Plano's Current Real Estate Market

Posted on Saturday, December 6, 2008 at 01:05PM by Bill Webb Post a Comment So, what is going on in our market? Many of you are seeing the national news every evening and seeing the situation as painted by the media. It is important that you understand what is going on in the Dallas area as well as the particular community that you are located. November, as expected, was not kind to the real estate market. As we saw the financial markets melt and become chaotic, we saw real estate transactions slow down dramatically. I did some research and the local zip codes with the greatest amount of income are the zip codes that slowed the most. In other words, those most affected by the stock market’s demise were the quickest to act in real estate. This was not unexpected, given the severity of the financial mess. It has taken a few weeks for potential buyers to become adjusted to the economy. As confidence is re-established with the economy we are seeing buyers starting to return to the market. What we also know is that our local market is quite different from the national market. Here is a sampling of what is going on in our local market at this time. The Dallas area enjoys an employment growth rate of 2.3%, which is far ahead of the national average. Of the twenty largest cities Dallas ranks number one in the category of most affordable homes. The North Dallas area (which is where most of you are) has a job growth rate of 2.6% which was the highest gain of the thirty-two metro areas that were surveyed. Home prices have declined slightly in the Metroplex. Our market shows a decline of about 2.6% as compared to a national average of over 16%(this is the number you see on the nightly news). To summarize our situation I believe that we have seen the worst of it. That is providing our national economic scene does not deteriorate further. I do think we will start to see a rise in home sales locally. Interest rates are now in the 5.5% range and are trending lower. I believe that we will see lower rates in the near future as lending practices start to loosen a bit. I also believe that the government is making the housing industry a major focus of its recovery plan. I still believe that homes in this market need to be priced right and in the best condition possible to make sure that they get sold. We must make sure that the buyer can see value.