Glimmers Of Hope In Housing, Consumer Confidence

Moderating declines in home sales offered a measure of hope to Wall Street on Tuesday, as did a rise in consumer confidence in August.

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index fell fell 0.5% from May to June, while the 10-city index fell 0.6% over the month. That's a slower pace than the 2.0% to 2.5% monthly drops seen earlier in 2008.
Still, the latest reading offers little hope the slumping housing market will firm up in the near term.

"While there is no national turnaround in residential real estate prices, it is possible that we are seeing some regions struggling to come back, which has resulted in some moderation in price declines at the national level," says David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor's.

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Townhomes Market Update For ZIP Code 75001 - July

Inventory on the market - 39

Sold - 4

Pended - 5

Months of inventory on the market based on closed sales - 9.8

Avg. active price - $259,000

Avg. sold price - $150,000

Median price - $120,000

So according the last trend graph townhouse market is back down compare with the last month. The inventory has increased 11.3% June while sales drooped 307%. 9.8 months of inventory on the market shows that we are in typical depreciating market.

Market update for Addison / Far North Dallas - Julay

According the last trend graphic the housing market in Addison / Far North Dallas area is slowing down consistently since December. The there has been more inventory coming on the market than inventory going off the market.

Inventory On The Market - 809

Sold Inventory - 131

Pended transactions - 108

Months Of Inventory On The Market Based On Closed Sales - 6.2

Avg. Sold Price - $114,000

Avg. Active Price - $260,000

Median Price - $238,000

Market Update for ZIP Code 75001

Trend graph for July:

Inventory on the market - 63

Pended sales - 10

Sales - 10

Months of inventory on the market based on closed sales - 6.3

Median price - $280,000

Investors Fret Over Financials

Financials were falling off of weak economic reports and game-changing plans at a few major U.S. financials both of which pointed to more pain in the pipeline for investors.



Morning trading in the perceived safety of government debt was mixed, as the inflation reading (see "PPI: Pretty Painful Inflation") and disappointing home building figures sent the yield on the 10-year Treasury note up to 3.83%, from 3.82% Monday, and the 2-year note yield fell to 2.30%, from 2.35%. The divergent yields pointed to confidence in long-term stock prospects, but a short-term flee to safety.

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Market update for Addison / Far North Dallas - June

According the last trend graphs for June, the inventory on the market for Addison / Far North Dallas continue to be high, while the sales compare with the same time last year are 10% less. The months of inventory on the market based on closed sales is 5.7, while the same time last year was 4.5.

The situation for Zip code 75001 is the same. The good news for townhomes and condo sellers is that the inventory on the market for the same ZIP code, compare with the same time last year for townhomes and condos, has decreased significantly with 48% while the sales are relatively the same. The inventory on the market based on closed sales is 2.7 vs. 5.2 last year.

Compare with the last month the inventory on the market is the same, while the sales has increased three times and the time of inventory on the market based on closed sales is 2.7 vs. 8.8.

Investor Report: New Housing Bill and Tax Benefits

Foreclosure relief for home owners may be getting all the press on the new housing bill signed into law by the President this Wednesday. But there's plenty of tax-related goodies sprinkled through the bill's nearly 700 pages for sharp-eyed real estate investors.

Start with the low-income housing tax credit program -- the federal government's biggest source of support for affordable rental complexes -- driven mainly by tax shelter offerings.

The bill basically increases the size of the program, at least temporarily, by raising the current state-by-state volume limitations on tax credits. Put another way, the bill expands the number of potential deals supported by credits that developers and investors can do through the year 2009.

What do you think? Will the housing bill help to the housing market?

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