Good News for DFW Pre-Owned Home Market To Be Released in Dallas Morning News on 9/8/09 by Steve Brown!

Dallas-Fort Worth preowned home sales skyrocket as homebuyers take advantage of tax credit

By STEVE BROWN/ The Dallas Morning News

The North Texas housing market came roaring back in November.

Preowned home sales rose by 31 percent last month from a year ago – one of the biggest such increases on record.

And median home sales prices were up 5 percent.

The big jump in residential transactions came as large numbers of homebuyers rushed to take advantage of the federal home buying tax credit, which has been extended.

Real estate agents in October sold almost 5,500 preowned homes through their multiple listing service, according to statistics released Monday by the North Texas Residential Information Systems and the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

And condo and townhouse sales were up more than 60 percent from a year ago.
November’s robust sales activity is the latest in a string of recent indicators, which show that the North Texas home market has bottomed out and is turning the corner.

Through the first 11 months of 2009, North Texas home sales are down 12 percent from the same period of last year. And median home sales prices are unchanged year to date from 2008.
November was the second consecutive month that Dallas-Fort Worth area home sales rose from the previous year – ending more than a year of consecutive declines.

Some neighborhoods that weren’t impacted by the federal homebuying incentives saw dramatic spikes in home sales last month.

In the Park Cities, preowned home sales soared 81 percent in November from a year ago.
Sales in close in North Dallas neighborhoods rose 48 percent.

And at the end of November, the inventory of unsold homes on the market fell below 6 months which is considered a balanced market.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/120709dnbizhomesales.32d657683.html

Tax Credit Inches Closer To Being Extended Through April AND New Tax Credit For Repeat Buyers!

Senators agreed yesterday in an 85 - 2 vote to extend the $8500 tax credit for first time homebuyers through April 2010 to a final vote. Senior members of congress expect the bill to pass next week.

Even bigger news is the tax credit may expand to repeat buyers that have owned their current home for at least 5 years, allowing those homebuyers to receive a tax credit of up to $6500.

Qualifying home buyers who are in an executed contract by April 30, 2010 will have through the end of June 2010 to close on their next homes and be eligible the tax credit if the measure is passed.

Stay tuned for more information!!!!

The Case For Purchasing Real Estate Assets in the DFW Market NOW As A Hedge Against Inevitable Inflation

As I speak with my agents I am told the same story time and time again regarding clients who are still on the fence about purchasing a home in the DFW area. They are either waiting for the real estate market to drop further in order to get a better deal or they are just indecisive and haven’t come across that “dream home” yet. Each time I am told one of these stories I am concerned and the concern isn’t necessarily directed where you might think. Yes, I am concerned for my agents and want them to continue to make a living, but my biggest and most grave concern is for the people in our market that have some desire to buy, but keep waiting. Why is this so? The reason is twofold.

First, according to the Case-Shiller home price index, the Dallas/Fort Worth real estate market IS recovering. The latest released housing market snapshot released in September 2009 shows that home prices in DFW were up from June 2009 to July 2009, marking the fifth consecutive month of increases in our market. The July figure is also the highest point in the home price index since September 2008, right before the first big government bailout. The Case-Shiller data backs up other numerous reports that home price declines bottomed out in North Texas in early 2009.

"The rate of annual decline in home price values continues to decelerate, and we now seem to be witnessing some sustained monthly increases across many markets," Standard & Poor's David Blitzer said in the report. "These figures continue to support an indication of stabilization in national real estate values."

These figures point to the fact that the longer a home buyer waits in the DFW market, the more they will end up paying for their next home or investment property. However, increasing sales prices alone are not the only thing that will raise a future homebuyer’s expenses, which leads me to my second point. Rising interest rates in the face of inflation.

