Articles of Interest

Waco Habitat for Humanity Gains "Star" Status By Christopher Lazaro

A home recently completed by Waco Habitat for Humanity achieved a level of energy efficiency that few homes in any price range can boast. The nonprofit builder earned its first 5-star Energy Star rating for the 2-bedroom home on Carver Avenue in East Waco, making it a model of energy efficiency for the community.

Using building methods that surpass the required building code, such as spray foam insulation and upgraded heating/air conditioning, the residents of this and other Habitat houses can expect low utility bills and easy maintenance.

This achievement is just the beginning for Habitat. In conjunction with Walmart, they officially launched their Green Build Initiative on May 7, funded by a $63,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation. Together they hope to make green improvements to the next 10 homes they build, all in an effort to reduce homeowners’ carbon footprint as well as their electric bills. Carlos Lopez, Market Manager for Walmart #76 expressed his pride in the initiative at the launch event. “We’re very focused on making [Waco] a better and more efficient place to live,” he said. Scott Connell of the Waco Chamber of Commerce, another green pioneer in Waco, also attended the event to show their support.

Through the Green Build Initiative, Waco Habitat for Humanity will test alternative building methods that decrease material use and reduce energy consumption. The Walmart grant will also help fund the installation of energy data loggers for each of the homes, which will analyze the electricity used to run each household. The data will be used to determine how to make future Habitat homes more efficient, even as Energy Star criteria grow more and more stringent. “We want the highest rating possible on all of our homes,” Waco Habitat Executive Director John Alexander said with resolve. This partnership with Walmart could be that push to get them to their goal.

To learn more about the Green Build Initiative and other Waco Habitat for Humanity programs, visit their website at http://www.wacohabitat.org.

A Local Church "Comes Together" to Restore Community By Christopher Lazaro

Each month, Josh Lawson and a dedicated team of members at Antioch Community Church march into the local neighborhood with an arsenal of paintbrushes, shovels, and lawnmowers to restore beauty and hope to a once-dangerous area.

The Come Together Work Day, held on the second Saturday of each month, is part of a holistic neighborhood revitalization strategy that seeks to empower local residents to take ownership of their homes, and more importantly, their lives. Lawson, Director of Financial Restoration Ministries for Antioch, believes that developing relationships with the residents is the key to sustainable change on these streets. “We believe in serving practically, both in word and in deed,” he added.

On a typical work day, volunteer crews of 30 to 50 people jump in by painting houses, cutting grass, picking up trash in alleyways, even unburying sidewalks that had been completely covered by grass. The first work day took place last November on the 1800 and 1900 blocks of Sanger Avenue in the Sanger Heights Neighborhood, and they eventually moved their way up to 25th Street. This past Saturday they headed over to 20th and Fort, and will eventually work on every block in their target area, which covers Waco Drive to Bosque Boulevard, from 18th to 25th Streets. Each work day ends in a block party at which neighbors gather over lunch and discuss their vision for the neighborhood.

In fact, the vision of neighborhood residents is a major factor in the revitalization of the area, and one that sets it apart

from other clean-up projects. “We want to impart value back into the neighborhood and work with the neighbors to see the neighborhood revived,” Lawson said. So what have the neighbors envisioned for their area? With speeding and a lack of youth activities being the issues most mentioned by neighbors, they foresee additional sidewalks, stop signs, and street lights being installed as a practical first step.

When asked about the future of Come Together, Lawson expressed a desire to see both churches and local businesses join in, not just in their target area but in the rest of Sanger Heights and throughout Waco. In the end, though, he believes that lasting change will only happen when the community believes they can do it themselves. “It’s not about the church doing it all, but the neighbors and local businesses owning the process,” he added.

For more information, please contact Josh Lawson at josh-lawson@aminternational.org.

Headlines from the Front Lines

Dotzour Comments on Inflation, Recession, China and REO Damage

Release No. 14-0311

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (Real Estate Center) — Chief Economist Dr. Mark Dotzour is crisscrossing the nation delivering his economic message and collecting valuable data for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. Here is a recap of this week’s findings gleaned from meetings of the National Association of Business Economics in Washington, D.C.

Among the comments he heard, were:

· “Clearly there is virtually no threat of inflation in the next two years.”

· “There’s virtually no chance of the Fed increasing interest rates (maybe a symbolic small move aside).”

· “The last recession, the Fed waited until unemployment was 5.5 percent before tightening.”

· “We won't get to that level for several years.”

· “The threat is for deflation across the globe, with the exception of China.”

· “China’s money supply is up 30 percent from last year. Our M3 (the Fed’s measure of the money supply) is virtually unchanged from a year ago, and available credit is less than last year.”

“The Congressional Budget Office said the United States is going to be unable to pay for the social contract with America,” said Dotzour. “It’s only a matter of when and how the adjustments for failed promises have to take place. Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security cannot be funded at current levels of spending.”

Dotzour heard a representative of Barclays, a worldwide financial services provider, say that the real damage to housing values occurs when the real estate owned (REO) dominos begin to topple.

“Just because a house gets foreclosed, prices don't fall,” said Dotzour. “It's when the REO is disposed that the value impact occurs. Foreclosures have been postponed, first due to a moratorium and now due to banks having to prove they tried a modification before they can foreclose. So the major price impact on the housing market is not over yet.”

If the core rate of inflation drops to less than 1 percent, expect the Fed to re-engage in quantitative easing (printing money to create inflation), reported Dotzour.

The news from across the pond is not good either, he said.

Dotzour heard a commodity specialist say that China is purchasing way more hard metals than they need for the level of industrial production that they are experiencing. He said it was clear that they are stockpiling these hard metal commodities.

“This reminds me of the oil market the month before the summer Olympics in 2008,” said the Center’s chief economist. “China hoarded diesel in case they had power failures at the games.”

Prices for all commodities have skyrocketed since the day the Fed announced quantitative easing. An oil representative said that oil could stay high and go higher because marginal demand is coming from China and India.

“If and when China's bubble blows, the entire commodity complex could come crashing down fast,” said Dotzour.

“All of a sudden Russia, Brazil and Australia don’t look so robust. Money will start flowing hard into the United States. Again, this makes me think ten-year Treasuries might look pretty saucy right now at 3.7 percent.

“Surprisingly,” reports Dotzour, “nobody is really talking about states, cities and school districts. Their layoffs and reduced spending will impact local suppliers all over the country.”

“None of this is pretty,” said Dotzour, “but investors and business people need to be aware of the environment that they are working in.”

Waco Habitat for Humanity Gains "Star" Status By Christopher Lazaro

A Local Church "Comes Together" to Restore Community By Christopher Lazaro