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Dallas-Fort Worth — Home Prices Rise for 2nd Straight Month

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com

Dallas-area home prices posted solid gains in the latest measure of the country’s housing market – further proof that the local residential sector is stabilizing.

Dallas’ home prices were up 3 percent in December from a year earlier in the monthly Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released Tuesday.

It was the second month in a row that area home prices rose on an annual basis. Prices were up 1.4 percent in November’s Case-Shiller Dallas report, the first such gain in more than two years.

The gains in local home prices are “another good sign that the worst is behind us,” said D’Ann Petersen, a business economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. “We were fortunate not to see a huge erosion in our home values here in North Texas, and it is encouraging to see that values are moving in a positive direction.”

That doesn’t mean there won’t be a few bumps ahead, she said.

“How strong any housing recovery will be depends on job growth, of course,” Petersen said.

“We do expect to see positive employment growth in 2010, but the pace will be modest compared to what we saw prior to the downturn.”

Gloomier Elsewhere

Housing conditions aren’t rebounding yet in many markets outside Texas. Overall home prices fell 3.1 percent in December in the 20 cities that Case-Shiller tracks.

“As measured by prices, the housing market is definitely in better shape than it was this time last year, as the pace of deterioration has stabilized for now,” S&P’s David Blitzer said in the report. “However, the rate of improvement seen during the summer of 2009 has not been sustained.”

More than a dozen major U.S. housing markets had year-over-year declines in home prices at the end of 2009, Case-Shiller found.

The biggest price drops were in Las Vegas, which was down 20.6 percent, and Tampa, Fla., down 11 percent.

San Francisco had the largest annual price gain in December – 4.8 percent – followed by Dallas and San Diego.

Improving home sales and pricing in Dallas and other markets are due in part to federal tax credits, said Ted Wilson, a housing analyst for Dallas-based Residential Strategies Inc.

“The bottom line is the housing market looks very good this spring,” he said. “But the industry is still waiting for job growth.

“Without job growth, one would question whether the advances are sustainable.”

6 Percent Below Peak

Case-Shiller tracks the prices of typical single-family homes in each metropolitan area. The index does not include condominiums and townhouses. It only covers pre-owned properties – no new construction.

Case-Shiller researchers compare sales of specific properties over time.

Dallas area home prices are still about 6 percent below their peak in mid-2007, according to Case-Shiller’s numbers.

Local real estate statistics show that median home sales prices in North Texas were unchanged in all of 2009 from 2008 levels, according to North Texas Real Estate Information Systems Inc.

Median prices fell 3 percent in 2008 based on data on homes sold by Realtors through the Multiple Listing Service

Posted in Consumer Confidence, Homes Sales in Dallas, Market Reports | No Comments »

If You Don’t Buy a House Now, You’re Stupid or Broke

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

By Marc Roth

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/dec2009/bw2009127_753974.htm

Interest rates are at historic lows but cyclical trends suggest they will soon rise. Home buyers may never see such a chance again, writes Marc Roth.

Well, you may not be stupid or broke. Maybe you already have a house and you don’t want to move. Or maybe you’re a Trappist monk and have forsworn all earthly possessions. Or whatever. But if you want to buy a house, now is the time, and if you don’t act soon, you will regret it. Here’s why: historically low interest rates.

As of today, the average 30-year fixed-rate loan with no points or fees is around 5%. That, as the graph above—which you can find on Mortgage-X.com—shows, is the lowest the rate has been in nearly 40 years.

In fact, rates are so well below historic averages that it should make all current and prospective homeowners take notice of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

And it is exactly that, based on what the graph shows us. Let’s look at the point on the far left.

In 1970 the rate was approximately 7.25%. After hovering there for a couple of years, it began a trend upward, landing near 10% in late 1973. It settled at 8.5% to 9% from 1974 to the end of 1976. After the rise to 10%, that probably seemed O.K. to most home buyers.

But they weren’t happy soon thereafter. From 1977 to 1981, a period of only 60 months, the 30-year fixed rate climbed to 18%. As I mentioned in one of my previous articles, my dad was one of those unluckily stuck needing a loan at that time.

