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Daily Mortgage Rates Conforming Avg. 7d avg. 7d chg. 30 Year Fixed 5.71% 5.74% 0.03% 1/1 Adjustable 4.62% 4.47% -0.15% Jumbo Avg. 7d avg. 7d chg. 30 Year Fixed 5.98% 6.02% 0.04% 1/1 Adjustable 4.41% 3.89% -0.52% Mortgage Refinance Is your interest rate too high? Refinance could be an option. Are you in need of some extra cash? You probably want to reduce your interest rate... >> Debt Consolidation Everyone can get into financial trouble. Maybe you are behind on your bills and need help? Our debt consolidation lenders respond to your specific needs. They help you find a loan solution that fits your circumstances... >> Home Purchase Have you found your dream home? A home purchase includes finding the best possible home loan. Our brokers and lenders will guide you along the way... >> Home Equity Loans Do not look any further for your home equity loan or equity line of credit. 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Sell House Home Sell a Home Buy a Home Services Mortgages City Profiles Appraisals -- Why sell your home by owner? Less hassle and frustration: When selling a home by owner, you don't have to leave the house because a Real Estate Agent wants to show it, or clean it every morning before leaving "just in case". You know when potential home buyers are coming, and can therefore prepare accordingly. And when a home buyer makes an offer, there's not all that frustrating back-and-forth telephone tag between real estate agents to reach an agreement. It can be done in minutes, and end with a friendly handshake and smile between the buyer and seller. "You can "sell your home" better than anyone else: You know your house best. The schools, the neighborhood, what is special about the area and the home, as well as other details about the house. A well-maintained, fairly priced home can virtually sell itself; your role is to simply provide additional information. Sell for a price on your terms; You're in control: Nobody is going to tell you what to sell for. You can advertise where and how you want to (not sit by in frustration because "they're not doing enough"), schedule showings when it's convenient for you, talk directly with prospective home buyers at your leisure, even take your home off the market for awhile if you can't find the right house for you. You aren't obligated to a 3, 6, or 12 month contract... you make your own rules. More $$$ in your pocket: Calculate 6-7% of what you think your house is worth, then ask yourself: is it worth paying this much to have someone else show my property, act as a go-between to negotiate the sale and coordinate the home's closing schedules with the lender, lawyer or titles company (dependent upon your area of the country). Sell your home fast: If you list your home with a real estate agent, you'll probably inflate the house's asking price to cover the cost of the commission. Two to four months later you'll come to the painful realization that no one is going to buy your home at that price, and you'll likely end up reducing the price (or accepting an offer) equal to the original amount you would have asked if selling on your own. Do it right the first time, and avoid taking the loss. Less uncertainty: Because you meet the prospective home buyers, you have a much better idea how interested people are, what they like about the house, how serious they are about buying and what their timeframe and situation is. The direct feedback is easier to live with than wondering how things are going, or worse, why no one has made an offer yet. It's easy: If you can sell your own car, you can sell your own home... it's that simple" said one of our home sellers. And he's right, once you find a buyer, lenders, lawyers or title companies take over (depending on your area of the country). And For Sale By Owner websites are now your best advertising resource for commission free home selling. Privacy & Disclaimer Partner With Us Career Opportunities Press Room Contact Us Terms and Conditions © 1997-2005 For Sale By Owner.com Site Map

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Home Equity Lending Gaps in Texas The Texas Economy March 2003 "Texans need and deserve the right to take out home equity lines of credit.This simple change will pump $741 million back to Texas homeowners." -- Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Texas Comptroller Home Equity Lending Gaps in Texas The number of Texans with home equity loans has more than doubled since 1997 when changes in the Texas constitution made it easier for Texans to borrow against the equity they have in their homes. [1] Yet, Texans are still not taking as many home equity loans as residents in other states. In the traditional home equity lending market—the segment that involves a lump-sum payout of equity to be repaid over a set term—Texans seem to have caught up with the rest of the nation. Indeed, the estimated 6.4 percent of Texas home-owners with traditional home equity loans in 2001 is not only up considerably from 2.5 in 1997 but may well be higher than the average for the other 49 states of 5.7 percent (Figure 1). [2] This most likely reflects the fact that one portion of the home equity loan market—the home equity line of credit market—remains unavailable to Texans. An estimated $12.7 billion in higher-cost, non-tax-deductible loans that currently exist could be supplanted if home equity lines of credit were