February existing home sales rise by 5.1 percent

March 23, 2009
By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer

WASHINGTON – Sales of previously occupied homes jumped unexpectedly in February by the largest amount in nearly six years as first-time buyers took advantage of deep discounts on foreclosures and other distressed properties.

Economists said sales, while still at levels not seen since 1997, may finally be coming back to life after declining sharply following the stock market plunge last autumn.

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U.S. home prices post big drop

NEW YORK — A closely watched index shows home prices tumbled by the sharpest annual rate ever in August.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index released Tuesday dropped a record 16.6 percent in August from the year-ago month, the largest drop since its inception in 2000. The 10-city index plunged 17.7 percent, its biggest decline in its 21-year history.

Both indices have recorded year-over-year declines for 20


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Dallas Real Estate Market is Improving

Dallas, Texas (WiredPRNews.com) — Although the nationwide real estate market has been in a steady and much-publicized slump recently with the sluggish economy dragging home sales down, it appears that the Dallas real estate market is holding steady and even showing signs of improvement.

The Dallas Morning News reported that although North Texas property sales dropped 12% last month, the “overall prices managed to eke out a 1 percent gain from a year ago.” This should come as a sign of potential for buyers looking to purchase real estate in Dallas or surrounding cities. The average sale price of a home during the month of May was $154,000 — the highest since the summer of 2007.

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Dallas Real Estate

U.S. new home sales post unexpected increase

10:25 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 27, 2008

WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes rose in April for the first time in six months although the unexpected increase still left activity near the lowest level in 17 years. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that sales of new homes rose 3.3 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000 units.

Dallas News.com

S&P: Dallas home prices drop 3.3% as U.S. values tumble

10:19 AM CT Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller said its national home price index fell 14.1 percent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, the lowest since its inception in 1988, a somber indication that the housing slump continues to deepen.


The Dallas housing market lost more ground in the latest gauge of U.S. home prices.

Home prices in March fell 3.3 percent from a year earlier in Dallas according to the latest measure from Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index.

The report compares home price changes in 20 major U.S. cities.

Nationwide, home prices dropped by more that 14 percent in March compared to the March 2007 – the biggest such dip in 20 years.

Dallas News

NAR reveals national property database details

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Leadership for the National Association of Realtors is "very committed" to a plan to create a massive national -- and possibly international -- property database to serve as a resource for agents and brokers, the leader of the group spearheading the plan announced Thursday. (Inman)

America's 10 Worst Housing Markets - Forbes

As of April 2008, Forbes reports that these are our nations most sedentary housing markets:

1. Miami, Florida
2. Orlando, Florida
3. Pheonix, Arizona
4. Tampa, Florida
5. Las Angelas, California
6. Washington DC
7. Chicago, Illinois
8. Baltimore, Maryland
9. San Diego, California
10. Denver, Colorado

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Matt Woolsey - Forbes Magazine