Dallas

Dallas is known for its wonderful neighborhoods, many of which come alive with lights during the holiday season. Ride a carriage through Highland Park, ice skate around the Galleria’s massive indoor tree, or visit the trains at Northpark, and you’re sure to find that holiday cheer is abundant in Big D. Click to watch a beautiful compilation of  festive photos from around town.

The Dallas Business Journal hosted a well-attended Industry Outlook 2010 breakfast and panel discussion at the Westin Galleria Tuesday morning. Moderated by KERA’s Dennis McCuistion, the speaker panel included an impressive group of CEOs from various industries. The overall consensus was that we are fortunate to be in Texas and specifically Dallas. Here is the insight they offered:

Banking:

Elaine Agather said that her bank was lending, but the money was a bit more expensive and many of their clients are more conservative than ever, choosing to remain in cash and waiting for investment opportunities. Her major concerns for 2010 were credit card debt, national debt, and the commercial real estate sector.

Energy:

Jason Few expects that gas prices will remain low, and therefore has no reason to believe that electricity prices will escalate dramatically.  He supports deregulation of his industry, and is confident that Reliant is in a solid position due to technological advances and potential growth in Texas’ nuclear plants.

Pro Sports:

Bill Lively addressed the positive effects that the Super Bowl will have on North Texas’ economy.  Over 280 sponsoring companies have already joined the local effort to make this Super Bowl 2012 the first of many to come.  With Cowboys Stadium’s “50 yard line” location between Dallas and Ft. Worth, Lively foresees that many businesses will benefit from Super Bowl XIV.

Health Care:

Doug Hawthorne astounded the audience with the fact that Texas has the largest uninsured population in the country. Though this issue creates an assortment of problems for Texas hospitals, he reported that Texas Health Resources remains strong.

Retail:

John Menzer spoke positively about Michaels and Aaron Brothers, and is hopeful to keep making modest improvements in 2010. Unemployment certainly has a negative effect on retail, so much of his business’s performance depends on the economy’s continual recovery.

Manufacturing:

A producer of pumps and valves for the energy sector, Mark Blinn does 70% of his business outside of the U.S. in markets such as China and India.  He predicts a positive future for Flowserve, since many foreign countries are beginning to modernize their plants.

While none of the panel speakers were exuberant about the economy in 2010, each had a positive attitude and spoke with a bright glimmer of hope.

If only they sold a GPS system for the real estate market. (Can somebody get on that?) It sure would help in determining precisely where the housing market is, and where it is headed. Though the exact answers to those questions remain uncertain, the latest numbers indicate further improvement and stabilization.

What are the facts?

Nationally:

• The October housing inventory reached a 7 months’ supply, down from 8 months in September. (A 6 months’ supply is considered a balanced market)
• New-home starts dropped by a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.6%. New-home inventories are at the lowest levels since 1982, which is helping to liquidate the existing-home inventory and bring it back to normalcy.
• The median sale price of existing homes declined 7.1% from October 2008, which was a lower rate than the 8% year-over-year decline in September.
• Mortgage rates are incredibly low, with 30-year loans averaging around 4.8% and 15-year loans around 4.3%.
• As of the 3Q of 2009, average home prices across the U.S. are at similar levels to what they were in the fall of 2003. The latest numbers show improvement over Q1 and Q2 of 2009, and have risen well off their recent bottom. (See chart below.)

Locally:

• DFW’s existing-home prices stayed steady from September to October, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s / Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
• Foreclosure filings for the upcoming December foreclosure auctions are down 12% in Dallas County when compared to the same period last year, reports the Dallas Business Journal.
• Dallas saw an annual home price decline of only 1.2% from October 2008. (See chart below)
• Dallas tied Denver for the U.S. markets with the smallest annual price decline.

Due to variables such as the temporary tax credit and the fragile labor market, the future trajectory of the housing market is not entirely clear. Nonetheless, we have reason to be thankful today: the graphs are pointing in the right direction.

For more information, see dallasnews.com, businessweek.com, dallas.bizjournals.com, and realestatechannel.com.

