Executive Home Prices in Dallas versus Houston adn San Antonio
January 1st, 2010
Coldwell Banker has been producing its annual home price comparison index since the 1980s. It specifically tracks the comparative price of a 2200 square-foot, single family home with 4 beds, 2 ½ baths, a family room and a 2-car garage in a neighborhood suitable for corporate middle management. At $332,375, such homes in Dallas are the highest in Texas, and are up $6000 on last year’s figures.
Coldwell Banker found the nationwide average price for this type of home would be $363,401, considerably higher than the Dallas average price. In the same survey, by comparison this same type of house would cost $248,960 in San Antonio, $226,500 in Austin, $159,847 in Houston and just $153,450 in Fort Worth.
Other surveys fail to show this huge disparity between Dallas and other Texas cities because Coldwell Banker only uses a narrow range of home listings in specific neighborhoods which would appeal to corporate executives. No-one disputes the fact that you can get a very nice home in the present market for less than $300,000.
Tags: Home Prices, trends
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Dallas Credit Restrictions Limit New Home-Building
November 9th, 2009
Surprising news on the new-home front is that over the last three years Dallas-Fort Worth builders have sold more homes than they have constructed and inventory of brand new homes is at all all-time low. During the last two years builders in North Texas have sold 13,000 more houses than they have started building. Current inventory is below 5,000 new homes, an estimated three-month supply. Unlike other states, Dallas never had a real over-supply of new homes, an economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University reported.
Award-winning homebuilder, Bill Darling, reports it is difficult for his company Darling Homes to start building due to the tight credit restraints and Tim Jackson, President of the Home Builders Association in Greater Dallas, predicts that new house prices will rise next year unless more homes are started. Builder D.R.Horton Inc has started 844 houses in the third quarter of 2009 but building is not likely to pick up until a couple of quarters after the official bottom in the annual start rate. Builders hope that will be in early 2010.
Tags: builders, new homes, trends
Posted in Market Trends and News | 2 Comments »
Home Insurance Rates in Dallas May be Linked to Credit Ratings
October 30th, 2009
A Dallas Morning News analysis on rates charged for home insurance revealed dramatic increases in the premiums paid by homeowners who have low credit ratings. For those hard hit by the recession, this can be the final straw. Among top home insurers, 19 of the 26 largest companies admit they charge higher rates for those with low credit scores and they can be loaded by as much as 2 1/2 times!
The state’s three largest insurers, State Farm, Allstate and Farmers, all rely on credit information to determine individual premiums. The use of credit scores in this way is perfectly legal and the insurance industry maintains it is necessary to make sure that those who pose a bigger risk pay higher premiums. Meanwhile, consumer groups and civil rights advocates argue that low-income families are penalized because of a single factor which has little to do with homeowner insurance. It is hard to see how credit can affect the likelihood of a home being hit by a hail storm. A spokesman for Texas Watch, commenting on this trend, noted that credit card companies have reduced the credit limits for many good customers, thereby increasing the ratio of their credit card debt compared to their limit. The higher the ratio of debt, the lower a person’s credit score – and the more they pay for insurance.
Tags: insurance
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Tough new appraisal laws in Texas
October 15th, 2009
At what should be a great time to buy a home, a new hurdle has been introduced – the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. From May 1 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, now semi-government institutions, cannot provide funds for mortgage loans through their chosen channels unless the appraisal complies with new guidelines which prohibit brokers from ordering appraisals directly from a licensed real estate appraiser. Lenders are now required to use a third-party appraisal management company.
One of the problems created by this new regulation arises when a loan officer improperly qualifies a buyer or runs into a new underwriting rule that declines their loan. Where previously the loan could be repackaged and sent on to a new source, appraisals now belong to the lending source and cannot be passed on. Therefore a second appraisal must be ordered and paid for by the buyer, and if that is declined, a third.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Laws | 1 Comment »
A Great Time to Purchased a home in Dallas
October 15th, 2009
Although buyers have been markedly absent from the Dallas real estate market in the earlier part of 2009, now is a great time to buy. The reason things have changed is that now buyers can finally buy. Realtors are much more able to negotiate with weary sellers for a decent home deal and mortgage funds are more readily available. Steady appreciation from the current rock-bottom prices has caused many homeowners to receive multiple offers after months of little or no real interest from buyers. This has resulted in a 6% increase in median home prices in Dallas, from $180,500 last year to $192,200 in August 2009. The #1 rule for investors is to buy when prices are low and sell when they are high. Search for Dallas home or condo and be prepared to act quickly.
Tags: trends
Posted in Market Trends and News | No Comments »
DTRE Blog now running on Word Press!
October 1st, 2009
While this blog may not look any different, we have completely upgraded what’s under the hood. Leverging the Word Press platform means that we can integrate new functionality like automatically finding similiar posts and will also help us ping the various feed readers.
Welcome to DTRE 2.0.
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
