Category Archives: Market Reports

Market Reports on Home Sales in the North Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex and press articles about Landon Homes.

Politics is Politics & Real Estate is Real Estate!

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Are you tired of hearing negative campaign ads yet? Turn on the TV or listen to the radio lately, and you know right away that the midterm election craziness is in full swing.  But don’t let the political noise distract you or persuade you that this isn’t a good time to buy a home.

It is important to know where the candidates stand on the issues. So do your homework now, and don’t worry about it again until Election Day when it’s time to make your vote count. Remember that politics is a soap opera that will always involve drama. Waiting for election cycles to be over just delays the enjoyment you could be having in your new home! 

There are some great deals to be had right now in the housing market. Prices are affordable, mortgage rates are at record lows, and the new homes that are built today are much more energy efficient than those built 5-10 years ago. That means you’ll be able to save a good deal of money on utility bills.  Plus, a new home comes with a full builder’s warranty, so you don’t have to worry about making repairs.

At Landon Homes, we keep you in the loop all through the construction phase, so you know how your home is progressing. We offer a pre-construction meeting, a pre-drywall inspection, and a final inspection to ensure your satisfaction during all points of the building process.

With a repertoire of more than 40,000 homes built over the last 20 years, the Landon team offers an unmatched wealth of talent, expertise and enthusiasm. Call us today at  866-898-3603 to schedule a tour of one of our model homes in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.

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U.S. News & World Report Finds Nine Reasons to Buy a New Home

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With 30-year mortgage rates still at all-time lows, it’s a good time to buy a house if your circumstances allow. But the question is – do you buy a new home or an existing one?  It may be tempting to take advantage of the low prices you can find on foreclosures. But these homes can be a risky investment, compared to the benefits that a new home offers. 

U.S. News and World Report recently pointed out 9 reasons to buy a new home over a resale.  One of the benefits the article cited is the ability to design your home the way you want it, inside and out.  With new construction, you can choose your floor plan, select cabinets and countertops, paint colors and finishes, and landscaping. With an existing home, you have to live with the previous owner’s style, or spend money to change things you don’t like, such as wall colors and appliances. 

Another major advantage to buying a new home is that it will be more energy efficient than a resale home. Energy conservation codes get updated every 3 years, so a new home features the latest requirements like higher-efficiency insulation, doors and windows. Landon Homes takes these requirements a step further by doing 2”x 6” exterior walls that hold up to 50% more insulation than industry standard, tankless water heaters and highly rated appliances and water-saving faucets and shower heads that minimize utility bills.  A resale home usually has to be retrofitted with these features, at an additional cost. 

Home repairs and maintenance costs also play a role in the home buying process. An existing home or a foreclosure may need major repairs if the owner didn’t take care of it properly. That could put a big dent in your wallet.  A new home is covered by a builder’s warranty for at least a year, while other major components are usually warrantied for extended periods. 

Home builders may also be able to offer more financing options due to their relationships with lenders. As a result, you could get a deal on closing costs, a buy down of your interest rate, or even special upgrade financing. Fewer individual sellers have room to negotiate on these terms, so a new home might be your best option if financing is important to you.

If you’re looking for a new home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, visit Landon Homes to learn about our better built by design, energy-efficient homes that respect both the environment and your budget.

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How Do You Know If You Are Getting a Good Deal on a New Home?

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When shopping for a new home, you naturally want to get the best deal you can for the money. After all, buying a home is one of the biggest investments you’ll probably ever make.  But sometimes what may seem like a good deal at first, can wind up costing you more in the long run.

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.

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Dallas-Fort Worth home prices edge higher in report

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07:53 AM CDT on Thursday, August 12, 2010

 

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.

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DFW McKinney Area Growing Fast

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They say that “everything is bigger in Texas,” and that certainly is the case with Dallas-Fort Worth. It’s the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country, both in the last year and the past decade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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.

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McKinney, TX Ranked #5 Best Place to Live in 2010 by CNN Money Magazine

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Landon Homes’ Shiloh Ranch community in McKinney TX is proud to announce that CNN Money Magazine has ranked the top 100 small cities that boast plenty of jobs, great schools, safe streets, low crime, lots to do, charm, and other features that make a town great for raising a family!  McKinney, TX ranks at #5

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%

Lots of towns near Dallas have low crime, affordable homes, and good jobs; McKinney is no exception. What makes it stand out is its gem of a downtown. Lovingly restored 19th-century buildings house restaurants, boutiques, and galleries; the 1875 courthouse contains a new performing-arts center.
McKinney’s employment opportunities are robust, sparing many residents a rush-hour drive of up to an hour to Dallas. Defense contractor Raytheon has a 3,700-person division here, and a mix of businesses in financial services, medical technology, and eco-friendly manufacturing are moving in.
Though McKinney has grown like mad over the past decade, you’d never suspect it when driving through its tree-filled communities surrounded by ponds, parks, and hiking trails.

–Vanessa Richardson

http://money.cnn.com/…/PL4845744.html

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Frisco, Other Dallas-area Cities Among Fastest-Growing in U.S.

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07:10 AM CDT on Wednesday, June 23, 2010

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.

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Money Magazine Rates Rockwall & Collin Counties Excellent For Job Growth

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Looking for a new job?  Look no further than Collin County and Rockwall County near Dallas, TX. Money Magazine rated the two counties among the top 25 places in the country for job growth.

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.

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Dallas: Fastest Growing U.S. city

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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/

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Plenty of Reasons to Buy a Home Even After the Tax Credit

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May 24, 2010 – Even though the home buyer tax credit expired on April 30 and won’t be renewed, there may never be a better time to buy a home than today, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Many outstanding opportunities still exist for home buyers, but they may not be around forever.  

“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.

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