Pricier houses’ sale and price gains drive up Dallas’ median sales price for 2010, but market for most homes fell

Pricier houses’ sale and price gains drive up Dallas’ median sales price for 2010, but market for most homes fell


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By STEVE BROWN
Real Estate Editor

Published 20 January 2011 08:24 PM

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· See map of local area home sales

If you just go by the numbers, 2010 was a good year for Dallas-area home prices.
The median price of area homes sold by real estate agents rose 4 percent from a year earlier, according to Multiple Listing Service reports.

But the increase in home prices had more to do with what kind of homes folks bought last year — more expensive houses and fewer modest homes, a closer look at the numbers shows.

“Activity slowed much more dramatically at the entry-level price points than in the upper-level price points in the post-tax credit era,” said Ted Wilson of Dallas-based housing analyst Residential Strategies. “Thus, with lower activity on the entry level and increased activity at the higher prices, the median price has shifted higher.”

Wilson said home sales prices in most areas actually “inched lower” in 2010.

“This is not surprising since the inventory of homes for sale increased after the tax credit expired,” he said. “Excess inventory in any industry usually leads to some discounting or price reduction.”

But you can’t tell that by just looking at the price maps.

Median home prices were higher in 29 of the 46 Dallas-area residential districts The Dallas Morning News tracks each quarter. The data to make the comparisons comes from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems.

Across the area, sales of houses priced at $250,000 and above rose 3.4 percent from a year ago, sales data shows, while purchases of more modest properties declined about 13 percent.

“Yes, no doubt some of the increases in overall price levels are attributable to the rebound in middle and upper-end market and decline in lower-end, first-time market,” said Dr. James Gaines, an economist with the Real Estate Center.

Gaines said that home values in North Texas are taking a hit from foreclosures, which were at record levels in 2010.

“What we’re seeing is that nondistressed home sales are trending up in value at just under ‘normal’ rates of increase, but the distressed sales — as best we can identify them — are falling in prices,” he said.

The biggest price declines last year were in areas with lots of home foreclosures, including Cedar Hill, Oak Cliff , Garland and Northwest Dallas.

Home sales numbers for 2010 are easier to figure out.

The number of pre-owned home purchases dropped in almost every area.

The only neighborhoods that saw significant increases in home sales were pricey districts where monied buyers were snapping up bargains.

Home sales jumped 30 percent in North Dallas, 29 percent in the Park Cities and 23 percent in Westlake-Trophy Club compared with 2009.

For all of the Dallas area, sales of pre-owned single-family homes fell about 8 percent in 2010 from 2009

LINK TO ARTICLE: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/headlines/20110120-pricier-houses’-sale-and-price-gains-drive-up-dallas’-median-sales-price-for-2010-but-market-for-most-homes-fell.ece

LINK TO INTERACTIVE MAP: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/area-home-sales/index.jsp