Interest rates today, as many of you have heard being touted numerous times from television and radio advertisements, are at their lowest in years. History and today’s current economic policies prove that this will soon not be the case. How? The answer is inevitable inflation. Most people mistakenly believe that inflation is simply rising prices. The true definition of inflation is when the supply of money outpaces the production of goods and services. It is a simple case of supply and demand. When more and more money is being printed and the supply of goods and services remains the same, the influx of new money causes all money to be worth less, resulting in the increased price of goods and services. In other words, rising prices are only a symptom of inflation and the end result of a monetary trend. Congress has recently opened the non-existent coffers and more and more money is being spent every day on stimulus packages and bailouts. We have never seen this type of government debt in our country’s history. How does the government plan to pay for this additional spending? They may raise taxes but in a declared recession, that would be political suicide. Their answer: crank up the printing presses. This, along with rising gold prices due to fear of a weakening dollar and falling bond markets (when U.S. creditors begin to worry about inflation they demand a higher rate of interest on their loans to our government. As these interest rates rise, treasury bond prices fall.) show that inflation for the United States is unavoidable.

How does this affect mortgage interest rates? Throughout history we can see examples of how rising inflation has caused mortgage interest rates to rise substantially. If you take a look at the most recent inflationary period, the late 1970s and early 1980s, inflation was extensive. The 10-Yr treasury rate reached its peak in 1982 at 15% and the price of commodities skyrocketed. During inflationary times lenders who want to survive are forced to charge more interest in order to cover the losses they experience from the devaluation of the dollar. Mortgage rates averaged around 17% during this last inflationary period. Not a good sign for things to come. Interest rates do not need to rise by much to affect your purchasing power. What does a mortgage rate increase of only 3% mean for you? A mortgage for $150,000 today at 5% interest equates to a monthly payment of $805.23 principle and interest. The same mortgage at 8% interest equates to a monthly payment of $1100.65 principle and interest. That is an increase of nearly $300 per month and over $3500 per year! Looking at this another way, to get the same $805 monthly payment at 8% interest, your mortgage could not exceed $109,500. You would have to purchase a house that is priced $40,500 less for that same payment! Talk about throwing your money away!

For an even clearer example let’s take these two mortgage balances and figure in a 10% down payment on each. Considering the interest rates discussed previously, monthly payments for principle and interest would be $805 per month for both of these homes! You would go from a:

Kitchen in a Lewisville home priced at $165,000 @ 5% interest

to a Kitchen in a Lewisville home priced at $119,500 @ 8% interest

Take an assessment of your wants and needs list. Are you willing to give up the walk-in closet, separate shower and bathtub, or the open kitchen? If the answer is NO, please consider the facts above.

Remember, a mortgage is a long-term, fixed rate debt on a valuable asset that historically increases in value over time. Fixed rate debt can be an advantageous monetary tool during inflationary times. I know of no other legal way to borrow a dollar and only pay back 50 cents. The key however is to get that fixed rate BEFORE interest rates rise. That, along with an initial low purchase price, can be your hedge against inflation and your chance to own the most home with the most amenities for the money for years to come.

Just Released! Dallas/Fort Worth Home Prices Fall By Less Than 2% In Latest Measure

DFW home prices fell by the smallest percentage amount in almost two years, with a 1.6% decline in July 2009 from a year earlier, according to the just released housing market snapshot by the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index.

Local home prices were up from June to July, marking the fifth consecutive month in a row that Dallas/Fort Worth home prices rose. Another ray of sunshine is the fact that the July figure is also the highest point in the home price index since September 2008. These Case-Shiller numbers indicate that our market has seen the bottom, with most figures indicating it was hit in the early part of 2009.

Case-Shiller tracks the price in different metropolitan areas of the typical single-family homes sold in that area. The index does not include townhomes or condominiums or new construction single family homes.

"The rate of annual decline in home price values continues to decelerate, and we now seem to be witnessing some sustained monthly increases across many markets," Standard & Poor's David Blitzer said Tuesday in the report. "These figures continue to support an indication of stabilization in national real estate values."

