patrick.net

After selling in CA in late 2004 and buying in Dallas in 2006, as of last month, my property is the same value / price as what I purchased it for. However, not much is selling. FYI, my observation. Thanks Patrick ! ;-)

AuntieMame says

Dallas area insists it's homes are appreciating

Is that before or after today's American Airlines news?

AuntieMame & David9 - can you tells us where you are looking and where you own (e.g. what city). Real estate is like a micro climate.

AuntieMame says

Is it possible there are areas of Dallas that have increased in value since 2007

I travel to Northern Dallas several times per year. Have house also.
Last year refinanced and appraisal came slightly higher then 2006, about 6%. Anyway, from 2007 to 2010 was very little activity with new construction. Now (last month) 100s of new houses are in construction process. On one small neighborhood I counted 12 under construction, all pre-sold. New houses now have “Green status” in terms of insolation and energy saving features and priced much higher. It’s an indicator for me that new people start moving to the area again.

Far north Dallas and Northeast Dallas have not fallen in the last 10 years. You can get an idea if you look at zillow.com and then click "local info" "Home prices and home values."
The graphs can be selected for 1, 5 and 10 year values.

There evidently also was not a big bubble in Dallas real estate either.

Example of a bubble: Seaside, CA: 2000 median house$200k, 2006 median house $700+K, 2012 median house $269K.

A couple of things to consider:

Texas didn't experience a real estate bubble like Vegas or Orlando, however, parts of TX are certainly bubbly now. This is thanks in large part to the aggressive Fed/Treasury action these last few years designed to stabilize (reflate?) the hardest hit cities. The effect of all these price props in an otherwise healthy market is that of administering a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart of an otherwise healthy patient. There are other factors, but this is a big one.

It's nearly impossible to track histories in TX since it's a non-disclosure state, and not having access to that information as a metric works against any prospective buyer. Other metrics are important, however, including the cost of renting vs owning an equivalent home. Here in Austin, the disparity is most often bewildering. I recently saw a handsome 5000+ sq ft home designed by a former UT professor of architecture on almost five wooded acres in what is currently the most trendy/touristy part of central Austin for rent for 3800 a month. The taxes on the place alone are 2K a month. To purchase a similar property...well, let's just say, your monthly nut would not be anywhere near 3800.

http://bit.ly/xbVVUj

AuntieMame says

Realtors all say that Dallas wasn't hit by the housing bubble. I don't believe them.

You could argue that the bubble just hasn't popped in Dallas yet.

F2T says

AuntieMame & David9 - can you tells us where you are looking and where you own (e.g. what city). Real estate is like a micro climate.

Hey, I bought in the Oaklawn section of Dallas, kinda like West Hollywood next to Beverly Hills, Oaklawn next to Highland Park.

I would be comfortable buying a house in the DFW area. Although it does depends slightly on what part - it's a pretty safe bet out there. I have family in McKinney, Carrollton and Plano - all of which are decent area's. Frisco's a little pricey, but it depends on your income and lifestyle.

We owned in Fort Worth for a while, and saw about 1-2% appreciation, plus the Realtor we used didn't play games.

If you're looking for a Realtor who actually works for you, check out http://www.creekviewrealty.com/ - we actually used these guys when selling our house and only paid a total of about 3.5% commission instead of 6%.

Hope that helps.

One last thing: I have been watching a few subdivisions out that way, and it does appear that homes sit on the market for 6-12+ months. So, if you do make an offer, LOWBALL the heck out of them, and make sure the seller covers closing costs. You can get a VERY fair deal out there.

Can someone comment on home prices in Southake, TX (e.g. price appreciation or depreciation, did bubble burst affect the city). We are looking to buy there. We know the public schools are excellent in Southlake.

F2T says

Can someone comment on home prices in Southake, TX (e.g. price appreciation or depreciation, did bubble burst affect the city). We are looking to buy there. We know the public schools are excellent in Southlake.

I'm not familiar with Southlake, but it's near Keller (which I remember being pretty nice) and right next to Grapevine (which was a little pricier, but also nice), great proximity to the airport - and just outside the major loops. Probably better for traffic, depending on your commute etc...

Probably a pretty safe bet - but again, make sure you scope out the neighborhoods, HOA's, crime - as the neighborhoods can be wildly different. The bubble never really went crazy out there (as I did my research before buying back in 2007), however I think the downtown areas of Dallas and FW got bubbly - but the high property taxes for the most part kept prices much more in check.

Another thing - natural gas drilling. It was booming ALL OVER the metroplex back in 2008. We lived just off of 820/30 East (in Fort Worth) and there were 3 rigs that went up around our neighborhood. I'd stay away from that if possible.

Where is your work located? How far are you ok with commuting?

I was looking in Southlake/Keller area.

I hear that zillow home values are inaccurate for homes in the area, but I see some that are asking around that price. Is it reasonable to rely on the zillow estimates for some kind of idea if the home owner is realistic about their home value?