About Randall County, TX

I recently read one of the most inspirational and touching stories about a young Canyon, Texas man. Seventeen-year-old, Mark England is a 6' 1" 260 left guard for the Rebels. Mark fills the pulpit of his church each Sunday night with a guitar over his large chest and belts out "Precious Memories" in a deep strong voice. Then he asks the church members and visitors to bow in prayer.

Mark is a young, associate preacher at Bethel Baptist Church in Canyon. The Good Lord has answered many of Mark's prayers by giving him the chance to preach to his congregation for 36 minutes each Sunday night.

When Mark preaches, he doesn't shout and his hands are rarely still, but he does deliver a very strong message that comes across loud and clear. He also mixes humor with Scripture to keep all eyes and ears alert while he preaches. Mark said that sometimes it seems like a lot of baggage, but he takes it to the cross and knows everything will be okay. Mark has never been to seminary school but preaches because he loves it so much.

Mark England's other passion is football. He absolutely loves to play the game, the camaraderie and the friends he's made on the team. He has had two major knee surgeries that he has overcome. Injuries like his would have ended most players careers. Mark willed himself through tenacity and hard work to stay on the team and earn himself a starting point on the offensive line.

Most people that meet Mark think he is a full grown man in kid's body. He is very mature for his age and it shows every time he opens his mouth. Mark accepted Christ when he was just 11-years-old. He said it changed his life at that very moment. And at the age of 13, he was asked if he wanted to preach is first Sunday night sermon.

Mark knew he needed to be in front of people, so he said yes. His first sermon lasted just 4 1/2 minutes. He said he was so nervous as he preached on "Fleeing from God." Since then, Mark has preached so many sermons he can't count them. He also has his own website www.markenglandministries.com.. Mark believes the Lord is moving him to do this. He says the Holy Spirit takes over and it's awesome. He truly loves it.

Wow, so young to be so inspirational to so many. It's a very touching story of such a young man who knows what he wants, and isn't afraid to go after it.

There are lots of great things going on in the Amarillo, TX area. The latest news involved the The Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport.

We were all pleased to find out that The Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport will receive about $2.3 million in federal grant funding for infrastructure and safety improvements. Funding will come to the city from the Federal Aviation Administration and will be dedicated to the construction of the airport's new terminal concourse.

To find out more information about the Amarillo, TX area check out http://www.amarillodreamhomes.com/

In the Summer of 2005, Mark Dotzour, Chief Economist at the Texas A&M Real Estate Center, gave a presentation to our local board based on his research, What Factors Determine the Volume of Home Sales in Texas.  The factors that determined Home sales volume in a local economy basically boiled down to Employment or Unemployment rate (when people are employed and don't feel threatened that they may lose their job, they are more likely to buy a home), Mortgage Interest Rates (more people qualify), and Home Appreciation (creates more capital for current home owners to move up).  Based on these factors, Dr. Dotzour described our local real estate economy as "The Perfect Storm".  At the time of the presentation, Amarillo had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, mortgage interest rates were at historical lows, and annual house appreciation was a steady 5%. He nailed it. That fall our MLS inventory fell by 20%, we saw a record number of building permits, and a record number of sales. This past year (2007), sales slowed down and many of my colleagues have started proclaiming "The Sky Is Falling. Is the party really over? Let's take a look at the numbers.

Unemployment rates continue to trend downward. In fact, unemployment rates are so low, employers are having a difficult time filling their open positions. There may be other factors, however, that may be affecting the consumer's sense of well-being and stability. One is increased cost of energy and food. Dr. Dotzour research showed that a decrease in disposable income has had a negative impact on sales volume. Also negative national news has had an impact on the consumers sence of well-being.

Interest rates are up from their historical lows of 2005. However, they are STILL low - the second best in history in fact. While there are a number of factors that determine rates, the best direct correlation to mortgage rates is the 10 Year US Treasury Bonds yield. Bond yields have been trending downward since September '07. Mortgage rates should follow.

Annual house appreciation has been a steady 5.5%. Home owners who paid $100,000 for the homes 3 years ago have on average $16,000 of equity from appreciation. While this is not a lot when you compare it to the coastal regions, for Amarillo, it means homeowners can sell their homes without taking a loss. This equity plus moderate savings put these home owners in the real estate move-up market. The distribution of Amarillo's Housing inventory by price range shows a strong demand in lower priced homes and weak demand in upper priced homes.

A threat to the Amarillo real estate market will be foreclosures. While overall foreclosures have not changed, some Amarillo neighborhoods have more than their share. Where this has occurred, we have seen downward pressure on price.

In summary, after predicting a strong rally in the Amarillo real estate market, Amarillo enjoyed the best year (2006) in our MLS history. As mortgage rates have gone up, the market, as predicted, has slightly declined (2007 was the second best year in MLS history). If Dr. Dotzour model holds, the indictors predict another record year in 2008.

Housing Inventory is still low for lower priced homes in Amarillo and Canyon. Months of inventory that is less than 5 months is considered a Seller's market. Months of inventory between 5 and 7 months is considered neutral market and above 8 months is considered a buyer's market.