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Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Is the local real estate market looking up?
New home construction starts in DFW are up more than 50 percent this year from the first 6 months of 2009.
The number of new homes sold in the area is rising for the first time in four years, according to a second-quarter report from Metrostudy Inc. However, analysts caution that the rebound is likely to slow now that federal buying incentives are running out.
June pre-owned home sales figures, which were also released Wednesday, were down 3 percent, ending a three-month run of double-digit year-over-year sales gains.
The recent gains in new-home sales and starts have been welcome in a market that suffered through more than two years of declining construction and sales.
"This is the second quarter in a row that new-home starts in Dallas-Fort Worth jumped significantly compared to the prior year," said Metrostudy director David Brown. "Homebuilders increased starts during the first half of the year in reaction to the increased demand from the homebuyer tax credit and reduced inventory."
New Home Builders started more than 4,600 houses, the most since 2008's third quarter.
Even so, the number of new homes for sale in North Texas is at its lowest level in 13 years and is 64 percent less than its peak in 2006.
"The fact is that the inventory is gone," Brown said. "When builders sell a house, they have to start one."
At the end of June, about 4,477 finished new homes were on the market in the D-FW area – a steep decline from more than 12,000 four years ago.
North Texas builders sold 4,733 new homes during the second quarter, almost 8 percent more than in the same period last year.
The biggest jump in new-home sales this year – 24 percent – is in properties priced at less than $200,000, which go mostly to first-time buyers, Metrostudy found.
Northern suburbs have accounted for the greatest spikes in building, with a 145 percent year-over-year increase in starts in Frisco. McKinney, North Fort Worth and Little Elm also had large second-quarter gains.
But most analysts expect housing purchases to slow. "We've seen a fairly significant fall-off in sales reported by the builders in virtually every market," Brown said. "Clearly, the second half of the year is not going to be as robust."
Pre-owned home sales in North Texas are already declining. The 3 percent decline for June compared with year-earlier figures was widely anticipated. "Yes, I would have guessed a bigger drop-off," said Dr. James Gaines, an economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
The median price for area pre-owned homes last month was unchanged from a year ago at $155,000.
Housing economists had expected the market to retrench when the federal homebuying incentives were withdrawn. To qualify for up to $8,000 in tax credits, buyers had to have a home under contract by the end of April. "The tax credit pushed ahead a lot of buying decisions," Brown said. "But with the job growth numbers we are hearing about and stronger apartment leasing, we will start to see household formation grow. Next year we should see sales start to build back up."
Pre-owned home sales for the first six months of the year increased the most in higher-priced neighborhoods, including the Park Cities, which were up 66 percent, and North Dallas, up 44 percent.
Through the first half of 2010, the number of pre-owned single-family homes sold by real estate agents through the Multiple Listing Service rose 9 percent from a year earlier, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems.
Median prices have inched up 2 percent so far this year.
At the end of June, 41,339 homes were listed for sale in the area. That's up 11 percent from June 2009 and the first annual increase in inventory in more than a year.
There is a 6.9-month supply of homes on the market.
With pending sales down 23 percent, year-over-year purchases are likely to drop again in July.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
As the Economy Recovers, Steer clear of falling back into debt...
With the stock market higher, more people are returning to investing. That’s good news to the market but not to personal returns. Many people rejected investments during the recession, which created the best investment opportunity in many of our lifetimes. Investing now that the market is higher only means the returns will be smaller as there is less room to grow.
The same thing with spending is resulting. We may be spending more, however prices are not as low as they once were in many cases. Stores have stopped discounting heavily because shoppers are returning.
Still, the recession has changed some of our habits. Many of us are now valuing frugality as a permanent part of life versus just resorting to at times. Like in the 1930s, Americans became scared after all the suffering and were permanently changed to keep as much as they can for fear they will lose it again.
The ones who remain frugal are the minority, according to market research firm Decitica. It found 20% of Americans remain frugal after a recession. Meanwhile, 30% return to their previous spending levels. The other half don’t change at all, either because they can’t (they don’t have enough money) or they don’t need to (they have enough much money).
This research indicates that most Americans don’t change much after a recession and are likely to end up where they once were. In other words, many of us don’t plan for recessions; we just ride along with them.
Putting together a recession plan is a neglected strategy in financial planning. Budgeting and coming up with a plan of action when money is tight is a valuable practice to get in the habit of doing. This would include building and maintaining an emergency fund to cover expenses during a financial disaster such as a job loss. Another wise move would be to have saved money for purchases when the stock market and prices go down. A good financial planner will present these different scenarios to help draw up a disaster plan.
With what many Americans have just gone through, knowing what to plan for is a lot easier.
From RIS MEDIA Written by Dan Serra
Monday, April 12, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Interest rates rising in March 2010...
When will interest rates rise?
Interest rates have a direct impact on everyone's finances. Forecasts for the first rate rise range between April to mid-2011. The next monthly rates decision is due on Thursday 4 March 2010, at 12pm.
Calculators:
We've just revamped, updated and expanded our calculators, many of which are exclusive to BuyAllenHomes.com. Compound interest, the impact of rate changes on your savings and mortgage payments, how big a mortgage you can afford:
Monday, February 22, 2010
Stop waiting to buy your new home...
Dallas-Ft Worth homes prices creep higher this month
North Texas home prices have inched higher in January 2010.
Also Online
Median pre-owned home prices were up 1 percent last month from a year earlier.
But the number of pre-owned homes sold in the area fell by 6 percent, the second consecutive decline in the monthly sales figures.
A real estate agent is your best resource to sort through all the pricing confusion. .
About 33,500 homes were listed for sale in North Texas last month.
I can help you find the perfect home at the best price don't hesitate any longer. The market is changing quickly!
| Comparisons of January pre-owned home sales and prices in North Texas with year-earlier statistics: | ||
| Single-family home resales | 3,330 | -6 percent |
| Median price | $130,000 | 1 percent |
| Average days on market | 84 | -2 percent |
| Pending sales | 4,369 | No change |
| Listed for sale | 33,569 | -10 percent |
| Condo-townhome resales | 172 | 2 percent |
| Median price | $127,520 | 6 percent |
| Average days on market | 96 | -16 percent |
| Pending sales | 235 | 3 percent |
| Listed for sale | 3,556 | -6 percent |
| SOURCES: Texas A&M University Real Estate Center, North Texas Real Estate Information System Inc. | ||
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