The Lone Tree Industrial Park in Victoria, Texas started with the vision of city leaders to create a site with everything a big employer would need to immediately set up a new facility, such as all city utilities and easy access to railroads and roadways. The multi-million dollar project, paid for with local sales tax revenue and federal grants, was finished in 2004. For six years, the large facility sat unoccupied. While the Victoria Economic ...

Realtors get asked about the letters after their name. Many people don’t know what the letters mean, but those letters are very important for customers. They represent different professional certifications earned by the Realtor through extensive education and hard work. These designations are not required for a Realtor to sell real estate and a Realtor doesn’t get paid any extra money for those designations. So when you see those letters, it means your Realtor is ...

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This report reflects Victoria County only. The neighboring counties of Goliad, Jackson, Calhoun, Dewitt & Lavaca show similarities to Victoria County.

July 2010: The average sales price for residential homes was $144,316, up 8.8% versus July 2009 when it was $132,669. The median price of a residential home for July was $131,000 versus July 2009 when it was $127,000, an increase of 3.1%. Months of inventory was 6.3, reflecting ...

A lot of people love a good run. It clears the mind, tones the body, and can just be a lot of fun….or so I’m told by my runner friends! You can always choose a direction and go running anywhere you like, but that often brings about hassles like dodging cars or fleeing dogs.

Luckily, there are a few good places that are especially runner friendly here in Victoria, Texas, ranging from the formal ...

The first half of 2010 ended on a mixed note. The twelve month period ending June 30th shows a slight increase in number of properties closed as well as total dollar volume. However, there was a slight decrease in the median price. For the six month period ending June 30th, we saw a significant increase in number of properties sold compared to the same period last year and a corresponding greater decrease in the median ...

Recently I had to sit my son down and have him explain in detail what he was doing in Hallettsville on his delayed trip home from Baylor University. He often told me he was “geocaching” somewhere. Assuming this was not an illegal activity and had nothing to do with negative beverages, still, it was time to get this sorted out.

Does anyone remember the metal detectors? I remember as a teenager I was convinced ...

The addition of a pool is not the best investment if you are only concerned about resale value. Pools have notoriously low resale value. In fact, pools only add about 33 percent of their cost to the value of the home. So, if you spend $30,000 on a beautiful new pool, you will probably only recoup about $9,000 when you sell your home.

In addition, some buyers view pools as safety hazards and maintenance ...

If your taste in an evening out includes live music, Victoria, Texas has much to offer, whether you prefer an evening at the symphony or a two-step around the dance floor.

When it comes to music of the high class variety, Victoria is home to two fine institutions: The Victoria Bach Festival and the Victoria Symphony.

The Victoria Bach Festival schedules several local concerts at locations around the city each summer. ...

Any time you move to a new town, it takes a while to find the places that will become part of your regular routine. Even moving across town can require a bit of exploration to find your new favorite places to frequent. Here’s where you can find two of the necessities of daily living.

Groceries  

Victoria has four major places to buy your groceries, including three from national chains and one local enterprise.

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When you’re interested in purchasing a home, the mortgage company will usually determine the amount you can afford by using one of two formulas.

The monthly Housing Payment to Income Ratio (Front Ratio) is a fairly simple formula.  It adds your future principle and interest payment, property taxes and insurance together to get what is called a “PITI” payment.  This amount is divided by your gross monthly income to produce a percentage. ...