Smart Growth Communities

Americans favor walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, with 56 percent of respondents preferring smart growth neighborhoods over neighborhoods that require more driving between home, work and recreation. That’s according to a recent NAR study, called the Community Preference Survey.
Walkable communities are defined as those where shops, restaurants, and local businesses are within walking distance from homes. According to the survey, when considering a home purchase, 77% of respondents said they would look for neighborhoods with abundant sidewalks and other pedestrian-friendly features, and 50% would like to see improvements to existing public transportation rather than initiatives to build new roads and developments.

Mortgage Rates Fall

In Freddie Mac's results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.78 percent for the week ending April 28, 2011.
That is down from the previous week when it averaged 4.80 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.06 percent.
Mortgage rates followed Treasury bond yields lower amid weak local economic data reports on business conditions and house prices. Declining home prices and a high level of foreclosures continue to affect housing tenure decisions.

Don't Miss The Great Taste of Grapevine

Hilton DFW Lakes
Thursday. April 8, 2010
5:30 - 8:30 pm
$25 in advance, $30 at the event

Tickets are available on line through April 7 and at the door the day of the event.
35+ Restaurants, One Night, One Place! Bon Appetit!
Entertainment provided by "The Rumble Kings".
Includes sampling all foods, souvenir wine glass, plate and tote bag plus one complimentary wine/beer drink.
Cash bar.
(No strollers please)

Trec warns public of RE Brokerage Scams in DFW

The TREC Standards and Enforcement Services Division (TREC) has received complaints against a group of individuals and companies that have been doing business in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The individuals and companies named in the complaints represent themselves as real estate agents and real estate brokerage companies but do not hold Texas real estate licenses. The public should be aware, owners of real property, tenants, buyers, and investors claim to have lost large sums of money related to the group's real estate schemes.

Changes to FHA in 2010

The National Association of Realtors® urged Congress and the administration to move cautiously before making changes to the FHA program that has served the needs of millions of American families for more than 75 years without needing a federal appropriation

Not much impact from repeat buyer credit

Not much impact from repeat buyer credit

It sounded like a great idea three months ago: Hand homeowners a $6,500 tax credit to find a new place to live, giving a thrust of energy to the housing market's recovery.

So far, people are staying put.

In November, the federal government extended a tax credit of up to $8,000 for people who hadn't owned a home for three years. This credit had helped boost home sales last summer and fall. Seeking to build on that momentum, the government added a new credit of up to $6,500 for current homeowners, hoping it would transform them into house-hunters this winter and spring.

But real estate agents around the country say the credit is doing little to elevate sales. Reasons vary.

The unemployment rate is still near 10 percent and consumer confidence is falling. Home prices have stabilized in some markets, but are still a third below their 2006 peak. Droves of people who want to sell are stuck because their home is worth less than they paid for it. Harsh winter weather has Americans shoveling driveways instead of preparing their home for buyer visits.

"No one is saying, 'I need to buy something before it expires,'" said Tim Surratt, an agent with Greenwood King Properties in Houston.

The tax credit for current homeowners was intended to help stabilize prices and bolster the economy, but the housing market remains vulnerable. Sales of both new and previously occupied homes dropped in January, and the Mortgage Bankers Association's index of loan applications recently hit a 12 1/2-year low.

Also, the percentage of current homeowners looking to buy was nearly flat from January to February, according to a poll of 1,500 real estate agents by Campbell Communications and Inside Mortgage Finance.

The Obama administration has pumped billions into the housing market, hoping it will lead the nation out of its economic doldrums. Efforts to modify loans facing foreclosure have largely failed. So, hundreds of thousands of discounted homes will hit the market this year, stressing a market desperate to balance high supply with sluggish demand.

"You've got a really big problem that requires big guns, and the tax credit is just not big enough," said Roberton Williams, senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center in Washington.

Agents believe the credit's true test will come in the spring, the busiest home-buying season. Concerns about high unemployment could keep buyers on the fence.

"If you don't have a job, you're not going to be able to buy a new house," said Deborah Farmer, owner of StarLight Realty in Tampa, Fla.

Another problem is that homeowners, in many cases, will need to sell their current home to afford a new one and claim the credit on tax returns. That's a major issue for borrowers who owe more than their home is worth. Nearly one-in-three homeowners with a mortgage is currently in that situation, according to Moody's Economy.com.

Also, $6,500 may not mean much to a buyer with enough equity to sell a property and afford another home. The savings will hardly dent down payments or moving costs. Most sellers employ real estate agents who typically receive 6 percent of the sales price.

Federal report says that D-FW home prices were up last year

Federal report says that D-FW home prices were up last year

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.