This roundup of news around Dallas includes a welcome update on the housing market, some info about a seminar on college loans, a toast to volunteers, and a State Fair of Texas 2022 milestone.

Here's what happened in Dallas this week:

Loan forgiveness
Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins and the Department of Education are hosting a webinar targeted to former and/or current government and 501c3 employees to learn about recent time-sensitive changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. If you work for a government entity or 501c3 nonprofit and have been repaying student loans for nearly 10 years or longer, you may qualify for a Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Waiver. It'll take place September 26 at 10 am. Interested parties can register here.

Habitat volunteers
On September 8th, Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity held a dinner to honor volunteers. Over the past year, they had 4,300 volunteers who contributed over 50,000 hours of service. The celebration took place at the Dallas Arboretum and dedicated time to honor those who have been serving for 15, 25, and 30 years.

TWF grants
Texas Women's Foundation invested nearly $9.2 million in advocacy, programs, and grants during its fiscal year of July 2021-June 2022. That includes $7,102,079 to 223 nonprofits and $2.1 million in programs to create leadership opportunities for women and girls. For a complete list of grantees, visit txwf.org/grants.

Big Tex drop
NBC DFW has a video of Big Tex, the State Fair of Texas mascot, being dropped into place in anticipation of the opening on September 30. The figure has a new "shirt" and "jeans," words used loosely since this is not an actual person but instead a construction made of wire. A rep for the fair says that 80 percent of the activities are outdoors but that masks must be worn indoors, wonder how that'll go down.

Housing buzz dims
The Dallas-Fort Worth housing market is cooling down, say real estate agents. The market has shifted due to higher interest rates and more inventory available. An agent says there are more homes on the market, forcing sellers to reduce the price, with homes now on market for an average of 24 days, twice as long as 2021 when a house was typically on the market for 2 weeks. A market review by the Collin County Association of Realtors for August says that sellers were forced to negotiate and accept offers for less than their asking price for the first time since January 2021.

The kindof-bummer is that we're now in a pricier new market. Agents say that the $300,000 to $400,000 range has become the standard that they do not see that going backward or the other way.