The moral of the story is, if you were trying to time the real estate market in DFW, you need to get on the bandwagon NOW in order to get the best pricing. What about if your a seller? Gray skies are finally clearing up and all systems are go!

DFW Area Sees Decline in Number of Homes Sold, But Prices Hold Steady

12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, September 10, 2009
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com


North Texas home sales fell by double digits in August from a year earlier.
But despite the steep decline, prices are holding up.

Local real estate agents sold 6,338 pre-owned homes though their Multiple Listing Service last month – a 15 percent falloff from August 2008, according to the latest statistics from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems Inc.

For the first eight months of 2009, home sales are down 19 percent compared with the same period last year. But median sales prices have fallen only 2 percent and were unchanged last month at $150,000.

The latest data is in line with recent national reports that show only modest declines in local home values – unlike the big drops still being experienced in many U.S. markets.

But analysts say it's probably too early to say for sure that North Texas residential values won't go a bit lower.

Any home price rebound will depend on a recovery of the local job market and the number of foreclosed homes coming on the market, said James Gaines, a research economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M.

"So far, the D-FW market has absorbed these kinds of sales [foreclosures], and while there are individual neighborhoods or subdivisions where prices have fallen dramatically, the effect has not shown up as a major impact on the total market," Gaines said.

"Naturally, job loss is a primary cause of foreclosures and distressed sales, so the real culprit is the local economy.

"Dallas – like most of the rest of Texas – has sustained job losses since the first of the year," he said. "The losses need to stabilize and then reverse into gains for people to feel good about buying a home and having the income to do so."
The best news in the current local housing report is that the number of homes for sale continues to decline from year-ago levels.

At the end of August, 38,166 homes were listed for sale in the area, 14 percent less than a year earlier. That's about a 6.5-month supply.

"The key to house price stability is that there is not a surplus of listings," analyst Ted Wilson of Dallas-based Residential Strategies said. "Many households have elected not to put their houses on the market, and that has gone a long way to keeping prices firm.

"When there is an excess supply of housing for sale, on average it takes longer for a house to sell and, as a result, there is a tendency is for the seller to drop the price to garner buyer interest."

It currently takes 78 days on average to sell a house in North Texas. That's 3 percent longer than in August 2008.

So far this year, the smallest declines in home sales have been in properties priced below $80,000.

Sales of pre-owned homes with price tags of $600,000 and more have dropped more than 30 percent.

Agents and builders say that the federal homebuyer tax credit aimed at first-time purchasers has caused an uptick in sales of low- and moderate-price housing.
The tax credit expires at the end of November.

A second report released Wednesday predicted that despite continued sales declines, the Dallas area will be one of the top home markets in the country this year.
Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Wichita Falls also are on the list of what are expected to be the 10 top-performing housing markets, according to analysts at Local Market Monitor.

The study identified home markets where residential values are expected to remain level, that didn't have a housing boom and that have had modest employment declines.

"This means that Dallas-Plano-Irving will fare among the best over this next year, a factor that bodes well considering the state of the national housing crisis," a representative of the research firm said.

New Forecast States Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio Will Be in Top 10 Home Markets for 2009

A little more good news about the housing market in Texas courtesy of Local Market Monitor and Steve Brown with the Dallas Morning News!

Despite continued sale declines, a new forecast predicts the Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio areas will be in the Top 10 Markets in the U.S. this year.

Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Wichita Falls are all on the list of what are expected to be the 10 top-performing housing markets, according to a report released today, Wednesday, September 9, 2009, by analysts at Local Market Monitor.

To read the full article from the Dallas Morning News Click Here.


For more sales trends for the Dallas Fort Worth real estate market click here and find your favorite home, and click on sales trends.

Texas Tops U.S. in Housing Affordability

According to first quarter 2009 Texas Housing Affordibility Index (HAI) complied numbers, the Real Estate Center at Texas A & M University states that Texas is number 1 in the country when it comes to housing affordability.

