Bolivar Real Estate News

News Feeds

22 May 2013

As consumer confidence, the economy, and job market all make gains, more Americans are feeling like they have money to spend on second residences and summer homes.

Michael Stuart's insight:

Vacation home sales increased 10 percent nationwide in 2012, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Real estate professionals are also reporting sales have been strong this spring in many vacation home hot spots.

"A lot of buyers who were sitting on the sidelines decided last year was probably a good time to take advantage of buying a vacation home," says Paul Bishop, NAR’s vice president of research. "They were feeling pretty good about their own financial situation, given the growth in the market and in the economy."

In vacation home hot spots like the Hamptons, home prices are roaring back and rentals are fully booked for the season, CNBC reports.

The storms of the past aren’t appearing to dampen their willingness to buy.

For example, New Jersey beach vacation spots in Avalone and Stone Harbor were hit by Sandy last year, but second-home buying activity remains strong and there was no big price fluctuation after the storm, says Allan Dechert, co-owner of Ferguson Dechert in Avalon.

In Port Aransas Mustang Island on the Texas coast, sales were up 50% for 2012 according to Cinnamon Shore Realty research.

Exxon announces $10B plan to export LNG from Texas

16 May 2013

If Exxon Mobil gets its way, liquid natural gas could be flowing out of Texas to countries around the world within five years.

Michael Stuart's insight:

Exxon oil and gas giant announced a partnership with Golden Pass Products and state-owned Qatar Petroleum International for a $10 billion expansion of the Sabine Pass LNG terminal along the Texas Gulf Coast near Port Arthur.

With the need for imports dwindling, "it makes sense to turn the thing around and add liquefying capability and take this abundant resource and connect it with world markets," said Bill Davis, project executive for Golden Pass Products.

The natural gas would be frozen to -263 degree Fahrenheit so it shrinks to 1/600 the size, making it practical for shipping to world markets.

There are political hurdles to cross before natural gas can go out to most countries in the world.

Golden Pass has applied for a permit to export natural gas to a short list of free trade countries and a longer list of non free-trade countries. The Department of Energy granted the permit for sale to free trade countries but the other permit is still pending, Davis said.

The idea of exporting LNG has become a hot political item lately, as energy giants like T. Boone Pickens and others weigh in.

Pickens argues that natural gas should be used to power vehicle fleets so the country doesn't need to import foreign oil from politically unstable countries.

source:

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/05/13/exxon-wants-to-invest-10-billion-in.html

Key Texas windstorm insurance bill in Senate

15 May 2013

Senate Bill 1700, substituted in committee by Sen. Larry Taylor, seeks to strengthen post-storm funding for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and require private insurance carriers to begin providing more wind and hailstorm insurance on the coast.

Michael Stuart's insight:

The bill, voted out of the Senate Business & Commerce Committee last week, represents a compromise between lawmakers across the state with time running out on the 83rd legislative session.

The bill would give the association the ability to raise up to $4.2 billion to pay claims. It also maintains 5 percent caps on annual rate increases and puts the insurance industry on the hook for paying more storm claims.

Fracking and Your Electric Bill: How the Natural Gas Boom Affects What You Pay?

14 May 2013

The US shale gas boom has increased the supply of natural gas, which in turn has brought gas prices way down. Since gas is a fuel that runs power plants, its price affects your electric bill – depending on your utility.

Michael Stuart's insight:

We've all been hearing about the controversy over natural gas extraction from shale via hydraulic fracturing, or fracking - it creates jobs, it pollutes ground water, it's good for the environment because gas is cleaner than coal, it's bad for the environment because gas is still a fossil fuel...

But, no matter what side of the controversey you're on, the increase in domestic supply brought natural gas prices to record lows last year: while gas cost $4 per million British thermal unit (MMBTU) in spring 2011, it cost only half as much last spring. It's now on the rise again as low prices put a damper on supply, to right around $4 per MMBTU recently.

But how does this affect you? Most power generators own plants that burn natural gas – what they have to pay for that gas affects what you pay them for your electricity, but it’s of course not that simple. How much you actually “feel” the impact of gas price fluctuations on your electric bill depends on your utility: different electric companies have different ways of incorporating the fuel cost into their pricing.

he US’ newfound fracking boom may, or may not, take you on a wild ride in the short-term depending on your utility’s procurement pattern. New Yorkers and Texans can claim more than others that they feel the effects of the fracking controversy: with gas prices up and down, so are their electric rates. In the longer term, we’re of course all in for the same ride!

Of course it’s not just natural gas prices that determine overall electricity rates – transmission bottlenecks and seasonal demand changes also affect them, as does the cost of other fuels.

That said, consumers in States with retail choice can lock in an electric rate at any point to get the best of both worlds: low prices and no variability!

Real Estate Professionals Proclaim Market Is Back for 2013

12 May 2013

84 percent of activeRain real estate professionals polled expect real estate values and the number of transactions will increase in 2013

Michael Stuart's insight:

For the second year in a row, the ActiveRain real estate community has put their collective knowledge to the test in order to predict how the real estate market will play out in the coming year.

