Taking The Temperature of The Dallas Area Housing Market

CityDreamHome Realty has been watching the economy; and specifically the Dallas Area housing market. As previously stated in our blog post, the Dallas housing market is a little different when compared to most other area in the nation. Yes, we are down, but the hit has been cushioned by a good job market, and lower overall housing cost.

The Lake community of Little Elm remains one of the most affordable places to live in the area; at an average price just under $171,000. It does not hurt that it borders the boom town of Frisco. Don’t get me wrong, this economy still has issues, and we as consumers are paying more for just about everything we purchase. How many of us were shocked when we got the last electric bill? No rose colored glasses here.

With that said, it’s still a buyers market out there and buyers with their credit ducks in a row can take advantage of the many good deals. If you’re a seller and you have maintained or enhanced the value of your home; your chances of a quicker sale are good. Prices are down, so don’t expect the same margins made just a few years ago. In our next post, we’ll talk about the ways you can make your home stand out from the rest.

Here are some recent facts about our local market:


Little Elm

The median single family home price as of August 10 2008 for LITTLE ELM is $170,828

The average property in LITTLE ELM as of August 10 2008 has been on the market for about 108 days.

The median price per square foot for homes in LITTLE ELM as of August 10 2008 is about $79

There are about 414 properties on the market in LITTLE ELM as of August 10 2008.


Frisco

The median single family home price as of August 10 2008 for FRISCO is $325,066

The average property in FRISCO as of August 10 2008 has been on the market for about 124 days.

The median price per square foot for homes in FRISCO as of August 10 2008 is about $97

There are about 1,517 properties on the market in FRISCO as of August 10 2008.


The Colony

The median single family home price as of August 10 2008 for THE COLONY is $197,777

The average property in THE COLONY as of August 10 2008 has been on the market for about 95 days.

The median price per square foot for homes in THE COLONY as of August 10 2008 is about $85

There are about 331 properties on the market in THE COLONY as of August 10 2008.


Carrollton

The median single family home price as of August 10 2008 for CARROLLTON is $188,361

The average property in CARROLLTON as of August 10 2008 has been on the market for about 82 days.

The median price per square foot for homes in CARROLLTON as of August 10 2008 is about $91

There are about 446 properties on the market in CARROLLTON as of August 10 2008.


Dallas

The median single family home price as of August 10 2008 for DALLAS is $247,239

The average property in DALLAS as of August 10 2008 has been on the market for about 122 days.

The median price per square foot for homes in DALLAS as of August 10 2008 is about $116

There are about 5,602 properties on the market in DALLAS as of August 10 2008.

iPhone: New Applications may help Realtors, Buyers & Sellers

I’ve wanted an iPhone since day one! I also remember the first iPod and how the second release was so much better. So I waited…kind of.
I ended up buying the iPod Touch to replace my old iPod. With the Touch, I have the same software and mode of operation as the iPhone; except the phone part.

When Apple released its 3G version of the phone and updated the software, which applies to the Touch & iPhone; I wanted to test-drive some of the new software from the Apple Store before purchasing the new 3G version. Can the iPhone make our lives easier? Is it really like having your computer with you all the time? The following iPhone & Touch applications could be useful to Realtors, Buyers & Sellers alike.

TypePad for iPhone - Free
If you Blog using Typepad, you’re in luck. You can do it directly from your iPhone. This includes uploading pictures. Take and post pictures with your iPhone or use the pictures from your photo album. The best part about this is that you can blog from anywhere and anytime the mood strikes you to update your blog. Depending on your type of blog, this means you can get info out as it happens.

For those of us using Blogger, the news is not so good.
ShoZu – Free
This app claims to keep you connected to over 40 of your favorite sites, including Blogger, Twitter and more. Some users claim it was hard to install and others have said it crashed their iPhone. I installed it and found that it’s an app with lots of potential, but not yet ready for prime time. The Blogger function only allows picture uploads for now, and you have to sign up on ShoZu’s site. I suspect some users may have skipped this step and therefore found it useless. I’m keeping an eye on this one.

Whether behind the desk or on the road, you can let everyone know that you have just updated your blog with…
Twitterific – Free
A social networking app on your iPhone. If you’re on Twitter, this is one of the best. Be warned that you could get addicted to the Tweets. The company also adds more functionality with Twitterific Premium - $9.99.

More social networking apps you can download:
AIM
Facebook
MySpace Mobile
and some others I have never heard of, like Limbo, Zintin, iFob, Whrrl, Eventful, Exposure (premium for $9.99), LifeCast, Pownce, and Graffitio. All Free

OmniFocus - $19.99
A productivity application and winner of the 2008 Apple Design Award.

YPmobile – Free
From yellowpages.com
Mini Mortgage Manager - $1.99
Use this to quickly estimate how much your monthly mortgage payments will be, based on the amount you want to borrow.

Weather Bug – Free
Nice to have on the iPhone… I followed and avoided an isolated thunderstorm with this! Hopefully they will animate the radar in a future update.

Puluwai Real Estate Search – Free
Do a quick search on homes for sale. This app also allows you to see pictures, save your favorite homes and send email directly to the Realtor. Nice app and one to watch for sure.

With Apple opening up to software developers, you can bet that there will be plenty of apps to come in the near future. Most of these programs are very small, so they don’t take up too much iPhone space. The free ones are fun to try, and if you don’t like or can’t use the software, it’s very easy to delete.

