Saturday, May 8, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT EXPIRING SOON!! TIME TO BUY!!
Homebuyer Tax Credit Expiring Soon
March 4, 2010
Potential home buyers still have time to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time home buyer, or the $6,500 repeat buyer tax credits, as long as they act quickly. The credits expire on April 30, 2010.
“It’s not too late to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit,” said National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Chairman Bob Jones, a builder and developer in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “There are plenty of existing homes on the market, and even though the move-in ready newly constructed homes inventory has dwindled, builders may still be able finish a home in time.”
The IRS provides an additional two months beyond the deadline to close the deal. Buyers who sign a sales contract by the April 30 deadline are still eligible if they close the sale of the home by June 30, 2010.
More people than ever before are eligible for a home buyer tax credit, NAHB estimates that close to 70% of all potential buyers should qualify for some form of a credit.
“First-time” buyers don’t have to be buying their first home ever; they are defined by the IRS as those who have not owned a principal residence in the past three years. Repeat buyers may be eligible for a new $6,500 credit, as long as they have owned and lived in their current home at least five consecutive out of the past eight years.
The current credits also increase the income limits, enabling single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples earning up to $225,000 to potentially qualify for a full credit.
“If you’ve been considering buying a home for any reason, the home buyer tax credit, in addition to historically low interest rates and competitive home prices, make it an ideal time to buy,” said Jones.
March 4, 2010
Potential home buyers still have time to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time home buyer, or the $6,500 repeat buyer tax credits, as long as they act quickly. The credits expire on April 30, 2010.
“It’s not too late to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit,” said National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Chairman Bob Jones, a builder and developer in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “There are plenty of existing homes on the market, and even though the move-in ready newly constructed homes inventory has dwindled, builders may still be able finish a home in time.”
The IRS provides an additional two months beyond the deadline to close the deal. Buyers who sign a sales contract by the April 30 deadline are still eligible if they close the sale of the home by June 30, 2010.
More people than ever before are eligible for a home buyer tax credit, NAHB estimates that close to 70% of all potential buyers should qualify for some form of a credit.
“First-time” buyers don’t have to be buying their first home ever; they are defined by the IRS as those who have not owned a principal residence in the past three years. Repeat buyers may be eligible for a new $6,500 credit, as long as they have owned and lived in their current home at least five consecutive out of the past eight years.
The current credits also increase the income limits, enabling single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples earning up to $225,000 to potentially qualify for a full credit.
“If you’ve been considering buying a home for any reason, the home buyer tax credit, in addition to historically low interest rates and competitive home prices, make it an ideal time to buy,” said Jones.
January brought job gains to Texas, but strong recovery may take more time | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Dallas Business News
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Gov't extends deadline for refinance program
By ALAN ZIBEL
AP Real Estate Writer
Latest News
Gov't extends deadline for refinance program
Lawmakers question Obama loan help effort
Rates on 30-year home loans rise to 5.05 pct
UK mortgage loans at 8 1/2 year low in January
Mortgage delinquencies tick higher in 4th-qtr 2009
Buy AP Photo Reprints
Your Questions Answered
Ask AP: Plane-bird collisions, health care reform
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is giving homeowners another year to refinance their loans under a little-used program designed to help borrowers whose homes have plummeted in value.
The Obama administration effort, known as Home Affordable Refinance Program, had been scheduled to end on June 10 but will now run out on June 30, 2011, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Monday.
The program allows borrowers who owe up to 25 percent more than their homes are worth to refinance to lower interest rates.
It was originally projected to help 4 million to 5 million homeowners with loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. So far, it has helped around 220,000, according to the Treasury Department.
© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
AP Real Estate Writer
Latest News
Gov't extends deadline for refinance program
Lawmakers question Obama loan help effort
Rates on 30-year home loans rise to 5.05 pct
UK mortgage loans at 8 1/2 year low in January
Mortgage delinquencies tick higher in 4th-qtr 2009
Buy AP Photo Reprints
Your Questions Answered
Ask AP: Plane-bird collisions, health care reform
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is giving homeowners another year to refinance their loans under a little-used program designed to help borrowers whose homes have plummeted in value.
