Local REALTORS heard from the "real estate expert" today.  Dr. Mark Dotzour, the Chief Economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M was in Beaumont to talk about the "Economic Outlook for Residential Real Estate in 2009".

Not only is he a very smart guy, but he's funny.  If you ever have a chance to attend one of his speeches, I recommend you go.  Since the talk today was for local REALTORS only, I'll share a few key points with you.

1. Every one of the 25 metropolitan areas in Texas experienced job growth from Oct. 2007- October 2008.

2. Texas led the nation in job growth.

3. If Texas was a nation, we would rank ahead of Russia and India.  Just behind Spain and Brazil.

4. If you are going to own a home for three years or more, there has never been a better time to buy than now.

5. We may never see interest rates this low again in our lifetime.  (30 year fixed rates today are below 5%)

6. Generally, the 30 year fixed rate is 1.5% higher than the 10 year Treasury.  Today the 10 year Treasury is about 2.25%.  That said, rates should be around 3.75% but they aren't because no one wants to invest in mortgage backed securities at the moment.

7. Housing starts will probably be the lowest they've been since World War II.  This is a good thing because it will help reduce the excess inventory that is out there.

8. Months supply of inventory is the best predictor of the future direction of home prices.

9. Buying a home right now is smarter than buying gold as an investment. 

10. The economy is likely to hit bottom before the end of the year and a rising stock market will signal the end.

Dr. Dotzour has a plan that he thinks would help the country get out the current housing crisis.  You can see the video in the video files on the Real Estate Center Website.