About Rockwall County, TX

Thanks so much to Misty Lackey for the great idea.  I've been wanting to add more local data here as I know people visit Dallas all summer long.  Being on the Northeast side, we enjoy spread out fields, rolling hills and lake side living, but we have some great restaurants as well.  Here is my map for restaurants.

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A - Arby's
B - IHOP
C - Black-Eyed Pea
D - Carraba's
E - Culver's (one of my favorite burger places!)
F - Wendy's
G - Starbuck's
H - Dominoes
I - Sonic
J - Pizza Hut

Some of my favorites: J. Miguel's, Tatiano's, and Culpepper Steakhouse weren't included on this map, but they are well worth mentioning!

No, I'm not actually asking the question. If you live in the metroplex, you'll know there are ALWAYS things going on in the smaller cities that surround Dallas. Rockwall is one of those precious gems of a town with lots of life and spirit nestled on the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard. Just in case you're around, you might want to jump into to one of the upcoming events.

Tomorrow, the Rockwall School of Music on Justin Rd. reopens. This is good news for students who are aspiring to hone their creative abilities!

Next week is "Dallas Race Week" which is sponsored by the Rockwall Breakfast Rotary Club. This is yacht-racing at it's very best. You can get a great view of the event at the Harbor breakwater. All proceeds of this event will be donated to the Rotary's charitable projects and many fine establistment and retail stores at the Hilton Bella Harbor are helping to sponsor the event. For more information, please contact Billy Self at billy@prosoap.com.

Let's go racin'!

:-)

Today was the last day of school for the year. Now I don't have school-aged kids, but I help out one of my associates by picking up her daughter on most days and bringing her home. This type of trip is often enlightening as I get a glimpse into the expectations and observations of a teenager. I must admit, it has been a while since my youngest was that age. (And she never wanted to talk to me at that point anyway! Lol!) So I felt completely disabled when my young rider began to whine about how boring the summer was going to be and how there was never anything to do. No, I didn't rail against her, listing opportunity after opportunity. No, I didn't encourage her with the different places we were traveling past. No . . . I just sat there . . . in the same stunned silence that used to enfold me when my daughter would start in. I just sat and let this sweet, but short-sighted young lady slam my favorite city.

So I must respond, if not to her, then to whomever has the good fortune to read it.

From the edge of town in the east to where it collides with beautiful Lake Ray Hubbard, Rockwall has activities available for anyone! Lakeside living offers all sorts of boating, including sailing and yachting club races. They're exciting to join and lovely to watch, especially during the evening sunset hours! I've been informed that Lake Ray Hubbard is now the #1 bass lake in Texas. If fishing boats are a measure...it must be true.
If hiking or biking is more to your liking, there are several nature trails in the area, also in nearby Rowlett, and of course at White Rock Lake in the heart of Dallas. There are public parks in luxurious condition, and nature preserves to make your outings both relaxing or exciting - whichever you happen to be in the mood for. And Rockwall is the edge of the metroplex, so land is an ample commodity. Horse stables, pastures, stock tanks and lovely country lanes are spotted throughout the area.
Rockwall also offers many Civic Clubs, including the Exchange Club, Lions Club, Rotary, Kiwanis and many others. Churches are numerous. Lakepointe Church is probably the largest, with over 12,000 people. There are others of various denominations which range in various sizes, warm and friendly. In fact, friendly is a great definition for this town!
You won't ever need to drive into Dallas for a restaurant or entertainment venue. There are leisure restaurants overlooking the lake, various hamburger spots and fast food chains throughout the city, and a brand new movie and outdoor mall at the "Harbor" at the water's edge.

Seriously, Rockwall has it all!

From 1998 - 2006, My family and I called South Florida, home. There have been very few times in my life I've felt I was in the right place at the right time. Miami for us was the epitome of timing. Year after year, from 2002 - 2006 we experienced appreciation on our investment homes the like of something I am not sure we will ever experience again.

We now live in Rockwall County, TX. The sixth fastest growing county in the country as reported by Forbes.com. While I do not believe it will be like what we experienced in South Florida, the growth here is explosive and is remarkably similar. It is my believe we are once again in the right place at the right time!

Now that I am officially a resident of Rockwall County and a Texas realtor, it is my goal to help combat all the negative press the real estate market is receiving and provide the optimistic facts. Here is another great piece of information I would like to share that I recently came across..

10 Fastest Growing U.S. Cities

The fast-growing areas in the United States are in the Sunbelt, with Texas leading the way, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Dallas-Fort Worth added more than 162,000 residents between July 2006 and July 2007, more than any other metro area. Three other Texas cities - Houston, Austin, and San Antonio - also were in the top 10.

Experts credit much of the growth in the South to strong local economies and housing prices that are among the most affordable in the United States.

A report earlier this month by Global Insight found that housing prices in the Dallas area were undervalued by as much as 30 percent.

Other areas experiencing growth included the New Orleans area, which is recovering from Hurricane Katrina and grew by 4 percent or nearly 40,000 people. During the same survey last year, the population of New Orleans dropped by nearly 290,000 people.

Meanwhile, Detroit lost more than three times as many people as any other metro area - its population declined more than 27,300. Other areas losing more than 5,000 people were Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Ga., Youngstown, Ohio, and Buffalo, N.Y.

The 10 biggest gainers:

1. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas: 162,250
2. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.: 151,063
3. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.: 132,513
4. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas: 120,544
5. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.: 86,660
6. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.: 66,724
7. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.: 66,231
8. Austin-Round Rock, Texas: 65,880
9. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.: 59,165
10. San Antonio, Texas: 53,925

1. Palm Coast, Fla.: 7.2 percent
2. St. George, Utah: 5.1 percent
3. Raleigh-Cary, N.C.: 4.7 percent
4. Gainesville, Ga.: 4.5 percent
5. Austin-Round Rock, Texas: 4.3 percent
6. Myrtle Beach-Conway-N.C.-Myrtle Beach, S.C.: 4.2 percent
7. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.: 4.2 percent
8. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La.: 4 percent
9. Grand Junction, Colo.: 3.7 percent
10. Clarksville, Tenn.-Ky.: 3.7 percent

My family and I moved here from South Florida a little over a year ago.

After years of struggling with city living and over priced housing it was time to find a new place to call home. A place where people are friendly, housing is extremely affordable, public schools are among the best in the state and the housing/job market is stable with a strong forecast for the future. Rockwall is that place, we love it and it is our new home. Now really is a good time and the coming months represent an excellent window of opportunity for both buyers and sellers:

* Forbes.com named Rockwall the 6^th fastest growing County in the USA, Again!

* Forbes.com says Dallas and the Metroplex rank 4th as the most stable

housing market in the nation

* CNNMoney.com placed Rockwall # 22 of the top 25 counties in the Nation for job

Growth from 2000 - 2006. (37.4%)

* According to CNNMoney.com the Dallas/Metroplex real estate market

is as much as 16% under priced compared to the rest of the Nation

* Forbes.com Projects a 5.45% appreciation in home prices for 2008

* Rockwall boasts one of the lowest tax rates in all the Dallas/Metroplex

* Rockwall ISD is among the best in all of Texas

* Location, Location, Location, Rockwall is 22 freeway miles from Dallas

* While much of the Country is still experiencing home depreciation, Dallas and

Rockwall in particular continue to experience amazing growth and steady appreciation

* Interest rates continue to be near all time lows, with good chance they will drop again!

* 2007 will go in the history books as only the eighth time in the past 37 years

mortgage rates were below 7%.

*Texas is now the #1 state in the entire country for real estate investment.