How many times have you bought an item “on sale” only to find out the price was actually marked up before the store decided to lower the price? So, what seemed like a bargain at the time really wasn’t – since the “sale” price was actually higher than the normal price of the same item at another store.

Unfortunately, some home builders and contractors use this same tactic.  They will lowball you to get the job and then come up with every opportunity they can to charge you extra, so you wind up paying much more than if you had gone with someone else.

You may also come across two homes with the same square footage and same number of bedrooms and baths in two adjoining neighborhoods. However, one is more expensive than the other. Does that automatically mean the cheaper home is the best value?  Not necessarily.

In these situations, you’ve got to do your homework. That means conducting a side by side feature and structural comparison to find out if you truly are getting the best deal with one builder over another.

One area to review is the type of energy saving features your builder offers. For instance, Landon Homes is the first builder in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to use 2×6 exterior wall construction instead of 2×4. With 50% thicker lumber, the walls of your home are stronger, and can hold 57% more insulation. As a result, your home won’t experience as much unwanted heat loss or gain, reducing your energy demands and lowering your utility bills in the process.

As you conduct your new home search, find out if your builder uses quality materials and has a good reputation for customer service.  You can save money in the long run by paying a little more upfront on a home that is built to last and helps keep your energy costs down. 

For more information about Landon’s better-built by design, energy efficient homes, visit our website at www.landonhomesusa.com.

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

Dallas-Fort Worth home prices continued to edge higher during the second quarter.

D-FW was one of 100 U.S. metropolitan areas that saw improved home prices from a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.

Median home sales prices in the area rose 2.1 percent in the second quarter from the same period the previous year, the Realtors said. That beat the nationwide increase of 1.5 percent.

And it was more than double North Texas’ first-quarter gain.

Almost two-thirds of the U.S. markets that the Realtors track had year-over-year price rises at midyear.

But analysts aren’t overselling the latest numbers, which are compared with the depths of the housing shakeout in 2009.

“The recorded home prices in many markets were significantly depressed last year because of a large percentage of distressed homes sold at discount,” said Realtor economist Lawrence Yun.

“Now as more normal, nondistressed home sales are occurring, the median price in many areas is showing higher values,” he said.

Sales of distressed homes still account for almost a third of U.S. purchases nationwide, according to the Realtors.

An increase in the number of sales of higher-priced homes in some markets may also increase the median price, Yun said.

In the Dallas area, sales of homes in affluent neighborhoods are up sharply this year.

Nationwide, prices were up for the first time since 2006 in the closely watched report.

Some of the biggest second-quarter price increases were in California, which in recent years suffered huge residential value declines. Prices were up 36 percent in San Jose, 25 percent in San Francisco and 17.8 percent in Riverside.

Prices were still falling in more than 50 areas, including Cumberland, Md., -15.4 percent, and Tucson, Ariz., -13.7 percent.

The D-FW area had the best quarter price performance among major Texas markets. Prices were up 1.3 percent in the Austin area.

But median home sales prices fell 1 percent in Houston and were down 3.2 percent in San Antonio.

EXISTING HOME PRICE CHANGES

What’s spurring all that growth? Good jobs and affordable housing, as well as a favorable business climate. There’s no corporate income tax, building costs are relatively reasonable and regulations are minimal.

One city that’s been helping to pump up the metro area’s growth is McKinney, site of Landon Homes’ Shiloh Ranch community. McKinney was the nation’s third fastest growing city last year, and has ranked number two in population growth for the last decade.

Newcomers are flocking to McKinney because of the city’s great schools, safe streets, low crime and robust employment opportunities. Defense contractor Raytheon has a 3700-person facility here, and companies involved in financial services, medical technology and eco-friendly manufacturing are moving in. 

While McKinney has been growing like mad, it still retains that small-town feel, thanks to its tree-lined streets surrounded by rolling hills, ponds, parks and 42 miles of hike and bike trails. What’s more, McKinney has a gem of a downtown, featuring lovingly restored 19th-century buildings that house restaurants, boutiques, and galleries; the 1875 courthouse contains a new performing-arts center. 

For more information about Shiloh Ranch and McKinney, contact Tanya Smith anytime by phone at 214-707-0347 or just click on our LIVE CHAT feature throughout the Landon Homes website for speedy answers to all your new home questions.

McKinney, TX was not only ranked #5 in CNN Money Magazine’s top 100, but it boasts the highest job growth rate since 2000 in the top ten!