Interest Rate Lessons

And when rates started to decline after that, they took a long time to recede to previous levels. They hit 9% for a brief time in 1986 and bounced around 10% to 11% until 1990. For the next 11 years through 2001, the rates slowly ebbed and flowed downward, ranging from 7% to 9%. We’ve since spent the last nine years, until very recently, at 6% to 7%. So you can see why 5% is so remarkable.

So, what can we learn from the historical trends and numbers?

First, rates have far further to move upward than downward; for more than 30 years, 7% was the low and 18% the high. The norm was 9% in the 1970s, 10% in the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, 7% to 8% for much of the 1990s, and 6% only over the last handful of years.

Second, the last time the long-term trends reversed from low to high, it took more than 20 years (1970 to 1992) for the rate to get back to where it was, and 30 years to actually start trending below the 1970 low.

Finally, the most important lesson is to understand the actual financial impact the rate has on the cost of purchasing and paying off a home.

Every quarter-point change in interest rates is equivalent to approximately $6,000 for every $100,000 borrowed over the course of a 30-year fixed. While different in each region, for the sake of simplicity, let’s assume that the average person is putting $40,000 down and borrowing $200,000 to pay the price of a typical home nationwide. Thus, over the course of the life of the loan, each quarter-point move up in interest rates will cost that buyer $12,000.

Loan Costs

Stay with me now. We are at 5%. As you can see by the graph above, as the economy stabilizes, it is reasonable for us to see 30-year fixed rates climb to 6% within the foreseeable future and probably to a range of 7% to 8% when the economy is humming again. If every quarter of a point is worth $12,000 per $200,000 borrowed, then each point is worth almost $50,000.

Let’s put that into perspective. You have a good stable job (yes, unemployment is at 10%, but another way of looking at that figure is that most of us have good stable jobs). You would like to own a $240,000 home. However, even though home prices have steadied, you may be thinking you can get another $5,000 or $10,000 discount if you wait (never mind the $8,500 or $6,500 tax credit due to run out next spring). Or you may be waiting for the news to tell you the economy is “more stable” and it’s safe to get back in the pool. In exchange for what you may think is prudence, you will risk paying $50,000 more per point in interest rate changes between now and the time you decide you are ready to buy. And you are ignoring the fact that according to the Case-Shiller index, home prices in most regions have been trending back up for the last several months.

If you are someone who is looking to buy or upgrade in the $350,000-to-$800,000 home price range, and many people out there are, then you’re borrowing $300,000 to $600,000. At 7%, the $300,000 loan will cost just under $150,000 more over the lifetime, and the $600,000 loan an additional $300,000, if rates move up just 2% before you pull the trigger.

What I’m trying to impress upon everyone is that if you are planning on being a homeowner now and/or in the foreseeable future, or if you are looking to move your family into a bigger home, then pay more attention to the interest rates than the price of the home. If you have a steady job, good credit, and the down payment, then you really are being offered the gift of a lifetime.

Marc Roth is the founder and president of Home Warranty of America, which touches just about every part of the real estate industry since it sells through builders, real estate agents, title companies, mortgage companies, and directly to consumers.

Posted in Consumer Confidence, Homes Sales in Dallas, Market Reports | No Comments »

$8,000 Homebuyers Tax Credit Extended

Friday, November 6th, 2009

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer

http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/06/real_estate/tax_credit_extended/index.htm?postversion=2009110615

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — President Obama signed an extension and expansion of the first-time homebuyers tax credit on Friday.

The $8,000 credit was scheduled to lapse on Dec. 1 but will now be in effect through the end of June. Homebuyers must sign a contract before April 30 and close by June 30. The income limits were also raised: Single buyers can now earn up to $125,000 and still get the full credit while a married couple can earn $225,000.

The bill also made more homeowners eligible to claim the credit on their taxes. First-time buyers — those who have not owned a home in the past three years — still qualify for an $8,000 rebate. But now people who want to trade up can also qualify. Those who have owned and occupied a residence for at least five years out of the past eight can claim a $6,500 tax credit if they close on a purchase by the end of June.