The numbers reflect the ability of a median-income family's ability to afford a median-priced existing home in their area.

"The slowdown in the housing market nationally and within Texas has led to signifigantly increased housing affordability everywhere, and Texas continues to maintain its place as the most affordable high-growth state in the country," said Jim Gaines, research economist with the center.

DFW Market Statistics for December 2008 Year to Date

I have complied this spreadsheet to give you the latest statistics from the North Texas Real Estate Information System. These statistics cover the areas stated for December 2008 YTD. Some areas, such as E Dallas, are holding strong with 18% more sales than the previous year. Most average sales prices are holding steady with only 5 of the 16 cities listed showing a decline from the previous year. The rest have held strong or gone up as much as 7%, such as in Coppell. It is taking longer to sell a house in N. Texas, but not that much longer. For example, a home that took 81 days (the average Days on Market)to sell in Keller would have taken 21 days less the previous year, which works out to 3 weeks. This is much better than what some analyists portray to be months longer.

Homes are starting to hit the market again. Don't let the gloom and doom on the national news affect your decision to buy or sell in 2009! With the right team working for you, it can be done!

DFW Reports 2nd Largest Employment Gain

Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 2:54pm CST Modified: Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 4:05pm

DFW reports 2nd largest employment gain
Dallas Business Journal

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area reported the second largest year-over-year employment gain nationally in November 2008 by adding 46,900 jobs. The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area trailed only the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area, which reported a non-farm employment gain of 54,300 jobs.

A report from the U.S. Department of Labor also said 121 metropolitan areas had jobless rates reaching 7% or above, up from only 18 areas the year before. In addition, 34 areas had rates below 4%--far fewer than the 133 areas that had jobless rates below 4% in Nov. of 2007.
The report goes on to say the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington unemployment rate hit 5.7% in Nov. of 2008, which is higher than the area's unemployment rate of 4.1% a year ago.

Over the previous year, non-farm employment rose in 11 of the 38 metropolitan areas surveyed with the largest year-over-year percentage employment gain recorded in Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown (up 2.1percent), followed by San Antonio (up 2 percent); Austin-Round Rock (up 1.6 percent) and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (up +1.6 percent).

Areas with the largest year-over-year employment decreases included: Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-3.7 percent); Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (-3 percent); Atlanta-Sandy Springs- Marietta, Ga. (-2.7 percent); as well as Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-2.7 percent).

The report says the largest year-over-year percentage employment gains by metropolitan divisions included Fort Worth-Arlington (up 1.8 percent); Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. ( up 1.6 percent ); Dallas-Plano-Irving ( up 1.5 percent) and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (up 1.1 percent).

Afraid to jump into the real estate market?

Many buyers and sellers that I have spoken to recently are afraid to jump into the real estate market right now. With all the doom and gloom from the media, who can blame them? Sellers are afraid that they'll lose all their profits and equity, while buyers are afraid they'll buy a home and it will lose a big percentage of its value in a short time. So, when is the right time to buy or sell?

In Dallas/Fort Worth, any time is relatively safe. Our market was never in a real estate bubble like we've seen on the east and west coasts and while we have seen home values go down 1 - 2 percent or so in certain areas, mainly home prices are holding steady, not rising or falling. Granted, there are more foreclosures on the market right now and some relocation company owned homes are basically being given away, so there are deals out there, but I don't see home prices tetering on the edge of a cliff, getting ready to plunge down a large percentage.

I will be putting my own personal home on the market this coming spring and purchasing again, regardless of the news the media is putting out at the time. There are always going to be buyers out there, and DFW has gotten some good press on being a great place to work and live. The main thing you should be concerned about is whether your family needs a larger/smaller/more efficient, etc. home right now. The market is not as scary as the national news makes it sound. We are still moving here in Texas!