Dallas Area Residential Real Estate Report: November 2015

Monday, November 30, 2015

Events Happening between November 30 - December 4

Check them out! Have fun!

The top 12 places to see holiday lights in D-FW

Put on your hat and gloves, fill that thermos with cocoa and pack some cookies. It's time to take in all things twinkly.

What is Going on With Homebuilders

Lackluster homebuilding is hurting home buyers

Allen, TX October Residential Sales Report

Sales were off but pending sales increased. It's still very much a seller's market.

Single-Family:
Sales fell 15% in October. It looks like some sales were delayed and will probably show up in the November numbers. The average sales price increased by 4% while the median price was flat. Pending sales were up by 7%. The number of new listings dropped by 4% and the active listings declined by 3%. The months of inventory now stands at 1.6 months. About 40% of the listings are builder's new homes so if you are looking for an existing home you have even a smaller supply to chose from.

Sale: 120
Average Sales Price: $323,746
Median Sales Price: $270,750
Pending Sales: 132
New Listings: 131
Active Listings: 186
Months of Inventory: 1.6

If you live in Allen and would like a personalized Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) on your home delivered to your email in just a few minutes, then click the like below to take advantage of this offer.

What's My Home Worth?

Information provided by The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Upcoming Tree Lighting Celebrations in the Dallas Area

Dec. 2: Light Up Lee Park | Lee Park in Oak Lawn

More of an “Arlington Hall lighting” than a “big tree lighting,” we’re of the opinion this still counts. Come for the free hot chocolate and holiday music courtesy of the Salvation Army Brass Ensemble Band.

Dec. 3: Fair Park Holiday Tree Lighting Festival | Fair Park

Denise Lee is leading the Christmas show at 8 pm, and there are plenty of other entertainment options going around. A laser light show will illuminate the Esplanade, while Victorian carolers and other characters stroll about. Pet a reindeer, sit with Santa, or just take in the sights and sounds. Somewhere in there, they’ll light up the Christmas tree.

Dec. 3: Highland Park Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony | The Big Pecan Tree

Dec. 4: Dickens in Historic Downtown Plano | Downtown Plano and Haggard Park

Local church groups, high school performing arts classes, and dance troupes take to several stages throughout downtown Plano to provide live entertainment, with an assortment of food vendors providing grub. Santa — maintaining a busy social schedule, as always — will also be on hand. The tree lighting itself is at Haggard Park.

Dec. 4: Denton Holiday Lighting Festival | Downtown Denton

Local musicians play, vendors dish food, and people behave festively at this celebration outside the courthouse in Denton’s square.

Dec. 5: Klyde Warren Park Tree Lighting followed by Reliant Lights Your Holidays | Dallas Arts District

Summon your deepest reserves of holiday cheer and spend the entire day celebrating the holidays in the Arts District. The festivities begin at noon at Klyde Warren Park with face painting, games for the kids, food trucks, and demonstrations from the park’s “arts and cultural friends and neighbors.” Once the tree is lit at 5:45 pm, mosey a short distance for more holiday cheer, more lights, more music, and more activities at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Campus and the awkwardly-named-but-how-about-that-corporate-branding celebration known as Reliant Lights Your Holidays.

Synergy aside, Reliant Lights Your Holidays should be a fun shindig, with LED light displays strung across the district’s performing arts venues, a fireworks show, and performances from the Polyphonic Spree, Bubba Hernandez y Los Super Vatos, and cast members from the Jersey Boystouring production.

Dec. 5: Santa’s Village Tree Lighting | Richardson Public Library

For homebuyers, rates of stress rise

Americans looking to buy a home are facing pressure to act as soon as possible, as the era of rock-bottom mortgage rates that have sustained the nation's housing market since the recession could be coming to an end.

Millennials are making their move in the housing market

When it comes to the housing market, increasingly it’s all about the millennial.

Plano's annual tree lighting set for DickensFest

Downtown Plano will be bustling with holiday music, singing, dancing, entertainment on three stages, horse-drawn carriage rides, ice skating, minitrain rides and more food and drink than is prudent

The Renovation Dilemma: What to Fix If You're Selling

What to Fix If You're Selling

How much work you'll need depends on your home's value, your market, and the comps in your neighborhood.

If you live in Dallas or one of the northern suburbs and would like a personalized Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) on your home delivered to your email in just a few minutes, then click the like below to take advantage of this offer.

What's My Home Worth?

Saturday, November 28, 2015

What's Your Home Worth?

MY SPECIALTY: EXTRAORDINARY SERVICE

Own a home in the Dallas Area? Want to know what it is worth?

I would like to send you a personalized Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) on your home.
Just click on the link below and you will have your report in a few minutes.

