Date Archives: December 2017

Dallas-area home prices were up 7.1 percent from a year ago in the latest nationwide comparison.  Dallas' price increase was higher than the 6.2 percent nationwide annual gain in October, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.  "Home prices continue their climb supported by low inventories and increasing sales," S&P's David M. Blitzer said in the report. "Underlying the rising prices for both new and existing homes are low interest rates, low unemployment and continuing economic growth."  Dallas-area home prices have risen 60 percent since 2009 during the recession and are at record levels. Local prices are about 50 percent ahead of where they were at the peak of the last housing market in 2007.  After several years of substantial increases, the rate of home price growth in North Texas has slowed in recent months. Most forecasts see smaller percentage price gains in Dallas-Fort Worth next year.

• Dallas Morning News, December 27, 2017

Real estate experts agree that inventory challenges will likely persist into the new year.  Currently, overall inventory for existing single-family homes and multifamily homes stands at 1.67 million, according to November data provided by the National Association of Realtors. 

"We have gone 29 months seeing overall inventory decline on a yearly basis, and that's had a long-lasting effect on the market," said Javier Vivas, director of economic research at Realtor.com. "That should keep the total number of homes for sale constricted for the good part of next year. However, based on movement we detected this year, we also expect those inventory declines to decelerate slowly throughout next year, and overall inventory could stop shrinking as early as fall 2018. Growth in new construction will be key for that recovery."  Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow, said that, today, there are 12 percent fewer homes for buyers to choose from then there were just three years ago, and that, as of October, more than half of U.S. homes for sale were in the top one-third of home values. In other words, pricey.

"Inventory will remain a major concern in 2018, continuing to play a significant role in pushing up prices," said Gudell, who predicted it will remain a seller's market in the new year. "It will create particularly strong headwinds for first-time homebuyers, who don't have the benefit of profits from a prior home sale to boost their down payment and make them more competitive."

• Inman News, December 21, 2017

Dallas-Fort Worth has one of the hottest housing markets in the country. Five years of rising home sales and soaring prices have put the local residential sector into uncharted territory.   While there's no sign of a price bubble or prospect for a crash, 2018 is likely to bring smaller gains for D-FW's home market.   North Texas pre-owned house prices rose 10 percent in 2016 and were 9 percent higher in 2015. In November, median home sales prices were up only 5 percent from last year.   And the supply of houses on the market has increased by about 10 percent from late 2016.   Most analysts forecast that 2018 home price gains and sales increases will be modest. But with almost 80,000 people a year moving to the area for new jobs, don't expect the local home market to grind to halt, just move slower than recent years.

• Dallas Morning News, December 27, 2017

Editor's note: WND is chronicling the response by U.S. businesses to the biggest rewrite of the federal tax code since the 1980s Reagan administration and a tax cut of as much as $3.2 trillion in the form of this BIG LIST OF TAX-CUT PAYOFFS. It will be regularly updated as more companies respond.  (This list is through December 23, 2017.)

Before the ink was even dry on President Trump's signature on the tax-cut bill, corporate America was not only toasting it, praising it and celebrating it, but handing out money to employees like Santa Claus.  It started with AT&T expanding its bonus program to an additional 200,000 staffers getting $1,000 apiece.  Next came Boeing announcing a gift of $300 million in investment in its employee-related charitable program "to support our heroes, our homes and our future."  Wells Fargo and Fifth Third Bancorp announced they would raise their minimum wage to $15 in the New Year, with Fifth Third kicking in an additional bonus of $1,000 to 13,000 employees.  Comcast NBC Universal anted up $1,000 bonuses to more than 100,000 non-executive employees, announcing the move was not only tied, like all the others, to the tax cut but to the Federal Communications Commission's elimination of government regulation of the Internet.

In fact, before the bill was even passed, numerous companies stated that the legislation would influence their company to continue to invest in their business, which will grow jobs.

Here's the growing BIG LIST of companies reacting to the tax cuts with bonuses, more pay and expansion leading directly to new jobs (through December 23, 2017, more have since been added to the list):

