Welcome again to the Real Estate Update. Here's the regular report on home sales activity in our area. This information is taken from the North Texas Real Estate Information System and compares the calendar year of 2004 with the calendar year of 2003. To see what the price distribution of "sold" homes in your town looks like, visit my Sales Data page. Information there is updated on a monthly basis.
| Area | Unit Sales | % Chg vs. 2003 | Dollar Volume | % Chg vs. 2003 | Average Price | % Chg vs. 2003 | Median Price | % Chg vs. 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | 596 | -1% | $94,388,520 | 2% | $158,370 | 3% | $150,000 | 6% | |
| Euless | 575 | 4% | $81,358,475 | 3% | $141,493 | -1% | $142,500 | 2% | |
| Hurst | 598 | 7% | $85,131,878 | 10% | $142,361 | 3% | $128,900 | 0% | |
| Colleyville | 441 | 5% | $174,163,689 | 7% | $394,929 | 2% | $347,550 | 1% | |
| Grapevine | 713 | 3% | $154,236,160 | 8% | $216,320 | 5% | $197,750 | 4% | |
| Southlake | 685 | 14% | $316,750,850 | 16% | $462,410 | 2% | $402,500 | 2% | |
| Keller | 1,053 | 6% | $257,285,808 | 10% | $244,336 | 4% | $222,040 | 2% | |
| N Richland Hills/RH | 870 | 3% | $124,478,730 | 4% | $143,079 | 1% | $128,900 | 2% | |
| Watauga | 443 | 11% | $43,339,576 | 14% | $97,832 | 3% | $95,000 | 3% | |
| Summerfield/Park Glen | 1,898 | 18% | $267,752,758 | 19% | $141,071 | 1% | $135,800 | 0% | |
| Roanoke | 82 | 28% | $10,118,718 | 24% | $123,399 | -3% | $123,950 | 1% | |
| Trophy Club/West Lake | 197 | 1% | $60,115,338 | 32% | $305,154 | 31% | $210,000 | 6% | |
| SE Denton County | 4,517 | 10% | $977,948,568 | 16% | $216,504 | 6% | $180,000 | 4% |
Business is good; I'm pleased, not only for myself, but for everyone who is contemplating a real estate transaction. No matter how busy I am, I hope you'll remember that I will never be too busy to handle a referral from you.
We've also been very busy improving my website. If you haven't visited recently, please do so. We've added property listings in a number of towns to the website in a format that folks seem to find very easy to use. Please let buyers you know that are interested in our local area to visit. I hope they'll find it useful.
We've also added a large "Sellers Resource Center" to the site. Here you can find all kinds of information and tips on selling your home.
Thank you for referring your friends, family and associates to me. I will serve them well!
Our local market seems to improving. The last six months of last year definitely showed an improvement and the year ended with gains in most of our communities.
If you're thinking of selling, spring is the best time to put your home on the market. Visit my Sellers Center at www.cindyruppert.com to find lots of information and tips and then call me!
If you're thinking about buying, you don't wait much longer. Interest rates are still good, but many experts expect to see some modest increases. This is the time when homes come on the market. Don't be left out. Call me at 817-230-4008. I can help! [Top]
TEXAS (DallasNews.com) In 2004, the North Texas housing market posted positive gains in both price and sales. Existing home sales increased by 9 percent overall, but the numbers show that not all areas experienced such growth.
In Lancaster last year, home sales rose 36 percent, and in Ellis County, sales rose 21 percent. However, in Coppell, home sales decreased 4 percent, and in Bedford, sales slumped 1 percent. In Far North Dallas, sales increased 10 percent. Flat prices and dropping sales were endemic in some neighborhoods, including The Colony, Duncanville, Richardson and Rockwall. [Top]
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (recenter.tamu.edu) How much homes appreciated in Texas during 2004 depended greatly on where they were located, according to Real Estate Center data. When taking into consideration sales for the entire year, the median-priced home in 2004 was just 1 percent more than the median price in 2003. The 2004 median price was $129,700.
The greatest home price appreciation occurred in the Corpus Christi multiple listing service (MLS) area, where sales prices were up 12 percent to a median of $113,800 for the year. In many MLS areas of the state, prices were stagnant. These include Arlington, Austin, Bay Area Houston, Bryan-College Station, Fort Bend, Montgomery County and Northeast Tarrant County. In Garland, home prices declined. [Top]
DALLAS (DallasNews.com) Builders in North Texas are holding out carrots to potential buyers in the form of free maid service, fancy appliances, landscaping and cash decorating allowances.