WHAT'S MY HOME WORTH

Marie Walton, ABR, CRS, GRI, SRES

Ebby Halliday Realtors

972-816-5197

mariewalton@ebby.com

marie-sells-homes.com

Love Your Bathroom Forever: 9 Perfect Features

Fads? Phooey. Looking for style, sanctuary, and long-term value.

Pre-Qualified Vs. Pre-Approved - What's The Difference?

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and poet, once said that the future belongs to those who prepare for it. This is sage advice for home buyers who need to lay the necessary groundwork to buy the home of their dreams.

If you live in Dallas or one of the northern suburbs and would like a personalized Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) on your home delivered to your email in just a few minutes, then click the like below to take advantage of this offer.

What's My Home Worth?

Fewer homes on the market holding back sales

The main reason that fewer houses are selling is that there are fewer houses for sale.

If you live in Dallas or one of the northern suburbs and would like a personalized Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) on your home delivered to your email in just a few minutes, then click the like below to take advantage of this offer.

What's My Home Worth?

Friday, November 27, 2015

Get a Better Mortgage Interest Rate

People will clip coupons and drive across town to save a few cents at the gas pump, but few will shop around for the best interest rate on their mortgages.

The Scientific Secrets of What Makes a Happy Home

Home. The very word conjures up all sorts of warm and fuzzy feelings. But you’ve surely noticed that some people’s houses feel more homey than others.

Plano Named One of Livability.com’s Top 10 Best Places to Retire, 2015

Plano offers access to affordable and quality health care, a practical cost of living, retiree-friendly businesses and services, as well as several amenities to help keep residents active.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving

I will be back blogging on Friday Morning

Existing home sales fall more than expected in October?

Existing home sales fall more than expected in October

But not in the Dallas Area! See my October Dallas Area Residential Sales Report

U.S. home resales fell more than expected in October, with large declines in regions which have experienced the biggest price gains, but the underlying trend suggested housing remained on firmer footing.

Plano joins list of nation's best bicycle-friendly communities

Steve Pfost/Staff Photographer

Cyclists begin their biking tour of Plano at the rear of a shopping center on Coit Rd in Plano. The city was one of 54 new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Community members. Richardson was chosen to the group in June.

October Residential Sales Report for Plano, TX

Sales were up. Pending Sales took a big Jump. It's still a Seller's Market.

Single-Family:

Sales were up by 2% in October. The average sales price rose by 12% and the median sales price by 8%. As in previous months sales have been skewed to properties in the higher price ranges.
Pending Sales jumped 21%. November sales will be good. New listings increased by 17%. Active listings rose by 19%. While more inventory came on the market, the months of inventory only climbed to 1.5 months, still very short of a balanced supply of 6 months.

Sales: 316
Average Sales Price: $350,599
Median Sales Price: $290,000
Pending Sales: $331
New Listings: 359
Active Listings: 462
Months of Inventory: 1.5

Information provided by The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

4 Inspiring Entryway Design Ideas For Fall Home Showings

Photo courtesy of Home Facets, LLC in Beaverton, OR

Your entryway sets the tone for the rest of your home -- and when you've got potential buyers visiting, you want them to feel welcome and cozy from the moment they lay eyes on your house.

New mortgage rules: Like 'Y2K' panic

New rules designed to give borrowers a better understanding of their home loans are apparently not causing the widespread disruptions in the housing market that some had predicted.

In Richardson Food Truck Park, city finds hope for livelier Interurban area

Richardson Food Truck Park

Drivers won’t see it from the highway. They won’t spy it from any major street. But hidden in the heart of Richardson’s Interurban district is the 2-month-old Richardson Food Truck Park

US home prices rise 5.5% in Sept: S&P/Case-Shiller

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose more than expected in September, according to the latest S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index.

Richardson Tx Residential Sales Report for October

Homes sales to a big jump up in October! Richardson is still very much a Seller's market.

Single-Family:

Homes sales jumped 29% in October as compared to a year ago. The average sales price rose 24% while the median sales price increased by 26%. I know these price increases look astronomical and they are. It is just the law of Supply/Demand. As long as the available inventory (supply) remains below demand prices will continue to rise.
Pending sales were up by 5%. The number of new listings had a healthy increase of 14% while the active listings rose by 12%. Good new on the supply side but the months of inventory only increased to 1.2 months. Still way short of a balanced 6 months.

Sales: 125
Average Sales Price: $258,027
Median Sales Price: $233,000
Pending Sales: 116
New Listings: 121
Active Listings: 121
Months of Inventory: 1.2

Information provided by The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M

Monday, November 23, 2015

How to find the right energy plan for any Texas home

Since 2002, the majority of Texans (nearly 85%) have been able to choose the electricity provider that serves their home or business, and millions of Texans have been baffled about how to compare energy rates in Texas ever since.

