The Texana Review - Podcasts

How to become an expert in Texas real estate

If you're involved in real estate in the great state of Texas - buyer, seller, investor or practitioner - especially if you're involved statewide, you may often find yourself looking for good economic information about the metro areas of the state to provide a foundation for making decisions that affect your livelihood as well as that of others.

Now, you can go hire an expensive specialist to do in depth research for you and customize that research down to a "t," and your enterprise may require that; but, if you want a good start, look into the reports provided for free by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

The Center features 25 Market Reports for Texas' Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) listed below.

Each of these reports will give you more information than you probably want to know.  But if you do want to know, here they are, compliments of the Real Estate Center and Texas real estate agents who pay for such things. 

And, if you read them all, you could probably claim to be an expert on Texas, and be right!

To go directly to a report, click on the links below:

 

Abilene Amarillo Austin-Round Rock Beaumont-Port Arthur Brownsville-Harlingen College Station-Bryan Corpus Christi Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington El Paso Houston-Sugarland-Baytown Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood Laredo

Longview Lubbock McAllen-Edinburg-Mission Midland Odessa San Angelo San Antonio Sherman-Denison Texarkana Tyler Victoria Waco Wichita Falls

Illustration borrowed from the Market Reports section of the Real Estate Center's website

 

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T. Boone Pickens is back ...and he has a Plan

T. Boone Pickens is a smart entrepreneur.

Beyond that, he's one smart cookie, and he doesn't shy away from controversy

He says he has an energy plan for America; a plan with heavy emphasis on wind energy.

And he's started a very aggressive media campaign.  What he has to say makes a lot of sense.

Watch what he has to say in this segment...

4:49 minutes

Watch...

(depending on your computer equipment and Internet connection, this video may load more or less rapidly, but it will load)

 

For more video podcast entries (they're three prior ones), visit PickensPlan, Boone's Video Blog

 

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Trans-Texas Corridor: a chat with Dan Hatfield

The Trans Texas Corridor is causing a growing stir among Texans these days, especially among landowners in the path of, or neighboring the path of, the proposed TTC.

The Corridor is a part of a much larger transportation plan for the Americas; but for right now, tempers are simmering on both sides of the issue in Texas.

Dan Hatfield is a rural land broker, and Realtor and is active in and the following of what’s happening in Texas politics, especially when it involves rural land.

He and I chatted about the Trans Texas Corridor recently…

Listen...
17:47 minutes
Music by Jim Fidler under Creative Commons License Podshow Podsafe Music Network

Helpful links:

Keep Texas Moving; Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)

Corridor Watch

Public Roads: Federal Highway Administration (old, but informative)

Trans-Texas Corridor: Wikipedia's take on it

Office of the Governor: Trans Texas Corridor

 

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Trans-Texas Corridor: A Public-Private Effort

While the ultimate impact of the building of the Trans-Texas Corridor will fall primarily upon the Texas landowner and taxpayer ...and eventually, as the trans-Texas traveler, HOW the whole process is overseen and financed is of importance, not only to Texans but also to North, Central and South America.

There are many examples of public-private efforts in the United States that are successful, and there are a goodly number that aren't.

We'll get into more of the details later.

Here's another offering from the Texas Department of Transportation - in this instance, promoting the public-private arrangement for the eventuality of the Trans-Texas Corridor.

You, as a Texan, regardless of locale, need to pay attention to this issue; investigate its impact on you and your family, your neighbors, the State of Texas, and finally, the United States in which we live.

Why?

Because we live in a considerably different world than we did just ten years ago.

 

3:00 minutes

Your Comments are welcome; see below.

 

(Click once to activate, again to play. Double click on screen to enlarge)

 

Video copyright: Texas Department of Transportation. Heads-up by TexanaTV

 

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Trans-Texas Corridor: A Democratic Process?

In our modern milieu, when a governmental authority asserts its power, the impact on certain individuals' lives is often lost on those not directly affected.

However, those that aren't directly affected should not pass off the issue as "not their problem," especially when it involves today's form of government.

Government ALWAYS needs watching, very carefully.

Whether the issue is right or wrong depends, in the final analysis, on the people and how loud a voice they can put to that issue.

In Texas, we live in a democratic society and the opportunity for the individual to express his or her opinion remains a fundamental right and an occasion for them to plea their case.

Given the Texas power structure, that may or may not be enough to sway the direction of things.

That's kind of where the pros and cons of the Trans-Texas Corridor debate is today.

Here's a video where a goodly number of Texans stand up and express their opinion.

9:51 minutes

Your Comments are welcome - look for the Comments link below

 

 

Heads up by TexanaTV

 

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Trans-Texas Corridor: Boondoggle or Visionary?

The Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) has been in the works for years now and has been quietly promoted by Texas Governor Rick Perry, the staffs of the Texas Department of Transportation and other Texas governmental agencies and numerous persons in the private sector.

Although there has been opposition to the project since the idea softly made its way into the public's attention earlier this decade, the last two years have seen many heated town and county meetings where incensed landowners wanted answers from governmental officials about this "superhighway."

There have also been changes in state law that complicate things a bit.

What follows over the next several months will be a series of podcasts and videocasts on the subject of the Trans-Texas Corridor.  You'll hear and see both pro and con on the subject.  Your conclusions will be reflected in the Comments section of each posting, that's if you care to leave a Comment.

First, let's take a look at the story as presented by this well-done video piece from the Texas Department of Transportation's website promoting the TTC.

12:00 minutes

Your Comments are welcome - look for the Comments link below.

 

(Click once to activate, again to play. Double click on screen to enlarge)

 

Video copyright: Texas Department of Transportation. Heads-up by TexanaTV

 

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