By MARTY KRAMER, Consumer columnist

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is making it possible to monetize the $8,000 tax credit available to first-time homebuyers. Big whoop, right? What does that even mean?

That’s the problem with words like monetize. You hear it, probably have an idea of its definition, but don’t really understand what it means regarding the tax credit. If the tax credit isn’t about money, then what good is it anyway?

Here’s the deal. The tax credit was rolled out as exactly that: a credit on your federal income tax (or a payment to you if the credit amount exceeds your tax liability). From the start, Texas REALTORS® and homebuyers asked if there was some way to immediately apply that money to the downpayment of the home rather than wait for a “rebate” on your tax return. The answer was no. (more…)

Newsweek has ranked four Katy ISD high schools — Seven Lakes, Katy, Taylor and Cinco Ranch — among the top 1,500 (6 percent) out of the approximately 27,000 public high schools in the nation.

The magazine ranks public high schools annually based on the number of students who take Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests at a school, divided by the number of graduating seniors.

Seven Lakes, ranked 403, topped the list in Katy. Other Katy ISD schools that ranked in the top 1,500 are Cinco Ranch at 458, Taylor at 1,067 and Katy at 1458.

All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000 (meaning that they had as many tests as graduates), according to Newsweek researchers.

A school can reach 1.000 level only if half of its students take one AP, IB or Cambridge test in their junior year and one in their senior year.

Here’s more on how the rankings were calculated, which also takes into account the number of students eating federally subsidized lunches among other factors.

Study says economy, housing industries remains steady

By Luciano Battistini
Times Staff Writer

Metrostudy gave a positive outlook about the Houston economy and housing industry during the Katy Area Economic Development Council meeting Tuesday.

“While builder cutbacks and discounted pricing are having an effect on reducing the inventory of homes, the tightening of credit standards has removed a sizable number of formerly qualified buyers from the market,” said David Jarvis, Metrostudy director of the Houston region.

“Nevertheless, as these issues run their cycle, demographic trends keep marching forward, creating a pool of potential buyers who will express themselves in the market when credit normalcy and calmer consumer psychology return, setting the stage for a decade of strong housing demand in the United States.” (more…)