Pleasing trend: Buying less house with more cash

Obviously, I agree with Steve Brown's recent column about financing a home purchase:
" Back when I bought my first house, I went to a mortgage office to get pre-approved for the loan. I told them how much I made each year, and they told me how much house I could buy. The problem was that I also wanted to eat, wear clothes and drive a car." ....
Pleasing trend: Buying less house with more cash News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News Steve Brown Real Estate Business Columnist Dallas Morning News

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Bad Photos of Real Estate for sale

Unique room with 2 walls, 1 ceiling and 2 floors.

Could this really be the highlight of the kitchen?

Changes in Texas Population = Changes in Texas Real Estate

Population changes over the next few years will have a significant effect on the future of Texas real estate. The Texas Real Estate Center (a research center) announced yesterday that more people are moving to Texas than are moving out. And all those new residents will need a place to live. Great news for the real estate industry.

Gary Maler, director of the Real Estate Center, states that "Forty years ago, the Texas population was largely rural and Anglo. Forty years from now, Texas will be largely urban and Hispanic.

In the past, Texas population growth reflected “natural” increases in the birth rate. Fifty or sixty years ago, 94 percent of the Texas population growth consisted of native Texans. By the 1990s, only half of new Texans were native.

“The real estate implications are significant,” says research economist Dr. Harold Hunt. “Population primarily from net immigration means there are more adults and more would-be homebuyers.”

The RE Center notes that "between 2005 and 2008, more than 200,000 Californians moved to Texas. Whether they stay depends on how well the state’s economy holds up."

"Texas’ population also is younger than the nation as a whole. At 33.2 years, the median age gives Texas the second youngest population. Through 2040, Texans 65 and older will increase three times as fast as the overall state population. Flattened incomes and falling retirement savings will lessen the demand for second homes. Many boomers age 55 to 64 will continue to work, thus reducing the number of future relocations."

Texas is becoming more urban, especially east of I-35. By 2030, the average population of the five largest Texas cities is expected to more than double. Dallas-Fort Worth is predicted to have the highest population density. We'll likely see more multifamily properties for sale and rent.

In the next 20 to 30 years, Hispanics will outnumber whites in Texas, according to the Texas State Data Center. Statistics show that they are less likely to own a home. “Home purchases by new Hispanic immigrants will continue to be limited because of income, education and language constraints,” says Maler. “However, as future generations become better educated, more skilled and more proficient in English, exceptional growth in the Texas Hispanic population could result in increased home purchases in the years ahead.”

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If you want
 a place in the sun

you have to expect
 a few blisters.

Front Door Colors to help Sell Your Home

A great front door can be the difference between a sale or a stay in your current home.

The right color of that door can make your home look welcoming, adds curb appeal and sets the tone for what is inside. Would-be buyers will drive past a home that has a dingy front door. However, a crisp, fresh paint job can lure them in. Here are a few tips to make your home to look attractive and distinctive:

•  Consider the Style of your Home. Traditional homes often feature a front door painted in a rich deep color, such as black, navy blue, green or dark red. Contemporary homes often have bold colored doors, and a cottage or farmhouse style home may feature a front door in bright colors from nature. You don’t have to conform to tradition when choosing a door color. A beautiful effect can be achieved with colors that are not considered mainstream. Overall, the style of the home and the color of exterior features should influence the color choice.
• Look around your neighborhood. Don’t paint it a color that might make your house look strange or out of place with other homes in the area.
• Choose a color that coordinates with other colors of your exterior. I like homes with 3 paint colors. Usually one color us used for the exterior sides of the house, the second color is for the trim, and a third color accents the architecture, shutters, or some other detail. If a fourth color is used, stick to just the front door. 
• Generally speaking, light colors and deep colors are more eye-catching than medium shades. Favorite light colors include whites, cream, taupe and tan. However, light colors are best when used as contrast with a dark color on the home's exterior. Light colored doors that match the siding can look bland and boring.
• Navy blue often looks good with light blue or gray and black is a good choice for a brick home. Burgundy is a good choice with a gray, green or tan house and nearly any deep tone color complements a white house. Even dark shades can be happy, welcoming colors.
• Surveys have shown that home buyers say they prefer doors that are white or red. The next most popular colors are blue, green and brown.
• Keep in mind that you need to keep the door looking fresh and clean. White can be difficult to keep looking that way.
• Pink (or mauve) is the least favorite door color and may keep a buyer from even making an offer. Other unpopular colors are are orange, purple, grey and yellow.
• Generally speaking, when selling, lean towards conservative colors. Bold colors are risky. An off beat color could lower the value of your home. Think bright and cheerful, not zany.
• Let your front door welcome buyers with open arms. While they are standing at your front door and getting the keys, give them reasons to generate positive thoughts about your home. Let your exterior entry greet them with beauty, happiness, and ease.