Steve Brown of the Dallas Morning News gave Dallas residents some good news this afternoon:

Housing and finance analyst First American CoreLogic has upped its outlook for the Dallas housing market. The Dallas area will see a 1.85 percent increase in home prices over the next year, First American says in its latest 12-month forecast based on September data. The Dallas price gain is better than the 1.1 percent national increase First American is predicting.

Click to read his full post at dallasnews.com.

When developed and maintained effectively, urban parks can be invaluable. Think New York’s Central Park. Chicago’s Millenium Park. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Boston’s Fenway Park. (Ok, so maybe that last one doesn’t fit.) But these premiere examples prove that urban parks can increase property value, foster community cohesion, and boost tourism. Immensely.

Though downtown Dallas hasn’t had much green space to offer, things are changing. A dedication ceremony for Main Street Garden will take place this evening at 5:30pm, showcasing the multi-use park that now graces the front of the Municipal Courts Building. Providing a playground, a dog run, a wading pool, and a cafe, the 1.7-acre space hopes to help reawaken the eastern edge of downtown.

Unpaving the way, Main Street Garden will soon be followed by Belo Garden, the Woodall Rodgers Deck Park, and the Pacific Plaza. Three cheers for an increasingly green downtown!

For more details, visit dallasnews.com.

Tuesday morning north Dallas realtors gathered early for a weekly MLS meeting, and left having learned a lesson or two about disaster relief. The speaker was Arthur Sterbcow – a New Orleans native and the current President of Latter & Blum Inc. Realtors. The topic – surviving storms.

As the leader of a residential and commercial firm that consists of nearly 1,000 agents, Arthur knows real estate. (In fact, he’s the only Realtor® in the Gulf South who has achieved the CCIM, CRB, CRS, GRI, ABRM, and ABR designations.) And as a Katrina survivor, he also knows resourcefulness and recovery. Needless to say, when it comes to overcoming tough times in real estate, he has insight.

Arthur brought along a visual prop: a gym bag. When Katrina hit, Latter & Blum’s 28 offices were suddenly reduced to four – a mayhem that motivated the firm to become almost entirely paperless. Seeing the importance of preparation, Latter & Blum leaders consolidated the company (records, passwords, etc.) to fit into a gym bag, which all affiliates now keep in their car trunks.

After sharing bits of his inspiring Katrina story, Arthur likened that disaster to the storm the U.S. now faces. The current economic downturn isn’t what disturbs him most, however. The hurricane he fears happens to be the federal government’s recovery plan.

Mentioning the mountain of paper that the government has published to “clarify” its housing support programs, Arthur assured his audience of agents that Internet search engines and property databases cannot possibly replace their role. Expert Realtors® are now especially valuable, helping clients to navigate the ins and outs of the government’s options. Arthur highlighted the need for “good, caring, and informed” professionals.

A solutions-minded man who seems to embrace adversity, Arthur wrapped up his talk on a positive note. “Whatever cards they deal us, we’re going to find a way to play the game successfully.” Whether it takes the form of a natural disaster, tough economic times, or a government bailout, a storm…is a storm…is a storm.

In December 2010, soccer’s governing body—the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)—will select the countries that will host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup™.

FIFA has received confirmations of interest from ten potential bidders, including the USA, to host one of the two tournaments. The other countries currently in the process of bidding for the event are:

Show your support for Dallas’s candidacy to be selected for the U.S. World Cup Bid. Twenty-six other U.S. cities are in the running…sign the petition below to bring the game to Dallas!

Last Wednesday Alan Bush of the FDIC and Jim Gaines of Texas A&M spoke at Forecast 2010, a professional development conference for Dallas realtors. The two experts shared extensive information about the local, state, and national economies, and UpdateDallas has posted a summary with charts. To view the full presentations, click through to Alan Bush or Jim Gaines.

Bush explained that average U.S. home prices are likely near bottom and are expected to rebound of 7.8% over the next two years.

Observing several positive indicators in the current market, Bush mentioned that housing affordability remains near its highest level in years, and housing inventories are now declining from their peak levels. See charts below.

When asked whether the housing market has bottomed, Gaines echoed Bush’s cautiously optimistic outlook: “Maybe, hopefully, probably. But we still may not really know for sure for another several months.” He sketched out a ‘Best Case Scenario’ that includes favorable corporate earnings for 4Q09, layoffs ending by late 2009, a “jobless recovery” in 2010, and rising consumer confidence and spending. Gaines noted the current personal consumption trends (see below) as a positive indicator of a budding economic rebound.

