Today's Home Buying Hurdles

Now that Dallas real estate has turned into a seller's market, hopeful home buyers are facing more challenges. The two biggest hurdles to buying a home in today's market are:

• low inventory of homes for sale
• difficulty getting mortgage financing

The graph below shows the available inventory of North Dallas homes for sale as of today.

 

Lending conditions continue to be tight. The most important factors to getting a home loan are credit scores, debt-to-income ratios and down payment. A recent survey of bankers conducted by the Federal Reserve reveals which factors are also driving the banks’lending restrictions.

 

Bankers indicated that their biggest concern was “put-back” risk with 84.2% of respondents indicating that it was important to some degree. In recent years, lenders have been forced to repurchase loans sold to the FHA that have defaulted and been shown not to comply with the original agreement between the FHA and the lender regarding the quality of the loan. Concerns were also high about the “compare ratio”, an FHA formula used to measure how well a lender scrutinizes loans relative to other lenders. A high compare ratio would indicate that loans originated by a particular lender were defaulting at a higher rate and might result in a penalty for that lender.

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Black Friday Dallas Real Estate Deals

In the spirit of Black Friday sales, don’t forget you can search price reduced homes anytime at Ebby.com. And, best of all, this search functionality applies to all homes across the North Texas MLS, not just those listed by Ebby Halliday, Realtors.

To start your price reduced search, visit Ebby.com and click the “Reduced” tab in the blue property search hub on the left column of the home page. Input your home criteria such as price range, beds, baths, etc, and click search. All of your search results will be price reduced properties that match your other specified criteria.

And for all you die-hard bargain shoppers, each search result will display the original price and the percentage of the reduction.  Happy shopping!  [where: 75230]

Hot Dog - Haute Houses

Every North Dallas dog deserves a luxury home. And there some Haute Dog Homes on display at NorthPark Mall that you could win for your special pooch. See the cleverly designed dog houses, donated by local remodeling contractors, at NorthPark through November 25th.

 

You can purchase raffle tickets at NorthPark or buy raffle tickets online for a chance to win one of the 13 houses. Proceeds go to SPCA of Texas.

When you purchase a chance to win one of these custom 2012 Luxury Dog Houses for your best friend, you’ll help thousands of deserving animals find their own loving homes.
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Big Changes at North Haven Gardens

North Haven Gardens currently occupies a 9.5 acre tract of land nestled between Northaven Road, the Jewish Community Center and the new Northaven Trail. The popular nursery and garden shophas been at this location for 61 years and has a strong and loyal following of gardening, bird, backyard chicken and nature enthusiasts.

Owners Lillian and Jon Pinkus have just proposed creating a Planned Development District on the site. While it appears they plan to keep or even expand the current nursery and shop, they've applied to have their zoning changed to include a residential development for small lot homes and retirement housing.

The prime location would certainly appeal to folks who like to the use the new trail or facilities at the JCC. The property also includes access to Royal Lane via Freda Stern Drive and borders several single family homes. A hearing for the zoning change request is scheduled for January 10th.
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Dallas Real Estate Growth & Stability

The national real estate market is improving every day and the Dallas market is leading the way.

RealtyTrac, a firm that tracks foreclosures nationwide, just reported that new foreclosures declined 7% in September.

And, more recently, CNN Money reported that Barclays Capital has forecast that home prices could be back to the peak levels of 2007 as soon as 2015. Barclays also predicts new home construction "will grow by at least 20% a year for the next two years."

Closer to home, North Texas MLS data reflects a 20% increase in closed sales volume for September 2012 over September 2011.

And, at the Ebby Halliday Companies, sales volume in October was up an astounding 36% over 2011, setting an all-time record for the month of October and marking ten straight months of sales increases when compared to the previous year.

That's real growth, and a strong indication of increasing stability and improvement in the local real estate market for 2013 and beyond.[where: 75230]

Top 7 reasons to sell your Dallas home now

In years past, the holiday season was not the best time to try to sell your home in North Dallas. But 2012 is a different story. The inventory of homes for sale is at an all time low and demand for homes hasn't slowed.

I need more homes to sell NOW! Here are a few reasons why you should go ahead and put your home on the market for sale - and why I can help you sell it in today's market.

 
1. Mortgage interest rates are at historic lows, allowing buyers to get more home for their money.
2. Consumers who shop for a home during the holidays are serious, motivated buyers.
3. There are fewer homes on the market during the holiday season. With less competition, your home is likely to sell faster and at a higher price.
4. Typically, the supply of homes for sale increases significantly in January, meaning there may be less demand for your home after the holidays.  Less demand means you’ll have to make your home more attractive to buyers, possibly through a price reduction.
5. Some people want to buy before the end of the year for tax reasons, and they must close before December 31st to claim a homestead exemption for their taxes.
6. January is traditionally the month for employees to begin new jobs. Since many transferees are not able to wait until spring to buy, your home should be on the market now to not miss out on this significant group of buyers.
7. If your home sells during the holidays, your agent can arrange for a delayed closing or for extended occupancy so your holiday season won’t be spent packing.

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A fun look at Realtors

As a real estate agent,

what does Lydia Player do?

 

Men of Ebby fundraiser for United Way tonight

Miss Ebby will be there from 4:00 til 5:00. Come join the fun and meet her.

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