Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

Today’s links

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From the National Association of REALTORS

Promoting Energy Efficiency in the Nation’s Buildings

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 does much to promote energy efficiency in the nation’s buildings. And tax incentives are among the engines driving the shift. That’s great news for you and your clients.

Here is a sampling of the new federal incentives as reported by the Tax Incentives Assistance Project.

Residential Buildings

• Energy efficiency incentives for upgrades to existing homes, which cover improvements to building envelope and heating, cooling and water heating equipment, are now available through 2010. The cap has increased to $1,500.

• The existing home incentives are now calculated at 30% of the cost of installation, up to the $1,500 cap. Until further clarification on the legislation, it appears that labor is not included.

• On-site renewable energy systems, including solar photovoltaic and hot water systems, small wind systems and geothermal heat pumps, are eligible for a tax incentive worth 30% of the total cost of the system. There is no cap on the amount.

Commercial Buildings

• A tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot is available to owners or tenants of new or existing commercial buildings that are built or reconstructed to save at least 50% of the heating, cooling, ventilation, water heating and interior lighting energy cost of a building that meets ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001. (The standard provides minimum requirements for the energy-efficient design of buildings).

• Partial deductions of $.60 per square foot are available for improvements to one of three building systems – building envelope, lighting or heating and cooling – that reduces total heating, cooling, ventilation, water heating and interior lighting energy use by 16 2/3% (totaling 50% when applied to all three systems).

• Buildings placed in service between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2013, and covered by the scope of ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001 are eligible.

Learn more about the incentives stemming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and download a matrix of energy efficiency incentives.

Individual states offer additional energy efficiency and renewable energy tax incentives. The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency is a central clearinghouse for them.

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Green Statistics from Mcgraw Hill

Global: Early adopters are deeply involved in green, with 30% building green on over 60% of their projects in 2008. Over the next five years, more than half (53%) expect to reach this level of involvement.

Nonresidential Building: Industry Players in commercial and institutional buildings are getting increasingly active in green building, with those largely dedicated to green building (30% or more of their projects built green) reporting a 50% increase(10 percentage points) from 20% in 2008 to 30% in 2009.

Residential Home Builder: Builders heavily involved in green building (60% or more projects green) is expected to also increase from 26% in 2008 to 36% in 2009.

Statistics taken from McGraw – Hill Construction’s Green Outlook 2009

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While I don’t see the downturn the way the folks who sell papers need to see it, I’m all for presenting both sides of the story.

From the Austin American Statesman

RECESSION SLAMS INTO TEXAS

AUSTIN  – The recession has finally slammed into Texas after keeping away during most of 2008, says a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and Austin and Dallas could feel the brunt of it.

Austin and Dallas were cited as being especially vulnerable because they have more exposure than other large Texas cities to cyclical industries, such as construction and financial services.

Statewide, employers could cut 296,000 jobs this year, sending the unemployment rate to roughly 8 percent, according to Fed economists Keith Phillips and Jesus Cañas, who co-authored the article in the Fed’s quarterly publication on the region’s economy.

In January, almost 120,000 Texans applied for unemployment benefits, 85 percent more than in January 2008.

You can check out the rest of the story at Austin American-Statesman.

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From The Austin Chamber of Commerce

Red Oxygen Chooses Austin for American Headquarters
The Austin Chamber and Opportunity Austin recently announced that Red Oxygen, one of the world’s leading developers and distributors of Enterprise Text messaging software applications and services, has made plans to open their American Headquarters in Austin, Texas.

“Red Oxygen’s highly efficient and innovative SMS platform is a perfect complement to Austin’s expanding mobile services and software industry,” said Gary Farmer, 2009 Opportunity Austin Chair and President Heritage Title of Austin. “The city welcomes Red Oxygen and hopes that the announcement will not only encourage other tech-based companies to consider relocating to Central Texas, but that it will also reinforce the fact that Austin is one of America’s most talented and qualified cities for an array of industries.”

In the process of launching their new 2,000 square-foot facility near downtown, Red Oxygen plans to create 10 to 12 new high-paying jobs for Austinites. The average office salary of $50,000 will provide excellent employment opportunities and take-home pay for Central Texans. Not only will the headquarters create new corporate jobs, but the move will also open new avenues and opportunities for local Austin engineers, sales associates and college graduates.

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Finish reading the story at The Austin Chamber of Commerce

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Found in my pile of magazines and folder of e-newsletters:

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Apartment REIT Stocks Fall to Five-Year Lows
Industry is hurting, but not as badly as other commercial sectors.
The stock market is falling to levels not seen since 1997-and apartment REITs are not immune. A number of leading firms-BRE Properties in San Francisco, Chicago-based Equity Residential, Apartment Investment and Management Co. in Denver, Essex Property Trust in Palo Alto, Calif., and AvalonBay Communities in Alexandria, Va.-have all seen their stock values plummet to five-year lows.

Read the full story at Multifamily Executive.

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UL begins certification of green products
January 14, 2009
Building Design and Construction
Underwriters Laboratories, the 114-year-old organization known for consumer product safety testing, has begin offering assessment and certification of environmental product claims.

UL’s two new programs launched in January 2009.

“The question of what’s green and what’s not green is being asked more and more,” Christopher R. Nelson, UL’s director for corporate development, said at Greenbuild in Boston.

“UL consumers really have been asking us how do you fit into this space, they look to UL for credibility, and retailers have been asking us (the same questions) as well.”

Get the complete details from Building Design and Construction.

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