Business
Local real estate market thriving
PALESTINE — While national news media have broadcast stories about slumping real estate markets and rising foreclosures, local realtors say that’s not reflective of Anderson County.
Century 21 Pace McDonald realtor Janice Burris fields plenty of calls from potential home buyers looking at Palestine and Anderson County.
“There is definite growth in Anderson County,” Burris said. “In 2007 there were 399 residential sales with the average days on the market of 132 days. In 2006 there were 362 residential sales with a turn-around of 170 days on the market.
“My prediction is that we will continue to grow because our area offers so many wonderful things a person looks for in a town, especially, if they are looking for a place to retire.”
Likewise, Combined Associates co-owner and realtor Mike Whitworth said what’s on television isn’t happening locally.
“Real estate is good and alive in Palestine, Texas,” Whitworth said. “Our foreclosures have never been real high in Anderson County anyway.”
Demand for homes has driven prices up over the past three years, he said, noting that homes in Westwood which sold in the $62,000-$72,000 price range in 2005 now were averaging more than $80,000 each, with many selling in the $90,000 to low-$100,000 range.
A combination of lower-than-average cost per square foot, more people wanting to leave larger areas such as Houston and Dallas and supply and demand are helping drive home prices higher, he said.
“Smith County probably averages $85 a square foot. Ours is $60 to $65 a square foot, same construction,” Whitworth said. “We have been cheaper for a long time. We used to have over half of our inventory (of homes for sale) in the $50,000-$100,000 range. Now more than half of our inventory is over $100,000.”
Out of 203 homes listed recently in Palestine and Anderson County with any agency, there were 21 between $1,000-$50,000; 22 in the $51,000-$75,000 range; 35 listed between $76,000-$100,000; 68 between $100,000-$200,000; 33 in the $200,000-$300,000 range; 24 from $300,000-$500,000; and 16 above $500,000.
While that may push some home ownership out of reach for those looking for housing under $60,000, he said, the same home may seem like a bargain to someone moving from an area with much higher housing costs.
“So many people find this area more attractive from the standpoint of beauty and availability,” Whitworth said. “They’re selling homes for $200,000 and coming here and getting more for their money.”
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Beth Foley may be contacted via e-mail at bfoley@palestineherald.com
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But the world’s largest publicly traded oil company remains the profit champ among U.S. public companies. Wal-Mart is expected to earn $14 billion for the year ended Jan. 31, and Microsoft earned $14.6 billion in the fiscal year ended in June 2009.
Exxon’s results have swung with the price of oil and the impact of the global recession. When oil spiked above $147 a barrel in mid-2008, Exxon set ever-higher marks for earnings by a U.S. company. Then oil prices plummeted, and Exxon suffered a yearlong hangover that included its smallest quarterly earnings in several years.
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Technical bulletins on how to install the new parts should arrive at dealers by midweek, the company told dealers in an e-mail. It was not clear exactly when repairs would start, although dealers have said they’ll begin as soon as possible.
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Dealers swamped by worried Toyota drivers
NEW YORK (AP) — Toyota dealers across the country were swamped with calls Wednesday from concerned drivers but had few answers a day after the company announced it would stop selling and building eight models because of faulty gas pedals.
Toyota insisted the problem — sudden, uncontrolled acceleration — was “rare and infrequent” and said dealers should deal with customers “on a case-by-case basis.” But drivers of Toyotas and those who share the road with them were left with uncertainty.
In an unprecedented move, the company said late Tuesday it would halt sales for the eight models — which make up more than half of Toyota’s U.S. sales volume — to fix the gas pedals. Last week, Toyota issued a recall for the same eight models, affecting 2.3 million vehicles.
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NEW YORK (AP) — Toyota’s suspension of U.S. sales on an unprecedented scale to fix faulty gas pedals deals a blow to the automaker’s reputation for quality and endangers its fledgling earnings recovery.
The suspect parts are made by a U.S. supplier, but they are also found in its European-made vehicles, an official with the automaker said Wednesday. Toyota said it hasn’t decided what to do there.
Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. announced late Tuesday it would halt sales of some of its top-selling models to fix gas pedals that could stick and cause unintended acceleration. Last week, Toyota issued a recall for the same eight models affecting 2.3 million vehicles.
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Halliburton asks high court to block trial
WASHINGTON (AP) — Halliburton Co. is asking the Supreme Court to block a Texas woman’s lawsuit alleging she was raped by military contractor co-workers in Iraq.
The company wants the justices to reverse a lower court ruling that Jamie Leigh Jones’ case can go to trial. Jones sued Halliburton and its former subsidiary KBR, saying she was raped while working for KBR at Camp Hope, Baghdad, in 2005.
The trial is set to begin in February 2011.
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City, county tax allocations down
