

Golf is a game that people of all ages can enjoy. Texas Homesites has three communities in Texas that all feature their own golf course and golfing amenities. The Bridges at Preston Crossings is located in North Texas and features a spectacular Fred Couples’ Signature Golf Course. Lake Ridge at Joe Pool Lake offers waterfront living with the Tangle Ridge Golf Club. And The Reserve at SugarTree offers the SugarTree Golf Club in the heart of Texas.

Download our free eBook, The Texas Land Buyer’s Guide, to learn more about our golfing communities in Texas with land for sale.

One of the trends that was easy to predict was the meteoric rise in the internet as a real estate tool. The internet has empowered home buyers ways that would’ve been impossible in any preceding decade. Imagine what we now take for granted, being able to view practically any home that’s for sale in virtually any market! That’s the definition of a game changer.

As the Internet has changed the face of real estate, it’s caused agents to completely rethink their strategies for how they deal and interact with clients. For starters, virtual communication through emails and texts makes communication easier in some ways, but also less personal. Twitter and Facebook have also played a huge impact in the real estate landscape, and have become powerful tools for agents and buyers alike.

Buying Into Technology

The technology revolution will only continue as we move into the new decade. Smartphones give users capabilities to gather, source and send information in the blink of an eye – from virtually anywhere in the country. Staying ahead of the curve is a challenge, but one that is certainly worthwhile for real estate agents that are looking to appeal to the new generation of homebuyers that are all “wired”.

Some Things Never Change

However, no matter how technologically advanced we become, there’s still no replacement for building relationships and showing people a desire to help them find the property that is the perfect fit for them. Whether it’s done through Twitter, on the phone, or face-to-face, buyers are looking for a real estate agent that is willing to go the extra mile for them and serve as an expert and advocate in the home buying process. And even in the face of awesome technology, nothing replaces seeing a house in person with your own eyes – not on a screen.

In our previous post, we discussed San Antonio (ranked #2 on the list) and Austin (ranked #3 on the list), and what has helped these rapidly growing cities survive and even flourish during the economic crunc that has had such a crippling effect on so many other cities. Today, we’ll discuss the other two cities on the Forbes.com list, and look at some of the factors that have kept them on the rise.

Dallas – Ranked #6

One of the best attributes Dallas has going for it in the current economy is a bustling sector of diversified tech companies that are all continuing to grow as we enter the new decade. The thriving tech industry has provided new jobs in the Dallas area through the recession, and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Along with tech, Dallas is also driven by banking, commerce, telecom, energy and transportation. Only New York and Houston are home to more Fortune 500 companies, and D/FW airport has transformed the Dallas-Ft. Worth area into one of the busiest inland ports in the country.

Houston – Ranked #8

Known as one of, if not the most prolific oil cities in the U.S., you may be surprised to see Houston on this list, considering the instability in the oil and gas industry as of late. Well, despite the stereotype, Houston is far more diversified in the energy industry than just abandoned oil wells and chemical factories.

As the fourth largest U.S. city, Houston also excels as a port, and as a leading medical city. The research segment is only elevated further by the presence of NASA and the Johnson Space Center – the location of Mission Control Center. With the second most Fortune 500 companies making Houston home, the growth in the Houston area continues to impress, and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

A Great Place to Call Home

One thing all the Texas cities on our list – and the cities around Texas for that matter – have in common, is that before the recession, home prices were stable. Texas never fell under the weight of the “boom” that many cities fell victim to, and as a result, never suffered from the resulting crash. As quoted in the Forbes.com article, research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University James P. Gaines said, “Texas didn’t have as big of a boom, so we’re not having anywhere near the kind of bust.”

It’s easy to see why so many people are happy in this state – and why so many people can’t wait to move here.

Getting the Most for Your Money

A real estate investor from NJ, who wants to buy land in the hard-hit market of Cape Coral, FL, has found lots for sale on or near the water at about a third to half below their peak prices of two years ago.