The Obama administration effort, known as Home Affordable Refinance Program, had been scheduled to end on June 10 but will now run out on June 30, 2011, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Monday.
The program allows borrowers who owe up to 25 percent more than their homes are worth to refinance to lower interest rates.
It was originally projected to help 4 million to 5 million homeowners with loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. So far, it has helped around 220,000, according to the Treasury Department.
© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
Federal report says that D-FW home prices were up last year
Federal report says that D-FW home prices were up last year
11:04 AM CST on Thursday, February 25, 2010
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Prices of homes purchased in the Dallas area rose by a smidgen in 2009, according to a federal report released Thursday.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency said that Dallas area home sale prices were up 0.43 percent at the end of last year compared with a year earlier. Nationwide, prices were down 1.2 percent in the same period.
Unlike other home price comparisons, the federal housing study only looks at home purchases financed with mortgages held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – the big government-owned loan investors.
Dallas was one of three top 10 U.S. metro areas that had home price gains in 2009, according to the federal index.
Washington, D.C., had the biggest price increase at 10.55 percent, followed by a 3.71 percent increase in Houston.
Among major cities, the biggest price declines last year were in Miami, down 12.86 percent, and Phoenix, down 12.03 percent, according to the FHFA.
The quarterly federal housing index is different from the recently released Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which tracks the values of actual houses over time. The Case-Shiller index does not look at new home prices, which are included in the federal price measure.
Case-Shiller said that Dallas-area home prices were up 3 percent at the end of 2009 compared to a year earlier.
Dallas home prices are up about 12 percent during the last five years, the FHFA report said. And since 1991, overall home prices here have risen by more than 74 percent.
The country’s 10 largest home markets averaged a 3.7 percent price drop since 2004, according to the federal index But since 1991, home prices in the top 10 U.S. metro areas are up an average of 96 percent.
Top 10 U.S. home markets
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tracked price changes in major markets based on loans they hold.
City One-year change Five-year change Since '91
New York -2.47% 4.15% 149.58%
Los Angeles -0.04% -14.89% 81.99%
Chicago -8.41% -8.21% 88.95%
Houston 3.71% 21.63% 103.49%
Atlanta -2.63% -7.86% 66.08%
Washington, D.C. 10.55% -2.37% 130%
Phoenix -12.03% -16.5% 94.2%
Riverside, Calf. -5.69% -37.18% 37.86%
Dallas 0.43% 12.04% 74.43%
Philadelphia -0.66% 12.54% 115.37%
SOURCE: Federal Housing Finance Agency
11:04 AM CST on Thursday, February 25, 2010
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Prices of homes purchased in the Dallas area rose by a smidgen in 2009, according to a federal report released Thursday.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency said that Dallas area home sale prices were up 0.43 percent at the end of last year compared with a year earlier. Nationwide, prices were down 1.2 percent in the same period.
Unlike other home price comparisons, the federal housing study only looks at home purchases financed with mortgages held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – the big government-owned loan investors.
Dallas was one of three top 10 U.S. metro areas that had home price gains in 2009, according to the federal index.
Washington, D.C., had the biggest price increase at 10.55 percent, followed by a 3.71 percent increase in Houston.
Among major cities, the biggest price declines last year were in Miami, down 12.86 percent, and Phoenix, down 12.03 percent, according to the FHFA.
The quarterly federal housing index is different from the recently released Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which tracks the values of actual houses over time. The Case-Shiller index does not look at new home prices, which are included in the federal price measure.
Case-Shiller said that Dallas-area home prices were up 3 percent at the end of 2009 compared to a year earlier.
Dallas home prices are up about 12 percent during the last five years, the FHFA report said. And since 1991, overall home prices here have risen by more than 74 percent.
The country’s 10 largest home markets averaged a 3.7 percent price drop since 2004, according to the federal index But since 1991, home prices in the top 10 U.S. metro areas are up an average of 96 percent.
Top 10 U.S. home markets
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tracked price changes in major markets based on loans they hold.