available and Texans used these financial options at the same rate as other consumers in the country. By taking advantage of a substantially untapped resource, Texas consumers could save $741 million annually using home equity lines of credit instead of other loans. These savings could be pumped into the Texas economy through lower interest rates and additional federal income tax deductions. The gains would be realized in the Texas economy if existing loans were merely paid off by homeowners through home equity lines of credit. This need not expand homeowners’ overall debt burden. Home Equity Lending in Texas For more than 160 years, access to the home equity that owners had built up in their residences was largely untapped. As a direct result of the Panic of 1837, Texas prohibited the forced sale of homesteads for all but a very limited number of reasons. When Texas became a state, these protections became part of the state constitution and effectively barred foreclosing on a person’s residence for reasons other than non-payment of taxes, the original mortgage or a home improvement loan. These same provisions also effectively barred tapping into home equity for purposes other than home improvement. But on November 4, 1997, Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing more leeway in home equity lending and for reverse mortgages. [3] These loans became available to Texans in 1998, but some technical issues limited the availability of home equity loans for homesteads larger than one acre and from reverse mortgages. Subsequent amendments addressed these legal concerns. [4] Changes in the Texas Constitution expanded the conditions under which homeowners could obtain a traditional home equity loan. These closed-end loans extend for a specified length of time and generally require repayment of interest and principal in equal monthly installments. Interest rates on these loans are ordinarily fixed for the life of the loan. Growth in Home Equity Lending in Texas Since changing the Texas constitution to allow wider use of home equity loans, Texans have steadily increased their reliance on these loans. According to American Housing Survey (AHS) data on nine Texas metropolitan areas that cover 68 percent of Texas’ owner-occupied homes, only 2.5 percent of Texas homeowners had any form of home equity loan in 1997, substantially less than the 14.5 percent for all U.S. homeowners outside of Texas that same year. By 1999, the proportion of Texas homeowners with a home equity loan had risen to 4.5 percent. While this represents nearly a doubling of home equity loan usage in just two years, this was still slightly less than the estimated 5 percent rate for home equity loan usage in the nation and substantially less than the 12.9 percent estimated by the AHS that year for both home equity loans and lines of credit. By 2001, the proportion of Texas households with home equity loans had reached 6.4 percent. At this level, the usage in Texas actually exceeded the usage rate of fixed-term closed-end loans in the U.S., indicating that Texans may have reached the saturation point with traditional home equity loans. These loans typically are written for a set amount to be repaid in equal installments over a specified time, just like a traditional mortgage. Based on a survey conducted for the Comptroller of Public Accounts of home equity lenders in Texas, from 1998 to 2000, the amount of the average home equity loan was about $36,750. In 2001 and 2002, the average home equity loan jumped to more than $47,000. [5] Closing the Gap Although Texans’ reliance on home equity loans has grown substantially since the passage of the constitutional amendment, further gains may be unlikely. Other states’ average usage of 14 percent in 2001 included both traditional home equity loans and home equity lines of credit, financial instruments not now available to Texas homeowners. The possibility that the usage rate of traditional home equity loans in Texas exceeded the usage rate of similar loans in the nation probably indicates that without the home equity line of credit option, more homeowners are opting for the fixed term loans—their only other choice. During much of the 1990s, about 8 percent of U.S. homeowners had a home equity line of credit whereas about 5 percent of homeowners had a traditional loan. [6] In 2001, AHS data indicated an estimated 8.4 percent of homeowners had a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and 5.7 percent had traditional home equity loans. This newer form of home equity lending has become the preferred choice by homeowners in other states. A HELOC is a revolving account that permits borrowing from time to time, at the account holder’s discretion, up to a set credit limit. HELOCs also typically have more flexible repayment schedules than traditional home equity loans and have a variable interest rate. Most consumers think home equity lines of credit are more convenient than traditional home equity loans. While about 40 percent of consumers cited the tax advantages of both types of home equity credit as an important consideration, 43 percent of HELOC users cited convenience of use as an advantage, compared with only 1 percent of those using the traditional home equity loans. [7] Many of the major lenders in Texas make HELOC loans to homeowners in other states. Their experiences underscore how attractive this option is to consumers. Figure 2 presents the percentage