- Moody’s Downgrades Houston’s Bond Rating Again over Low Oil Prices, Increasing Property Taxes and Pension Costs [HBJ]
- SmartAsset Names Houston Among the Top Cities in the Country for First-Time Home Buyers [Houston Chronicle]
- Houston Ranked Among the Slowest Job Markets in the U.S. by Headlight Data [HBJ]
- Energy Corridor Apartment Complex Going Up Near Beltway 8 and I-10 Offering Rent Incentives [Realty News Report]
- East Aldine, Neighborhood Centers, and Houston’s Modern Settlement House Movement [Places Journal via The Urban Edge]
- Video: The Construction Progress of Katy’s New Waterpark Typhoon Texas, Opening in May [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
- Resident of Royal Lakes Estates Subdivision in Fort Bend County Finds Alligator on Her Porch [abc13]
Photo of the Post at Afton Oaks apartments, 3131 West Loop South: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
So reading the apartment article I was thinking 2 months free rent is a good handout; that’s about 13% off on a 15-month rental. But then I saw the pricing. There’s not a single location in Houston that’s worth paying $1200/mo for 600sqft and especially not off a highway in the middle of a heavily trafficked commercial zone.
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Regarding Moody’s downgrade, keep ’em coming. I’m already seeing some new listings being priced below 2015 appraisal values. Houston will not be able to depend on property taxes for new revenue and with a sinking sales tax revenue it’s going to get nasty. As the article states, any new prop tax revenue comes at higher services cost for the newly built areas. Won’t be long and the city will probably be reviewing their annexation contracts with the surrounding burbs.
One article mentions Houston being one of the slowest job markets and another promotes jobs for illegal immigrants via a CIA cover/Ford Foundation/Rockefeller Foundation/Trump bashing connected non-profit agency. Interesting times we live in.
Re: Moody bond downgrade
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No worries since we’re still in the “A” grade, albeit the lowest one. But, I don’t mind the downgrade since it means that new bonds will have to sprinkle some extra interest catnip to attract the yield cats.
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But, as the quote from Chris Brown (City Controller) notes, we have to get a grip on our pension liability since this is basically a financial time bomb waiting to happen. Say what you will about unmotivated lowly-paid city employees, they still are accruing/earning a fat pension that Joe Taxpayer will have to pay for decades to come. I’m going to have add an Outlook reminder to move out of the city before the bomb goes boom.
@joedirt, that makes sense. jobs in the service industry are abundant. what point is it telling someone who is an engineer that there are plenty of jobs available for waitstaff? so of course, there may be articles out there that seem to have different messages from just reading the headlines.