Real Estate Money Matters

Real estate money matters are our minds these days -- especially when considering a major home purchase. Here are some reliable sources for up-to-date real estate money tips.

• The Institute for Regional Forecasting of the University of Houston (www.uh.edu/irf/).  This organization of economists is one of the best sources of information on the state of Houston's economy.  Why?  Because they forecast tax revenues for the City of Houston.  The long-term chairman, Dr. Barton Smith, has retired and the Institute is now chaired by Dr. Ted Jones.
• The Real Estate Center (http://recenter.tamu.edu/) at Texas A&M University publishes state-wide economic reports every month.  Check out RECON, their free online newsletter.  Their quarterly print publication, "Tierra Grande", is available online.  The Resources/Presentations link is also quite useful, containing slide shows from recent speeches.  Watch particularly for speeches from Dr. Mark G. Dotzour.
• The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (http://www.dallasfed.org/publications.cfm) is also an excellent source of economic information.  Their quarterly report, "Southwest Economy" is available online, as is their "Economic Letter".
• And, of course, the Wall Street Journal reports on economic news, including current interest rates.

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