Housing Sector On Shaky Ground

Home improvement retailers are continuing to feel the squeeze in the dismal market. Since the sector doesn't expect a turnaround anytime soon, it has no choice but to take precautions.

Lowe's (nyse: LOW - news - people ), the second largest U.S. home improvement retailer behind Home Depot (nyse: HD - news - people ), announced at an analyst conference Wednesday that it won't be expanding as much next year. The company, which plans to open a total of 120 new stores in 2008, only plans to open another 75 to 85 new stores in 2009 due to the rough conditions affecting the housing market.

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Market Conditions

According "Realty times" article, the existing home sales are down. The latest report from the National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing-home sales were down in month of August by 2.2 percent.

The reason for this slight stall? NAR President Richard F. Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif., said the pendulum in the mortgage market has swung too far. "The difficulty in obtaining a mortgage increased over past couple months, making it more challenging for creditworthy borrowers to find financing," he said. "Our hope is that overly tight lending criteria can be loosened with reasonable standards and credit so that sales activity can catch up with demand.

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Now May Be the Best Time for First Time Homebuyers

“If you've been watching for the fleeting, best time to buy a home, this fall may be it, especially if you're a first-timer. There are signs that things are starting to stabilize. Pair that with limited-time-only offers from the government, and this fall's market looks awfully tempting for buyers.

• The Federal Housing Administration recently boosted its loan limits to $729,750 in expensive areas such as Washington, but it's going to take some of that back come Jan. 1, when the loan limit will shrink to $625,500. If you're going to need a FHA mortgage from $625,500 to $729,750, start touring homes now, and make sure to close by the end of the year.
  
• Keep an eye on the expiration date for the new tax credit of up to $7,500 for first-time home buyers. It requires that you close on the home no later than June 30, 2009. That may seem like a long way off, but it will loom larger come spring, traditionally the busiest time for real estate sales.”
  

-- “Plenty to Coax Home Buyers Back To the Market,” by Elizabeth Razzi , Washington Post, Sept. 7, 2008 .

Townhomes Markt Update for ZIP Code 75001

Inventory on the market - 31

Sold - 7

Pended - 6

Months of inventory on the market based on closed sales - 4.4

Avg. sold price - $225,000

Median price -$245,000

Click on the graph to enlarge it

According the statistics above the Condos/Townhomes market on August has improved compare with the last month. The months of inventory based on closed sales are 4.4 vs. 9.8 in August, which is a typical for a buyers market. There were more inventories sold than inventory came on the market which drove the Avg. sold price ($150,000 vs. $225,000 in August) and Median price ($120,000 vs. $245,000 in August).

Townhomes Market Update for Addison / Far North Dallas - August

Townhomes Market Update for Addison/Far North Dallas.

Inventory on the Market - 241

Sold - 36

Pended - 19

Months of Inventory on the Market Based on Close Sales - 5.7

Avg. Sold Price - $183,000

Median Price - $152,000

Click on the graph to enlarg it

Market update for Addison / Far North Dallas - August

Last trends for Far North Dallas/Addison including single family homes and Townhouse.

Inventory on the market - 789

Sold - 116

Pended - 81

Months of inventory on the market based on closed sales - 6.8

Avg. sold price - $270,000

Median price - $241,000

Click on the graph to enlarg it

U.S. Foreclosure Pace Slows

August rate declines, possibly presaging an end to the housing crisis.


The subprime mortgage crisis seemed to ebb a bit on Main Street America as foreclosures ebbed a bit in part due to efforts made by state governments and lenders.

On Friday, real estate data firm RealtyTrac reported Friday that the number of Americans in some stage of foreclosure increased by 12.0% in August from July and 27.0% from a year earlier. Though the firm said that 1 in every 416 U.S. homeowners are on the verge of losing their abodes, the year-over-year increase was was actually substantially lower than in previous months, when it was hovering around 50-65%.

“Over the past few months, we’ve seen annual increases in default activity and auction activity moderating, and that trend continued in August, with default activity up just 10.0% from a year ago and auction activity up 7.0% from a year ago,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac.

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Market Update for Dallas County - August

Inventory on the market - 13692

Sold - 1883

Pended - 1793

Months of inventory on the market based on closed sales - 7.3

Avg. sold price - $223,000

Avg. CDOM - 79

Median price - $127,000

Click on the graph to enlarge it.

Is It Realy Real Estate Market Bouncing

According the Realty Times article in Real Estate Outlook: Positive Trends In Housing Studies the housing market has positive tendency.

Increased sales for new construction and resale and that are good. Is that the only measure for improving market? They also mentioned that the prices, because of the foreclosures are going down, but is that the only bad think? I did not see what inventory is coming on the market. If the inventory is coming on the market faster than the inventory going of the market I would not say that the market is improving.

The falling of the price is not caused from the foreclosures only, but it comes from a lot of the inventory out. The simple law of the economics, demand vs. supply. Moreover I haven’t seen the months of inventory on the market based on closed sales, not on pended.