Dallas Home Appraisals News and Information

Two articles online at the DMN sum up the "yin and yang" of today's housing market.  Wikipedia, which we don't quote often, defines "yin and yang" as

...two opposing and, at the same time, complementary (completing) aspects of any one phenomenon (object or process) or comparison of any two phenomena.  

The first article is about the record high number of foreclosures in the DFW area, with 5500 properties slated for forced sale next month. The jump in foreclosures is partly due to the end of the self-imposed moratorium that some lenders had placed on foreclosures around the first of the year. Almost half of the properties have been posted for foreclosure before, but the banks kept reposting instead of foreclosing  That will not be the case in May and the coming months.  According to an analyst with Residential Strategies, Inc., job losses are the main reason that people are losing their homes.  Dallas lost more than 30,000 jobs in February, and since then more companies have announced plans for layoffs. 

The other article is about the glut of vacant land due to the downturn, and how investors and investment groups who can afford to hold onto property for several years are starting to pick up property for as little as 50 cents on the dollar.  These buyers are betting that the market is close to bottoming out and that in somewhere between 3-8 years the economy will rebound and the DFW area will once again see a significant increase in population.  This view looks pretty spot on, supported by an article from Forbes ranks Dallas-Plano-Irving (interesting axis) together as #5 on their list of "Best Big Cities for Jobs"; Fort Worth-Arlington is ranked #4 (Texas cities took the top 5 positions).

It's hard to tell just which way DFW will go.  Collin County leads with the most postings for May, up 45%, at the same time that Plano is identified as one of the best cities for jobs.  What to make of it?  Yin and Yang. 

If you are an investor looking for foreclosures, or especially an out-of-town investor looking for information on the DFW housing market, contact Blue Star Appraisals Inc. for a free consultation, and to see how our services can help you make the right investment decisions.  If you are a homeowner in danger of falling behind on your mortgage, investigate whether you qualify for the government's loan modification program or other refinance possibilities.  Please contact us if you need a referral to a broker or lender who can also advise you.