Dallas Home Sales Statistics Report for October 2011.

By Troy Corman, www.t2realestate.com


In the following, we compare October home sales in various Dallas neighborhoods versus October home sales in Dallas 2010. If you would like a report for your suburb or neighborhood, or would like to know what your home is worth, contact me for a free over-the-net estimate at troycorman@t2realestate.com or 214-690-9682.

Highland Park Homes & University Park Homes     

Average home price per sq. foot was $285.15 versus $298.24 in October 2010. 44 homes sold in 2011 versus 26 in 2010. Average days on market decreased by 31 days.


East Dallas Homes                 
Average home price per sq. foot was $150.75 versus $143.76 in 2010. 48 homes sold in 2011 versus 45 in 2010. Average days on market increased by 15 days. (mapsco page 36)
 
White Rock Lake Area Homes
Average home price per sq. foot was $156.11 versus $148.68 in 2010. 14 homes sold in 2011 versus 14 in 2010. Average days on market decreased by 50 days. (mapsco page 37)            

North Dallas (3 Bedrooms) Homes
Average home price for 3 bedroom homes was $143.74 versus $140.17 in 2010. 74 homes sold in 2011 versus 99 sold in 2010. Average days on market increased by 27 days.


Richardson Homes
Average home price per sq. foot was $84.90 versus $84.91 in 2010. 58 homes sold in 2011 versus 71 in 2010. Average days on market increased by 5 days.


Carrollton Homes
Average home price per sq. foot was $84.56 versus $80.68 in 2010. 88  homes sold in 2011 versus 78 in 2010. Average days on market increased by 13 days.


Plano Homes                              
Average home price per sq. foot was $92.06 versus $95.92 in 2010. 174 homes sold in 2011 versus 171 in 2010. Average days on market decreased by 5 days.

Frisco Homes                               
Average home price per sq. foot was $93.11 versus $92.34 in 2010. 152 homes sold in 2011 versus 160 in 2010. Average days on market decreased by 7 days.

Statistics are courtesy of the North Texas Real Estate Information System (NTREIS).

If you need to buy, sell or get a home leased, contact me at 214.690.9682, or email troycorman@t2realestate.com.






Troy Corman is the founder of t2 Real Estate LLC, a Dallas real estate firm providing specialized knowledge with a hands-on approach. Specialties include residential real estate brokerage, land and acreage, and commercial real estate services. Contact us today at 214.827.1200 if you need to sell, buy or get your DFW property leased.
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Most Dallas Home Sellers Are Unaware Of The Tire-Kicker Epidemic.

By Troy Corman, http://www.t2realestate.com/

TIRE-KICKER ALERT - I recently listed a home for sale on the North Texas MLS, or NTREIS, and instructed Dallas real estate agents to make sure that their buyers were pre-qualified. You'll be amazed to know that to date, I've had five requests to view the home, and ZERO buyers that had been pre-approved for financing. It sure is fun to look at homes, but I guess getting pre-qualified for home financing just takes too much work.

Unfortunately, with the housing slow-down, some Dallas realtors it seems, are in desperation mode, and have forgotten one of the basic fundamentals when it comes to representing home buyers - MAKE SURE THEY ARE QUALIFIED TO ACTUALLY BUY!

Realtors knows that the odds of a prospective home buyer actually closing on a home purchase isn't a slam dunk by any stretch. But offering to drive folks around that aren't interested or motivated enough to get financing approval means you're simply relying on dumb luck. This waste the agent's time, the home sellers time, and the listing agent's time, who usually fields calls from the home seller each time there is a showing on the home. And if you've ever sold a home you've lived in, you know it's work to keep it clean and presentable at a moment's notice.

One would think having the home buyer put in a comparable effort isn't too much to ask.
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How a Short Sale, Foreclosure and 30 Days Late on a Mortgage Affect Your FICO score.

By Troy Corman,

Working in real estate and dealing with home sellers and renters in today's marketplace, you get a first-hand look at the financial damage many individuals have recently encountered. Short sales, foreclosures, and bankruptcies are a common theme.

Like most, I was surprised to find that the credit destruction from both a short sale and a foreclosure is quite similar. After reading a blog entry, Credit Scoring Impacts Short Sale vs Foreclosure by Massachusetts Realtor Bill Gassett, I thought this information was too valuable to keep to myself. Thanks Bill for a great article!

So how does a short sale affect your FICO score, or credit score? Surprisingly, you'll find that a short sale and a foreclosure have very similar effects on your credit score. As you'll see in the chart above, a person who starts out with a credit score of 680, can expect his or her credit score to drop to 575-595 after a short sale AND it's the same reduction for a foreclosure. A bankruptcy even does more damage as it will drop the said 680 credit score to the 530-550 range.

