Tax credit fuels skyrocketing Dallas-area preowned home sales

The North Texas housing market came roaring back in November.

Pre-owned home sales rose 31 percent last month from a year ago – one of the biggest increases on record and the second consecutive month of rising sales.

Median home sale prices were up 5 percent, the largest gain in more than two years.

"This is another positive signal that the local housing market may have turned the corner," said D'Ann Petersen, business economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. "It is probably still too soon to declare a rebound, but two months of positive sales certainly suggest improvement."

Throughout North Texas, real estate agents sold almost 5,500 pre-owned homes in November through the Multiple Listing Service, according to statistics released Monday by North Texas Residential Information Systems and the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

The jump in residential transactions came as homebuyers rushed to take advantage of the federal homebuying tax credit, which has been extended into the spring.

"While the tax credit likely played a role in some of the activity, increased sales in areas unaffected by the tax credit suggests buyers are becoming more confident that the worst is behind us," Petersen said. "Home prices have firmed locally and nationally, and that may be spurring buyers to make decisions now, especially given that mortgage rates remain very attractive."

Indeed, many neighborhoods that weren't affected by the federal homebuying incentive saw dramatic spikes in home sales.

In the Park Cities, pre-owned home sales soared 81 percent in November from a year ago. Sales in close-in North Dallas neighborhoods were up by 60 percent.

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