Dallas Real Estate and Short Sale Blog

HomeSteps, a Freddie Mac real estate sales unit, kicked off a sales promotion this week to unload some of its inventory of foreclosed homes.

Its Winter Sales Promotion for owner-occupant buyers includes:

• Paying up to 3 percent of the final sales price toward the buyer’s closing costs for initial offers received between Nov. 15 and Jan. 31, 2012. Escrow must be closed on or before March 15, 2012, to qualify.
• Two-year Home Protect limited home warranty, which covers such things as the heating, air conditioning, electrical, plumbing, and other major systems and appliances. Home Protect also will offer a discount of up to 30 percent on the purchase of appliances. (For eligibility requirements, visit www.HomeSteps.com/smartbuy.)

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Looking to purchase a foreclosure in the greater Dallas area? Contact us to work with a team of certified distressed property experts.

All the discussion in the national media about how bad the housing market is doing doesn't take into account that all real estate is local in nature. I was reviewing our local sales statistics the other day in preparation for a radio interview I was doing. Te Dallas Fort Worth market is doing very well.

Our MLS covers all of north Texas, so I looked at the numbers for the entire region and then for Collin County.

The first statistic I looked at was average sales price. The average sales price for the region is up 3.5 percent (May 2010 - May 2011) and Collin county is up 5.4 percent. These are really good numbers when you consider that 2010 spring sales were inflated by the federal first-time home buyers and move-up buyers tax credits. Those credits spurred early spring sales and drove down inventory in the early part of the year.

Next I looked at new listings. This figure tells us how much inventory is being added to the market. New listings are down 17 percent in both the regional and Collin County Markets. Less inventory is a good thing as long as the market continues to absorb what is available.

Sales closed gives us an indicator of the absorption rate of existing inventory. Regionally and locally sales are down 14 percent.

With 17 percent fewer listings and only 14 percent fewer sales, we can determine that the overall inventory is shrinking. That's the primary factor in seeing value stability in the area.

In other good housing news, foreclosure rates continue to fall. Foreclosures have a serious impact on values as they usually sell at a discount over the traditional homes.

All indicators for the Dallas Fort Worth housing market point to a stable market despite what the national media reports. Have a question about your area? Contact a local real estate professional as all real estate is truly local.

Search for Real Estate in Dallas Fort Worth.

Source: http://www.thebranchteam.com/wordpress/2011/07/17/market-conditions-are-up-in-dallas-fort-worth/

I recently closed a very difficult transaction. There were a number of problems and we had both agents, both clients, and the title company all involved in solving the problems and getting the sale to closing.

After closing I was talking with my sellers while we waited for the sale to fund. They related that they were disappointed that the other agent would not communicate with them. With all the email and phone calls that had taken place, everybody had contact information for everybody else. In an effort to be efficient, the sellers had tried to open a dialog with the other agent. They were kind of upset that she would not communicate directly with them.

I explained the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics to them. Article 16, Standard of Practice 16-13 states:

“All dealings concerning property exclusively listed, or with buyer/tenants who are subject to an exclusive agreement shall be carried on with the client’s representative or broker, and not with the client, except with the consent of the client’s representative or broker or except where such dealings are initiated by the client.”

My clients were surprised to hear we have and operate under a strict Code of Ethics.

REALTORS® Pledge of Performance and Service:

“The National Association of REALTORS® adopted the Code of Ethics in 1913, following the professions of medicine, law, and engineering. REALTORS® are real estate professionals who have chosen to join the National Association and abide by its strict Code of Ethics. What does this mean to you? It means that any REALTOR® with whom you work has voluntarily agreed to abide by a Code of Ethics, based on professionalism and protection of the public. REALTORS® are subject to disciplinary action and sanctions if they violate the duties imposed by the Code of Ethics.”

The Code of Ethics is one of many reasons to choose an agent who is a REALTOR®.

Source: http://www.thebranchteam.com/wordpress/2011/06/11/the-other-agent-will-not-talk-to-me/

I was out working in one of my new home developments today.

As I chatted with the sales staff about how things were going, a common theme became apparent. Potential buyers are sitting on the fence waiting on home prices and interest rates to drop further!

This has been fueled by the reports of nationwide home price drops by many of the national media outlets. The old adage,"location, location, location" comes to mind. All real estate is local!

I did an interview locally last week when this news was released discussing the local numbers. Dallas Fort Worth is actually bucking the national trend with average sales prices up 3.2 percent in North Texas and 5.4 percent in Collin County. Prices are not going down here.

I looked deeper into the numbers and found that new listings are down 17 percent while sales volume is down only 14 percent. What these numbers indicate is that the market is absorbing inventory at a rate greater than new inventory is coming on the market. The supply of available homes is getting smaller. This helps keep prices stable or rising.

To be fair, values may continue to drop in other places depending on a number of factors. Contact a local real estate professional to find out what's going on in your area.

Mortgage interest rates are at 50 year lows. They may fluctuate slightly but I don't see them trending much lower. The only reason they remain so low today is because the government is buying most of the mortgage paper and holding the rates low. Eventually the government is going to want to push this back into the private sector but the private sector is not going to get back into mortgage backed securities until rates climb.

What does all this mean for Dallas Fort Worth home buyers? Now may be one of the best times to purchase a home. Prices are stable in most areas and we're seeing an upward trend over the past year. Mortgage interest rates are at 50-year lows.

It's time for home buyers in DFW to get off the fence.

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Source: http://www.thebranchteam.com/wordpress/2011/06/04/are-dallas-home-buyers-sitting-on-the-fence/

I did an interview with Mitch Carr on KRLD News on May 31st. With all the news of rapidly decreasing property values across the nation, he wanted to know what the Dallas Fort Worth market was doing.

“Texas likes to buck the trends” I told him. Property values in North Texas are up 3.5 percent and Collin County home values are up 5.4 percent.

Mitch asked the logical follow-up question, “Why?”

There are many reasons. First, Dallas has a stable economy. Second, Dallas never saw the run-up in prices so there was no bubble to burst. We do have our share of distressed properties, but the market is absorbing them at a reasonable rate.

I looked deeper into the local statistics and noted that listings are down 17 percent and home sales are down 14 percent over 2010. That’s also a good sign for housing prices. Fewer listings helps keep inventory down and prices stable.

Know the value of your DFW home.

Search the MLS for North Texas Homes for Sale.

Source: http://www.thebranchteam.com/wordpress/2011/06/01/krld-interview-home-prices-in-north-texas/