Real Estate

A recent poll by Fannie Mae reported that 64 percent of Americans now feel confident about putting savings towards real estate investments, assured that housing prices will be the same or higher over the next year.

It’s no surprise that Americans are somewhat concerned regarding other aspects of real estate, i.e. securing loans. Most of the 3,451 people surveyed said it’s more difficult for this generation to purchase houses than it was for their parents.

The Wall Street Journal summarized the report with the following information:

• Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed think it’s a good time to buy a house—nearly the same as in 2003, before the housing boom accelerated—and around one-third say it’s a very good time to make a purchase.
• Around 27% of respondents believe home prices will continue to fall this year, while 36% believe prices will stay flat and 37% believe prices will go up over the year.
• Among the obstacles to obtaining a mortgage: poor credit (22%) and income (19%) topped the list, followed by savings for a down payment (15%) and job security (15%).
• Around 65% of respondents prefer owning to renting, but non-financial reasons top the list of reasons driving the preference for owning, including safety (43%) and quality of schools (33%).

Also, Fannie Mae makes an interesting side note: the 64 percent who believe that now is the time to buy is just shy of the 66 percent who held the same beliefs in 2003 as the U.S. housing market raced higher.

To read the full Wall Street Journal article, visit wsj.com.

If you are getting ready to put your home on the market, it’s more important than ever to make a good first impression. While in some cases, that may involve hiring a professional home stager, it’s not always necessary. In fact, you can prepare your home to show better by following a few simple steps.  

Start by depersonalizing the space. Hide your children’s trophies and awards, take down the family pictures, and put away anything else that makes potential buyers feel like they are intruding on your personal space. Here are some other quick tips for getting your home ready to sell fast.

• Declutter every room.
• Deep clean everything, including the kitchen.
• Do away with animal odors.
• Put new grout in the bathrooms.
• Cut the lawn, trim the hedges and add pots of beautiful flowrs.

Click here for a complete list of  interior and exterior home staging tips.

While construction has ground to a halt in many in many cities, cranes are dotting the landscape of Las Colinas with more on the way. Work has already started on a $130 million Convention Center and construction will start soon on a $255 million entertainment center. Water Street, a mixed-use development overlooking Lake Carolyn, is scheduled to debut next year with a movie theater and shops. Before long the 14-mile DART Orange Line will connect the area with downtown Dallas. What’s next? The Dallas Morning News reports that city officials are hoping all the new activity will attract even more development to the area. “The ones that are down there now are successful,” says Chris Wallace, president and CEO of the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce. “We just need more of them.” Billy Bob Barnett, owner of the famed Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, is already planning to bring in restaurants near the new entertainment center. “In a traditional commercial development environment, you are dependent on the leasing of your retail spaces or your restaurant spaces,” says Irving real estate and development director Brenda McDonald. “Here, with one operator, we know that those facilities will be operating from day one.”

We have been in a buyer’s market for a while now, but the November price reduction statistics indicate that the tables are turning. Trulia.com reports that in the month of November only 22% of homes had seen their price reduced at least once, which is the lowest level seen since April of this year. Trulia began tracking price reductions in early 2009.

Visit wsj.com for more information.

To everything, there is a season – and in real estate there’s a time to buy, and a time to sell. But how do we know when one season is ending, and another has begun? M. Anthony Carr of realtytimes.com comments, “We’ve been watching a buyer’s market for so long, we’ve almost forgotten how to see the signs of the building of a seller’s market.” Just as nature provides several indicators of seasonal transitions, the housing market gives buyers and sellers little hints that the times, they are a’changin.

A buyer’s market can hit overnight, but a seller’s market usually builds gradually over multiple months. While national averages and trends can give buyers and sellers a good overview, that data won’t help much with determining when local markets have bottomed. Instead, keep an eye on these signals:

1. Housing Inventory: When inventory numbers drop, the market is likely switching from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market.

What this means for Dallas? At the end of October, Dallas had 33,981 houses on the market — a 16% decline from October 2008. This put Dallas at just under a six months’ supply of homes, which is considered a balanced market.

2. Home Pricing: To locate the bottom of the market, watch month-to-month pricing rather than annual changes. Carr warns, “A market can experience price increases month after month while still showing lower prices than a year before – thus the buyer, while waiting for signs that prices are moving up over last year, may have missed the bottom on pricing.”

What this means for Dallas? Dallas’ average home prices climbed consistently from February 2009 through August 2009, then dipped slightly (.7%) in September. The latest Standard & Poor/Case-Shiller’s home price index ranked Dallas and Denver as the healthiest U.S. markets.

3. Days on Market: When prices hit bottom, buyer activity increases. With this rise in competition, the average days on market drops.

What this means for Dallas? At the end of October, homes were on the market for an average of 76 days, which was 6% lower than a year ago.

As this data reveals, Dallas’ residential real estate sector – fortunate to evade the extreme boom and bust that plagued other markets – has taken significant steps toward stability over the last several months. Homebuyers and sellers are wise to watch local reports as we wait to see what’s in store.

For more information, visit realtytimes.com.

Just lock the door behind you and leave worries behind. That’s all it takes with properties boasting concierge service, gated security, and maintenance-free living.

A variety of people embrace this care-free lifestyle, including downsizing baby-boomers, executives on the go, people escaping to country ranches, or anyone who loves to travel. 

This Sunday you have the opportunity to tour many such properties offered by Briggs Freeman associates. Click for addresses, open times and listing agents.

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.

Increasingly popular in suburban environments, town homes offer owners several lifestyle perks. But before diving into those benefits, let’s get clear — what exactly is a town home?

First and foremost, it’s not a condominium. According to Webster, condominium refers to individual ownership of a unit in a multiunit structure  such as an apartment building. Often condominium residents have joint ownership in the  common parts of the property, such as the grounds and building structure.

On the contrary, a town home is conjoined to another by a common wall and often includes an outdoor patio.  The first floor is ground-level, hence the French moniker pied-à-terre (literally “foot on earth”).

Boasting minimal upkeep but still including a small patch of land, town homes are especially attractive to those with canine companions. Empty nesters, executives on the go, and country-estate owners who literally need a “home in town” are also excellent candidates for this breezier lifestyle.

Close next-door neighbors provide home safety, but still ensure a large degree of privacy, as no one lives above or below. Furthermore, many town homes are located within complexes that include several amenities such as tennis courts, pools, and fitness centers.

If you’re intrigued by this lifestyle and would like to tour several options on the market, join Briggs Freeman for a town home tour this Sunday, November 22.

On this morning’s Today Show Al Roker and Barbara Corcoran discuss affordable homes across the country. Watch the video below to see the charming Dallas cottage they featured.

Today CNNMoney.com released an article on housing affordability entitled “You don’t have to be a millionaire to buy a house.” Is it true?

According to the NAHB and Wells Fargo, 70.1% of all U.S. homes sold during the 3Q were affordable for the typical American family. (Typical, in this study, means a median income of $64,000.) This percentage was a significant rise from the 56.1% which qualified one year ago.

Many buyers have already taken advantage of these low housing prices, which are further discounted by the federal tax credit and low interest rates. Others, however, have procrastinated. To those folks CNN writes, “Now is a good time to buy.”

To read more, visit CNNMoney.com.