He shared a visual diagram of housing affordability in Texas versus the rest of the nation…

…and explained that Texas’ foreclosure rate remains remarkably strong compared to the rest of the country.

Finally, Gaines commented that Texas is “poised for a 21^st century boom” due to its population and economic growth, low-cost labor, pro-growth attitude, migration rates, and overall affordability. He gave statistics projecting high local and state population growth, implying that Dallas and Texas both have bright (hopefully booming) economic futures.

Click for more in-depth details from Alan Bush and Jim Gaines.

According to today’s report by Texas A&M’s Real Estate Center, October was a strong month for DFW’s housing market.

• Pre-owned home sales scored an 11% gain from one year ago
• The number of pending transactions is almost 30% higher than one year ago
• The median home sale price improved 1% from one year ago
• DFW’s housing inventory dipped 16% to a six-month supply, which is considered a ‘balanced market’

For some, an active lifestyle includes walking the dog every morning and breaking a sweat a few times a week. But for others, “active” has a whole different meaning. Meet Becky Frey.

A 49-year old who is undoubtedly hip (she blogs, Facebooks, and Tweets), Becky is also the epitome of active. As the daughter of a football coach, she has had athleticism in her blood since the beginning. Tennis, track, swimming, golf – she’s done it all. Having maxed out on marathons (she did two in NYC, one in San Diego, and one in Dallas), Becky decided to combine her sporty passions and train for a triathlon.

This past summer she joined Playtri – a group devoted to “having fun and training smart” – and launched out on a program of intense training: two-a-day sessions of biking, running, and swimming, six days a week. For about three months her life consisted of work (selling homes), training (her idea of play), and sleep – a routine that resulted in an incredibly lean, fit body and several new friends. Any regrets? Not a one.

Becky raced the Olympic distance Stonebridge Ranch Triathlon in late September – that’s a one-mile swim, 24-mile bike, and 6.2-mile run – and ranked first in her age bracket.  Now hooked, she plans to continue triathlon training through the winter, and then sign up for another round of “fun” in 2010.

As a residential real estate agent, Becky has excellent tips for active homebuyers searching for neighborhoods in Dallas to suit their lifestyles. (A recent study shows that living in a “healthy” neighborhood also reduces the risk of type II diabetes by 38%.) According to Becky, here are some benefits that different areas of Dallas offer:

• Uptown: This area is ideal for runners and cyclists in that it offers incredibly easy access to the Katy Trail and Turtle Creek parks. Runners can head to downtown and then hop on the Dart if they need help getting home! The Highland Park Whole Foods is not far away, and several restaurants in the area cater to a health-conscious clientele.
• Downtown: The streets of downtown make for fun runs, with plenty to see and many different directions to choose. Cyclists have easy access to country roads, which are perfect for long rides. Runners and bikers can connect to the Katy Trail at the American Airlines Center, or head toward the Crescent and loop around Uptown. The downtown YMCA also offers a pool and several workout classes morning, noon, and night. Downtown residents also enjoy fresh produce from the Farmers Market on South Pearl Expressway.
• Bluffview: If you want to run or bike hills, head to Bluffview. The shaded, winding streets offer plenty of incline to improve muscle – and mental – strength.
• Preston Hollow: With its wide roadways, this neighborhood is perfect for peaceful. Quiet north/south streets like Thackery and Edgemere make it easy to run big loops without encountering overwhelming traffic.
• Park Cities: University Park and Highland Park provide excellent sidewalks and streets for flat runs. Germany Park and SMU offer tracks great for training, and both neighborhoods are close to the Katy Trail. With a Whole Foods at Lemmon and Lomo Alto and a Central Market at Lovers and Greenville, the best produce is never too far from home. The Park Cities YMCA boasts a long list of aerobic and strength-training classes, and other gyms – such as Larry North – are found all over the area.
• Lakewood: Active individuals especially enjoy being near the 9.33 mile White Rock Lake Trail, Dallas’ most popular setting for cycling, blading, or running. Wide, quiet streets are good for long loops, and a neighborhood Whole Foods and Central Market help with healthy eating.