Dallas-Fort Worth pre-owned home sales post 2% gain

A local housing market pining for some good news will get a boost from the latest home sales and inventory numbers.

North Texas pre-owned home sales eked out a 2 percent gain in September – the first such increase in over a year.

And while new-home purchases have continued to plunge, the number of vacant new houses on the market is down sharply, the latest industry report shows.

"Yes, the folks in North Texas should feel somewhat better, but the news should be tempered by what's happening – or not happening – in the capital markets," said economist James Gaines of Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center
Still, the improvement in the local home sales numbers "means the market is in better balance with a reasonable inventory and enough activity to keep prices from falling dramatically," Dr. Gaines said.

September's rise comes after a long string of monthly sales declines. The last time monthly home sales in the area were up from the same time the previous year was in January 2007.

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Area Home Sale For 1st Half 2008 - InteractiveMap

Statistics Reveal Housing Market Bottom is Close

How close are we to a bottom in the housing market? If The PMI Group is right, we're closer than you might think. PMI, a mortgage insurance firm, looks at trends in home prices, local wages and employment, and other factors to calculate the likelihood that home prices in a given city will be lower two years from now than they are today. Based on their calculations, about 65% of the nation's housing markets have less than a 10% chance of falling, and 38 of the top 100 have a less than 1% chance.

· In October 2005, near the peak of the boom, the median sales price for a U.S. home reached 7.3 times per capita income; by this May it had fallen to 5.7, in line with historical norms.

· Nationally, the rate of decline in sales is slowing, and in some regions sales numbers have actually perked up. “The indicators are starting to look better,” says Adam York, an economic analyst with Wachovia.

· The national sales figures that get so much attention … are brought down by boom-and-bust markets like Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix. If hard-hit states like California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida are taken out of the statistical mix, the picture is much more promising.

· The government’s sweeping bailout of the financial sector could boost the housing market by making borrowing easier for buyers.

-- “Home Prices: Now for the Good News,” by Brad Reagan and Elizabeth O'Brien, Smart Money Magazine, Oct. 17, 2008.

Best and Worst Bang for the Buck Cities

The economic storm sweeping the country has left Americans with few places to hide.

But those looking to hunker down might want to head to Texas, where they can get the best value for their dollar.

That's because Austin and San Antonio lead our list of places where your money goes farthest. Residents of both enjoy affordable housing and promising prospects for job growth in coming years. Houston and Dallas also land in the top 10, at Nos. 4 and 7, respectively.

"Texas, as a whole, is one of the few economies that's performing extremely well because of the energy and technology sectors," says Andrew Gledhill, an economist at Moody's Economy.com. Plus, he added, military bases in San Antonio have continued to draw a steady steam of personnel and federal employees to the city, spurring widespread job growth.

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Townhomes Market Update for 75001 ZIP code - September

According the last trends for ZIP code 75001 Townhomes/Condo market has declined sharply in September. Inventory on the market has slightly increased but sales has decreased drastically as much as pended transactions. Months of inventory on the market based on closed sales are 16.5, the highest for 15 months.

Inventory on the market - 33

Sold - 2

Pended - 2

Months of Inventory on the Market - 16.5

Avg. Active Price - $249,000

Avg. Sold Price - $246,000

Avg. CDOM - $229,000

Median Price - $246,000

Freddie Mac: Fixed-rate mortgages fall in latest survey

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. fixed-rate mortgages declined in the latest week, according to Freddie Mac's survey released Thursday. The national average interest rate on the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan averaged 6.04% in the week ending Thursday, down from last week's 6.46% and the year-ago 6.33%. The 15-year fixed-rate loan averaged 5.72%, down from the week-ago 6.14% and the year-ago 5.99%. The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 6.06%, compared with 6.14% a week ago and 6.03% a year ago. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.23% this week, up from last week's 5.16% and down from the year-ago 5.66%. "Long-term mortgage rates fell this week amid news of tame inflation and a weaker housing market," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) by Michelle Donley

Focus on foreclosures, liquidity

Under their new government-appointed chief executives, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are focused on reducing foreclosures, improving liquidity in the mortgage market and restructuring aspects of their business, according to a panel discussion of the executives and their government regulator at the Mortgage Bankers Association annual conference here Monday.