• * Kansas City Southern, the Missouri-based transportation holding company with railroad investments in the U.S., Mexico and Panama, said it would immediately give a one-time $1,000 bonus to non-executive employees of its subsidiaries in the U.S. and Mexico.
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• * S. Bank of America employees making up to $150,000 per year in total compensation – about 145,000 teammates – will receive a one-time bonus of $1,000 by year-end.
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• * PNC Financial Services will give $1,000 bonus to about 47,500 workers.
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• * New Braunfels-based Rush Enterprises of Texas is giving each of its 6,600 employees a $1,000 bonus – a total of $6.6 million. Chief Financial Officer Steven Keller said: "You've got a choice – we could've kept it and stuffed it in the company bank account or coffers, or we can share it with the people."
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• * Associated Bank in Wisconsin boosted its minimum hourly wage to $15 and paying workers a $500 bonus.
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• * Idaho health-care and home-products company Melaleuca Inc. is providing its 2,000 employees $100 bonuses for every year they worked for the company. The company has 147 employees who have worked for the company for 20 years or more.
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• * In Hawaii, Royal Hawaiian Heritage Jewelry plans to open up three more shops – in Honolulu, in Kauai and Maui in addition to its existing three shops.
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• * Washington Federal in Seattle will increase wages for most of its workers by 5 percent and is adding 25 people to its information-technology staff.
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• * Aquesta Financial Holdings in Cornelius, N.C., will raise hourly pay to $15 and will be giving $1,000 bonuses to all of it workers.
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• * Canary LLC announced it will hire new employees and purchase more equipment.
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• * First Hawaiian Bank said it will give out $1,500 cash bonuses to 2,264 employees, or all but 11 members of its senior management team. The state's largest bank also will increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour from $12.75 an hour for 613 employees.
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• * Bank of Hawaii, the state's second-largest bank, said it will give out $1,000 cash bonuses to 2,074 employees, or 95 percent of its workforce. The bonuses affect all employees below the senior vice president level. The bank also will increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour from $12 an hour.
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• * American Savings Bank, the third-largest bank in Hawaii, said it will award $1,000 bonuses to nearly all of its employees. In addition, the bank said it was increasing its starting wage to $15.25 an hour from $12.21 an hour.
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• * AT&T expanding its bonus program to an additional 200,000 staffers getting $1,000 apiece.
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• * Boeing gift of $300 million in investment in its employee-related charitable program "to support our heroes, our homes and our future."
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• * Wells Fargo raises minimum wage to $15.
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• * Fifth Third raises minimum wage to $15 and offering bonuses of $1,000 to 13,000 employees.
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• * Comcast NBC Universal anted up $1,000 bonuses to more than 100,000 non-executive employees.
• - com, December 23, 2017

Tax Policy Center finds most Americans get benefit.

The huge tax law just signed by President Trump benefits most American taxpayers. That's the conclusion of a look at the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by the Tax Policy Center.    The good news is that there aren't many who will pay higher taxes next year — about 8.5 million, compared to the some 143 million who will get lower taxes.   For the most popular bracket of what the Tax Policy Center calls expanded cash income level, the $50,000 to $75,000 range, will see an average tax change of $870.

• Tax Policy Center, December 22, 2017

The 18-year high of 74 in December on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index was due to falling unemployment, rising demand for housing and an improved regulatory environment.   In short, the builders are calling this the "Trump Boom."  "Housing market conditions are improving partially because of new policies aimed at providing regulatory relief to the business community," said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas.   All three components on the index registered gains in December. The component measuring buyer traffic jumped eight points to 58, the index gauging current sales conditions rose four points to 81 and the index charting sales expectations in the next six months increased three points to 79, the NAHB said.

"The HMI measure of home buyer traffic rose eight points, showing that demand for housing is on the rise," said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. "With low unemployment rates, favorable demographics and a tight supply of existing home inventory, we can expect continued upward movement of the single-family construction sector next year."  The rise in confidence is spread throughout the country, with the biggest rise in the heartland of America and the smallest on the coasts.  Home building is a key driver of economic growth and jobs in the U.S. Housing accounts for more than 15 percent of economic output.

• National Association of Home Builders, December 18, 2017

For the first time on record, more than half the respondents to CNBC's All-American Economic Survey rate the economy as good or excellent. Nearly 41 percent say they expect the economy to be better a year from now, near a record high. Combined, this is the most optimistic result since the CNBC survey was launched 11 years ago.  The improvement in both outlook and current sentiment has skyrocketed since November 2016.   After years of declining outlook numbers and stagnant views of the state of the economy, American views on the economy have been improving at a startling pace.   "We're not measuring a marginal change in the economy, we're measuring a different economy," pollster Micah Roberts told CNBC's Steve Liesman. "2017 is the year that Americans finally put the recession behind them in terms of their attitudes about the economy, and it took a change in leadership."

• CNBC, December  17, 2017

That's the verdict of the Wall Street Journal's prestigious "Heard on the Street" column. Importantly, Heard on the Street is run by the news side of the WSJ, not its tax-cut loving editorial page. So there's no particular pro-tax cut or pro-Republican bias at work here.  Justin Lahart of Heard writes:

There were several surprises for investors when Congress unveiled their final tax bill Friday, but the most significant is that they add up to a bigger boost to economic growth next year.  The bigger stimulus could fundamentally change how the market behaves in 2018. Sales and profits will be stronger than most investors expect. But with the unemployment rate low, wage pressures will mount faster, and inflation should pick up more. If the tax plan passes, as seems likely, it could lead the Federal Reserve to raise rates faster, putting the bond market at risk.