City One-year change Five-year change Since '91
New York -2.47% 4.15% 149.58%
Los Angeles -0.04% -14.89% 81.99%
Chicago -8.41% -8.21% 88.95%
Houston 3.71% 21.63% 103.49%
Atlanta -2.63% -7.86% 66.08%
Washington, D.C. 10.55% -2.37% 130%
Phoenix -12.03% -16.5% 94.2%
Riverside, Calf. -5.69% -37.18% 37.86%
Dallas 0.43% 12.04% 74.43%
Philadelphia -0.66% 12.54% 115.37%
SOURCE: Federal Housing Finance Agency
How Do You Know If It’s Time To Buy?
How Do You Know If It’s Time To Buy?
March 2nd, 2010, 7:00 am
It’s still a buyer’s market, but you may be wondering if that means that now is the right time for you to start househunting. Will home prices drop even more? Perhaps speaking to your trusted REALTOR® will help? Will they have more information than you do?
Robin Jones blogs about factors you might want to consider when it comes to trying to figure out the real estate market.
“Even real estate experts can’t guarantee what the market may or may not do next week, next month, or next year. So, if they can’t tell you for sure what to expect, what makes you think you can outsmart the real estate market?
It’s like Vegas. The longer you wait, the more you might win, but eventually you have to quit while you’re ahead or the House wins. Pun intended!”
The end result is, there is really no way for anyone to know which way the market will turn. Just be sure you have as much information as possible, so you will be able to determine when you are ready to start househunting.
REALTOR.COM
March 2nd, 2010, 7:00 am
It’s still a buyer’s market, but you may be wondering if that means that now is the right time for you to start househunting. Will home prices drop even more? Perhaps speaking to your trusted REALTOR® will help? Will they have more information than you do?
Robin Jones blogs about factors you might want to consider when it comes to trying to figure out the real estate market.
“Even real estate experts can’t guarantee what the market may or may not do next week, next month, or next year. So, if they can’t tell you for sure what to expect, what makes you think you can outsmart the real estate market?
It’s like Vegas. The longer you wait, the more you might win, but eventually you have to quit while you’re ahead or the House wins. Pun intended!”
The end result is, there is really no way for anyone to know which way the market will turn. Just be sure you have as much information as possible, so you will be able to determine when you are ready to start househunting.
REALTOR.COM
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Kim Raine North Dallas Realtor Quote 2/11/2010
The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it. Jean Paul
Dallas-Fort Worth home prices edge higher
Dallas-Fort Worth home prices edge higher
07:13 AM CST on Wednesday, February 10, 2010
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com
North Texas home prices inched higher in January.
Also Online
Real estate tips for 2010
How to fight foreclosure
Map: Dallas-area pre-owned home sales and prices
Link: Making Home Affordable
Blog: Economy
Median pre-owned home prices were up 1 percent last month from a year earlier.
But the number of pre-owned homes sold in the area fell by 6 percent, the second consecutive decline in the monthly sales figures.
Real estate agents sold 3,360 homes through the Multiple Listing Service, according to statistics from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems Inc. And 172 condominium sales were recorded – 2 percent more than in January 2009.
About 33,500 homes were listed for sale in North Texas last month.
That's 10 percent fewer than a year ago.
There's just less than a six-month supply of homes listed for sale in North Texas. Six months is considered a balanced market.
D-FW AREA HOME RESALES UPDATE
Comparisons of January pre-owned home sales and prices in North Texas with year-earlier statistics:
Single-family home resales 3,330 -6 percent
Median price $130,000 1 percent
Average days on market 84 -2 percent
Pending sales 4,369 No change
Listed for sale 33,569 -10 percent
Condo-townhome resales 172 2 percent
Median price $127,520 6 percent
Average days on market 96 -16 percent
Pending sales 235 3 percent
Listed for sale 3,556 -6 percent
07:13 AM CST on Wednesday, February 10, 2010
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com
North Texas home prices inched higher in January.
Also Online
Real estate tips for 2010
How to fight foreclosure
Map: Dallas-area pre-owned home sales and prices
Link: Making Home Affordable
Blog: Economy
Median pre-owned home prices were up 1 percent last month from a year earlier.
But the number of pre-owned homes sold in the area fell by 6 percent, the second consecutive decline in the monthly sales figures.
