The city of Katy is hosting a Fourth of July fireworks display at Katy Mills Mall, 5000 Katy Mills Circle.

The event will start around dark and will take place on the east side of the mall between the parking lot and Katy-Fort Bend Road.

Spectators can arrive around dusk and park on the east or west side of the mall, which will close at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Facility to be partnership between Christus, M.D. Anderson

By BETTY L. MARTIN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Next door to Christus St. Catherine Hospital on Tuesday, a small gathering on an empty prairie looked a year down the road, envisioning a center that cuts miles from Katy cancer patients’ trips for radiation treatment.

Construction is expected to begin this week for the three-story, 60,000-square foot Christus Medical Specialty Pavilion, which is being built in partnership with the hospital at 701 Fry Road and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. ...more…

Region’s biggest bills are in Katy, which could see significant cuts

By DAN FELDSTEIN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

It’s a contest that nobody would want to win. If you live in Katy, you have the highest school property taxes in the Houston region.

If you live in Winnie, in the East Chambers Independent School District, you have the lowest.

The owner of a $150,000 house in Katy ISD, with a homestead exemption, paid $2,700 last year compared with $1,481 in East Chambers. That’s 82 percent more.

If its appraised value doesn’t rise, the school taxes on the Katy home will drop 25 percent to $2,021 next year, according to a tax calculator developed by the Houston Chronicle. …more…

The non-exempt rate for KISD is estimated to be $1.63. The calculator is in the upper right hand corner of this linked Chronicle page.

Event occurs Saturdays in Cinco Ranch

By KIMBERLY PIÑA
Chronicle Correspondent

Katy residents don’t have to travel far to get organic produce.

A farmers market featuring homegrown vegetables, fruits and herbs recently opened in partnership with the Katy Family YMCA at the Y’s summer camp grounds, 15050 Cinco Park Road. The market, set up on more than 100 acres owned by the Y, is open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.

Giles Debenport and his wife, Kristen, decided to start the market to encourage residents to learn about gardening. Katy residents for six years, the Debenports founded the Texas Gardening Sanctuary last year, a nonprofit organization that teaches children and adults about gardens, plants and agriculture. …more…

ALLISON WOLLAM
Houston Business Journal

Vista Equities Group and Amstar Group have broken ground on the $50 million LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch mixed-use project.

The 240,000-square-foot center, located at Cinco Ranch Boulevard and the Grand Parkway in Katy, will include retail and office space in addition to restaurants and outdoor community facilities.

LaCenterra is planned as a multi-building project, including a clock-tower and a “town hall”-style facility at its entrance.

Retailers such as Merle Norman, Cold Stone Creamery, Talbots and The Wine Next Door have already signed on to open stores at the new center. (more…)

Housing Analyst: Heartland’s the Next Winner

(May 30, 2006) — A new statistical analysis of housing price cycles in 100 major metropolitan areas suggests that real estate action is shifting to areas that didn’t experience the recent housing boom.

Christopher L. Cagan, director of research and analytics for First American Real Estate Solutions, examined historical housing price movements and concluded that middle America markets like Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis; Houston; San Antonio; Memphis, Tenn.; Atlanta; Cincinnati; Des Moines, Iowa; and Louisville, Ky., are due for above-average price increases and home building because of expanding employment bases and moderate housing prices.

Cagan also doesn’t believe what he calls the shooting stars of housing booms like most of California, Florida, Washington, D.C., New York City, or Boston are going to incinerate. He simply believes appreciation rates will dwindle to the low single digits or go flat for awhile as incomes catch up.

His bottom line: Figure out where your community is in the cycle and adapt.

Source: Washington Post Writers Group, Kenneth R. Harney (05/28/06)

(May 31, 2006) — Home owners who took out adjustable-rate mortgages are facing big payment increases. But refinancing may not be the best solution, experts say.

ARMs made up 42 percent of all new home mortgages in 2005, up from 14 percent in 2003, according to LoanPerformance, a San Francisco-based research outfit.

As one example of how payments have increased, the starting rate on a 3/1 ARM — a loan with a fixed rate for three years — has risen to 6.17 percent from 3.80 percent in 2003. That translates into a $220-per-month increase.

But before they refinance to lower their payments, ARM borrowers should consider standing pat. If the annual adjustment is capped at 2 percent, the rate will rise to 5.8 percent in the first year — that’s less than a 30-year fixed rate right now.

Plus, refinancing costs are high, says Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH Associates, which tracks the mortgage industry.And by the time another year rolls around, rates could go back down.

Gumbinger is among those who believe the Fed’s next move will be to push rates back down to jumpstart a slowing economy.

Source: SmartMoney, Reshma Kapadia (06/01/2006)