The tax plan was always expected to juice the economy, and the bill unveiled Friday front-loaded more than $200 billion in stimulus for next year. Economists had been penciling in a boost of about a third of a percentage point next year. Now that is looking way low.  Some of the pro-growth changes include eliminating any delay to the corporate tax cuts, lowering of the top individual rate, lowering rates for most taxpayers, and increasing the child tax credit. The latter is particularly important because middle-class households are "more likely to spend extra income than the rich."  The tax bill could increase GDP by 1.3 percent, Lahart writes.  That's an additional full percentage point gain from what economists had been expecting based on earlier bills.

• Wall Street Journal, December 18, 2017

Dallas Counts Down to 2018

Are you ready to close out 2017 in style, with an unforgettable night of fun in your favorite city? New Year's Eve in Dallas is always a big deal, and the schedule of special events in the city is a mile long. Whether you're looking for a night of great music, a glamorous party, or a fun event that the whole family can enjoy, you'll find it in Dallas on New Year's Eve. Our real estate agents are looking forward to the city-wide celebrations, and we have the details on some great New Year's Eve events in Dallas this year.

Click Here to Read More...

(90-120 Days is Normal Market; Less Becomes Seller's Market)

• 19 days – Hurst
• 20 days – Bedford
• 21 days – Richardson
• 24 days – Garland
• 24 days – Grand Prairie
• 25 days – Carrollton / Farmers Branch
• 26 days – Lancaster
• 26 days – Mesquite
• 26 days – Duncanville
• 26 days – Arlington
• 28 days – The Colony
• 28 days – Grapevine

• Dallas Morning News, December 11, 2017

(Six Months Supply Normal Market; Less Becomes a Seller's Market)

Please note all cities are affordable market locations

• 0.9 months – Lancaster
• 0.9 months – Mesquite
• 0.9 months – Bedford
• 0.9 months – Hurst
• 1.0 months – Duncanville
• 1.1 months – Carrollton / Farmers Branch
• 1.1 months – Richardson
• 1.1 months – Garland
• 1.1 months – Grand Prairie
• 1.2 months – DeSoto
• 1.2 months – The Colony
• 1.2 months – Arlington

• Dallas Morning News, December 11, 2017

It's no secret that Dallas-Fort Worth's home market is one of the best in the country.  A new study makes it official - saying that D-FW area sellers are getting some of the best prices for their property.  D-FW ranked fifth among the top 10 best metro areas for home sellers in 2017, according to the new report by Owners.com.  The ranking was based on how quickly it too to sell a house and how close to asking price the property went form.  Owners.com says that in the D-FW area the average single-family home this year sold for just $4,187 below the asking price.  D-FW was behind San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Portland on Owners.com's list.  Austin ranked seventh in the same contest.

• Dallas Morning News, December 13, 2017

If you have noticed a lot of out of state license plates, there's a reason.  Almost 80,000 people are moving to the DFW area each year from other parts of the nation.  And the Dallas-Fort Worth market ranked second among top markets for moves, according to a new study by Updater.com, an online relocation technology firm.  Washington, D.C., was the lead market this past year for moves – no surprise, with all the changes in the federal government from a Democrat administration to a Republican administration.   Thanks to an expanding job market, low cost of living, affordable housing, great weather and a central location in the country for business – the DFW area will continue to be a strong destination market.

Top 5 U.S. Markets for Moves

1. Washington DC
2. Dallas- FT Worth
3. Los Angeles
4. New York City
5. Atlanta

• Dallas Morning News, December 12, 2017

Slow in Northern Suburbs

Hot in Affordable Garland, Mesquite, Mid-Cities

North Texas home sales soared in November, the second month in a row of double-digit percentage gains from the same month in 2016.  More than 8,600 preowned single-family homes were sold by area real estate agents last month, an increase from the 8,376 houses that changed hands in October and the 7,569 purchases in November 2017.  The final months on the calendar usually see a slowing of sales. But home purchases have stayed strong in North Texas through the end of 2017.  North Texas has one of the hottest home markets in the country, with record home sales and prices.  Median home prices in the area in November rose 5 percent from a year ago to $242,100. So far this year, preowned home prices are 9 percent higher than they were in the first 11 months of 2016.  About 20,000 houses are listed for sale with real estate agents. That's about 8 percent more inventory than a year ago in the more than two dozen counties included in the survey.   There's currently about a 2.2-month supply of houses for sale in the real estate agents' Multiple Listing Service. That's far short of the six-month inventory that is considered a normal market.

• Dallas Morning News, December 8, 2017

The rate of Dallas-area home price increases continues to cool. And the forecast for next year sees further slowdown.  For the last few years, double-digit percentage price gains have made North Texas one of the top markets in the country for home price appreciation. But in recent months, the pace of home price growth in the area has slowed.  In October, Dallas-area home prices were 6.9 percent higher than in October 2016, according to CoreLogic. That's a smidgen less than the nationwide year-over-year price gain, the analysts say.