They're working with lenders and loan servicers to ensure foreclosures are avoided where possible -- including measures such as lengthening loan terms and reducing interest rates -- Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's chief executives said, and they're also actively working to improve liquidity in the mortgage markets.


The two government-sponsored enterprises were taken over by the government in September, in the first of several government bailouts recently meant to try to halt the spread of the mortgage-fueled credit crisis. Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee almost half of all home loans in the U.S., making the health of the residential real estate market at least in part tied to their well-being.
"This is a very critical time in the economy and certainly in the mortgage markets and we at Fannie Mae are doing all we possibly can," said Herbert Allison, chief executive of Fannie Mae.

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Some home sellers are lenders too

With mortgage money harder to get, sellers provide financing

The concept of owner financing isn't new, though it wasn't as popular when mortgage money was easier and cheaper to come by through traditional lenders. But in today's tough real estate markets, being able to finance the sale of your home can give a seller an edge.

"There are a lot of good buyers out there that can't get loans," said Dawn Rickabaugh, of Rickabaugh Realty, in Pasadena, Calif. "When you eliminate the hurdle of qualifying for a bank loan, you'll double the amount of buyers interested," she said. Rickabaugh also oversees the Web site NoteQueen.com, which focuses on owner financing.

Loans that are most difficult to get -- including jumbo mortgages and financing for commercial properties -- are ripe for seller carry-back scenarios, Rickabaugh said. But it can be done for any property type, and sellers can finance all or part of the loan, she said.
Seller financing can help buyers who may be having trouble getting a loan because they are self-employed or work on commission, for instance. It can also help someone barred from a traditional mortgage due to scarred credit -- if it can be explained, said Dorcas Helfant-Browning, principal broker and CEO of Coldwell Banker Professional, Realtors in Virginia Beach, Va.

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Market Update for 75001 ZIP code - September

The overall housing market in ZIP code 75001 has been slowing down consistently since July. The inventory has decreased, but on the other hand the number of sales and pended transactions has decreased drastically. The months of inventory on the market based on closed sales are 12.3, the longest for 15 months.

• Inventory for Sale - 46
• Sold - 4
• Pended Transactions - 5
• Months of Inventory Based on Closed Sales - 12.3
• Avg. Active Price - $255,000
• Avg. Sold Price - $293,000
• Avg. CDOM - 135
• Median Price - $296,000

U.S. Foreclosure Pace Slows

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 Addison / Far North Dalls - September

Compare with August the housing market in Addison / Far North Dallas area has been slowing down. The inventory on the marked has decreased but the number of sold and pended houses has been decreasing since May. The days of inventory on the market based on closed transactions is 8 months which shows typical buyers market.

• Homes for sale - 509
• Homes sold - 64
• Homes pended - 68
• Months of inventory based on closed sales - 8.0
• Avg. Active Price - $578,000
• Avg. Sold Price - $332,000
• Avg CDOM - 53
• Median Price - $270,000

Pending Home Sales Up Sharply

A little light in the dark. According "Realtor Magazine" pending home sales are up, but I would say the free falling will continue.

Pending home sales activity surged as buyers took advantage of low home prices and affordable interest rates, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in August, jumped 7.4 percent to 93.4 from an upwardly revised reading of 87.0 in July, and is 8.8 percent higher than August 2007 when it stood at 85.8. The index is at the highest level since June 2007 when it stood at 101.4.

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Home prices falling faster in July, Case-Shiller says

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities fell at a faster pace in July, sending home values down a record 16.3% in the past year, according to the Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor's.


July's prices fell 0.9%, an uptick from a 0.5% drop in June, and "may be the beginning of a renewed acceleration in the depreciation of U.S. house prices," said Harm Bandholz, economist for UniCredit Markets.

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