of the amount of home equity loans and lines of credit written in Georgia, Florida and California by three major Texas lenders. [8] About 88 percent of the consumers in these states choose HELOCs compared with about 12 percent choosing traditional home equity loans. Potential Economic Impact of HELOCs in Texas One approach to examining what expanded home equity lending might mean in Texas is to estimate what consumers would save if they had access to HELOCs. Three issues are crucial when estimating this impact: what savings could be expected from lower interest costs; how much would HELOCs lower federal income tax bills; and how large total borrowing might become. Underlying this assessment is the assumption that if Texans had access to HELOCs the total home equity usage in Texas would approach the U.S. average. This implies that consumer use of both home equity lines of credit and traditional loans would reach about 14 percent, 7.6 percentage points up from the 2001 level, which was 6.4 and consisted of only traditional home equity loans. The true economic value of HELOCs to consumers lies in low interest rates and as a deduction from federal income taxes. For example, recent data from February 2003 show that the average interest rate on credit card debt is 13.8 percent, the rate for new auto loans is 5.8 percent and on home equity lines of credit, 4.4 percent. [9] This implies that on a $1,000 loan, annual credit card interest charges would be $138 whereas these charges would amount to only $44 for the home equity line of credit. On $1,000 in outstanding credit card debt, conversion of this debt to a HELOC would save $94 in interest payments annually. But even this neglects the fact that HELOC interest costs are deductible from federal income taxes, whereas credit card interest charges are not deductible. Although each individual’s exact marginal tax rate paid depends on adjusted gross income, the National Bureau of Economic Research estimates that, on average, in 1999 interest deductions reduced income taxes 24.5 cents per dollar of interest paid. [10] This implies that, on average, the $44 in HELOC interest payments would generate an estimated $10.78 in federal income tax savings so that the total consumer savings per $1,000 in credit card debt replaced by HELOC would be $104.78 annually. Savings from other loans would be less dramatic. Based on current rates, car loans would cost $58 in interest charges per $1,000 borrowed, or only $14 more than HELOC. But tacking on the deductibility of HELOC raises this savings to $24.78 annually per $1,000 borrowed. The loans likely to be displaced by HELOC would be a mixture of credit card loans and other consumer loans such as car loans. According to Federal Reserve loan data, consumer debt nationwide at the end of 2002 was divided into $738.9 billion in revolving loans, of which credit card debt is a large part, and $1,017.9 billion in non-revolving loans. [11] Assuming Texas consumers have a similar debt profile, about 42 percent of Texas consumer debt would be in revolving credit and 58 percent in non-revolving. Based on these shares, the average consumer would save an estimated $58.38 in interest and tax payments per $1,000 owed by switching from other consumer credit sources to HELOC. [12] How much Texans could save depends on the volume of consumer loans displaced. Using 2001 commercial bank data to update national figures indicates that the traditional home equity loan market in the U.S. reached $352.7 billion, up from $267 billion in 1997. Considering Texas’ share of home equity loans and the average per loan value, Texans account for an estimated 8.4 percent of the U.S. market for traditional home equity loans. Based on this percentage and assuming that Texans would use both traditional and HELOC loans at the national rate, Texas consumers would exchange $12.7 billion in existing loans for HELOC. In doing so, Texas homeowners would save $741 million in interest charges and federal income taxes annually. This would be a modest level of savings. The Federal Reserve Board estimates that households spend about 8 percent of their disposable personal income servicing the debt on revolving loans. [13] The $741 million annual savings from increased use of HELOCs would be about 1.7 percent of the annual amount Texans spend on debt service for revolving loans. [14] Home Equity Delinquencies If Texas consumers relied more on home equity lines of credit and followed national trends, loan delinquencies would likely fall. Based on American Bankers Association data (Table 1), Texas averages fewer loan delinquencies for closed-end home equity loans than consumers at the national level. Loan delinquencies did rise in Texas from 1999 to 2001, but dropped off in 2002. Table 1: Texas Home Equity Delinquency Rates Compared to All Other States Home Equity Delinquency Rates and All States First Mortgage Delinquency Rates* Closed-End** Home Equity Loans(1) Home Equity Lines of Credit(1) All States - First Mortgages(2) Texas All States All States Conventional FHA VA 2002 0.99% 1.30% 0.59% 3.06% 11.55% 7.87% 2001 1.17 1.28 0.73 2.96 10.78 7.67 2000 0.88 1.20 0.75 2.50 9.10 6.80 1999 0.77 1.26 0.62 2.60 8.60 6.80 * Delinquency Rates are based on the number of Loans Past Due 30 Days or More as a Percentage of Loans Outstanding. ** "Closed End" includes home equity and second mortgages (but not home improvement). SOURCES (1)Home equity delinquency