Also, just being 30 days late on your mortgage really hammers your credit score. As you'll see in the FICO chart, a 30-day late payment reduces the 680 credit score to the 600-620 credit score range.

So how long does it take to restore your credit after a short sale, foreclosure or 30-day late payment on a mortgage? Well according to FICO, the higher your original credit score, the longer it takes to restore that credit score to it's previous level. A 30-day late mortgage payment would take about 9 months to get back to the 680 level if you started out there. Unfortunately, it would take about 2.5 to 3 years to get back to a 720 FICO or 780 FICO, respectively.

A short sale is still better than having a home foreclosure. A short sale on a Fannie Mae loan will allow you to buy a home sooner - within about 2 years. With a foreclosure on a Fannie Mae loan, you'll have to wait 5 years to purchase another home and 7 years if you suffer a foreclosure on an investment home.

If you need to buy, sell or get a home leased, contact me at 214.690.9682, or email troycorman@t2realestate.com.

Troy Corman is the founder of t2 Real Estate LLC, a Dallas real estate firm providing specialized knowledge with a hands-on approach. Specialties include residential real estate brokerage, land and acreage, and commercial real estate services. Contact us today at 214.827.1200 if you need to sell, buy or get your DFW property leased.
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An Inside Look at the Dallas Real Estate Market.

By Troy Corman, www.t2realestate.com

Photo above is a short sale home at 3165 West Alamosa in Terrell, Tx.

As we continue to get better DFW and Texas housing news, I wanted to take a more detailed look into what homes, and price points, are really moving. The numbers below are encouraging. With 30-year mortgage rates below 4%, let's hope the positive Dallas home sales trend even picks up some steam!

Below is a comparison of DFW home sales that occurred from July 5, 2011 through October 5, 2011 versus a year ago. Statistics are from the North Texas Real Estate Information System (NTREIS).

Dallas homes sold in the $100,000 to $150,000 range are up 19% in 2011.
Dallas homes sold in the $150,000 to $200,000 range are up 18% in 2011.
Dallas homes sold in the $200,000 to $275,000 range are up 16% in 2011.
Dallas homes sold in the $275,000 to $350,000 range are up 12% in 2011.
Dallas homes sold in the $350,000 to $500,000 range are up 5% in 2011.
Dallas homes sold in the $500,000 to $750,000 range are up 27% in 2011.
Dallas homes sold in the $750,000 to $1,000,000 range are down 11% in 2011.
Dallas homes sold in the $1,000,000 and up range are down 14% versus 2010.

If you have a home to sell priced below $750,000, the numbers and trend appear to be moving in your favor!

To find out what your home is worth, contact me for a free no-obligation analysis at 214.690.9682, or email troycorman@t2realestate.com.

Troy Corman is the founder of t2 Real Estate LLC, a Dallas real estate firm providing specialized knowledge with a hands-on approach. Specialties include residential real estate brokerage, land and acreage, and commercial real estate services. Contact us today at 214.827.1200 if you need to sell, buy or get your DFW property leased.
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We Have Liftoff. DFW Home Sales Up 27% in August.

By Troy Corman, www.t2realestate.com

Has the DFW residential real estate market turned the corner? According to The Dallas Morning News and data from the Texas ATM Real Estate Center, north Texas home sales exploded in August, up 27% over August 2010.

July also recorded double-digit Dallas home sales increases as sales of townhomes and condominium homes soared upward 34% from a year earlier.

Low mortgage rates and good home deals seem to be finally motivating qualified home buyers off the fence. Also, a tight rental market and rapidly rising rents are making home ownership more attractive from a financial perspective.

Texas ATM Real Estate Center's Jim Gaines said, "This home rebound is a lot better than we thought it would be. If this pattern continues, we could be up 10% or more for the year."

Carrollton-Farmers Branch homes sold were up 60%. Northeast Dallas homes were up 59%, and Park Cities home sales were up 49%.

DFW area home prices are flat for the year but were up 2% in August.

Also, the inventory of homes for sale was 17% below last year, with just over a 7 month supply. Six months of inventory is considered a balanced, healthy market.
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Texas ATM Economist Mark Dotzour on his Texas Real Estate Forecast.

Texas population expected to double by year 2030 (another 30,000,000 people)

By Troy Corman, www.t2realestate.com

I had the pleasure of hearing Texas ATM Real Estate Center economist Dr. Mark Dotzour speak about the Texas real estate market at a live event last night sponsored by the Texas real estate investor group, Lifestyles Unlimited. I'll generally paraphrase and try to hit the highlights of what Dr. Dotzour sees for the Texas economy, and in particular, the Texas real estate markets going forward.