On a larger scale, Ray Alcorn, an investor in VA, is picking up parcels of land after two years on the sidelines. He has bought more than 100 acres throughout VA this year, much of it at reduced prices. “It’s just crazy out there right now,” said Mac Boyd, 65, a real estate broker in Arcola, IL, who has sold farms for more than three decades. “The land market has never been stronger.”

Emily Wilson, a realtor in Shelbyville, TN (south of Nashville) was asked to comment on land sales in her area. She stated “acreage is selling better than homes in our area. We sell a lot of horse farms and high dollar properties…but if I were depending on starter home sales for a living, I’d be crying hard times.

Instead, our company sales are up $1 million over this same time last year.” Fort Worth-based D.R. Horton, the nation’s largest home builder by unit volume, is selling off thousands of lots in outlying markets while holding on to land with development potential closer to major metropolitan areas.

The parcels closer in are located in markets that are expected to rebound more quickly. The sales figures cited indicate that Horton sold 2,000 lots in Southern California for $7.8 million, a 90+ percent markdown from the estimated $110 million purchase price. In a separate transaction, Horton also sold a 4-acre parcel near San Diego for $4.4 million, a 75 percent markdown from the 2005 purchase price.

Also worth noting in the article is the figure on new-home sales, which are now at a 17-year low. Land in the Heart of Dixie has been an excellent investment. That’s the conclusion one draws from a recent report titled Alabama Farm Real Estate: A Comparison of Returns and Values Since 1970, which was prepared by John Adrian and Walt Prevatt, professors and extension economists at Auburn University.

Here are the high points. In 1970, buyers were paying on average $200 per acre for Alabama farmland. In 2007, the average price per acre was $3,100, a 1,450% increase over the period or 40.3% per year.

This figure covers a substantial timeframe, but it does offer insight into the underlying market conditions inherent throughout much of the state. Farming and agriculture have long been key drivers buoying rural land values in Alabama.

Numerous additional factors have pushed up demand, including the recent stretch of historically low interest rates and the popularity of 1031 Exchanges. And then there are Alabamans themselves. These people love to hunt. They love to fish. They love to get out on the land and out on the water.

Residents of Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, and Huntsville are excellent examples of urban dollars propelling the market for rural and recreational land to even higher levels.

Where are the Best Land Values?

All of the best bargains were found in Louisiana and Texas with Dallas being the most undervalued big city, by 30%, according to CNNMoney.com.

But the PMI study takes a longer view, predicting where home prices will be in 24 months. The insurer's new risk assessment warns that there is almost a 100 percent chance that home prices in markets including Riverside, Calif., and Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will be lower in two years.

Big declines are also likely in many other Florida, California and Nevada markets. “This down cycle in housing is very different from those in the past,” said PMI spokesman Nate Purpura. “Typically, employment tanks and foreclosures follow.

In this cycle, the foreclosures came first, then the unemployment, and now we're hitting a second wave of foreclosures brought on by the unemployment,” he said. “It's essentially a double-whammy in the housing market, and we're likely still somewhere in the midpoint.”

But unless the current crisis causes a radical reduction in the number of new households, we are going to keep on building. Much of America’s new housing is provided in the four fastest-growing metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Phoenix.

We would have truly found our way to the 1930s if construction in all of those places dropped essentially to zero. As long as we are building in those places, then construction costs in those areas provide a lower bound on where housing prices will land, since builders will still need to cover their costs.

This reasoning suggests that we should expect prices in Phoenix and Miami to land somewhere closer to construction costs in those areas, and we should expect prices in Dallas and Houston to stay relatively steady, since these places more or less skipped the recent boom.

Where to Buy Land

The Dallas-Fort Worth area came off best in the latest forecast of future home values. North Texas metro areas were ranked as the least likely in the country to experience a sustained home-price decline in mortgage insurance giant PMI Group's newest report.

The Dallas Ft. Worth area has less than a 1 percent chance of having lower home prices in two years, according to PMI Group's risk study. The California-based insurer ranks about 50 U.S. cities based on the likelihood of declines in home prices.