rates obtained from "Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin" published quarterly by American Bankers Association. (2)First mortgage delinquency rates obtained from "U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2001" and Mortgage Bankers Association of America "Quarterly Delinquency Surveys." But nationwide, loan delinquencies for lines of credit are slightly more than half the rates seen for closed end home equity loans. Based on this pattern, a shift towards using home equity lines of credit from traditional home equity loans should lower overall home equity delinquency rates. Compared with first mortgages, the delinquency rates for both home equity loans and lines of credit are substantially lower. Summary The use of home equity loans in Texas has risen dramatically following constitutional changes in Texas in 1997. Use of closed-end traditional home equity loans in Texas exceeds nationwide use. The fact that home equity lines of credit are not available in Texas contributes to a higher reliance on traditional home equity loans. But the strong consumer preference expressed for HELOCs in other states and consumer preference for their ease of use may indicate that continued expansion of lower interest, tax deductible home equity financing by consumers in Texas may slow without access to these loans. If Texans were to use home equity financing only up to the national average through HELOCs, lower interest payments and lower federal taxes would save Texas consumers $741 million. Making HELOCs available to Texas consumers would require passing another constitutional amendment and legislation proposing such amendments will likely be introduced during the current legislative session. If the nature of consumer safeguards and other requirements on lending institutions in Texas making HELOC loans were significantly more restrictive than national practices, interest rates on these loans in Texas could be higher than national rates, and the economic impacts less. Data Collection While banking and finance are two of the most heavily regulated industries, this level of scrutiny does not always result in the availability of detailed information. Since 1987, banks and finance companies have reported home equity lines of credit under receivables on quarterly Call Reports and since 1991 have also separately reported their holdings of traditional closed-end home equity loans. Mutual savings banks also report these data on Federal Reserve Board Call Reports. Other segments of the financial industry report this information to varying degrees. Savings and loan associations and federal saving banks report credit line receivables on Call Reports, but they do not separate home equity loans from first mortgages. Since June 1996, finance companies have reported commercial and residential mortgages separately but do not distinguish between loans under lines of credit and traditional loans. Credit union data is available on both types of home equity debt from the Credit Union National Association. At the national level, some data track the degree to which consumers utilize the various home equity loan alternatives. Every two years the Federal Reserve Board surveys consumers’ use of credit. This data, while instructive on overall trends and the use of home equity loans and lines of credit, does not contain information about practices in particular states. Moreover, much of the state-specific data collected from financial institutions is available primarily for the location of the financial institution involved, and not where the loan was made. Where this data are available, coverage by type of financing (home equity loan versus line of credit) is limited. The Texas-specific data in this analysis is derived largely from two sources. First, the U.S. Bureau of the Census surveys about 60,000 Americans every two years about housing conditions. This survey includes questions about the usage of home equity loans, but only the most recent survey, from 2001, elicits responses on traditional home equity loans separately from home equity lines of credit. Because this survey is national, there is only partial coverage of Texas. Specifically, publicly available data from the survey identifies only responses coming from nine metropolitan areas in Texas. Although the sample does contain responses from non-metropolitan areas, these are not identified by state. The Census survey covers about 68.2 percent of the Texas population. The second source of data is internal surveys of lending activity conducted by lending institutions doing business in Texas. These institutions cover more than 10 percent of the Texas market for commercial financial institutions and financial companies. These data are used to identify the potential to expand home equity lending in Texas if lines of credit became available. Endnotes [1] In 1997 and before, availability of home equity loans in Texas was limited to home improvement loans, loans to pay outstanding taxes and loans allowing one spouse to “buy out” another in the case of divorce. Such loans were typically known as a second lien against the property. Homeowners could not secure a loan backed by the equity in their home and use the proceeds of the loan for purposes other than those specified in law. Outside of Texas, using home equity loan proceeds for whatever purpose and even the more flexible home equity line of credit (a revolving line of credit secured