Ever wondered what the is the difference between a real estate agent and a realtor?

This article, I thought, did a decent job of explaining the difference from the realtor's perspective.

(Getty Images)

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This explains why the 1,000+ homes for sale in Plano, Texas are all so gorgeous....

Read the below excerpts from articles commenting on this news.

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A recent study and findings report released by the US Census Bureau entitled Income, Earnings and Poverty Data from the 2007 American Community Survey reports that Plano Texas is now the Most Affluent big city in America.  The criteria to be considered a large city is a population which is greater than 250,000, which hurdle Plano nominally clears.  The Report also indicates that Plano also has the lowest incidence of poverty of all large cities in the country.  I have embedded the full report below.  Given the well-known affluence of some coastal areas in this country, I found this rating for Plano to be particularly impressive.  -- read full article here (5 May 2009)

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PLANO - The annual report on income and poverty from the Census Bureau, released on Tuesday, found that Plano is the most affluent city in the U.S.

This seems incomprehensible but among cities with populations of 250,000 or more, Plano had the highest income and lowest poverty rate, with a median income in 2007 of $84,492, up 10% from 2006.

San Jose came in with a median income of $76,963; Detroit was the poorest, with a median household income of $28,097.  read full article here (August 27, 2008)

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What's the most affluent city in the USA?

(a) San Jose

(b) San Francisco

(c) Honolulu

(d) Plano, Texas

The answer is Plano — and that surprises even the mayor of this 260,000-person Dallas suburb.

"I'd never heard that before," Plano Mayor Pat Evans says. "But it's good to know."

The Census Bureau released its annual report on income and poverty Tuesday. The results offer an interesting — and often unexpected — portrait of who's rich and who's poor in the USA.

Plano was the report's star among cities with populations of 250,000 or more. It had the highest income and lowest poverty rate.

Plano's median household income in 2007 was $84,492, up 10% from 2006. Placing a distant second: San Jose, with a median income of $76,963.

Plano is the home to corporate headquarters for Frito-Lay, JCPenney and other companies. Billionaire Ross Perot founded computer giant EDS and Perot Systems, both still based in Plano.

The city is north of Dallas at the end of a light-rail line. Gymnast Nastia Liukin, Olympic gold medalist in Beijing, trains there.

Despite its affluence, the median home price is about $225,000, Evans says. By contrast, San Jose's median home price is $744,000.

"We've got the lowest taxes and highest level of services in North Texas," the mayor says.

read full story (Aug. 28, 2008)

What is that really, big scary thing coming straight at us ?

I was feeling pretty good about our economies future until I saw the above chart projecting US budget deficits beyond imagination.

"In the first independent analysis, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that President Obama's budget would rack up massive deficits even after the economy recovers, forcing the nation to borrow nearly $9.3 trillion over the next decade."

So, in case you are wondering whether there is inflation and higher interest rates in our future... if this tsunami hits, then the answer is simply "yes".

You can read a lengthier discussion about the potential impact of the bailout spending here.  Thank you Tom Royce for helping us connect the dots.

Missle Command of Job Losses

Jobs and housing losses go hand in hand.  While the map located here does not speak to housing loss, you can infer where the housing issues are worst by watching the job losses exploded.  The author of this map (TIP Strategies Inc) is an economic development consulting firm.  They mapped out U.S. job-loss trends using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. You can press the "play" button to watch as green circles (representing job growth) shrink and then blossom into red circles (job loss) over time.

Relatively speaking, as this article shows, the Dallas Fort Worth area has faired fairl well.   So, if you are one of the lucky ones with a job and want to buy or sell your home, then check out HomeProdigy's map.. .it is almost as hypnotic as the missle command map... and a lot more cheery.

Thanks to Glenn Roberts Jr for finding and posting this article.