Viva Fiesta, y’all!
Is anything more San Antonio than sparkly parades, outlandish hats, chicken-on-a stick and picking confetti out of your hair?
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The Fiesta cascarones are more valuable this year because the eggs to make them cost so much more. Prices were stupid high last fall and winter when folks were stocking up for Fiesta. Thankfully, the price of eggs has plummeted in recent weeks – more like $2.60ish at H-E-B now.
Of course, you can pay more for labels like pasture-raised, cage-free, organic, etc. But what does all that eggs-actly mean? You can check out our story here:
Egg prices fall. Is lingo on labels worth higher price?
Something else that’s dropped a bit? Gas prices! They’re down 13 cents a gallon in the past week. (Just like a roller coaster, the downs are more fun that the scary climbs.) Average is $3.14 now. Typically, we see our highest prices of the year right around Memorial Day. But, my friends at GasBuddy say it’s possible we’ve already hit our peak. Cross your fingers for no big hurricanes to mess that up.
I’ve been reporting a lot lately on real estate issues.
Imposters are targeting vacant lots. They pretend to be the real owner and try to sell the property by using legit realtors. Not only did scummy scammers hit Helotes once, they did it again. The Bexar County Clerk’s Office has a program to help you keep an eye on your property. It’s free to sign up. You can see those reports here:
Dirty deals: Imposters try to sell vacant land in Helotes they don’t own
Fake land sellers target Helotes again
Real estate is going crypto. I visited with the CEO of an Austin-area startup that now has a marketplace (think Zillow) but buyers and sellers can trade in Bitcoin or Ethereum. Granted it’s for people who have money at their disposal, but it’s certainly interesting.
Got Bitcoin? You can close a real estate deal in as little as a day
Finally, a reminder. May 15 is the deadline to file notice if you are appealing your property appraisal. If you’re like me, you’re getting plenty of mail from companies offering to protest for you. That’s one way to go. But, honestly, it’s pretty easy to do it yourself on the BCAD.org website. And, it’s free. While we’re on the subject, be sure you’re claiming your homestead exemption and any others you qualify for.
Disagree with your home’s appraisal? You can appeal.
If you’re headed out to the Fiesta Flambeau Parade, maybe I’ll see you there. Show me your shoes! But hold the confetti. Please.
Have a great weekend.