by home equity) have been widely available for years. [2] The tentative nature of this statement stems from what seems to be respondent confusion to the American Housing Survey (AHS). In the 2001 AHS, 14 Texas households identified themselves as having a home equity line of credit in 2001. Since these lines of credit currently cannot be offered in Texas, the most likely explanation for this is that these respondents misunderstood the “line of credit” option in the survey as describing the “draw down” feature of a home improvement loan during construction when, in fact, these instances were almost certainly traditional “closed end” loans. Placing these responses in that category indicates that 6.4 percent of the homeowners in the survey in Texas had a closed-end home equity loan as compared to only 5.7 percent in states outside of Texas. [3] House Joint Resolution 31 (HJR 31) passed by the 1997 Legislature that, upon passage, became effective January 1, 1998. [4] On November 2, 1999, Texas voters approved constitutional amendments proposed by the 1999 Legislature to address these problems, Senate Joint Resolutions 12 and 22 (SJR 12 and 22). [5] Data submitted by lenders in early 2003. For number and amount of loans in Texas, the survey included five large Texas lenders. [6] Glenn B. Canner, Thomas A. Durkin and Charles A. Luckett, “Recent Developments in Home Equity Lending,” Federal Reserve Bulletin, April 1998, p. 243. [7] Canner, Durkin and Luckett, pp. 241- 251. [8] From data submitted by lenders. Together these three lenders serve more than 10 percent of the commercial banking market in Texas. [9] These rates and those of HELOCs are from http://www.bankrate.com/ on February 18, 2003. The credit card rate is for a standard card (not gold or platinum) at a fixed annual rate. The auto loan figure refers to a 48-month loan for a new car. The HELOC rate is for a $10,000 or minimum amount. [10] http://www.nber.org/~taxsim/mrates/mrates2.html , February 20, 2003. [11] Federal Reserve Board Statistical Release, G.19, Consumer Credit, February 7, 2003. http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/ . [12] This is a fairly conservative assessment on two points. First it assumes that consumers would replace current borrowing in proportion to the amount borrowed of each type without consideration of the interest rates charged for each type of borrowing. A more rational approach would be to replace all of the most costly borrowing first. Secondly, new car financing rates are among the lowest cost loans available and this probably underestimates the interest costs of non-revolving loans. [13] http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/housedebt/default.htm , February 19,2003. [14] Disposable personal income in Texas is estimated to be $535.2 billion in 2001. Carole Keeton Strayhorn Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Window on State Government Contact Us Privacy and Security Policy

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Century 21 Real Estate: home buying, home selling, financing and property listings. español Put My Century 21 to work for you, simply register your email address and create a password. Once you're registered, you'll be able to • save property descriptions • store your search criteria • file agent information • build a custom library Find out more or register now! Already registered? Sign in . -- Welcome to Century 21 Real Estate Century 21 Real Estate is your online resource for home buying, home selling, financing and property listings. Whether it's a house, condo, or any other type of property, we can assist you with your real estate needs. Search for Properties Looking to buy a new home, condo or any other property? Search thousands of properties in our real estate listings. Search Property Listings » First Time Homebuyers Guide » View Our Buyer Service Pledge » International Century 21 Real Estate LLC is part of the largest real estate referral network in the world - with over 110,000 brokers and sales associates in over 30 countries and territories. Access our world offices today» Sell a Property Let our real estate agents create a customized marketing plan to sell your property. List your Property » View Our Seller Service Pledge » View Mortgage Rates View current mortgage rates, apply for a home equity loan, crunch numbers with home mortgage calculators and more! Apply for a Mortgage Now» Use Our Mortgage Calculators » Find an Office or Agent Find and contact a CENTURY 21 Office or Agent to handle your real estate needs. Find an Office or Agent » Quick Vote! Your vote counts! Let us Know Where do you spend the most time? Bedroom Living Room Kitchen Bathroom Dining Room ©2005 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each CENTURY 21 Office Is Independently Owned And Operated. All rights reserved. Information appearing on this site has been produced by or obtained primarily from Century 21 Real Estate LLC and its representatives and from CENTURY 21 franchisees. Century 21 Real Estate LLC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the broker information, sales associate information, listing information or other information provided by our franchisees appearing on or through this site. Such information has been provided by independent third parties who are solely responsible for such content. Certain conditions and restrictions apply to System promotions. Terms and Conditions of Use.