According to the National Association of Realtors, curb appeal sells more than half of all houses that go on the market. And a beautiful front door color can make would-be buyers take notice to get them out of the car and inside the front door.
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Buy a Happy Home

Before we set our hearts too much upon anything,

let us examine how happy those are

who already possess it.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613 - 1680)

This sign should really say ...

This sign should really say "Suckers Wanted". They claim to be offering a house for sale for $275,000 and that it is actually worth $439,000.

I've got news for them. A property is only worth what a buyer will pay for it. Unless there is some idiot investor out there willing to pay $439k for the property, then it isn't worth that. Just saying that your home is worth a million dollars doesn't make it worth a million dollars. And the county tax records are not an accurate appraisal of the true value of a property.

The reason they only want 'cash buyers' is because:

1. No one can get a loan on the property because it isn't worth what they are asking for it, and/or
2. This is a scam and any bank or mortgage company will recognize that.

These signs pop up occasionally all over North Dallas and will be followed by the hand scrawled "real estate apprentice wanted" signs ... which is another scam altogether.

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Real Estate Opportunities Abound Now

Seize opportunity by the beard,

for it is bald behind.

Bulgarian Proverb

The Average Home Buyer

Here is an interesting statistic of the average American home buyer taken from a national survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors.

Average Age of the First Time Homebuyer = 30
Average Age of All Homebuyers  = 35
Average Age of All Homesellers  = 45
Average Age of All Real Estate Agents = 55

If you're selling your home, you may want to focus on this market.

Average number of homes that buyers viewed before purchase = 12
Average length of home search = 12 months

Dallas Real Estate Check Up

How is the health of the current real estate market in Dallas?  My diagnosis:

It's very BIPOLAR.

Ups and Downs all over the place:

Home prices from a year ago: UP

Home prices from last month: DOWN

Home listings and inventory: UP

Number of home sales: DOWN

Bad home loans: UP

Mortgage applications: DOWN

Texas Real Estate Market: UP

National Real Estate Market: DOWN

Distressed home sales: UP

Consumer confidence: DOWN

Kathy Rylander over at Granite Mortgage sends me frequent updates that reflect these volatile trends:

Consumer savings: UP

Consumer demand and borrowing: DOWN

New jobs: UP

Jobless claims: DOWN

Bond prices: UP

Stocks: DOWN

Other stocks: UP

Bond rates: DOWN

Consumer uncertainty: UP

Credit card delinquencies: DOWN

If only there were a pill for all this ... I'd  prescribe it.

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Bad Photos of Houses for Sale

I think there is a house in there somewhere. But I can't figure out why it looks like you could dock a boat at the sidewalk.

Hubcaps should not stand out more than the house you're trying to sell.

The For-Sale-By-Owner is actually trying to sell the house, not the vehicles.

To make a fortune today,

you have to come up with something

that is low priced,

habit forming and

tax deductible.

Who are your potential home buyers?

One of the things that wears sellers out, is trying to figure out who their real potential buyers are. I made up this handy graph to help explain the potential buyer pool.

So when you're selling your home, how big is your circle of buyers? The better your price, the more buyers will tour your home and the more buyers can afford it. If your property is in great condition and shows well, the more buyers will like your house.

The smaller circle of buyers in the middle are the people who you have an opportunity to actually negotiate with. One of my biggest jobs is to increase the number of people in the blue and yellow circles. As a seller, your job is to increase the number of people in the yellow circle. Circumstances outside of our control will determine the size of the red circle.


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Why real estate is still a good investment today

A lot of people who bought at the height of the real estate market in 2007 and had to sell in the past year have lost their shirts. Others are still enjoying their homes with no plans to sell any time soon.

A few of the best reasons to still buy a home in 2010 are:

• Home affordability is the highest it had been since it was first tracked more than 40 years ago. Recent price declines combined with current interest rates let you afford more today. The interest rates are the best we'll see in our lifetime.
• Lower your tax bill with tax breaks from owning a home. The IRS allows deductions of the interest you pay on your mortgage, your property taxes, often some of the costs to buy your home and sometimes moving costs.
• Enjoy the independence to do what you want to your home. Unlike a rental property, it's yours to do what you wish. And you have the ability to benefit from any improvements you make.
• Despite the economic slump, owning a home can help build wealth. Home ownership is still the best long-term investment. You're able to build equity and you decrease your income tax liability.
• Appreciation potential is strong. As home prices have fallen in the recent economy, the basis for realizing future appreciation is very strong. Historically, even with periods of declining values, home prices have exceeded consumer inflation in the long run.
• Stability that no other investment can provide. You can't live in a Wall Street stock or raise your children in a bond investment. A home is where you can establish roots and raise a family.

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Real Estate and Racing

If everything seems under control,

you're not going fast enough

- Mario Andretti

More Bad Photos of Homes for Sale

The cheap man's house photo - lifted from Google.
I kind of like the one on the left better. Is it for sale too?

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Easy Search of Dallas Homes for Sale

If its for sale in Dallas, you'll find it here.

I've added a search to this blog that includes every property for sale in the North Texas area. Quick, easy and complete. What more could you want?

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