Real estate agents sold 3,360 homes through the Multiple Listing Service, according to statistics from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems Inc. And 172 condominium sales were recorded – 2 percent more than in January 2009.
About 33,500 homes were listed for sale in North Texas last month.
That's 10 percent fewer than a year ago.
There's just less than a six-month supply of homes listed for sale in North Texas. Six months is considered a balanced market.
D-FW AREA HOME RESALES UPDATE
Comparisons of January pre-owned home sales and prices in North Texas with year-earlier statistics:
Single-family home resales 3,330 -6 percent
Median price $130,000 1 percent
Average days on market 84 -2 percent
Pending sales 4,369 No change
Listed for sale 33,569 -10 percent
Condo-townhome resales 172 2 percent
Median price $127,520 6 percent
Average days on market 96 -16 percent
Pending sales 235 3 percent
Listed for sale 3,556 -6 percent
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Kim Raine North Dallas Realtor Quote 1/28/2010
Live out of your imagination, not your history. Stephen Covey
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Recession Divorce. What are our options?
A recession divorce: No one wants the house
With the housing market still struggling, one of a couple's biggest assets can be a liability if they're breaking up. Should they stay together for the sake of the house?
MSN
By SmartMoney
A recession is a bad time to get divorced -- especially if your home has sunk in value along with the rest of the housing market.
Last year, the divorce rate in the U.S. fell 4% after rising 7% in 2007, according to a report released recently by the National Marriage Project. Although the news might cheer family advocates, it suggests something else to project director W. Bradford Wilcox: that couples with depreciated home values might be waiting to split until the market rebounds.
Compare refinancing offers
For most people, a house and their 401k accounts are their biggest assets. Right now, home values are down substantially from 18 months ago. In fact, according to Moody's Economy.com, 31.8% of owners with a first mortgage are "underwater" -- that is, their homes are valued at less than what's owed on the mortgages. That means couples who decide to get divorced -- and not live separate but together under one roof, an approach many have resorted to -- are splitting liabilities instead of assets.
"It used to be that couples fought over the house because of continuity and stability for the children," says Fadi Baradihi, the president of the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts. "That's not happening anymore. Now everybody wants to run from it."
But when a property has lost significant value, running isn't so easy.
When it comes to the dilemma of selling or keeping the family home, one issue is whether either spouse could actually qualify and refinance the home as a single, one-income household. With negative equity so prevalent today, it's virtually impossible to get refinancing, says Leslie Thompson, a certified financial planner and partner at Spectrum Management Group in Indianapolis.
More from MSN Money and SmartMoney
How to leave your husband
Consider an energy-efficient mortgage
Calculator: How much equity do you have?
New rules help borrowers at closing
Are you the reason your home won't sell?
Energy-saving tips for renters
If the couple isn't selling the house, the spouse who is staying has to refinance the mortgage -- that's the only way the bank will let the other go, says Richard Iglar, an attorney with Skoloff & Wolfe, a Livingston, N.J., law firm that focuses on matrimonial and real-estate law.
Otherwise, the departing spouse is equally liable for the entire mortgage, and, if the spouse who is in the house misses a mortgage payment, the other is liable to pay but has no claim to any equity in the house. But when there's negative equity, it's pretty much impossible to refinance.
"It doesn't make sense for the bank to make the loan," Iglar says.
That doesn't leave a divorcing couple with many good options. Here are a few to consider:
Wait it out
In this scenario, the couple continue joint ownership with an agreement to defer the sale of the house. They can agree to sell the house in, say, four years or when their children finish high school in the hope that home values will rise, Iglar says. Under this arrangement, one spouse usually moves out.
Who should get the house?
One thing to watch out for: If both spouses are on the mortgage, the one who moves out probably won't be able to get another mortgage should he or she want to buy another home. "The bank doesn't want to loan him money because he owes money on the first mortgage. His assets are tied up," Iglar says.
The spouse who left could go into a rental, and when the couple ultimately sold the house, that spouse would get half the proceeds at the time of sale. If the other spouse had been making the mortgage payments, he or she should get credit for the amount of the principal paid down over the four years, Iglar says.
