Archive for the 'Real Estate News' Category

New Home Sales May Climb 30% in 2010, Goldman Says

New Home Sales May Climb 30% in 2010, Goldman Says
By John Gittelsohn / Bloomberg.com
September 24, 2009

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) — New U.S. home sales may jump 30 percent next year, buoyed by low mortgage rates and a “greater than 50 percent probability” that Congress will extend a tax credit for first-time buyers, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.

New home sales in California will lead as property values rise and transactions climb to more than 525,000 nationally, analysts led by Joshua Pollard wrote in a note to investors. The firm raised its recommendation for D.R. Horton Inc., Meritage Homes Corp., Toll Brothers Inc. and M.D.C. Holdings Inc.

“Phrases like ‘the worst is well behind us’ and ‘things remain encouraging’ capture the mood of many constituents we met with on residential real estate,” Pollard said after visiting California. “The mood was much more negative on commercial real estate.”

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Some still optimistic about Fort Worth real estate

Some still optimistic about Fort Worth real estate
By Darla Miles / WFAA-TV
September 18, 2009

FORT WORTH - One of the premier developments in downtown Fort Worth, Le Bijou, has gone under. But, foreclosure is not necessarily the new face of the city.

The Texas Pacific Lofts on the south end of downtown is 95 percent sold. Some experts say the lofts’ success is a more accurate picture of downtown Fort Worth real estate.

Villa de Leon is the newest high rise in downtown Fort Worth. It has 23 luxury condos overlooking the Trinity River. Prices range from $780,000 to $2.2 million.

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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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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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Dallas-Fort Worth home prices slide, but not as bad as nationally

By Andrea Jares

North Texas home values dropped 4.3 percent between December and a year ago, according to figures released Tuesday morning from the S&P Case-Shiller Price Indices.

The price drop is the second-least severe of all 20 metro areas surveyed. Denver had a 4 percent drop.

Dallas-Fort Worth is also faring better than the national average, which saw an 18.2 percent drop between December 2007 and December 2008.

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