“The new version of the tax credit has the potential to stimulate the housing market even more than the old version due to the fact that more people will qualify under the new rules,” said Gibran Nicholas, chairman of the CMPS Institute, an organization that certifies mortgage bankers and brokers.

Who Qualifies?

Nicholas provided four scenarios illustrating how the tax credit rules for existing homebuyers will apply:

  • Harry owned a home in 2001 and 2002 but sold it to relocate for a job. He would qualify for the $8,000 first-time-buyer credit because he has not owned a home in the past three years.
  • Sue purchased a home in 2004 and has lived there since. If she decides to buy a new home, she would qualify for the $6,500 tax credit because she has lived in the same residence for five consecutive years in the past eight.
  • Jane purchased her home in 2002, lived there for five consecutive years before she rented it out in 2007. She would qualify because she was an owner/occupier for at least five consecutive years in the past eight.
  • Mark purchased a home in 2006 and lived there for the past three years. He would not qualify because he is neither a first-time homebuyer nor someone who lived in the same primary residence for five consecutive years out of the past eight.

How it Helps the Economy:

Legislators and industry experts expect that the credit will encourage buyers such as Jane and Sue to move up their purchase plans.

“This bill will shift demand from the second half of 2010 into the first half,” said Pat Newport, a real estate analyst with IHS Global Research. “As a result, home sales and prices will get a boost in the first half of 2010, with payback in the second.”

That’s not a bad thing, according to Bill Kilmer, vice president of advocacy for the National Association of Home Builders. It’s important to stabilize real estate markets quickly to help bring the economy out of its tailspin.

The original $8,000 tax credit appears to have helped accomplish that goal: Home prices have inched up the past few months, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

Would it have happened anyway?

But critics still see the program as being ineffectual because it rewards buyers who would have purchased a home anyway. Newport estimates that fewer than 400,000 of the 2 million who have claimed the original credit made their purchases solely because of the tax advantages.

Furthermore, buyers do not, in reality, receive the entire benefit. “The credit helped prices stabilize,” said Newport. “So the credit has been split between seller and buyer. The sellers are getting higher prices and buyers paying more than they would have without it.”

The housing industry, however, is pleased with the extension, although the credit has not been quite as effective as they hoped.

The industry thought the credit would provide a ripple effect, with sales to first timers triggering as many three additional “move-up” sales.

That did not happen, according to Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

“It did not have the chain reaction impact it was supposed to,” he said. “Instead, many first-timers turned to vacant, foreclosed or other distressed properties the sellers of which were unlikely to be move-up buyers.”

So, the tax credit helped prop up the low end of the market without having much impact on the rest of the spectrum. Expanding the benefit to existing homeowners should boost those segments. That should produce additional benefits, according to Yun.

“Preventing further price decline or even nudging prices up a bit stabilizes housing wealth, which makes homeowners more comfortable in their spending,” said Yun. “They’re more likely to go out to the stores or buy a new car. That provides a boost to the overall economy.

Posted in Consumer Confidence, Market Reports | No Comments »

DFW New Home Construction Up

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

By SANDRA BAKER

http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/1668308.html/

The pace of new home building in Dallas-Fort Worth picked up the third quarter from the previous quarter, but is still down from last year’s level, according to the latest numbers released today by Dallas-based real estate research firm Residential Strategies.

DFW home builders started construction on 4,194 new homes between July and September, a 32 percent increase from the May-June period, but 790 fewer homes that were started a year ago.

Still, that’s much better than it has been. Since 2006, the year-to-year declines have been between 2,000 and 3,000 units, the firm said.

“This is a positive sign and perhaps a signal that the massive quarterly declines are coming to an end,” said Ted Wilson, partner with Residential Strategies. Wilson said he’s anticipating an uptick in the number in the fourth quarter or the first quarter of 2010.

One of the largest gains in the most recent quarter came in the category for homes under $200,000, likely the result of the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, home builders reported. The median new home price, though, slipped slightly to $204,031 in the third quarter, from $208,033 a year ago.

In Fort Worth, 1,660 finished new homes are available, which represents a 3-month supply. But when those are combined with unfinished homes, that number jumps to 3,691, the firm said.

