North Texas home sales drop again

Mar 9, 2010 — The Dallas Morning News

Steve Brown

Mar. 9, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- North Texas home sales dropped 5 percent in February, the third month in a row that sales by area real estate agents were down from a year ago.

The local home market had rallied in the fall as first-time buyers scrambled to take advantage of a federal tax credit.

The federal incentive program was extended through April and broadened but hasn't caused a similar uptick in year-over-year home sales.

Real estate agents sold 4,099 preowned single-family homes through the Multiple Listing Service last month, according to statistics from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems Inc.

Housing analysts say they still hope the federal tax credit, which Congress extended in November, will cause a bump in sales in the months ahead.

"If we don't see significant pickup starting in March, then the credit likely isn't going to have much impact on the housing market at all, and overall recovery will be slower and dependent on general economic improvement," said Dr. James Gaines, an economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M. "If this situation exists and the sales numbers continue to slide from last year, we're in for a very difficult year."

For the first two months of 2010, home sales in North Texas are down 5 percent compared with the same period of 2009.

Gaines said he hopes to see the first results of the expanded homebuyer tax credit show up in this month's sales figures. The federal program provides up to an $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers and as much as $6,500 for other purchasers who qualify.

"If the credit helps at all, the percentage increases should look pretty good as they will be compared to the same months last year, which typically were not very good," he said.

Prices were up marginally -- 1 percent higher in February than a year earlier. The median price of single-family homes sold through the Multiple Listing Service was $139,900.

The number of residential properties offered for sale continues to be lower than a year ago. At the end of February, 35,070 single-family homes were listed for sale with real estate agents -- down 8 percent from 2009.

But the listings and total sales figures may not include all the sales of distressed or foreclosed homes in the area. By some recent measures, these lender sales account for almost 40 percent of the home purchases in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Most homebuilders are reporting an increase in buyer traffic in recent weeks, said Ted Wilson of Dallas-based housing analyst Residential Strategies Inc.

"We believe that there will be an ample number of prospects who will qualify and take advantage of the expanded tax credit," Wilson said.

Government incentives are just a stopgap until the economy gains steam, he said.

"Ultimately, we need job growth to sustain this market," Wilson said.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0046-42692911