Cibolo Realty's Blog

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University) — Home prices increased in the Dallas metropolitan market in 2010, even the prices of distressed homes. Recent Real Estate Center research found that homes sold by “typical” or “nondistressed” owners in 2010 were 1.2 percent higher, on a per- square-foot basis, than in 2009. The research also revealed that homes sold by “distressed” owners increased by 2.51 percent in 2010.

As part of a major research effort, the Center combed through more than 500,000 sales records from 2003 to 2010 (51,593 in 2009 and 46,315 in 2010) in the North Texas Real Estate Information System (NTREIS) database to get a more precise view of what has been happening to “typical” and “distressed” home prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

The data included all distressed sales reported by NTREIS between $50,000 and $1 million during the eight year period and all nondistressed sales between $75,000 and $1 million. Distressed sales ranged from a low of 5.7 percent of all sales in 2003 to 16.3 percent of all sales in 2010. In general, a non-distressed sale was sold by an individual and a distressed sale was sold by a financial institution or intermediary.

The Center conducted two levels of analysis. The first analysis compared the annual median price per square foot of distressed versus nondistressed sales across the entire DFW-A MSA. The Center developed filtering criteria that identified likely distressed sales from 2003 to 2010.

This analysis showed the divergent paths of prices between these two groups of sales in the MSA. The overall non-distressed per-square-foot median home price has recovered to near its 2007 peak. The overall distressed per-square-foot median price remains 5.5 percent less than the peak reached in 2006.

A second analysis further divided distressed and nondistressed sales into geographic locations based on the total level of distressed sales in the area. The Center calculated the percentage of distressed sales from 2003 to 2010 in each zip code and classified zip codes with 10 percent or more distressed sales over the time period as High Distress Zip Codes. Zip codes with less than 10 percent of distressed sales were classified as Low Distress Zip Codes.

This produced four property groupings: (1) Non-Distressed and (2) Distressed sales in High Distress Zip Codes and (3) Non-Distressed and (4) Distressed sales in Low Distress Zip Codes. Price increases were noticeably lower in high distressed areas relative to low distressed areas. The following table summarizes the results of this analysis.

An important factor to maximize home price in the current market is seller patience. The median days on market for non-distressed homes across the whole DFW-A MSA rose from 85 in 2006 to 97 in 2010.

This is just off from the peak of 98 days in 2008. For distressed sales across the MSA, the days on market fell from a peak of 92 days in 2007 to 85 days in 2010 as financial institutions ramped up liquidation.

Segregating sales based on areawide distressed sales concentration indicated the median days on market for nondistressed sales in 2010 was 100 days in a highly distressed area and 95 days in a low distressed area. Both time periods exceed the mark of 79 days for nondistressed properties in low distressed areas recorded in 2005 and 2006.

Buyers snatched up distressed homes in low distressed areas during 2010 in a relatively short median time of 86 days. Although up from the reported 76 days in 2006, it still demonstrates that distressed homes move quicker in less distressed neighborhoods.

Researchers say homeowners need to allow sufficient lead time to sell their home if they hope to capture increasing prices. Both distressed as well as nondistressed sellers may be more confident in obtaining a higher price if they are willing to practice a little planning and patience at sale time.

This just in from the Texas Alliance of Land Brokers:

NEW TAX FOR SPECIES IN SEVEN TEXAS COUNTIES
The City of San Antonio and Bexar County, the county in which San Antonio is located, are creating a multi-county-wide land-use habitat plan that will set the precedent for the rest of the state if implemented. The Southern Edwards Plateau Habitat Conservation Plan (SEP-HCP) establishes fees for landowners who possibly have habitat for endangered species.

According to a news release published by the Exotic Wildlife Association out of Ingram, Texas, this plan is nothing more than a zoning plan that the federal government wants local governments to implement for them. The regional land-use plan will encompass thousands of acres in Bexar, Medina, Bandera, Kerr, Kendall, Blanco, and Comal Counties.

A “stakeholder” group formed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Service, the City of San Antonio, and Bexar County are creating this multi-county plan. That means a group of unelected officials are creating a funding mechanism to charge homeowners and landowners fees to pay for their plan that is supposedly for the protection of two songbirds and numerous other listed endangered species like cave bugs.

This is the same plan that was attempted twice before that citizens and landowners fought and killed. The organizers are hoping people won’t recognize this for what it really is and not react. However, you have opportunity to do something by calling the county judges and county commissioners in the following counties:
Bexar County
Medina County
Bandera County
Kerr County
Kendall County
Blanco County
Comal County

Proponents of this plan claim there is a “crisis” that this plan will avert. They claim that nearly 3,200 acres of habitat are destroyed each year and that is why this plan must be created.

The SEP-HCP is a stealth way of gaining more federal control over private property by enlisting local help. This plan, if implemented, will create a large preserve funded by fees charged to landowners who want to utilize their private land. The City of San Antonio and Bexar County will be able to set a fee per acre and charge landowners to utilize their own land.

The fee is called mitigation and will come in many different forms. One is a “per-acre” fee paid by the landowner into an account that will be used to buy land for the preserve. Another is called a “set-aside” where landowners are required to set aside up to three acres for no use for every one that he wants to use. Another form of payment forces landowners to purchase other habitat to replace the habitat they destroy on their property if and when they want to build a home, put up a fence, dig a water tank, or any other normal “activity” on private property that will be defined by the City of San Antonio and Bexar County representatives.

Call and demand this be stopped today.


CONTACT the COUNTY OFFICIALS

Bexar County
Medina County
Bandera County
Kerr County
Kendall County
Blanco County
Comal County

Texas MLS Residential Housing Activity for August

By David S. Jones, Senior Editor, Real Estate Center

Release No. 02-0910

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (Real Estate Center) — Newly released data from Texas Multiple Listing Services (MLS) show existing home sales and dollar volume up while average and median prices fell for the month.

While total listings were down from the previous month, the average months inventory of unsold homes at the current sales rate remained virtually unchanged at 7.9 months.

“Texas home sales peaked this year in May rather than the normal June-July period because of the expired tax credit stimulus,” said Real Estate Center Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines.

“August 2010 sales were down 14 percent from August last year but were up 3.6 percent from dismal July figures, which were down 27 percent from the previous year.”

Gaines said average and median prices showed “remarkable strength” given the generally weaker market, increasing by 5.3 percent and 1.9 percent from last August, respectively.

“The higher average price reflects some improvement in the upper-end market, which has been significantly depressed the past couple of years,” he said. “The number of properties offered for sale declined in August, leaving month’s inventory effectively unchanged from July. However, the total number of properties on the market this year is 14 percent greater than in August 2009.”

Spoke to a friend of mine a couple of days ago who reported that, in our small town in the Texas hill country, there are roughly $500 million in deposits in our local banks. From our local folks. Just sitting there.

Fear? Regulatory progressivism?

Our friend, Ed Morrisey, over at Hot Air paints a pretty good picture of this. Might explain why the sellers are holding on to their prices and why the potential buyers are holding on to their funds.