The supply of vacant, developed lots DFW fell by 3,830 in the third quarter, to 88,592 from 92,422 a year ago. That indicates builders are making some headway in reducing inventory, Wilson said.

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Home Builders Seek Housing’s Hole in the Donut

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

http://www.housingcrisis.com/home-builders/home-builders-seek-housings-hole-donut/

Survey says home building executives’ confidence level is inching ever so slowly upward. From horrid in January, we’ve reached tepid now. After horrid and tepid can only come torrid, but that’s still unaccounted for in the present cycle.

Clearly, economics academics are preoccupied with algorithms and the alphabet–namely the letters ”V” or “W”. Capitol Hill is obsessed with gaining grandstands for 2010 reelection bids amid debate over decisions on healthcare, energy, and financial system oversight that will bear directly not only on the welfare of our grandparents but our grandchildren.

Everybody’s polarized by impulse, ready to tussle with anybody about anything, sometimes merely for the sport of the fight. Meanwhile, home building start-ups, reduxes, subtle shoots, resurrections, and regroupings command an ever greater degree of our attention. In some cases, what appeared lifeless is showing a pulse; in others, the DNA traces to vitality that was only in hibernation, like sleeping giants.

In the past fortnight alone, you’ve seen reports here:

  • KB Home will restart its operations in the D.C. metro market;
  • NVR is moving on the beleagured Florida market;
  • Emaaris regrouping from a near-death experience with a John Laing new co;
  • Ex-TOUSA CEO Tony Mon and some ex-Beazerites have cranked up a go-vertical plan;
  • Weekly, reports of imminent life after BK are filtering into the headlines;
  • Builderonline.com has spotlighted startups in virtually every corner of the U.S. map.

What can be said, then, is that national and global economics will be what they are, and will continue to exert pressure on what bank lenders will do. What those economics won’t do, however, is stop irrepressible characters from striking at opportunity while the iron is hot, which is a moment precisely before pessimism swings to its inverse.

Here’s a closer look at one who’s been there, done that, got out, and come back, ready for another good run.

Click image to access Landon Homes Web site.When things were really tough real estate in the 1980s, particularly in Texas, John Landon came out of Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, with an accounting degree and a level of ignorance that set him on his road to glory.

“I was young and dumb in 1982, and they [Trammel Crow] put me in charge of lot sales–and I didn’t know any better that lots weren’t selling, so I just ran with it,” says Landon.

One-time Peoria, Ill., high school All-American swimmer John Landon knows all about going a few more laps. He left as co-CEO of Meritage Homes in May 2006, with the proverbial golden parachute: more than $60 million in severance and stock value to provide some, shall we say, oomph to his subsequent interests and efforts.

Well, he’s back in business in North Dallas’ Frisco School District with a guiding business premise that could not be simpler to think about and harder to do these days. “If we build the right product, at the right price, in the right location, we’ll do OK, even in this environment,” he says.

DEJA DO
For all of a cup of coffee, Landon thought of his post-Meritage stage as retirement, with some dabbling here and there with friends in the land banking business.

But in September 2008, as the world and its financial underpinnings seemed to come all undone, Landon jumped back in the pool for another set of laps. Lucky for him, a couple of key longtime associates like Mike Gavin plunged in with him.

“When things really started to go south on a national scale, we figured it was a pretty good time to get in, because there were entry points open to us,” says Landon. “The cost to build houses is way down-lumber, land, labor, and such – which means if you’re in a position to buy now, you’re going to get an exciting opportunity to get a lot of high quality at a very good price.”

PLUS A CHANGE
For Landon, starting up when others are flattened out is a way to meet a need, something he learned as early as in high school, when he started his first enterprise, Crystal Clear, a swimming pool maintenance company.

Landon’s entrepreneurial DNA draws inspiration from his Irish-American dad, Lou Landon, who ran a meat-packing company near Peoria’s stock yards and had his boys working weekends and summers loading cattle onto the freight train flat cars.