Rent out the house
"We see more people renting the house to buy themselves some time" until the market recovers, Baradihi says. In this arrangement, both spouses move out of the home and rent the house to someone else.
They're more likely to pay less for a rental than what they had been paying on the monthly mortgage.
Experts answer money questions
Go to TODAY
A big caveat here: This setup makes it difficult for either spouse to buy another house and move on.
It forces them to be in transition for a long time, "and they're still in a financial relationship with the ex-spouse," says Thompson, of Spectrum Management.
Consider a short sale
Often, it's just best to sell the house, accept the loss and move on, Thompson says. The couple could negotiate with their lender to pay the difference between the sale price and the amount they owed or a lesser amount -- in which case they would have to determine how the debt would be paid.
With the housing market still struggling, one of a couple's biggest assets can be a liability if they're breaking up. Should they stay together for the sake of the house?
MSN
By SmartMoney
A recession is a bad time to get divorced -- especially if your home has sunk in value along with the rest of the housing market.
Last year, the divorce rate in the U.S. fell 4% after rising 7% in 2007, according to a report released recently by the National Marriage Project. Although the news might cheer family advocates, it suggests something else to project director W. Bradford Wilcox: that couples with depreciated home values might be waiting to split until the market rebounds.
Compare refinancing offers
For most people, a house and their 401k accounts are their biggest assets. Right now, home values are down substantially from 18 months ago. In fact, according to Moody's Economy.com, 31.8% of owners with a first mortgage are "underwater" -- that is, their homes are valued at less than what's owed on the mortgages. That means couples who decide to get divorced -- and not live separate but together under one roof, an approach many have resorted to -- are splitting liabilities instead of assets.
"It used to be that couples fought over the house because of continuity and stability for the children," says Fadi Baradihi, the president of the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts. "That's not happening anymore. Now everybody wants to run from it."
But when a property has lost significant value, running isn't so easy.
When it comes to the dilemma of selling or keeping the family home, one issue is whether either spouse could actually qualify and refinance the home as a single, one-income household. With negative equity so prevalent today, it's virtually impossible to get refinancing, says Leslie Thompson, a certified financial planner and partner at Spectrum Management Group in Indianapolis.
More from MSN Money and SmartMoney
How to leave your husband
Consider an energy-efficient mortgage
Calculator: How much equity do you have?
New rules help borrowers at closing
Are you the reason your home won't sell?
Energy-saving tips for renters
If the couple isn't selling the house, the spouse who is staying has to refinance the mortgage -- that's the only way the bank will let the other go, says Richard Iglar, an attorney with Skoloff & Wolfe, a Livingston, N.J., law firm that focuses on matrimonial and real-estate law.
Otherwise, the departing spouse is equally liable for the entire mortgage, and, if the spouse who is in the house misses a mortgage payment, the other is liable to pay but has no claim to any equity in the house. But when there's negative equity, it's pretty much impossible to refinance.
"It doesn't make sense for the bank to make the loan," Iglar says.
That doesn't leave a divorcing couple with many good options. Here are a few to consider:
Wait it out
In this scenario, the couple continue joint ownership with an agreement to defer the sale of the house. They can agree to sell the house in, say, four years or when their children finish high school in the hope that home values will rise, Iglar says. Under this arrangement, one spouse usually moves out.
Who should get the house?
One thing to watch out for: If both spouses are on the mortgage, the one who moves out probably won't be able to get another mortgage should he or she want to buy another home. "The bank doesn't want to loan him money because he owes money on the first mortgage. His assets are tied up," Iglar says.
The spouse who left could go into a rental, and when the couple ultimately sold the house, that spouse would get half the proceeds at the time of sale. If the other spouse had been making the mortgage payments, he or she should get credit for the amount of the principal paid down over the four years, Iglar says.
Rent out the house
"We see more people renting the house to buy themselves some time" until the market recovers, Baradihi says. In this arrangement, both spouses move out of the home and rent the house to someone else.
They're more likely to pay less for a rental than what they had been paying on the monthly mortgage.
Experts answer money questions
Go to TODAY
A big caveat here: This setup makes it difficult for either spouse to buy another house and move on.
It forces them to be in transition for a long time, "and they're still in a financial relationship with the ex-spouse," says Thompson, of Spectrum Management.
