North Texas among
91 out of 152Metro Areas Where Home Prices are Rising
A growing number of metropolitan areas including North Texas are experiencing price gains from a year ago, while most states have seen healthy gains in home sales from the first quarter of 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
“In the first quarter, 91 out of 152 metropolitan statistical areas showed higher median existing single-family home prices in comparison with the first quarter of 2009, including 29 with double-digit increases,” says Virginia Cook, CEO of Virginia Cook, Realtors and a 19-year director of NAR.
“Three metro areas were unchanged and 58 had price declines. In the fourth quarter 67 areas reported gains and 123 were down, while only 30 MSAs in third quarter of 2009 showed annual price increases.
” In North Texas, year-to-date existing home sales in the 24-county region are up by 9% compared to the same time period in 2009. According to the North Texas Real Estate Information System, Inc., 20,622 pre-owned homes were sold through April. Both average and median sales prices for the same time period are up 5% to $185,873 and $142,940, respectively.
“The federal home buyer tax credits have clearly contributed to these increases, and we will be analyzing sales trends in an era without the government assistance,” says Ms. Cook, noting that the tax credit has been very effective in drawing down excess inventory throughout the country.
“NAR economists report that approximately 1 million additional sales resulted directly from the stimulus,” she said. “Buyer confidence is back, and home buyers have long-term views. The typical buyer plans to stay in their home for 10 years, so we’ve put the flipping mentality behind us and most people see housing for what it is – shelter that provides social benefits and is also a good long-term investment.”
Subscribe to this comment's feed