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DOE Building Technologies Program: Homes Search Help More Search Options Search Site Map Subject Index -- EERE Information Center Homes Building America Projects Your State Energy Office Energy Savers Website Home Energy Saver Tool Virtual Home Navigator Consumer Energy Information Efficient Windows Home Energy magazine Real Goods Ways to Save Use a programmable thermostat to control the heating and cooling in your home Compare your energy use against the national average Conduct a home energy audit to determine the largest savings potential Install energy efficient lighting such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) Hire a professional to help you insulate and repair your ducts Need help lowering your energy bills? As many as 30 million low-income families in the U.S. are eligible for home weatherization help. Visit the Weatherization Assistance Program web site for information Homes Use Energy Like It's Going Out of Style The typical U.S. family spends $1,300 a year on home energy bills, and some of that energy is wasted. Heating, ventilating and air conditioning units are inefficient, windows leak conditioned air, and appliances devour energy. This is money out of your pocket, and it's bad news for the environment—electricity generated by fossil fuels for a single home puts more carbon dioxide into the air than two average cars. Building Energy-Efficient New Homes New home construction presents an opportunity to incorporate energy-saving features right from the start. Across the nation, savvy homeowners and home builders are demonstrating that energy-smart building choices can help homeowners save on energy bills and, at the same time, give homebuilders a competitive advantage. The Good News? Well, maybe using so much energy—especially in the form of fossil fuels—is going out of style. Homeowners and renters know that saving energy means saving money, and they're realizing that it does not mean sacrificing functionality. There are many things you can do to save energy, ranging from long-term investments to simple no- or low-cost changes. In fact, simple adjustments—like letting your dishes air dry—add up to significant savings. Looking for long-term savings? Because we use-and waste-energy in so many ways, there are plenty of options for cutting back. If you replace 25% of your lights in high-use areas with fluorescents, you can save about 50% of your lighting energy bill. In the market for a new appliance? Invest a little extra money in an energy-efficient product and save more money in the long run. If you're building an addition to your home, double-paned windows and proper insulation will reduce your heating and cooling costs, and strategically placed windows will provide daylighting. From water heating to landscaping, most areas of your home offer opportunities to save. But we will always need energy, and that's why many homeowners are turning to renewable energy sources for a cleaner, more sustainable choice. This can mean investing in solar panels to supply your home's electricity or purchasing a solar water heater. It can also mean installing ground source heat pumps that use the heat of the earth to moderate the temperature of your home. In many areas, utility companies offer clean energy options such as wind power. And that's not all. While you're at the business of saving money, you'll help reduce dependence on fossil fuels, which increases domestic security. You'll also help the environment. In 2000, residences accounted for 20% of U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions—that's 313.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. Saving energy also goes hand in hand with other sustainable choices, like saving water and using more friendly materials and products, like paint, carpet, and cleaners. This is good news for the environment, but it also improves the health of your home, so you can breathe easy. So, where to start? A home energy audit will help you determine what changes will save the most energy and money. If you'd like an overview of energy use in homes, check out the Virtual Home Navigator . Energy Savers is full of useful tips for saving energy, and Home Energy Saver allows you to plug in specific information about your home to find out where you have the most potential for savings. By now, chances are you've come up with a much better way to spend your money than sending it out your single-paned window. A college savings fund, perhaps, or a water-saving clothes washer? Or how about that vacation you've been dreaming about? Printable Version Webmaster | Security & Privacy | Building Technologies Program Home | EERE Home U.S. Department of Energy Content Last Updated: 07/08/2004