Last year, as a group, we collectively called the bottom of the market. All signs would suggest we nailed it!

This year, 2400 of you responded to the survey ActiveRain offered asking you what you expected real estate in your area to do in 2013. 84% of you expect real estate values and the number of transactions will increase in 2013.

Last year, our members predicted that 1/3 of the markets in the country would see price declines. This year? Not a single market!

See the infographic of results:

http://activerain.com/pdf/RealEstateIsBack_bright_mm_600px.jpg

Keep Rollover Pass Open

13 Mar 2013

Keep Rollover Pass Open By Wayne Stupka and Ted Vega Recently, in a gross example of government overreaching in violation of private property rights, the General Land Office of the State of Texas went to the Corps of Engineers and applied for and received a permit to close Rollover Pass. Not only do they not own the land in question, they did not ask the owner of the land – the Beaumont Rod, Reel and Gun Club – - if they could. They just did it. If this wasn’t bad enough, they are seeking to remove the best public access fishing location on the Upper Texas Coast. It is a high quality recreational resource available to handicapped and less wealthy fishermen and women of the coast – persons who cannot afford boats and motors. Furthermore the grounds on which they are overreaching do not hold up. It is a land grab, pure and simple. Now, how would you feel if the government came to you and told you that they had applied for a permit to take action that would destroy your property? How many of you citizens out there would stand still for an arrogant, oppressive government agency telling you what they were going to do with your private property? And now because the General Land Office has no power of condemnation, the GLO is trying to force Galveston County to do their dirty work for them by asking – or perhaps coercing – the County into condemning our property on their behalf. To date, Galveston County has not acted, but let’s be clear. It will be a “gut check” on whether the members of Commissioners Court are really concerned about overreaching government or not. This is an issue that puts the rhetoric of support for private property rights to the test. So why are we closing the Pass? First, we are always told it is because of erosion. Unfortunately, the big erosion problem on the Upper Texas coast is that the source of sand for all of our beaches is not what it used to be. Rollover Pass is a small symptom of the larger disease of loss of sand supply due to dams up the Mississippi River. Shutting Rollover Pass is not going to solve the erosion problem on Bolivar or anywhere else. Severe storms such as Ike cause ten to a hundred times more erosion in one day across a hundred miles of beach than does Rollover Pass in a decade. If the jetties were constructed that were part of the original plan, the erosion issue – such as it is – would go away. Second, we are told that the problem is siltation of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway – that sediment comes through the Pass and is deposited in the canal and causes increased maintenance dredging costs. However, consider this. A diversion was recently constructed (and permitted by the Corps and the GLO) to allow the diversion of Taylor’s Bayou in Jefferson County southward into the GIWW about fifteen miles in from the easternmost point of East Bay. That diversion will dump incredibly large amounts of sediment into the GIWW – a much larger amount than is contributed by Rollover Pass. So if increased dredging were really a concern, that project would never have been allowed. Yet it was with full support by the very entities that are trying to shut down the Pass. Third, we are told that the GLO wishes to restore East Bay from an ecological perspective. To us, that sounded like a decent reason. But once again, this issue must be viewed in a cumulative context. The Taylor Bayou diversion mentioned above will divert millions and even billions of gallons of floodwaters into the GIWW and East Bay. That diversion is a new event. If Rollover Pass is closed, the ecology of East Bay will be dominated by freshwater inflow and will cease to function as a salt water fishery for long periods of time. The Taylor Bayou diversion is a much bigger threat than Rollover Pass. However, if the Pass is left open, the freshwater domination of the Taylor Bayou diversion would be moderated by an exchange with the Gulf of Mexico and East Bay will likely be just fine. With the Pass closed, East Bay is doomed. On the positive side, Rollover Pass is a poor fisherman’s dream. It offers truly quality fishing literally out of the back of your truck. You can drive right up to it. You can roll your wheel chair to it. It is open to all ethnicities and all classes of users. It is all about equality – equal access and equal rights. By shutting the Pass, the government will be taking private property from the Beaumont Rod, Reel and Gun Club for the supposed purpose of benefiting beachfront homeowners – homeowners who now own the majority of the beach after the Severance decision by the Texas Supreme Court. Why should the Club’s private property be condemned to help private property owners? Artist's concept of how Rollover Pass could look (click image for larger view). All of us involved in supporting the Pass – the Beaumont Rod, Reel and Gun Club and the Gilcrist Community Association – recognize that the Pass must be improved. We have produced an image of what it could and should be, and we believe that we can raise the money – private money, not government money – to build this newer and better Pass. But since Ike, the Club, the Gilchrist community and Rollover Pass have been under attack. All we ask is that the government leaves us alone – that we be allowed the chance to restore this fabulous recreation asset and get back to the business of providing quality fishing, bird watching and recreation to the residents of the Upper Coast. Wayne Stupka is President of the Beaumont Rod, Reel and Gun Club. Ted Vega is President of the Gilchrist Community Association.