Why Real Estate Market Conditions Matter

Market conditions are like a weather report; it helps you predict what the current crop of buyers will do. Using this knowledge, you can price your home to sell quickly, and for the most money possible.

Home Sales Fall?

At the end of last week, I read several articles about home sales falling nationally in October and one article about sales falling off a cliff in the Los Angeles area. I do not know about LA or Chicago, or New York but I can tell you what's happening with sales were in the Dallas area.

Sales were up 4% but more importantly, pending sales jumped 20% which means that the November sales will be up. No decline in this area!

For those of you that follow me regularly, you know that around the 8th of the month I publish a report on the previous month's residential sales in the Dallas area followed during the month with reports on residential sales in 10 of Dallas suburban cities.

Just following my blog every month will keep you up to date on residential sales activity in the Dallas area.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

5 Interior Design Ideas for a Shoestring Budget

It can be daunting to approach a new project if you’re not a professional. However, redesigning the interior of your home doesn’t have to be a long, difficult process.

Now is The Time to Buy

Real estate expert talks things to know before taking out a mortgage

4 Amenities Trending With Buyers

Several home features are gaining momentum in real estate. Here are four that home shoppers are showing more desire for, according to a recent article at CBSHome.com

More holiday theater productions hitting D-FW stages

Anyika McMillian-Herod

Lot's of plays to choose from!

Friday, November 20, 2015

Don’t Miss These Home Tax Deductions

Owning a home can pay off at tax time.

How to Shave Years Off a 30-Year Mortgage

Most strategies to pay off your mortgage faster involve making radical principal prepayments or moving to a shorter-term debt structure. But here's a way to pay your loan off faster by refinancing your home using your lender's money.

6 Building Mistakes That Can Turn Your Custom Dream House Into a Dump

Is there anything more satisfying than walking through the door of a new home that you helped design? On the other hand, staring down at a blank floor map can lead to a labyrinth of questions, headaches, and regrets.

Home Buyer Rush?

Borrowers were undeterred by the highest interest rates in five months as mortgage applications for home purchases surged 12 percent in the latest week.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Your Holiday Guide to Tree Lighting Celebrations in Dallas and Fort Worth

It’s going to be a bright holiday season. Places throughout North Texas are preparing to flip the switch on giant Christmas trees, seasonal decorations, and parade floats.

10 things real estate appraisers won’t tell you

There are about 80,000 real estate appraisers in the U.S. and they play a key role in most home sales:

US housing starts fall to 7-month low, permits rise

U.S. housing starts in October fell to a seven-month low as single-family home construction in the South tumbled

October Residential Sales Report for Lake Highlands/NE Dallas

Sales took a large jump. Listings increased. It's a Seller's market.

Single-Family:

Sales shot up 24% in October as compared to a year ago. The average sales price was flat but the median sales price increased by 3%. Pending sales jumped 33% so we can anticipate a good November. The number of new listings increased by 12% and the active listings by 11%. these increases only causes a slight increase in the months of inventory to 2.3 months. 6 months is considered a balanced supply.

Sales: 77
Average Sales Price: $329,732
Median Sales Price: $325,000
Pending Sales: 76
New Listings: 83
Active listings: 147
Months of Inventory: 2.3

Information provided by The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

October Residential Sales Report for Richardson, Tx

Sales were very strong in October. It is still very much a sellers market!

Single-Family:

Sales jumped 29% in October as compared to a year ago. The average sales price increased by 24% and the median sales price by 26%. These large increases are caused by yes a shortage of properties on the market pulling prices up but in addition, a shortage of sales in the lower price ranges.
Pending sales increased by 5%. The number of new listings rose by 14% and the active listings climbed by 12%. While it's good to see more supply coming on the market, the months of inventory only increased to 1.2 months. Still a very short supply.

Sales: 157
Average Sales Price: $258,027
Median Sales Price: $233,000
Pending Sales: 116
New Listings: 121
Active listings: 121
Months of Inventory: 1.2

Information provided by The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M

This contemporary art collection confirms Dallas' world-class status

Inaugural display from the renowned Karpidas Collection. Photo courtesy of the Karpidas Collection

Any frequent visitor to the Dallas Design District is no doubt familiar with the Hellenic-influenced, blue-tile-and-white-columned building on Hi Line Drive.

When Should I Lock in My Mortgage Rate?

If you're not sure when to lock in an interest rate on your mortgage, here are a few things to consider in getting the best possible rate and price.

Homebuilder confidence down more than expected in Nov

The November report is pullback from an unusually high October, and is more in line with the consistent, modest growth that we have seen throughout the year