The use of buyer incentives by builders is not a new practice, but it appears that they are being used more heavily, as the inventory of unsold new homes is nearly twice what it was four years ago. At the end of 2004, there were almost 8,000 unsold homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, compared with 4,200 in 2000, according to Metrostudy statistics. [Top]
NORTH TEXAS (Star-Telegram.com) According to figures recently released from Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service (FLS), residential foreclosures increased 19 percent in Tarrant County alone, with 928 homes going on the block in March. Foreclosures increased 15 percent for Collin County and 4 percent for Denton County. Dallas County marked an 8 percent decline in foreclosures posted.
George Roddy, president of FLS, said that a weak job market and lenient lending practices are to blame for the high frequency of foreclosures. It has simply been too easy for many consumers to qualify for a home loan, he said.
Foreclosures throughout the Metroplex rose 4 percent to 8,120 postings compared with the same period in 2004. For Tarrant County, this month's postings mark the fifth time in 15 months that postings have surpassed 900 foreclosures. [Top]
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Chicago Tribune) U.S. Supreme Court justices heard arguments in a case that tests the purposes for which local governments can take private property from property owners. The case involves homeowners in New London, Conn., who do not want to sell their land to the city for private redevelopment.
The city wants to create jobs and expand its tax base with hotel, housing and office developments on the land. The land, which is next to a new Pfizer Inc. pharmaceutical research facility, was to be purchased or condemned by a city-created development corporation and then leased to a private developer for $1 a year.
A lawyer for the city argued that state and local governments should be able to condemn property if it will result in more money for the city. The homeowners' lawyer said that state and local governments need better reasons to take property and that there are limits to eminent domain. [Top]
AUSTIN (tdi.state.tx.us) The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has new price comparisons on its website to help consumers shop for homeowners or auto insurance.
The new homeowners guide (http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/consumer/rghome.html) includes a larger selection of home profiles, so consumers can find a closer match to their homes.
Along with price estimates, the guides provide contact information for each company listed, an AM Best financial rating, a complaint index and shopping tips. The online price comparisons also include information on discounts.
Companies writing in the top 80 percent of the market statewide for auto and homeowners insurance were required to submit data. Other companies were included if they chose to submit data. Only companies currently writing to new customers are included. [Top]
(The following piece made my husband and I very happy. No more trips to Fort Worth! If you're not familiar with this store, you're going to love it. They have just about every ingredient a cook could want! Wonderful meat, fish, poultry and fresh vegetables - some of which I had never seen before. They also have a great array of prepared food! Can you tell I love this place?)
SOUTHLAKE, Texas (DallasNews.com) Specialty grocer Central Market will anchor a new development just across the street from Southlake Town Square. The Shops at Southlake, a Cencor Realty Services project, will contain 250,000 square feet of retail and restaurant tenants, with 70,000 square feet allotted for Central Market.
Cencor has owned the almost 30-acre parcel on Southlake Blvd. west of State Hwy. 114 since the late 1990s. The project is pending city approval, and no date has been set for groundbreaking. [Top]
ATLANTA, Ga. (San Antonio Business Journal, Caller.com) Texas was the No. 1 state in the nation for new corporate offices and expansions in 2004, according to Site Selection magazine. Texas had the most with a total of 668 new offices or expansions. The magazine awarded the state the 2004 Site Selection Governor's Cup. To qualify as a new or expanded location, a project must involve either a capital investment of at least $1 million, create at least 50 new jobs or add at least 20,000 square feet of new floor space.
Three Texas metropolitan areas were recognized by the magazine as being in the top ten areas for business investment in 2004. Corpus Christi ranked fourth nationally with more than $3.1 billion invested in the area; Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ranked fifth with $3 billion and Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land ranked sixth with just under $3 billion. [Top]
FORT WORTH (Star-Telegram.com) Soon, the tornado-damaged, 37-story Bank One Building at Fifth and Throckmorton streets will come back to life. After toiling for three years on the dilapidated building, Tony Landrum transformed the former Bank One office building into The Tower, a 298-unit luxury condominium high-rise.
Tenants have signed contracts for 294 condos, leaving only the four $1 million penthouses for sale. Landrum expects these remaining units to sell by year end 2005. Deals will begin closing in mid-March with the first tenants moving in by the end of the month. The building will fill from the lower floors.
According to Landrum, the $72 million project went relatively smoothly. . When final touches are completed, the building will contain 34,000 square feet of office space and 28,000 square feet of retail and restaurants on the lower five floors. Landrum said that the full impact of The Tower on the Fort Worth skyline will be noticed after a distinctive lighted roof feature is completed in June. [Top]
Do you or your family and friends, need a REALTOR®'s help in another state or even in another country?
Ebby Halliday, REALTORS® is a longstanding member of the RELO® Network, an association of independent real estate brokers. The network's credentials:
I can put this network to work for you or others. Just give me a call. I will work carefully with the RELO organization to find a Realtorฎ that will be not only competent, but compatable with you and your expectations.
I'm here to help. Just call 817-230-4008! [Top]