Adversity, with a capital A, was literally the genesis of his first home building company, Legacy Homes, in 1987. Landon had been a vice president with Nash/Phillips Copus’ development company when it hit a wall as the late 1980s savings and loan crisis played out. Put in charge of lot sales, Landon wound up with some land and model homes, putting $60,000 of his own money into what he called Legacy Homes.

“We were profitable in five months,” says Landon; not bad for a recession. The current downturn is both deeper and longer, he adds, but there are similarities of note.

“If you go back, the similarity is there,” he says. “It’s like you’re in a card game, and the ones who are holding all the best cards [i.e., land holdings] get hit the hardest. Then the banks come in and take it all back and reshuffle. That takes the big advantage away from some of the ones who had it and re-levels the playing field in a way. That’s what makes for opportunity. The difference is that in the 1980s, the banks’ troubles were mostly confined to Texas, Arizona, California … it was more of a regional problem. This time it’s global.”

Landon’s “right product, right price, right location” conviction comes from a confidence that he can drive value into his offerings with strong controls on his operating costs. To date, Landon’s biggest investment is in, you guessed it, dirt.

“We can ultimately build out 1,000 lots, with 50 feet, 60s, 74s, and 84s,” says Landon, with flexibility for product offerings ranging from the $160s to the $300s, where the expansion of the Dallas North Tollway to Panther Creek should help drive demand for the rooftops.

Survey may say what survey may say. That doesn’t change home builder DNA.

Posted in About Landon Homes, Consumer Confidence, Dallas Communities, Homes Sales in Dallas, Market Reports | No Comments »

Dallas-Fort Worth is top three best housing markets

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE STRONGER IN TEXAS THAN MOST PLACES IN THE COUNTRY

A great opportunity for buyers and home builders in North Dallas.

If you are a home owner or home builder, Texas is one of the best places to be – particularly the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  According to an economic report just released from the Brookings Institute, the Dallas-Fort Worth area ranks third among metro areas that have been least affected by falling home prices and is one of the top three best housing markets in the country.

Yes, Dallas-Fort Worth is one of the bright spots in the nation. It’s one of only four cities with housing appreciation. In addition, the Dallas-Fort Worth area is attracting relocation from around the country because of it’s strong job market, affordably priced homes, and a business friendly environment.  Consequently, people are buying and selling homes. Consumer confidence is much stronger in Dallas-Fort Worth than in almost any other area in the country.

David Brown, head of Metrostudy’s Dallas office expects the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas to lead the nation in new home starts and closings. This is good news for the area economy and is particularly good news for Texas Home Builders.

In Texas, strong opportunities exist for builders like John Landon, President of Landon Homes, a North Dallas Home Builder. Landon has been a leading force in homebuilding and development for 20 years.  He opened his first home building company, Legacy Homes, in the 1980’s when the economy was going through similar tough economic times and he grew the company to be the 12th largest home builder in the Nation.  Companies like Landon Homes have experienced downturns in the economy and have survived because they have the resources, expertise, talent base, and fortitude to succeed in these challenging times.  John Landon also takes pride in running a debt-free company.

To read more about how the Dallas-Fort Worth area is doing compared to the rest of the nation, go to www.LandonHomesUSA.com/market_reports.html.

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Homes Still Affordable — REALLY AFFORDABLE

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: August 19, 2009: 2:19 PM ET

http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/19/real_estate/most_affordable_housing_markets/?postversion=2009081913

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Homes continue to be more affordable than they have been in nearly two decades.

The typical American family, making the nation’s median income of $64,000 a year, could afford to buy 72.3% of all homes sold in the United States during the second quarter, according a quarterly report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo.

That’s off just a tad from the record 72.5% reached during the first three months of 2009, but up substantially from the second quarter of 2008 when only 55% of homes sold were affordable.

“The increase in affordability — along with the $8,000 federal tax credit for home buyers — is stimulating demand, particularly among young, first-time buyers,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a homebuilder from Tulsa, Okla., in a prepared statement.

The NAHB judges a home to be affordable if a family making the metro area’s median income could devote no more than 28% of their take-home pay toward housing costs.

The vast improvement this year is due to plunging prices and rock-bottom interest rates. The average U.S. home price has dropped more than 32% from its peak, which was set during the summer of 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price index. And, for most of the three months mortgage rates were historically low, under 5% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan.