See all the Apps here

The Growing Town with Lake Attitude

NTTA Rendition

This is a quiet community which enjoys spring & summer music in the park; all sitting just off Lake Lewisville. Besides being a lake town; Little Elm, TX has plenty of shopping and if you can't find it here, it's close enough to Frisco, Plano and Dallas.
Access to major highways is improving everyday. If you work from 8am-5pm, it can be a challenge at times, but traffic is rarely at a standstill and tends to move quicker than you might expect. The city is adding roads in some cases and extra lanes to major roads in others. Highways include: the Dallas Tollway, Highway 380, and 121. The Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge is also being constructed to connect Little Elm to I35. It's a town growing up nicely to accommodate the increasing population.

NTTA Photos

View Larger Map

Links...

Official Website

City Data

LEISD

Wikipedia

Fall in love with this spacious and well designed Lennar home!

High Quality version

Pimping My Attic

Radiant Barriers: Hype or Hope? Part 2

We are well into June now and the electric bills are starting to reflect that. I’ve heard of electric bills as high as $700! Some say their last bills doubled past the previous month. Our bill jumped $100. The squeeze is on and we’re all trying to cut what we can and still maintain our lifestyles.

I appreciate Home Depot. That’s why I looked into this offer in the first place. A good name and a business I already trusted, how could I go wrong. The radiant barrier sounded like a great idea on so many levels. It still is a great idea, but not from Home Depot.

Call me a skeptic, but I wish there was a door scan which every “salesperson” had to walk through before they entered our homes. This scan would automatically de-scam the visitor and allow them to deal with me in an honest and upfront manner. Since the De-Scammer” does not exist, I attempted to peel the layers back on my own to see what I could find. It really is a shame I have to take this stance, but better safe than sorry. It’s all part of being a careful shopper during tighter economic times.

Home Depot sent out a consultant from EAS. Nice guy; sorry deal. I led “Tye” upstairs and he walked in every room, approximating attic size. He then climbed the ladder to the attic and spent some time walking around. So far, so good… this is pretty much what I expected him to do. What I didn’t expect was the price tag. Home Depot requires you to purchase at least $500 worth of insulation, but mine came in over $900. If you do so, they will cut the price of the radiant barrier in half. The price for the “radiant barrier” would be well into the $900’s also(half price?). Sigh… so I’m looking at $1900 for both; the attic floor insulation, which sits on top of the insulation already there, and the sprayed insulation on the attic roof.

That’s when I decided I could do this on my own. Hiring Home Depot, at this time, seems like a luxury. This can be done for less than a $1000 in most cases. The downside of that decision is that I’ll have to wait. The attic is not where you want to be during a Texas summer.
For me, this deal is hype, but the radiant barrier offers hope. I hope I can save the 30% on my electric bill, like all the experts say I will.

More info and pics...

A word from a Preferred Lender...

Shopping for a Mortgage

In theory, finding the right mortgage should be a fairly simple process. After all, there are literally hundreds of options to choose from, including Fixed Rate, Adjustable Rate, Hybrids, and Interest Only loans, to name just a few. Mortgages are available with interest rates ranging from an introductory rate of 1.00% to well over 10.00%. Borrowers can even finance up to 100% of their home's value and, in some cases, their closing costs as well.

In reality, however, this vast selection of mortgage products has made choosing the right one a challenging endeavor, to say the least. Without sound advice from an experienced mortgage professional, consumers are at the mercy of a complex financial decision that could impact their lives for years to come. At a minimum, home buyers should consider the following questions before putting any mortgage into place:
• How long do you anticipate living in your new home?
• Do you foresee any changes over the next few years, such as expanding your family or having children go off to college?
• Do you anticipate any adjustments in income due to promotions, relocations, retirement, inheritance, or pensions?
• Are you expecting a change with regard to your investments?
• When it comes to investment strategies, are you conservative, aggressive, or somewhere in between?

As a mortgage professional, it's my job to match clients with the mortgage product that best serves their changing goals and needs. I take pride in helping each and every client succeed.

Aaron Duca
Mortgage Loan Expert
PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company
Phone: (972)370-5626
Fax: (866)607-1547
aduca@primelending.com
http://www.ducamortgage.com

Radiant Barriers: Hype or Hope?

I’ve been researching “Radiant Barriers” for the last few days; wondering if they can contribute to our home energy saving efforts. We called Home Depot to schedule a consultation. I hoped to eliminate the constant barrage of questions I would normally have; especially since prior to the call, I knew absolutely nothing about radiant barriers. I only knew it sounded good in theory.

Most do-it-yourself radiant barriers are of the rolled foil type, either applied to the rafters or the attic floor. EAS (Efficient Attic Systems), a partner to Home Depot, list how they create a radiant barrier in your attic. I did not see foil in any of the pictures, and I wonder if this sprayed on gunk will reflect well and have low emissivity.

Here are some links I found helpful.

http://www.radiantbarrier.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiant_barrier
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4776142.html

For in-depth Department of Energy information on Radiant Barriers click here . Although this is dated June 1991, there is still plenty to learn and digest.

Before doing my research, my first 2 questions would have been:
how much?
and how much will it save me?

After doing some research and gaining some rudimentary knowledge of the subject; my first two questions remain:
How much?
and how much will it save me?

They may have to be my last 2 questions answered. Whoever they send out must see the space and find out what & how much before they can give me an estimate.
I’m eagerly awaiting the consultation. I have questions and I’m confident they will have the answers. I’ll post my findings here after the appointment.