By now we’ve all heard buzz about the supposed “credit crisis,” with tales of all Dallas real estate buyers being required to put 20% to purchase a home and then still having to search to find a lender who will write a loan. It seems the press just can’t get enough of all the “misery” in the Dallas real estate industry. But is this really what is happening?

To be sure, we are in the middle of what might be considered the biggest disservice ever perpetrated on potential home buyers. The truth is that mortgage money is as available today as it was a year ago and loans are being made every day with little or no money down. Who are these lenders and where can you find one? They may be right down the street - you just have to know where to look!

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans are making a huge impact on the mortgage industry; recent estimates show that about one out of five mortgages is an FHA loan. Although FHA loans never “went away,” their re-emergence is a result of the collapse of the sub-prime market. Technically, FHA doesn’t require a minimum credit score; in reality, however, lenders typically will not approve an FHA loan with a credit score below 500 in Dallas Texas. That is still a far cry from the notion that an 800 score is the only thing lenders care about.
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As an important follow up to my last post, I wanted to point out how strong the Dallas real estate market really is. My last post, “Dallas Home Prices Fall 4 Percent” covered the recent news from a broad view. The fact is, the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex is made up of a lot of smaller cities like Frisco, Plano, Keller and Grapevine to name just a few. Not every city saw a decrease in home prices, in fact many saw a healthy increase in home prices.

Forbes Magazine recently examined the country’s 50 largest metro areas to identify the “economically healthiest cities” and Dallas-Forth Worth, San Antonio, Austin and Houston ALL made the top 10 list. These top 10 cities are areas that Forbes considers practically “recession-proof”. The magazine studied unemployment, job-growth, home price data and metropolitan product growth. (Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey 04/29/2008)

So while there is a slight dip in home prices, the economy is still strong and what better time to buy a new home than now? If you were a stock market pro and a home was a stock, then this would be a no-brainer. You’re buying a stock from a company that is strong and is facing continued growth. The stock price is low so now is the time to strike… okay, so that was cheesy but I think my point is clear.
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Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index, published Tuesday, reports Dallas home prices fell 4 percent in February. The slowdown in the Dallas real estate market pales in comparison to national figures where home prices averaged a decline more than 12.5 percent compared to last year. The index shows that 17 of the 20 major housing markets had record annual price declines in the period ending with February, with Las Vegas showing the largest decline. Charlotte, N.C., was the only city in Case-Shiller’s report with home price gains, though modest ones.

On a higher note, the Dallas-area had the third-lowest annual decline, behind Portland, Ore., down 2 percent, and Seattle, off 2.7 percent. Case-Shiller tracks the prices of typical single-family homes in each of the metropolitan areas and does not include condominiums and townhouses or new construction.

Dallas Fort Worth did see a few modest gains in home prices however. Collin County as a whole saw an increase in both February and March.

Remember, Dallas home price dips remain modest. If the downturn was huge then there would be a reason to fret but don’t! The boom of 2003 – 2005 caused Dallas home buyers and investors to look at real estate as a short term investment. The buy and flip mentality was prevalent and worked for a few years. But times have changed and we need to adjust our thinking, going back to long term expectations. Even with blips and occasional declines, historically home prices have appreciated. If you buy into the theory to buy low and sell high, now is definitely a good time to buy.
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It’s fun to be able to sit back and watch trends as they change in Dallas Texas. An observant Realtor in Dallas Fort Worth has a prime vantage point since we are constantly showing new and old homes as we work with home buyers.

For a number of years, new home builders in Dallas and home buyers were supersizing their new homes. Terms like McMansion became the descriptive for that newest trend. Bigger was better and more meant status. Now however the trend is changing with both Dallas home builders and home buyers. The new trend across the Dallas Metroplex is smaller homes with more efficient use of space. Forget the formals that are only used once per year.

It seems the negative headlines have done a good job in scaring sensibility into home buyers. The housing market in Dallas is not bad, in fact it’s very good but you’d never know that by reading the newspaper headlines. Regardless, home buyers decided not to stop buying but instead buy more frugally. Smaller homes cost less to buy and less to maintain. As an added bonus, Dallas will be a little greener.
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There is much doom and gloom reported about the real estate market these days. The media makes it hard to decipher whether the doom and gloom is local or elsewhere. No, I wont get up on my soap box this time though I am very tempted. If you are thinking about buying a Dallas Fort Worth home, it is difficult to know if the time is right. There are many factors that go into a buyers decision to buy. The Dallas real estate market is NOT like the rest of the US. Here’s a list that will help you to make that decision.

Ten Top Reasons To Buy A Dallas Fort Worth Home Now

1. Plenty of home inventory to chose from.
2. No bidding wars on homes in Dallas.
3. Home sellers are welcoming offers.
4. No pressure to make really quick decisions.
5. Home inspections are welcomed. Home sellers and REALTORS® expect you to be cautious.
6. Lots of brand new homes with incredible incentives being offered by home builders.
7. You can actually negotiate with home sellers for repairs and help on closing costs.
8. No real estate investors pushing prices up.
9. Good, reliable FHA loans. No funny financing!
10. Real estate continues to be an excellent long term investment in Dallas.

