Dallas-Fort Worth home sales rise 11 percent

The North Texas home market took a turn for the better in March.

Sales of pre-owned homes rose 11 percent from March 2009. And condo sales soared by more than 30 percent.

Even more encouraging for the market, median home sales prices increased by 6 percent from a year ago.

The upbeat home market data may signal that the worst of the local housing market downturn is in the rearview mirror. But analysts and economists stress that the spike in sales is partly due to a federal tax credit for homebuyers, which expires at the end of April. That temporary incentive could have artificially inflated sales.

"Certainly, the expanded tax credit ... has been an incentive to buy now," said Dr. Bernard Weinstein, a Southern Methodist University economist. "We may see lower sales in the second quarter as buyers have shifted typical spring buying."

Analysts also point out that the March results are being compared with a period a year ago when housing was at its lowest point. So, the gains are from a low base.

Real estate agents sold 6,036 pre-owned single-family homes in March, according to the latest statistics from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems. It was the strongest single month for sales since last October.

The median price of pre-owned homes sold last month was $144,900. That's the best price since last summer.

And in one peek at the future, the report indicates that the surge is likely to continue, at least for the short term. Pending pre-owned home sales in the North Texas market – which includes 24 counties – were up 22 percent at the end of March.

Read more>