Consider a short sale
Often, it's just best to sell the house, accept the loss and move on, Thompson says. The couple could negotiate with their lender to pay the difference between the sale price and the amount they owed or a lesser amount -- in which case they would have to determine how the debt would be paid.
Kim Raine North Dallas Realtor Quote 1/27/2010
"It is a wise man who said that there is no greater inequality than the equal treatment of unequals”
Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter
Dallas-Carrollton Texas Market Heating Up!!
Executing a contract today! Lovely Carrollton home sold in less than 1 week! The Dallas/FortWorth market is heating up!Listing another in West Plano today!!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Quote of the day
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Author: Ralph Waldo Emerson
Author: Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dallas-area home prices turn positive in Case-Shiller index 8:31 AM CT
09:05 AM CST on Tuesday, January 26, 2010
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Dallas-area home prices turned positive for the first time in more than two years in the closely-watched Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
Residential values in the Dallas area were up 1.4 percent in November from a year earlier – the best performance of the 20 cities tracked in the monthly survey, which was released on Tuesday.
Prices were down 5.3 percent for all the cities in the index from a year ago.
“Looking at the annual figures, four markets – Dallas, Denver, San Diego and San Francisco – finally entered positive territory, something we haven’t really seen in at least two years,” Standard & Poor’s David M. Blitzer said Tuesday in the report.
Other major U.S. home markets weren’t so lucky. Charlotte, Las Vegas, Seattle and Tampa all hit new low points in the survey.
And Dallas-area home prices fell by 0.6 percent on a monthly basis in November from October, Case-Shiller said.
“On balance, while these data do show that home prices are far more stable than they were a year ago, there is no clear sign of a sustained, broad-based recovery,” Blitzer said.
Still, the Dallas numbers are in line with a string of recent reports that show residential values in the area are leveling off.
For all of 2009, median home sales prices in North Texas were unchanged from 2008 levels, according to statistics from the North Texas Real Estate Information System.
And other reports show slight gains in home prices in the Dallas area.
Dallas home values bottomed out in the Case-Shiller last March when prices were down 5.6 percent on an annual basis.
Until the latest report, the last time the index was positive for Dallas was in September 2007 when annual values were up 0.5 percent.
Case-Shiller tracks the prices of typical single-family homes located in each metropolitan area. The index does not include condominiums and townhouses. It only covers pre-owned properties – no new construction.
The Case-Shiller researchers compare sales of specific properties over time
09:05 AM CST on Tuesday, January 26, 2010
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Dallas-area home prices turned positive for the first time in more than two years in the closely-watched Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
Residential values in the Dallas area were up 1.4 percent in November from a year earlier – the best performance of the 20 cities tracked in the monthly survey, which was released on Tuesday.
Prices were down 5.3 percent for all the cities in the index from a year ago.
“Looking at the annual figures, four markets – Dallas, Denver, San Diego and San Francisco – finally entered positive territory, something we haven’t really seen in at least two years,” Standard & Poor’s David M. Blitzer said Tuesday in the report.
Other major U.S. home markets weren’t so lucky. Charlotte, Las Vegas, Seattle and Tampa all hit new low points in the survey.
And Dallas-area home prices fell by 0.6 percent on a monthly basis in November from October, Case-Shiller said.
“On balance, while these data do show that home prices are far more stable than they were a year ago, there is no clear sign of a sustained, broad-based recovery,” Blitzer said.
Still, the Dallas numbers are in line with a string of recent reports that show residential values in the area are leveling off.
For all of 2009, median home sales prices in North Texas were unchanged from 2008 levels, according to statistics from the North Texas Real Estate Information System.
And other reports show slight gains in home prices in the Dallas area.
Dallas home values bottomed out in the Case-Shiller last March when prices were down 5.6 percent on an annual basis.
Until the latest report, the last time the index was positive for Dallas was in September 2007 when annual values were up 0.5 percent.
Case-Shiller tracks the prices of typical single-family homes located in each metropolitan area. The index does not include condominiums and townhouses. It only covers pre-owned properties – no new construction.
The Case-Shiller researchers compare sales of specific properties over time
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