According to a study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 60 percent of a homeowner’s wealth is from the equity they have built in their home. A Federal Reserve study has shown that the average homeowner’s net worth is 46 times the net worth of the average renter.
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Every day, we receive over a dozen requests for a free house value report for homes across Dallas Fort Worth (strangely enough, a large percentage are for house values in Frisco and Keller Texas… does that mean something? huh). The vast majority of the house value requests are for home owners thinking about selling their home. They want to see what their Dallas Home would potentially sell for compared to what they own it for. Did you know that this is only one of many examples of how a free house value report or comparative market analysis (aka CMA) can be used?

Here Are 5 Ways To Use a Dallas House Value Report aka CMA

1. Selling Your Dallas Home- The first and most obvious way to use the free comparative market analysis that you receive from Texas Home Central is to compare your home against other homes that have sold in your neighborhood. I wont go into too much detail here since this one is pretty obvious. What I would like to add here is that an “automated CMA” is not enough to give you a clear picture of what your home will sell for. Sometimes you will get a false sense of value and be too high or too low by thousands of dollars. Price too high and people will not bother looking at your home, too low and people will think something is wrong with your home and try to negotiate you even lower or again, not even visit. It’s imperative that a professional that knows the real estate market take the time to do a deeper analysis, comparing more that just bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage. A good agent will also compare lot size and location, upgrades, home features as well as what other homes have that your home may not have. (more…)
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When you talk about the housing market, one thing that you have to take into account is the “months of supply”. In other words, the number of homes for sale and the rate at which they sell giving you the number of months of housing inventory. One of the reasons that the Dallas Housing market has faired so well in avoiding declines in prices is due to keeping our home inventory levels low.

Dallas has close to a 6 month supply which is excellent compared to the national average of 11 months. Areas like Florida have inventories as high as 30 months which makes it easy to understand why prices have dropped so low. Dallas real estate has weathered the storm and continues to show its strength.

If you wonder whether now is a good time to buy then answer is a resounding yes. Prices will only get higher if you wait to buy a home. Please feel free to call us at 800-326-9011 so we can help you find your dream home and negotiate the best price on your behalf. You may also email us by clicking here.

Visit Real Estate Center at Texas A&M online for more excellent resources and information about the Texas Real Estate and Housing Market!

According to CNNMoney, more people moved to the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex than to any other metropolitan area in the United States last year. The population here increased by 162,250 between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report. Atlanta, Phoenix and Houston also saw their ranks swell by more than 100,000 people each.

Eight out of the top ten fastest growing metro areas were located in the South, and the South also accounted for more than half of the 50 fastest growing regions.

The Sunbelt is the fastest growing part of the country because in large part thanks to its lower cost of living - from housing and groceries to taxes. The region has been one of the fastest-growing for years now, and in the words of William Frey, a leading demographer, “growth breeds more growth.” As more people move to an area, there is increasing demand for goods and services, which creates more jobs. More jobs means more homebuyers. More homebuyers moving into an already increasing housing market means the potential for a stimulated Dallas real estate economy. Here in Flower Mound we are fortunate that the drops in value that are happening on both coasts are not happening here. That is not to say our market is not slowed slightly but a boost to even a flat market could mean a banner year for real estate and mortgages in the Dallas Fort Worth area!

Craig Pollard is a mortgage professional and owner of Texas Mortgage Team. He specializes in the Dallas Fort Worth area and is a frequent voice on Texas Home Central’s blog. Craig can be reached at 972-317-9900 or emailed by clicking here.

According to statistics from Dallas-based Residential Strategies, the top 10 home builder in volume cut new home construction in the Dallas area by 40% compared to 2006 new home construction numbers. A lot of people are reporting this as a really bad thing and yes, there were a lot of people negatively affected by this reduction. A lot of these new home builders not only cut new home construction but also cut personnel.

Truth be told, home builders got themselves into that position. Apparently, for the sake of growth and competition, they conveniently forgot about measured growth and how flooding the market with new homes will affect mortgages, resale homes and foreclosure rates. Now, I am NOT saying all of the problems in our current economy are the fault of builders. I am merely saying they didn’t help any… or rather, they did help but not in a good way.

Believe it or not, those cuts, however harsh were necessary in leveling out our housing market. By cutting starts, new home inventory has a chance to get back to normal levels allowing for the following GOOD things happen:
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If your Dallas home has been on the market for a while and you are having trouble selling it, you may want to consider a lease-to-own option. Lease-to-own can help sell your Dallas home during a slow housing market or when you need a little more money than the market will support. This is a good option for a few areas in Dallas Fort Worth where you are competing with new construction.

In short, here’s how a lease-to-own agreement works:

• First, a home seller agrees to lease their home to an interested home buyer for an agreed upon period of time, usually one year but can be as long as three years. At the end of the lease period, the buyer has the option to purchase the home at the preset selling price.
• A small portion of the rent payment received during the lease period is usually counted toward the down payment on the home. In order to cover that down payment, the home seller would charge a monthly premium of a few hundred dollars compared to comparable rentals (e.g., if a comparable property rents for $1,100 per month, you would set the monthly lease payment at $1,300).
• Many home owners also charge an option fee for taking the property off the market, typically 1% to 2% of the sales price. This can be applied toward the down payment as well.

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