DFW sales prices up for first time in 5 years
Dallas got a little good news this week on the housing front.
According to the Dallas Morning News, last year marked the first time in five years that existing home sales figures in most Dallas neighborhoods were higher than the year before.
In areas where sales went up, the average year-over-year sales increase was about 5 percent.
Real Estate Center Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines said he predicts that trend will continue in 2012.
“I think your sales this year will be up 2 or 3 percentage points,” Gaines said. “They are going to be about where 2009 sales were.”
Source: Dallas Morning News
Read MoreTexas Poised to Outpace Nation Again in 2012!
Texas’ economic outlook for 2012 is positive. Job growth is occurring in several sectors, and a low cost of living is enticing businesses to move to the Lone Star State.
It will be tougher going for the nation, however, because of several factors. The housing market needs to clear a high number of foreclosures. Consumers need to pay off their debt. The banking system needs to write off bad debt. Small businesses need to start hiring again.
Writing for the January issue of Tierra Grande magazine, Real Estate Center Chief Economist Dr. Mark Dotzour says, “Fortunately, Texas is poised to outperform the U.S. averages. Home sales volume in Texas should show modest improvement over 2011, and prices should be stable throughout 2012.” Dotzour’s economic outlook is titled “Texas Sails On: Nation Battles Headwinds.”
Other articles detailing findings from the nation’s largest publicly funded real estate research organization are in the issue scheduled for mailing in late January.
- “Beyond a Reasonable Drought” by noted agricultural expert Dr. Joe Outlaw and Center Research Economist Dr. Charles Gilliland. Farmers, ranchers and service businesses that support them are suffering negative effects of the drought. To make matters worse, federal agricultural programs are on the chopping block to reduce the deficit.
- “The Great Recession: Why Intensity and Duration Varied” by Center Research Economist Dr. Ali Anari. Why did some Texas metros fare better in the Great Recession? Results from the Center’s business cycle research program pinpoint several reasons. These included shares of employment in the government sector, education and health services industry, mining and construction industry, and the metro’s level of educational attainment.
- “Dialing Down Debt: Road to Recovery Begins at Home” by Center Research Analyst Gerald Klassen. It will hurt, but American households will have to liquidate their assets and reduce debt if they want the economy to recover. This means selling luxury items including vacation homes, boats and RVs, as well as selling investments, declaring bankruptcy or suffering through foreclosure.
- “For the Record: When to Toss Old Tax Records” by Center Research Fellow Dr. Jerrold Stern. At a minimum, tax records should be kept three years. However, a period of seven or more years is recommended. Tax and nontax factors play a role in the decision.
- “Vested Rights: Project Protection for Developers” by Houston attorney Reid C. Wilson. Vested rights freeze land use regulations affecting property classification, building size, lot size-dimension-coverage and certain other matters once the owner or developer files a permit application for that project.
- “The Trouble with Troubled Assets” by Center Research Economist Dr. Harold Hunt. The volume of distressed property sales was expected to be much higher by this time. So far, everyone is still waiting. However, according to commercial real estate insiders, distressed sales are on the way up.
- “Terminated: Transfer Fees Outlawed” by Center legal expert Judon Fambrough. Transfer fees, money paid for transferring interest in real property, were implemented in 2007 legislation. Four years later, that law was repealed, prohibiting any future transfer fees and terminating existing fees that do not comply with the new legal requirements.
Source: RECON
Read MoreTexas Job Creation Outpaces U.S.
Texas continues to outperform the United States in job creation according to the Real Estate Center’s latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy.
The state gained 271,400 nonfarm jobs from August 2010 to August 2011, an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent compared with 1 percent for the United States. Texas jobs created during that period accounted for 21.1 percent of nonfarm jobs created in the nation.
The state’s private sector grew by 284,200 jobs (3.3 percent) compared with 1.6 percent for the U.S. private sector.
Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.5 percent in August 2011 from 8.3 a year earlier. The nation’s rate decreased from 9.5 to 9.1 percent.
All Texas industries except the information industry and the state’s government sector had more jobs in August 2011 than in August 2010. The state’s mining and logging industry ranked first in job creation followed by the construction, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality industries.
All Texas metro areas except Abilene and Texarkana had more jobs in August 2011 than a year earlier. Victoria ranked first in job creation, followed by Odessa, Lubbock, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission and Midland.
The report was written by Research Economist Dr. Ali Anari and Chief Economist Dr. Mark Dotzour.
Source: Real Estate Center
Read MoreTexas First in Business Climate Survey
Texas boasts the best business climate in the country, according to a new survey of U.S. corporate executives conducted by Development Counsellors International (DCI). It was the fifth consecutive time the Lone Star State has ranked first in the survey.
DCI said Texas was the ”clear-cut favorite” among the 322 survey respondents, with 49.4 percent identifying the state as having the most favorable business climate.
The corporate decision-makers who named Texas as having the most favorable business climate most frequently cited “tax climate” (44 percent), “pro-business climate” (31 percent) and “economic development support/incentives” (15 percent) as reasons for their positive perceptions.
Coming in behind Texas was North Carolina at a distant 27.8 percent, South Carolina with 14.3 percent, Florida with 13.9 percent and Tennessee with 13.5 percent.
Conducted every three years, DCI’s “Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing” survey has tracked trends in economic development since its inception in 1996.
Source: Development Counsellors International
Read MoreTexas’ Can-Do Attitude
Newsweek has spotlighted what it refers to as “America’s 20 Can-Do Capitals,” and five Texas cities made the cut.
The magazine looked at the 200 largest U.S. cities to see how they are progressing in the areas of business growth, sustainability, livability, and transportation and infrastructure. Each city was able to receive up to 25 points in each of these four categories, for a total of 100.
Texas fared very well.
Topping the list was El Paso with a score of 71.4. San Antonio ranked fourth with 61.6, Austin tenth with 59.4, Dallas thirteenth with 58.5, and Fort Worth fourteenth with 58.1.
Newsweek provides a breakdown of the scores and a detailed explanation of how the cities were judged in each category.
Source: Newsweek
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