Dallas Fort Worth Area Homes and Real Estate

The Dallas, TX real estate market has remained very resilient throughout the recession and housing crisis.  Below are some real estate statistics and charts for single family home sales in the city of Dallas, TX from December of 2007 to December of 2009. 

The median home price of homes sold in the city of Dallas, TX decreased by 6% from $145,000 to $136,250 from December of 2007 to December of 2009.  The significant movements in this median home price are likely due to the shift in activity on a seasonal basis, plus the changing availability of mortgage products, especially for jumbo loans. 

The most significant decline was in the beginning of 2009 when the financial crisis escalated and many home buyers were paralyzed by market uncertainty, plus the normal decline in sales activity during the winter months.  Overall, the market has remained relatively strong, especially compared to cities in the "bubble states" like California and Nevada, where median home prices have declined by over 50% or more in some markets. 

Although I do not like to post "seasonally adjusted" data because I do not believe it shows an accurate picture of the market, I do think it is very important to compare changes in statistics, such as the median home price, to similar months for different years.  For example, comparing the change between sales from June of 2008 to June of 2009 tends to show a more accurate picture of the market versus comparing June and December figures because of the normal seasonal decline in sales between June and December. 

The average days on market for single family homes in Dallas, TX varies greatly from one month to the next, but is usually greatest in the winter months because of the seasonal slowdown in real estate sales.  The average number of days that homes sit on the market in Dallas, TX actually decreased slightly (by 3%) from December of 2007 to December of 2009. 

This next chart shows the median for sale vs. the median sold price of sold properties in the City of Dallas, TX from December of 2007 to December of 2009.  This data shows that while the median price of homes listed for sale has increased by 64%, the median price of homes that have actually sold has decreased by 6%. 

I believe this to be a direct result of the tougher market for jumbo loan products combined with the incentives for conforming buyers (such as the home buyer tax credit and the Federal Reserve mortgage-backed security purchasing program).  Both of these programs are slated to end in just a few months, which I suspect will result in a reversal of this trend to some extent. 

And below is the data for expired listings in the City of Dallas, TX from December of 2007 to December of 2009.  This shows that the number of expired listings has declined by 19% from Dec 07 to Dec 09, and the overall trend of expired listings seems to be on a decline. 

And the decline in expired listings certainly seems to match the trend we've seen in the total number of "For Sale" properties.  This chart shows a steady decline for the last two years, with a marked decrease occuring over the last year.  In total, the number of single family homes for sale in the City of Dallas, TX has decreased by 28% from December of 2007 to December of 2009. 

This is likely the result of decreased equity that many home owners have, which means they are not able to sell their homes, as well as a decrease in available financing compared with prior years.  This would also seem to reflect the general slowdown in the economy as a whole. 

The total number of single family home sales in Dallas, TX has declined steadily for the last two years, showing a total decrease of 19% from December of 2007 to December of 2009.  Again, this is likely due to the general slowdown in the economy, lack of available mortgage products and also some home owners that may be "upside down" on their current homes and unable to sell. 

And here's a chart that shows the total number of single family homes with purchase contracts in Dallas, TX from December of 2007 to December of 2009.  The trend seems to closely follow the number of closed sales (above), but there is a slight gap that appears to be widening during some months.  The difference in sold homes versus homes that are under contract to sell represents all contracts that have fallen out due to financing problems and buyers who terminate due to other reasons, such as those that are unable to negotiate repairs with the seller.   

This market data was provided courtesy of MarketMetrics.  The data is believed to be reliable but I cannot guarantee its accuracy.   In addition, sales of "by owner" properties, as well as some MLS sales where the buyer and seller opted out of disclosing the sales price are not included in these figures.