# 5 – McKinney, TX

Top 100 rank: 5
Population: 125,000
Unemployment: 7.8%

–Vanessa Richardson

http://money.cnn.com/…/PL4845744.html

By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News

eaasen@dallasnews.com

http://www.dallasnews.com/…/062310dnmetcensus.19e354d.html

In North Texas, the newcomers keep coming and coming and coming.

Frisco was the nation’s fastest-growing city last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday. McKinney wasn’t far behind, ranking third.

The top 25 list is studded with several other North Texas cities, including Lewisville , Fort Worth, Carrollton and Denton.

Frisco claimed the top spot among cities with more than 100,000 people, thanks to a 6.2 percent population increase during a 12-month period starting in July 2008. Its Collin County neighbor, McKinney, scored a 5.5 percent jump.

Any way you slice or dice the census data, Frisco and McKinney remain chart toppers. Over the past decade, Frisco also had the country’s biggest population growth, while McKinney ranked No. 2.

More than 102,000 residents were in Frisco in 2009, compared with fewer than 34,000 in 2000, a take-your-breath-away 204 percent jump.

In 2009, McKinney’s population was nearly 128,000, up from about 54,000 in 2000 – a 135 percent increase.

All that city growth has helped pump up Dallas-Fort Worth. The area added more residents than any other metropolitan area in the country, both in the last year and the past decade, according to census data released in March.

Credit the population growth to good jobs, as well as an economy and housing market that aren’t as bad as in other parts of the country.

All of last year’s 10 fastest-growing cities are in Southern states, including North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. Of the 50 fastest-growing cities, 19 are in Texas.

Texas’ robust population growth – it’s the fastest-growing state – means it’s bound to add at least three new seats in Congress after the 2010 census, which is under way.

Rockwall County, a former commuter county in rural Texas, has seen an influx of new shops and restaurants, combined with large employers like L-3 Communications, to spur job growth in the area. In addition, manufacturing jobs at several long standing aluminum plants remain the backbone of the county’s economy.

Collin County has a high-tech industrial base, featuring such well-known employers as Texas Instruments, Raytheon, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and other software, Internet and telecom companies.  County officials work closely with the area’s municipal EDCs (Economic Development Corporations) to provide a variety of incentives to businesses relocating here.

Four of Collin County’s five largest cities – Frisco, McKinney, Plano and Allen – are nationally ranked in the top 100 wealthiest cities. That’s more than any other urban area in Texas and the Southwest, according to a survey – U.S. Wealth Centers — by Portfolio.com.

Once you find employment in the Dallas area, Landon Homes can help you find a place to live. We have new home communities in Frisco and McKinney, and all of our locations are within driving distance of Rockwall County.  Our homes are better built by design, with eco-friendly and energy-saving features that respect both the environment and your budget.

For more information, contact Tanya Smith anytime by phone at 214-707-0347 or just click on our LIVE CHAT feature throughout the Landon Homes website for speedy answers to all your new home questions.

Dallas-Fort Worth grew by an estimated 25% in the past decade and now has an estimated 6.5 million residents.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The booming Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area added more residents during the past decade than any other city in the United States.

According to the latest Census Bureau figures, the population of the sprawling Texas metro area grew by about 1.3 million people, or 25%, between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2009.

The population is now estimated at 6.5 million residents, but an exact count won’t be available until the 2010 census is complete.

Dallas’s attractions include a very favorable business climate, according to Mayor Tom Leppert.  There’s no corporate income tax, building costs are relatively reasonable and regulations are minimal.

“It’s a great place to do business,” he said, “especially attractive for companies from high-tax states.”

Helping to drive growth is the area’s main airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International, the third busiest in the nation. Its location is far enough south to ensure good weather yet central enough to make it easy to fly to the Northeast, the Midwest and the Pacific Coast. It is also well positioned for air traffic with Latin American markets.

“Dallas has no port,” said Leppert. “The airport became a 21st century port.”

What it has lacked in the past — a vibrant downtown — is starting to develop. Recent additions include a huge new arts center, urban park, light rail system and new housing. These have bolstered the city’s density and made downtown more interesting and fun.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/22/…/fastest_growing_metro_areas/

May 24, 2010 –

“The home buyer tax credit was just one of many factors motivating Americans to buy homes,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a builder and developer in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “But buyers can still take advantage of today’s low interest rates and competitive prices to get a home they may not have been able to purchase just a few years ago.” 

