Dallas Home Appraisals News and Information

The DMN posted one of those great headlines online today, "Dallas-Fort Worth home foreclosure filings jump 34%" (shouldn't even sensationalized headlines be capitalized?), the kind that says one thing even though the article really means another. 

The upshot is that filings posted for homes to be foreclosed next month did rise, but in large part due to the way foreclosure postings are carried over as borrowers and lenders try to work out new terms.  Further, according to the article, less than half the homes posted for sale each month are actually foreclosed.  The article ends with the fact that "the number of homes actually being foreclosed on this year was down 17% during the first six months" of 2009 from the same period a year earlier.  Maybe they buried the lead...

Freddie Mac posted their weekly interest rate survey yesterday, showing 30 and 15 year rates down for the third consecutive week.  At 4.47%, the 15-year fixed rate is at its' lowest since 1991.  The 30-year fixed rate averaged 5.04%, the lowest since before last May when rates averaged under 5. 

These rates don't include points and even the average 5.04% is probably available only to buyers with excellent credit and 20% down, but coupled with the tax credit and the decline in values in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (averaging only -2% according to Bankrate.com, but much lower in many area neighborhoods), this is a great time to buy.  It's also a great time for investors (though they don't receive the first-time buyer tax credit), whether you hold on to a property and lease it or rehab and resell it (sales of rehabbed foreclosures are doing well in many parts of DFW).

If you need help finding a realtor, mortgage broker or lender please contact us at Blue Star Appraisals Inc. for a referral!