In all, Dr. Dotzour was very bullish on Texas and our real estate market. One of the most vivid examples is this - imagine Texas having another Dallas-Fort Worth metro-plex, another Houston, another Austin, another San Antonio and another Corpus Christi by the year 2030 - about 18 years from right now! If the demographic experts are correct, expect the Texas population to increase by 30,000,000 by 2030. That's a lot of folks that are going to need roofs over their heads.

That's one of the reasons Dr. Dotzour thinks we're going to have a lot of pent-up demand for home ownership as soon as Washington gets their act together. In fact, he thinks the economy is "spring-loaded", and as soon as Washington takes the right steps, our economic recovery could really rocket to the upside.

Dr. Dotzour also touched on inflation quite a bit. He thinks the gold bugs are continuing to buy gold because they believe Washington and Ben Bernanke will continue to print money. That's why he likes rental real estate as a hedge, because regardless of the value of the dollar, folks will always need a place to live. If the dollar is greatly devalued, it takes more dollars to buy or rent real estate, yet landlords who already own real estate have locked-in mortgages at lower values.

Gold is much more volatile than real estate because it's a speculative commodity. As soon as correct policies begin coming out of Washington, gold prices could drop like a rock - just like they did in the 1980s when Paul Volker raised interest rates.

The commercial real estate, and to some extent, the residential real estate market is still clogged up with bad loans. The problem is the FDIC doesn't have the money to rescue banks on a wholesale level, so banks are slow to foreclose, because once they foreclose, they're required to have more capital to offset the bad loan. Many are still in the extend-and-pretend phase, and this is choking off commercial real estate lending.

There's been talk of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buying up bad mortgages from banks and taking over homes. It's not clear whether the government wants to be America's landlord or what their thinking is on that idea. It's also quite clear that the government has done little to accommodate real estate investors. A couple of simple solutions offered by Dr. Dotzour to clean up the real estate mess: 1) Allow investors to double the velocity of appreciation to 15 years instead of 27.5 years and; 2) Allow investors who buy and hold real estate for 5 years to pay no capital gains taxes on profits. This drew quite a bit of applause from the crowd.

Finally, Dr. Dotzour is bullish on Texas and thinks there's a window of opportunity to buy now and be ahead of the curve when the real estate markets get moving again. In fact, he said the state bird of Texas, is the construction crane!
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Foreclosure Versus Short Sale. How Each Affect Your Credit.

By Troy Corman, www.t2realestate.com

The following is a quick reference and general guide for those considering a "short sale". A short sale is defined as a lender (bank) accepting less than is owed on the current owner's mortgage loan. A short sale isn't ideal for your credit report but it is much better than having a foreclosure on your credit history. We'll compare the two scenarios below.

Fannie Mae Loan - On a primary residence, a homeowner who loses a home to foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage for 5 years. A homeowner who successfully negotiates and closes a short sale will be eligible after only 2 years.

Fannie Mae Loan (non-primary residence) - A foreclosure would prevent the buyer, or investor, from using a Fannie Mae-backed investment mortgage for 7 years. An investor who successfully negotiates and closes a short sale will be eligible after only 2 years.

Credit Score - On a recorded foreclosure, your credit score will be lowered from 250 to more than 300 points. Typically, it will affect credit score for over 3 years. On a short sale, the mortgage is normally reported as "paid as agreed", "paid as negotiated", or "settled". Only late payments on the mortgage will show. A short sale can lower your scores as little as 50 points if all other payments are made. A short sale's effect can be as brief as 12 to 18 months.

Credit History - Foreclosure will remain as a public record and on a person's credit history for 10 years or more. A short sale is not reported on your credit history.

Security Clearance - Foreclosure is the most challenging issue against a security clearance outside of a serious misdemeanor or felony conviction. Positions in the police force, military, CIA and security fields usually result in termination. A short sale, on it's own, does not challenge most security clearances.

Current Employment - Employers have the right and are actively checking the credit of all employees who are in sensitive positions. In many cases, a foreclosure is reason for immediate reassignment or termination. A short sale is not reported on a credit report, and is therefore, usually not a challenge to employment.

Future Employment - Many employers are requiring credit checks on all job applicants. A foreclosure can challenge employment. A short sale is not reported on a credit report and therefore, should not challenge future employment.

Deficiency Judgment - In 100% of foreclosures (except in those states where there is no deficiency), the bank has the right to pursue a deficiency judgment. In some successful short sales, it is possible to convince the lender to give up the right to pursue a deficiency judgment.

The preceding information is a general guide and is not legal advice. If you're in dire straits, please consult real estate or legal counsel as soon as possible. Best of luck!
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