Bolivar Wastewater Project Passes

23 Oct 2012

In a special meeting on Monday, the Galveston County Commissioners Court voted 3-2 to move forward with the Bolivar Peninsula Wastewater Project. The agenda item that passed: “Direct county employees to address and respond to GLO needs/requests to move forward with Bolivar Pen. Waste Water project and issue Work Orders for Engineering and Environmental and remove any unilateral actions that have placed the project on hold submitted by County Commissioner Precinct 1.” Commissioners Patrick Doyle, Kevin O’Brien, and Stephen Holmes voted in favor of the project; County Judge Mark Henry and Commissioner Ken Clark voted in opposition. The subsequent agenda item failed, with a vote of 2-3: “Consideration of removal of Bolivar Waste Water CDBG Round 1 project and replace with an eligible alternate project to be determined submitted by County Judge.”

ATV- ROV's frequently asked Questions by Galveston Sherriffs Dept.
06 Aug 2012	Frequently Asked Questions – ATV/ROV’s

ATV News
06 Aug 2012	Last month, a State Attorney General’s opinion provided some guidance for both operators and government officials about the use of all-terrain and recreational off-road vehicles (ATV/ROV’s) on Bolivar Peninsula beaches.

By Ed Snyder/Outdoors Bolivar Peninsula, TX.
14 Feb 2012	Winter fishing in Texas could mean dodging 30degree snow flakes in the West Texas panhandle while fishing for “whatever” or wriggling toes in 70degree sands along the Southea

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Vacation Home Market Heating Up

22 May 2013

As consumer confidence, the economy, and job market all make gains, more Americans are feeling like they have money to spend on second residences and summer homes.

Michael Stuart's insight:

In vacation home hot spots like the Hamptons, home prices are roaring back and rentals are fully booked for the season, CNBC reports.

The storms of the past aren’t appearing to dampen their willingness to buy.

In Port Aransas Mustang Island on the Texas coast, sales were up 50% for 2012 according to Cinnamon Shore Realty research.

Exxon announces $10B plan to export LNG from Texas

16 May 2013

If Exxon Mobil gets its way, liquid natural gas could be flowing out of Texas to countries around the world within five years.

Michael Stuart's insight:

The natural gas would be frozen to -263 degree Fahrenheit so it shrinks to 1/600 the size, making it practical for shipping to world markets.

There are political hurdles to cross before natural gas can go out to most countries in the world.

The idea of exporting LNG has become a hot political item lately, as energy giants like T. Boone Pickens and others weigh in.

Pickens argues that natural gas should be used to power vehicle fleets so the country doesn't need to import foreign oil from politically unstable countries.

source:

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/05/13/exxon-wants-to-invest-10-billion-in.html

Key Texas windstorm insurance bill in Senate

15 May 2013

Michael Stuart's insight:

The bill, voted out of the Senate Business & Commerce Committee last week, represents a compromise between lawmakers across the state with time running out on the 83rd legislative session.

Fracking and Your Electric Bill: How the Natural Gas Boom Affects What You Pay?

14 May 2013

The US shale gas boom has increased the supply of natural gas, which in turn has brought gas prices way down. Since gas is a fuel that runs power plants, its price affects your electric bill – depending on your utility.

Michael Stuart's insight:

Of course it’s not just natural gas prices that determine overall electricity rates – transmission bottlenecks and seasonal demand changes also affect them, as does the cost of other fuels.

That said, consumers in States with retail choice can lock in an electric rate at any point to get the best of both worlds: low prices and no variability!

Real Estate Professionals Proclaim Market Is Back for 2013

12 May 2013

84 percent of activeRain real estate professionals polled expect real estate values and the number of transactions will increase in 2013

Michael Stuart's insight:

For the second year in a row, the ActiveRain real estate community has put their collective knowledge to the test in order to predict how the real estate market will play out in the coming year.

Last year, as a group, we collectively called the bottom of the market. All signs would suggest we nailed it!

Last year, our members predicted that 1/3 of the markets in the country would see price declines. This year? Not a single market!

See the infographic of results:

http://activerain.com/pdf/RealEstateIsBack_bright_mm_600px.jpg

Keep Rollover Pass Open

13 Mar 2013

Bolivar Wastewater Project Passes

23 Oct 2012

ATV- ROV's frequently asked Questions by Galveston Sherriffs Dept.
06 Aug 2012	Frequently Asked Questions – ATV/ROV’s

ATV News
06 Aug 2012	Last month, a State Attorney General’s opinion provided some guidance for both operators and government officials about the use of all-terrain and recreational off-road vehicles (ATV/ROV’s) on Bolivar Peninsula beaches.

By Ed Snyder/Outdoors Bolivar Peninsula, TX.
14 Feb 2012	Winter fishing in Texas could mean dodging 30degree snow flakes in the West Texas panhandle while fishing for “whatever” or wriggling toes in 70degree sands along the Southea

Page 1 2 3