Besides mortgage interest rates that have been hovering at near-record lows, homes in many markets have become more affordable. Prices have moderated from the highs of the housing boom that occurred in most of the country, especially in major markets where they had increased significantly.

Today’s new homes are also built to be much more energy efficient than homes constructed a generation ago, making them more affordable to operate. New homes are designed to support modern lifestyles with open floorplans, flexible spaces, improved safety features, and low-maintenance materials. 

Consumers who are thinking about buying a home should not count on interest rates or prices staying at current levels, however. Mortgage rates are sensitive to market conditions, and even a slight increase can push monthly payments beyond a family’s budget. As the country recovers from the recession and people stabilize their financial situations, NAHB economists expect that home prices will begin to increase by 2011. 

NAHB’s home buyer brochure “Opportunity Knocks for Home Buyers” describes many of the opportunities in today’s market, as well as the long-term financial benefits of homeownership. It provides examples of how interest rates affect monthly mortgage payments and the typical federal tax savings over the first five years of homeownership. The brochure can be downloaded from NAHB’s web site at: www.nahb.org/homebuyerbrochure.  

The home buyer tax credit is still available for eligible home buyers who had a signed sales contract by the April 30 deadline and who close by June 30, 2010, as well as for qualified members of the military, foreign service and intelligence communities, who have until April 30, 2011, to sign a contract. For more information, go to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com.

Originally posted on www.nahb.com

WASHINGTON – Sales of new homes surged 27 percent last month, bouncing off the previous month’s record low and blowing past expectations as government incentives and better weather boosted sales.

The Commerce Department said Friday that new-home sales rose in March to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 411,000. It was the strongest month since last July and the biggest monthly increase in 47 years.

Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a sales pace of 330,000. February’s results were revised upward to 324,000, but remained an all-time low. Sales had been especially weak over the winter, partly due to bad weather in much of the country.

The median sales price was $214,000, up more than 4 percent from a year earlier but down more than 3 percent from February.

The new-home sales report reflects signed contracts to purchase homes rather than completed sales and thus gives economists a feel for how many buyers were out shopping for new homes in a given month.

It is likely capturing consumers who are trying to qualify for federal tax credits that will expire at the end of this month. The government is offering an $8,000 credit for first-time buyers and $6,500 for current homeowners who buy and move into another property.

To qualify, buyers must have a signed contract complete by the end of next week and must complete the transaction by the end of June.

“Everyone’s just trying to sign on the dotted line,” said Jennifer Lee, an economist with BMO Capital Markets.

Nearly 1.8 million households have used the credit at a cost of $12.6 billion, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

“These robust numbers say the credit is working,” said David Crowe, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders. He forecasts sales will rise through April, weaken modestly, and then remain stable through the rest of the year.

The rise in new-home sales was seen nationwide. Sales grew a whopping 44 percent in the South and 36 percent in the Northeast. They also rose about 6 percent in the West and 3 percent in the Midwest.

The number of new homes up for sale in March fell 2 percent to 228,000. At the current sales pace, it would take nearly 7 months to exhaust that supply.

Still, new-home sales are down 70 percent from their peak in July 2005, and some analysts predict they will sink back to the winter’s dismal levels after the tax credit runs out.

“I expect we’ll see a very sharp drop back,” possibly to new record lows, said Paul Ashworth, senior U.S. economist with Capital Economics.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

It’s true that some areas of the country have been hard hit by the mortgage crisis, but that’s not the case in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. 

Metrostudy housing analyst David Brown expects first quarter housing starts in the area to be up at least 50 percent from last year. 

That’s good news for Texas home builders, including John Landon, whose company Landon Homes is selling homes in the North Dallas area.  Landon is a visionary builder offering homes that respect both the environment and the home buyer’s budget.  The company continually strives to build homes with lasting value and quality in exceptional neighborhoods. 

Landon also understands families since the company is comprised of family members. Many employees and subcontractors have worked with Landon for decades and are second-generation members of its team. 

With a repertoire of more than 40,000 homes, the Landon team offers an unmatched wealth of talent, expertise, and enthusiasm. 

For more information, contact Tanya Smith anytime by phone at 214-707-0347 or just click on our LIVE CHAT feature throughout the Landon Homes website for speedy answers to all your new home questions.