All of Texas' major markets were at the bottom of PMI's ranking, which was released Wednesday. “Texas is looking better than anybody else,” said PMI economist David Berson. “The economy is doing much better in Texas than other places, and you didn't get the huge run-up in prices that needs to be worked off.”

Even so, home prices in North Texas are down about 2.5 percent from a year ago, according to the latest estimate from Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller index.

A Flood of Information

Most people I know have heard reports in many different media outlets about the problems facing current homeowners. However, there are rarely any reports about the benefits of investing in real estate, especially when prices are dropping.

The media has cast a negative light on the real estate industry as a whole, while young clients need to be informed about the positive aspects of homeownership. For example, the first-time homebuyer tax credit is a great deal for young buyers, but few seem to know that it even exists.

Providing correct, current information about housing concerns is probably the most important tip I can give anyone trying to sell my generation on real estate. Furthermore, making such information readily available to a digitized generation would be a great step in the right direction.

Technologically Savvy

My generation has internalized the Internet. This internalization has a significant impact on the home-buying process: so far, my entire search has taken place on the web. In my search, I have used just about every website available to buyers. Here’s what I found most useful while perusing different real estate websites: property mapping, photos, and overall ease-of-use.

In searching for properties in Chicago, I do not know every single street name or where they are located. Sites that can show me the properties on a map made my search much easier. And I must admit that, although I may have missed out on some great properties, I rarely found myself giving more than a quick glance to listings without multiple photos. I want to get a sense of what the properties look like so I can decide whether or not to schedule a showing.

Finally, websites that list homes need to be simple and well thought out so that first-time buyers can easily and quickly search and find homes without having to jump through hoops to get to the best listings.

Patience IS a Virtue Be patient in explaining to first-time buyers the process of homeownership and the currently available incentives. More than half of the people I’ve spoken with are unwilling to consider purchasing a home because they’ve heard all about foreclosures and the slumping housing market.

This attitude requires REALTORS® to be extremely patient and understanding of these fears while teaching young, first-time buyers about the advantages of owning a home. Being honest and upfront with these clients can also help to gain their trust. Is the current market perfect for every buyer? Of course not.

However, for many, there are some truly great opportunities available to those willing to find them. The new generation of first-time homebuyers is creating a new segment in real estate, and a new type of REALTOR®. Still-falling home prices, an increasing inventory of properties, and government incentives for first-time homebuyers present a great opportunity for young professionals. And that signals opportunity for REALTORS®, especially those who can provide this new segment with the level of technology we have come to expect.

The only issue is counteracting the negative skew of the industry presented by major media outlets. Focusing your efforts on a case-by-case basis in order to alleviate the fears of buyers could prove incredibly profitable in the long term.

The economy continues to fluctuate so enormously that young professionals in their early to mid-twenties are apprehensive about the real estate market. What is at the core of the issue for young first-time homebuyers? A more relevant question might be what REALTORS® can do to help alleviate foreclosure fears.

Let's put ourselves in the shoes of Generation Y home buyer. I'm a 23-year-old in search of a home, I have a perspective that I have found to be relatively rare. I recognize that my generation has a great opportunity to take advantage of the tremendous surplus in real estate.

Although the credit issues facing the country may make it difficult for some to secure favorable loans, the incredible numbers of available homes, combined with falling prices, presents a near-ideal opportunity for first-time buyers to snatch up some real bargains.

Sounds great right? Unfortunately, through conversations with many friends and acquaintances in their early to mid-twenties, it doesn’t appear that many are interested in even discussing homeownership.

From what I’ve heard, this lack of excitement has a simple cause—most of my generation lacks quality information about the real estate market. Whenever the conversation arises with friends and acquaintances, I cannot help but wonder where many of my friends get their information. Very few seem to understand how the industry works or how to go about searching for a home.

This younger generation of buyers contains great potential for REALTORS®, and so I’ve come up with a few tips that I'll be discussing over the next few posts. I think these tips will be valuable, not only for understanding the fears of young buyers, but also for gaining their trust.