Texas RealEstateRama

I’m thrilled to be home in Texas this week! I will be attending some great events and meetings with folks across the district. I will be in Lubbock meeting with homeschoolers from the Texas Home Educators Organization. It’s always great to meet with our youth and future leaders. I will also attend the Lubbock Area Republican Women Luncheon. I’m looking forward to meeting with our local credit unions to discuss the economy and what I am doing to bring regulatory relief to our community financial institutions.

The Altman Companies, a nationally recognized developer of luxury apartment communities, has broken ground on its first development in Austin, Texas. Located at 12700 Ridgeline Blvd., the 354-unit Altís Lakeline is rich with features and amenities.

As a recipient of Community Development Block Grant funds, the City is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to identify the various factors that may affect fair housing choice in Midland and to develop an action plan to overcome them. The AI resulted in the identification of six major impediments to address in the next five years

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission today approved more than $7 million in competitive grant funds for 25 community parks all across the state. Funding will help local communities create and enhance outdoor recreational opportunities through projects like hike and bike trails, sensory gardens, BMX trails, dog parks, and fishing piers, just to name a few.

The Mid-America Building (310 W. Illinois Ave.), Midland Executive Center (301 N. Colorado St.) and the previous County Courthouse located along Wall Street will be demolished one-at-a-time by contractor Lloyd D. Nabors Demolition LLC of Hutchins in the coming months. Demolition is scheduled to first begin on the Mid-America Building starting Aug. 10 and move to the adjacent Midland Executive Center the weekend of Aug. 21.

Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today released the following statement after the president announced the EPA’s final rule to regulate emissions from U.S. power plants. The final rule goes a step further than drafts issued in 2013 and last summer, mandating power plants cut an average of 32 percent of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. The rule is estimated to cost Americans $8.4 billion annually, making it one of the most costly rules of all time

Texas home prices hit an all-time high in the second quarter of 2015, while home sales remained strong amid high demand, according to the 2015-Q2 Texas Quarterly Housing Report released today by the Texas Association of REALTORS

Rep. John Carter (R-TX-31) released the following statement in response to President Obama’s Clean Power Plan. “President Obama and his Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are once again ignoring the law and the will of Congress by grasping for authorities well outside what the Clean Air Act provides. Congress, even a Democrat-controlled Congress, rejected ‘cap and trade’ and President Obama’s overreaching energy policies

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tonight issued the following statement after S.1881, a bill to prohibit federal funding of Planned Parenthood, failed to reach the 60-vote threshold required for cloture

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (Bank) today reported net income of $23.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015. In comparison, for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, the Bank reported net income of $23.1 million. For the six months ended June 30, 2015, the Bank reported net income of $47.0 million

Hunt Mortgage Group, a commercial real estate lender, announced today that it has provided bridge financing in the amount of $10.5 million to enable the acquisition and rehabilitation of Surrey Row Apartments, a multifamily property located in Dallas, Texas. The loan represents 80% of costs.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) joined Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX), Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX), and Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX) in efforts to give states more flexibility in how they use federal transportation funds, allowing them to invest more into border infrastructure. Reps. Hurd, McCaul, and Cuellar introduced H.R. 3181 in the House, and Sen. Cornyn worked to include similar language in the long-term highway bill currently pending before the Senate.

Reservoirs across Texas may be filling up, but the scars of the historic multiyear drought are still present across the state. Through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), the Texas Department of Agriculture is helping communities recover from the natural disasters. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) has awarded $103,094 to Real County for local water system infrastructure improvements.

Congressman Randy Weber (R-Friendswood) reintroduced the Empowering our Veterans Act (H.R. 3113), which would prohibit the Veterans Administration (VA) from spending any more money on alternative energy projects, and reallocate any unobligated funds toward reducing the VA enrollee backlog

The Affordable Housing Program (AHP) from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) turns 25 years old today. The grant program, funded solely through FHLB Dallas profits, has assisted more than 44,000 families with their affordable housing needs, primarily across the Bank's five-state District of Arkansas, New Mexico, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (“TDHCA”) today announced that it has awarded a $1 million contract to the City of Eagle Pass to continue funding operations of the Maverick County Colonia Self-Help Center, a state-funded resource promoting homeownership and self-sufficiency for residents in five local colonias

Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), Chairman of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee, will today participate in a discussion on housing finance reform at the Bipartisan Policy Center from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller today announced the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) has awarded $750,000 to the city of Sonora for infrastructure improvements and engineering services through the Texas Capital Fund (TCF). The award will support the creation of a travel center facility operated by Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc., along with 31 new full-time jobs.

Last week, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson participated in a conference titled "Building Bridges of Peace through Culture and Faith," hosted by Judy Chen Hseih and the Hwazan World Education Foundation. The conference was held in Taipei, Taiwan and focused on utilizing culture and faith to promote peace.

The Rustic, Thirteen Pies, Steel City Pops and other highly popular dining and entertainment venues, are set to join Frisco’s Wade Park alongside a variety of premier retailers including Arhaus, MiniLuxe, The Lash Lounge and more. Thomas Land & Development’s massive 175-acre, $1.6 billion upscale mixed-use development continues to add impressive high-end retailers and restaurants to the project underway at the Dallas North Tollway and Lebanon Road, with following announcements planned for upcoming months.