Request came from the former Enron chief

By BETTY L. MARTIN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Honoring a request from convicted former Enron chief Ken Lay, the YMCA of Greater Houston’s executive board has agreed to remove his name from a Katy facility.

The 14-member board unanimously voted to rename the facility as the Katy Family YMCA after receiving a one-page letter Friday from Lay, who was found guilty May 25 on fraud and conspiracy charges in connection with the failure of the energy firm. .…more…

From staff reports
Thursday, May 11, 2006 11:32 AM CDT

The Katy Area Economic Development Council (KAEDC), Waller County and Fluoro-Seal International, LP (Fluoro-Seal) announced Tuesday that Fluoro-Seal will construct a new 60,000 square foot facility at Stonegate Business Center.

The new facility will entail a capital investment of about $3.5 million dollars, house 40 employees which includes the company’s corporate headquarters, research and development and one of its 11 manufacturing facilities.

Senior Vice President and Katy area resident Paul Banks detailed the project at the Katy Area Economic Development Council General Assembly meeting. “We have worked with the KAEDC on this project for over two years and appreciate their assistance with site selection, permitting and tax abatement. I would also like to thank Judge Owen Ralston and the Waller County Commissioners for granting tax abatement for the project.” …rest here...

(May 19, 2006) — Many baby boomers feel financially strapped and worry about how they’ll be able to retire, so they turn to real estate as a means of accumulating wealth, a study shows.

According to Baby Boomers and Real Estate: Today and Tomorrow, a study conducted for the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® by Harris Interactive, boomers overwhelmingly channel their concerns over finances into real estate. Almost eight out of 10 own their home and one-quarter own one or more other kinds of real estate in addition to their primary residence.

The most popular real estate investment is land (13 percent), followed by rental property (8 percent), vacation or seasonally occupied home (7 percent), and commercial real estate (2 percent). (more…)

(May 19, 2006) — WASHINGTON – The five-year boom in home sales may be over, but strong demographics and job growth promise only a short-term slowdown in most U.S. markets, NAR’s Chief Economist David Lereah told REALTORS® at Thursday’s Economic Issues & Residential Real Estate Business Trends Forum. His presentation took place during the 2006 REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo.

Speculators and rising interest rates have ended the largest acceleration ever in existing-home prices, but the process is “a needed cleansing” that will help restore balance, said Lereah. Nationally, homes appreciated a remarkable 12.5 percent on average in 2005. Appreciation for 2006 will cool to 5.7 percent. But even with the slowdown, 2006 will be the fourth best year ever for residential real estate sales with an estimated 6.62 million existing homes sold, Lereah noted. (more…)

But one merchant says gas prices have begun to affect shopping

By KIMBERLY PIÑA
Chronicle Correspondent

New store openings and increased sales are signs that Katy’s growing population is benefiting the area’s largest mall, the mall’s manager said.

“Our sales and traffic are up by quite a bit over the previous year,” Katy Mills mall general manager Mace Hirt said. ...more…

Science passing rate rises

By HELEN ERIKSEN
Chronicle Correspondent

Analysis of preliminary Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores for the Katy school district indicates improvements over last year across most or all grade levels in several content areas, district officials said.

The results indicate gains in math and science, areas where the district has focused on boosting students’ scores, said Elizabeth Clark, deputy superintendent for curriculum and instruction. In science, all three grade levels tested showed improved passing rates, and in math, most grade levels showed improvement and none fell back, she said.

….more here….

(May 10, 2006) — This fall some 30,000 REALTORS® will deliver hands-on help to clean up damaged neighborhoods, build 54 new Habitat for Humanity homes, and bring $34 million in badly needed revenue and fresh hope for a brighter future to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

The REALTORS® will convene in the Crescent City Nov. 10 through 13 for the 2006 REALTORS® Conference & Expo.

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® announced Tuesday that it has formed a new partnership with Habitat for Humanity International to encourage each of the nation’s 54 state and territorial REALTOR® associations to sponsor and build a new Habitat home in the Gulf Coast region. (more…)

(May 9, 2006) — The housing market is settling but should experience its third-best year in 2006, with job creation and a growing economy offsetting some of the effects of rising interest rates, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, says the market is adjusting to higher mortgage interest rates. “Coming off a prolonged period of record sales, housing is taking something of a breather this year,” he says. “Even so, interest rates remain historically low, we’ve added about 2 million jobs over the last 12 months and the economy continues to grow – that will sustain healthy levels of home sales in 2006, but they’ll stay below the peaks experienced during the last two years.” (more…)

The Texas House of Representatives recently passed several measures aimed at providing long-term property tax relief to Texas taxpayers.

The House passed four bills, each part of the Texas Tax Reform Commission’s plan, designed to lower property taxes while providing a stable, alternative source of revenue to compensate for the property tax cuts.

“I believe that the measures that we passed take the necessary first step towards providing long-term, meaningful property tax relief for Texas residents,” said Representative Callegari, of Katy.

“For years property tax levels in this state have increased to a point where they actually hurt Texas families. The bills that we passed yesterday provide immediate property tax relief with the aim of further reducing Texas families’ tax burdens in the future.”

The four measures approved by the Texas House of Representatives included House Bills 1, 2, 3, and 4. House Bill 1 would use $2.7 billion of the state’s projected surplus to buy down statewide property taxes by $0.17 in 2006. (more…)

March Brings in Record-Breaking Home Sales and Out-Performs the U.S.

HOUSTON — (April 25, 2006) — March home sales in the greater Houston area reached near all-time record levels. Sales reported set a new record for the month and were the third highest level ever. Houston’s uniquely balanced market shows continued strength in homes sales and prices, while still providing an affordable market for home buyers.

As we enter the traditional peak home buying and selling season this summer, Houston stats are climbing along with our temperatures. (more…)