Housing Policy

housing policy

What’s Going On With New Home Sales

The Census Bureau reported new home sales for November at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 590,000 units. That was well below expectations. The median new home price was $434,700 according to Census estimates. The average new home price was $488,900. The inventory of new homes rose to 9.2 months of supply. That put inventory at the highest levels of the year, and back to where it stood in November 2022. But there's a catch. This is November data. The November Census estimate on new home sales doesn't capture the capitulation from Janet (Treasury) [...]

Denton County Housing Market Searching For a Soft Landing

Denton County's housing market was still searching for that soft landing in November. Home sales were down 2 percent year-over-year. Pending sales fell by nine percent. Median home prices were steady at $450,000. Ironically enough that's exactly where prices stood in November of last year. Average prices slid for the fourth consecutive month, putting them down 1 percent lower than last year. The average price of a Denton County home is $68,000 (eleven percent) lower than the bubble peak of last spring. The North Texas housing market is currently caught between The Federal Reserve's need [...]

Jury Sides With Sellers in Bombshell Commission Suit

The verdict in the Sitzer/Burnett commission trial is in. The jury wasted little time in finding for the plaintiff sellers in the bombshell commission suit involving major real estate brokers and NAR. The jury awarded damages to the seller plaintiffs in the amount of $1.78 billion, with the potential for up to $5.35 billion with treble damages. Jurors ruled that the National Association of Realtors' cooperative compensation rule inflated commission expenses for sellers and that major brokers were also to blame. Defendants NAR, Keller Williams, Anywhere (formerly, Realogy), RE/MAX, HomeServices of America and two of [...]

Denton County Real Estate Market Running Out of Steam

Denton County real estate was running out of steam in September. New cycle highs for mortgage rates and more typical seasonality took a bite out of demand. Sales volume dropped 9 percent compared to the same month a year ago. Pending contract activity fell by a similar amount. Median and average home prices are now lower than where they stood in April. Median prices are still $40,000 lower than where they topped out in the frenzy of 2022. New home builders continued to pull in an outsized portion of sales in September. They are doing [...]

Denton County House Payments Hit Record Highs

Denton County house payments hit record highs in July. Prospective home buyers continued to get pinched by higher mortgage rates and the rebound in North Texas home prices through the first half of the year. As mortgage rates mushroomed back toward 7 percent, area house payments have soared for buyers using a market rate mortgage. Median home prices came in at $475,000 for the month of July. The median house payment for Denton County buyers factoring in the rise in interest rates translates to a principal and interest payment of over $2500 per month. That's [...]

Denton County Home Prices Bounce, But Still Lower Than a Year Ago

The Denton County and North Texas housing market continued to bounce in April. Median home prices were up over $40,000 from January, but still down 1.6 percent from April of last year. The ridiculous bubble from the spring of 2022 continues to make for tough year-over-year comparisons. Thin resale inventory and higher prices are still taking a toll on sales. Closed sales in Denton County were down 8 percent from a year ago, while pending contracts were 5 percent lower. With the tighter conditions this spring average days on market fell to 51 days. Average [...]

Denton County Housing Market – Calm Before the Storm?

The Denton County housing market experienced a temporary lift in the first two months of the year. February home sales bounced from the January lows putting them 15 percent higher than the same month last year. Pending sales were up 23 percent in February across Denton County. Median and average home prices bounced slightly during the month. The available supply of homes dipped to just 1.7 months. As more sellers and builders chopped prices in recent months, more buyers stepped back into the market. Percent of original list price has made marginal improvements for the past [...]

North Texas Housing Market Looks to Fed for Signs of Relief

The North Texas housing market continues to hope for a soft landing by the Fed. Agents and market participants continue to front-run a Fed pivot that hasn't happened. There are plenty of people in the real estate industry who want and need lower rates to bolster their business. Many of these same people are agents and levered speculators who feasted on the $trillions in stimulus that drove the markets to their bubble highs. Fortunately cooler heads are currently driving policy. Normalization in the housing market continues to trim some of the froth from the housing [...]

Demand Destruction Hitting Denton County Housing Market

Demand destruction continues to hit the Denton County housing market. The Federal Reserve's housing reset and tighter policy led to a 28 percent slide in home sales in November. Pending contracts for homes were down 24 percent from the same time a year ago. In reality sales numbers are softer than official estimates. We still have another 6 months or so before we'll see more accurate comparisons on sales totals with new construction sales consistently in the MLS. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association mortgage purchase applications are still running about 40 percent lower than [...]

Fannie Freddie Loan Limits For High Cost Counties Over a $Million in 2023

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming loan limits will jump to over a $million in January 2023. American taxpayers will be backstopping loans in expensive coastal counties for up to $1,089,300. That's up from the limit of $970,800 this year. Most conforming loans will be subject to the new loan limit of $726,200 in 2023. That's a 12.2 percent increase from the current limit of $647,200. Fannie Mae's Lender Letter (LL-2022-06) explains the nuts and bolts of the new changes. The new tables have the loan limit for single-unit structures in Denton County Texas at [...]

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