Economy

Economic Issues Affecting Texas Housing Markets

New Home Sales Rise Slightly, Up 15.2 Percent Year-over-Year

New home sales rose 1.6 percent in December according to Census estimates. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 842,000 translates into a 15.2 percent increase from December of 2019. The median price of a new home sold in December 2020 was $355,900. The average price was $394,900. The median price of a new U.S. home rose $26,400, or 8 percent in the middle of a global pandemic even as millions of Americans were losing their jobs. If that's not a testament to the power of central bank liquidity, I don't know what is. The inventory [...]

Oblivion Revisited: Jerome Powell Lays More Cover For The Banking System

In a Q&A session and virtual chat covering monetary policy and the U.S. economy Jerome Powell floated another laughable statement regarding the strength and soundness of the U.S. financial system. Just like his predecessors before him, Powell is apparently willing to feed the financial media whatever it wants to hear, even it has no affiliation with the truth. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed will maintain the current course of printing money like there's no tomorrow until it sees substantial progress towards its goals of 2 percent inflation and maximum employment. It is [...]

North Texas Housing Bubble Gasping For Air

The North Texas housing bubble was gasping for air in December. Inventory continued to dry up across the Dallas Fort Worth market, helping to push median and average home prices up 9.7 percent and 12.3 percent respectively. Prices on a per square foot basis hit fresh new highs in North Texas as 2020 came to a close. Ironically we saw a bevy of Federal Reserve officials calling for more inflation in the economy last week while home prices were posting double-digit year-over-year gains. North Texas home sales were up 16 percent from December of 2019. [...]

North Texas Home Prices Hit New Highs In Fed-Fueled Market Frenzy

The Fed-fueled housing boom of 2020 is still gripping North Texas. Median and average prices in the DFW area were up 13.1 percent and 15.5 percent respectively in November. Everyone moderately attached to central bank liquidity has been busy buying up assets. Denton home prices defied normal seasonal trends last month. Median prices in the city of Denton were up 6.1% compared to last year, while average prices hit a new record high of $315,590. That translates to a 13.4% increase from November of last year. Denton County saw similar home price gains with median [...]

New Home Sales Level Off With Rates Near Record Lows

New home sales have leveled off now that mortgage interest rates stagnating at record lows. It would appear the massive stimulus from the Fed which began in March of this year has run its course. The big question is what comes next. The Census Bureau reported new residential home sales for October at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 999,000 units. This was better than expected and previous months were revised upward as well. Compared to October of last year, new home sales rose 41 percent. Median and average prices of new homes sold (contracted) [...]

North Texas Home Sales Defy Economic Stagnation

North Texas home sales continued to defy economic stagnation in September. NTREIS data reflect a 24 percent rise in home sales in the DFW area last month. Pending sales look to be up by 17 percent. The median price of a DFW home jumped 10.3 percent compared to a year ago. Average prices climbed 13.4 percent. Months of inventory plummeted 46 percent to just 1.9 months of supply. Denton County home sales skyrocketed 30 percent with pending sales up 18 percent. The median price of a Denton County home jumped 7.8 percent while average prices [...]

North Texas Real Estate Market Partying Like It’s 1999

The North Texas real estate market continued to ramp higher in August. Median home prices in Denton County jumped 6.3 percent last month, with average prices rising 7.4 percent compared to a year ago. Denton County home sales increased 10 percent, while pending sales for Denton County homes shot 33 percent. Home buyers are still riding that wave of liquidity, and who can blame them. Mortgage rates just hit a new record low in the latest weekly survey, with the rate on the 30-year fixed dropping to 2.86 percent. Those low rates helped push North [...]

Denton Texas Employment Stalls With Fading Govt Stimulus

Denton Texas employment stalled in July as stimulus benefits for many Americans came to an end. While Denton and Denton County showed slight increases in employment from June levels, North Texas as a whole actually lost jobs during the month. The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA region saw unadjusted nonfarm employment fall by 12,900 jobs from June levels. Employment for the North Texas region was down by 150,500 jobs compared to July 2019. The latest numbers from the Texas Workforce Commission in July are a stark reminder that the real economy has not fully recovered, even if [...]

New Home Sales Continue Covid Rebound, Up 6.9% Year-over-Year

The Census Bureau reported new home sales for June at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 776,000. That was a 13.8% jump from May sales and a 6.9% increase compared to June 2019. This was far better than June existing home sales reported by the National Association of Realtors this week which were still down 11.3% compared to the same time a year ago. According to Census estimates for June, median and average new home prices rose to $329,200 and $384,700 respectively. Both figures are sharp increases from May, and even June 2019. The non [...]

Corona Hangover Coming To The North Texas Housing Market

A corona hangover is coming to the North Texas housing market. It's not a question of if, but when. Texas posted a 3rd consecutive daily record yesterday for Covid-19 fatalities, and the 2nd wave of the coronavirus has put the reopening of the Texas economy on hold. The fall opening of schools and universities is becoming more problematic by the day. Anxiety is a now common theme because there are few good choices available when leaders at the Federal and state level have failed us in so many ways. North Texas home sales rebounded sharply [...]

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