• Dallas Morning News, December 4, 2017

The economy's vital signs are stronger than they have been in years.  Companies are posting jobs faster than they can find workers to fill them.  Incomes are rising.  The stock market sets records seemingly every month.  The latest evidence of the revival came Friday, when the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 228,000 jobs in November.  The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent, the lowest since 2000.  For the first time in the history of the country, employers have added jobs every month for more than seven years – 86 months, to be precise.  "It's really a strong, strong economy," said Tom Gimbel, Chief Executive of LaSalle Network, a staffing firm in Chicago..  "Companies really want to take advantage of the economy, so they want to hire and get while the getting's good."

• Dallas Morning News, December 9, 2017

Since the Christmas holidays come only once a year, families with homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area spend time planning for this most special of seasons. Family dinners, secret gift-wrapping sessions, Christmas card lists, (and most importantly) picking and decoration of the Christmas tree are all part of the holiday season. 

The Christmas tree with its unique collection of ornaments and lights has a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. They are a fun and cheery part of the holiday celebration and picking out the perfect Christmas tree for your Arlington home is an exciting event for the whole family. Here are tips to find the healthiest and freshest trees for your new home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

• Measure
  Before families leave their Plano homes to search for a tree lot or farm, they should be mindful of the dimensions of the living space. To determine the tree size that will fit into your home, you must measure the height of the ceiling as well as the width of the area you want to site the tree. You should also subtract the height of the tree stand as well as the topper you intend putting on the tree. Ensure that the tree stand is sufficient to contain the tree you plan on buying.
  
  
• Find a Tree Farm
  Families relocating to Colleyville homes may not be familiar with the tree farms or lots in the neighborhood. Our real estate agents know a lot about local businesses and can help you find a tree farm closest to your home or visit the Texas Christmas Tree Growers Association for various tree farms near you. Once you arrive at the tree farm, ask the staff for information about the kinds of trees they have. Or better still, you can call ahead to ensure that they have the kind of trees you prefer.
  
  
• Know Your Christmas Trees
  Due to the variety of Christmas trees available, families with Irving homes may find it difficult to pick the right one for their living space. Here is a list of popular varieties growing on Texas tree farms.
  
  - Eastern Red Cedar
  Known for its excellent aroma and dense branches, the Eastern cedar tree is a good choice for a Christmas tree. However, it has sticky needles and a short house life.
  
  - Virginia Pine
  This is a short-needled pine with stout branches and the characteristic pine fragrance. It is the most common type of farm tree in the South.
  
  - Leyland Cypress
  The Leyland cypress is a hybrid tree with little aroma and dark green foliage. It is ideal for people with tree allergies and can outlast other kinds of cut trees.
  
  
• Caring for the Christmas Tree
  Most importantly, you must know how to keep the tree fresh throughout the Christmas holidays to prevent it from dying off. Once the tree has been transported to your Flower Mound home, you must immediately place its trunk in water. Position the tree away from fireplaces and heating systems and ensure that you check its water reservoir daily.

Contact RE/MAX DFW Associates when you're searching for Dallas homes for sale. Our real estate professionals live and work in our communities and have first-hand knowledge about our local areas.

Dallas Area Home Price Changes Since 2008

• Dallas Morning News, November 30, 2017

Dallas-area home price gains held steady in September, rising 7.1 percent from a year ago.  The Dallas price increase was higher than the nationwide 6.2 percent year-over-year home price rise in the closely-watched Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price index.  While still strong, Dallas' percentage home price gains are smaller than earlier this year and in 2016. U.S. home prices rose at the fastest rate since 2014, according to Case-Shiller.  Home prices continued to rise across the country," S&P's David M. Blitzer said in the report. "Home prices were higher in all 20 cities tracked by these indices compared to a year earlier; 16 cities saw annual price increases accelerate from last month."  "Most economic indicators suggest that home prices can see further gains," Blitzer said. "One dark cloud for housing is affordability; rising prices mean that some people will be squeezed out of the market."

Dallas-area home prices are at record levels. Home prices in North Texas are now more than 40 percent higher than they were a decade ago before the recession.  Tight home supplies are driving prices higher in many markets.  "Demand is coming first and foremost from buyers in the entry-level and mid-market segments, but available inventory is largely concentrated at the high end, causing the nation's most affordable homes to grow in value at more than twice the pace of homes at the top of the market," said Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell. "Income growth has been decent lately, but it has not kept pace with rising housing costs, giving renters in particular the feeling of trying to hit a moving target as they attempt to save a down payment for the jump into homeownership."

• Dallas Morning News, November 30, 2017