Pre-Owned DFW Home Sales Rise 2%

The following is a synopsis of an article from the
October 8th issue of the Dallas Morning News.

North Texas pre-owned home sales enjoyed a 2 percent gain in September, marking the first increase in more than a year. Economist James Gaines of Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center, said that the improvement in the local home sales numbers "means the market is in better balance with a reasonable inventory and enough activity to keep prices from falling dramatically."

And unlike the California real estate market, median prices in Dallas only fell 2 percent from a year earlier to $142,500. Approximately 41,000 pre-owned single-family homes are for sale in our 29-county area, which is down 15 percent from the previous year.

Builders have started construction on 5,500 new homes in the third quarter, making it the lowest number of new home starts in DFW in more than 10 years.

"It is my opinion that the drop in new-home construction is going to hit bottom between now and next summer," said Mark Dotzur, chief economist and director of research at Texas A&M's Real Estate Center. "The fact that new-home construction in the DFW area has fallen off precipitously in the past two years is going to shield the metro area from significant price declines."

September Home Resales
Pre-owned Homes Sold 6,392 (Up 2%)
Median Price $142,500 (Down 2%)
Average Days On Market 79 (Up 7%)
Pending Sales 5,410 (Down 15%)
For Sale 5,410 (Down 16%)

September Condo Resales
Condos Sold 358 (Down 13%)
Median Price $129,500 (Down 7%)
Average Days On Market 104 (Up 27%)
Pending Sales 305 (Down 18%)
For Sale 3,807 (Down 10%)