Texas Loans & Mortgages

Texas Living: Home Loan and Real Estate Trends in the Lone Star State

By Sharon Secor

Direct Lending Solutions Staff Writer

Texas is the second largest state in the nation, with only Alaska larger in land area, and is located in the South-Central portion of the United States. Texas has a long and colorful history, having flown the flags of six different nations in its time. Originally inhabited by Native Americans belonging to a variety of tribes, Texas was claimed by Spain in 1528, when conquistador Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked and became the first known European to land in Texas.

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Spain did not settle the land they claimed, a failure that led to France building a fort in 1685 and claiming most of Texas. Spain then began to colonize in an attempt to enforce their previous claim. The French claim on Texas was sold to the United stated at the time of the Louisiana Purchase, while the Spanish portion was claimed by Mexico during the Mexican War of Independence.

Eventually, Texans rebelled against the rule of the Mexican government and became a sovereign state in 1836, with their victory in the Texas Revolution. The Republic of Texas soon began to seek annexation by the United States, a process that would not be completed until 1845. Still one more flag was to be flown over Texas as they joined the Confederacy, seceding from the United States just before the civil war.

Today, the state of Texas is the home of the second largest population in the United States, approximately half of its diverse population living within the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan areas. Texas has the second largest economy in the nation, and is home to a variety of thriving industries, such as its internationally known energy and aeronautics industries. The Port of Houston is the nation’s largest in international commerce, and Texas boasts the highest number of Fortune 500 companies in the United States.

The real estate market in Texas is steady and strong, with median home prices reported at $153,000 in August of 2007, rising slightly from the previous year’s figure of $146,100. Housing inventory rose slightly during this period as well, up to a 5.8 months level from last years 5.2 months figure, and Texas home loan rates remain very affordable, averaging 6.455% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage in October 2007, down slightly from the reported 6.638% in September. In many areas of the state, the cost of living is quite low, and property taxes are quite reasonable.

Those considering a move to Texas to escape the harsh winter weather of the northern states are sure to find the climate a pleasant change, varying from humid sub tropical in some areas to semi arid and arid in others. Whether you prefer the urban setting or a quiet rural area, Texas is sure to please with its selection of fine homes in nearly every area of the state, and financing is easy with affordable Texas home loans.

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