Archive for May, 2009

April existing home sales rise by 2.9 percent

By ALAN ZIBEL AP Real Estate WriterWASHINGTON — Sales of previously occupied homes rose modestly from March to April as buyers who were brave enough to dive into the market took advantage of prices that were 15.4 percent below year-ago levels.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that home sales rose 2.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.68 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.55 million in March.

The results slightly beat economists’ forecasts. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 4.66 million units, according to Thomson Reuters.

The median sales price plunged to $170,200, down from $201,300 in the same month last year. That was the second-largest price drop on record after January, when prices fell 17.5 percent.

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Expensive homes in Keller staying on market longer, analysts say

By SARAH JUNEK

With tighter mortgage lending, pricier homes in Keller have lingered on the market, contributing to tumbles in first quarter 2009, analysts say.

Thirty-five percent fewer pre-owned homes sold through March than in the same period in 2008, according to North Texas Real Estate Information Systems. That’s compared to a roughly 25 percent drop across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, said James Gaines, a Texas A&M Real Estate Center economist.

Average price also fell 4 percent, but median price rose 5 percent – a sign Keller’s more expensive homes are taking longer to sell, Gaines said. That difference wasn’t as wide across the area, where average and median prices fell 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively, according to Gaines and the National Association of Realtors.

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Real estate: Sinclair Building won’t lose parking

By Sandra Baker

May. 24, 2009

The owners of the Sinclair Building in downtown Fort Worth were not left without parking for their tenants when they recently sold the building’s parking lot at Third and Commerce streets to billionaire Ed Bass’ Fine Line Diversified Realty.

As part of the deal, Fine Line conveyed to Sinclair Building Partners the 20,000-square-foot surface parking lot it owned on Jones Street, between Fifth and Sixth streets, two blocks east of the Bass Performance Hall, according to deed records. The Sinclair Building is at Fifth and Main streets.

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Deadline for property appraisal protests nears

By SCOTT PRICE Wednesday, May. 20, 2009

The deadline for most property owners in Tarrant County to protest their appraisals with the Tarrant Appraisal District is June 1, 2009.

Fort Worth-based attorney Ryan E. Ray said many people do not take advantage of their opportunity to have the tax value of their home or other property reduced. He said this can save people a lot of money.

Ray said last year he assisted a Colleyville homeowner whose tax value was reduced from about $1 million to $750,000. He said that reduced the annual property tax bill by about $6,000.

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Cowtown City Hall Considers Going Postal

The Fort Worth City Council has approved money for a study on moving City Hall into the city’s historic downtown Post Office building.

The city is considering renovating the state landmark into a new City Hall.

“And we should do that, because its a centrally located facility, it’s at the heart of the Lancaster corridor development (and) it has great access to current and future mass transit,” said Randall Harwood, director of the city programs office.

The City Council approved $200,000 for a study to determine if the project would be economically feasible.

The question is: Do the numbers work?

The city would be on a 20 to 30-year lease purchase agreement at up to $6.4 million a year.

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Rise in Tarrant County property values puzzles some homeowners

By ANTHONY SPANGLER May. 16, 2009FORT WORTH — A reeling economy plus rising foreclosures plus a faltering housing market equals higher home values.

Sound like fuzzy math?

Thousands of property owners in Tarrant County may be asking that question. Roughly the same number of homeowners’ values increased as fell, but overall property values rose 4.6 percent in Tarrant County in the past year, according to preliminary data.

Values would have dropped if not for an additional $1.2 billion in taxable mineral rights and $4.4 billion in residential and commercial construction, data released Friday show.

So why did some properties rise in value against the downward current?

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