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Where the Jobs Are

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/moneymag/0906/gallery.bplive_jobgrowth.moneymag/15.html

Especially in a tough economy, plentiful job opportunities are key to making a great place to live. These 25 counties have experienced the most job growth over the last eight years.

#15 — Collin County, TX

Towns include: Murphy, McKinney, Plano
Job growth (2000-2008): 52.7%

Like the rest of Texas, the state’s wealthiest county was not immune to the crumbling housing market, with building permits down and foreclosures up. But despite the downturn, Collin County is shining brightly in the Lone Star State. Unemployment has remained relatively low, thanks to a swift transition from agriculture to high-tech industries.Texas Instruments, Raytheon, Electronic Data Systems (EDS), which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard, and other software, Internet and telecom companies employ much of the well educated workforce in high-tech management positions.

Another reason to buy a Landon Home in Collin County!

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Dallas – Fort Worth Ranked 3rd Best Housing Market in Report

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/classifieds/news/homecenter/realestate/stories/061809dnbushousing.8d903732.html

The Dallas-Fort Worth area is one of the top three housing markets in the country, according to a just-released economic report from the Brookings Institution.

The D-FW area ranked third among metro areas that have been the least affected by falling home prices.

Brookings researchers make these claims based on the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s quarterly House Price Index, which tracks values of homes mortgaged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

By that measure, home prices in D-FW were up slightly in the first quarter compared with those in the first quarter of 2008.

Other research that includes all home sales shows that home prices here were down about 4 percent compared with those in the same period last year. But that’s still less than in most markets.

The housing report was part of a comprehensive nationwide study on the economic health of metropolitan areas nationwide.

Brookings found that 38 of the top 100 metro areas avoided home price declines over the last year, even as prices nationwide dipped 6 percent. Most of these metro areas also had below-average employment declines and are in less-affected parts of the Manufacturing Belt (Pennsylvania and upstate New York) and the Sun Belt (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana).

Best U.S. Housing Markets:

  1. Houston
  2. Buffalo
  3. Dallas-Fort Worth
  4. Wichita
  5. Greenville, S.C.

Worst U.S. Housing Markets:

  1. Stockton, Calif.
  2. Las Vegas
  3. Modesto, Calif.
  4. Riverside, Calif.
  5. Cape Coral, Fla.

Source: Brookings Institution

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Dallas-Fort Worth is No. 2 in New-Home Sales, starts

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/classifieds/news/homecenter/realestate/stories/05020DNBUSnewhomes.1b509c95.html

Despite huge cuts in the residential construction business, Dallas-Fort Worth still ranks second in the country in new-home sales and starts.

Only Houston had more new-house construction and sales during the 12-month period ending in March, housing analyst Metrostudy Inc. said Tuesday in a new report.

“I expect the D-FW area and Houston to continue to lead the nation in new-home starts and closings,” said David Brown, who heads Metrostudy’s Dallas office. “Even though activity has fallen off dramatically, the slowdown in Dallas-Fort Worth and other Texas markets is not nearly as severe as other markets around the country.

“Dallas-Fort Worth and Texas have not been as severely affected by the recession as other regions of the country,” he said. “Consequently, consumer confidence is much stronger in our region than any other area in the country.”

Builders have cut the number of home starts in North Texas more than 50 percent in the last year because of the housing sector decline and slumping national economy.

But builders still started more than 17,000 houses in D-FW during the 12 months ending in March, Metrostudy said. At the same time, they sold almost 24,000 houses.

“Homebuilders are still challenged by economic conditions, but there are some positive trends,” Brad Hunter, Metrostudy’s chief economist, said in the report.

Sales are running ahead of construction in every market Metrostudy surveyed, he said.

“We are probably bottoming out in terms of single-family housing starts right now, but that does not mean we will return to the boom levels,” Hunter said.

Dallas-Fort Worth single-family home construction peaked in 2006, when almost 50,000 houses were started.

Builders in North Texas and across the nation have reported an uptick in home sales since federal tax credits that give first-time buyers $8,000 took effect.

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