Fort Worth #4 in US for job growth!

Texas cities, both large and small, once again lead the pack in a new ranking of the best places for jobs.

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos topped the chart for the fourth straight year among the nation’s 65 biggest metro areas. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown was ranked second, followed by No. 3 Salt Lake City, according to NewGeography.com, a site which analyzes economic, demographic and urban issues.

Fort Worth-Arlington jumped to No. 4 among big cities, climbing 11 spots from 2011. Dallas-Plano-Irving dipped from fifth to sixth on the 2012 list released this week. The best-cities lists are based on employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from November 2000 through January 2012. Cities are ranked based on recent, midterm and long-term growth as well as a region’s momentum.

Original story by Steve Campbell Fort Worth Star-Telegram

LDP/GSA – to close or not to close??

I bet you didn’t know that your real estate transaction could be derailed by a background check being done on the seller, buyer’s agent, listing agent, appraiser or other licensed professionals associated with your transaction, did ya??  it doesn’t happen very often, BUT that doesn’t mean that it can’t!  lenders scrub the names of all parties involved in a residential real estate transaction against a list commonly referred to as LDP/GSA previous to closing.  what is this ‘list’ you ask?

Limited Denials of Participation (LDP) and GSA (Government Services Administration) Lists:

This government database holds information concerning parties who have been denied participation in FHA’s insurance programs OR other government contracts or programs because of wrongdoing.

Examine/search the list for all parties to the transaction and the loan application (borrower, co-borrowers, realtor, appraiser, seller, licensed professionals contracted to provide mechanical certifications, broker, originator, etc.).

If any party who has been “searched” appears on the LDP/GSA lists, the loan application is not eligible for FHA insurance and the loan must be denied.

This is not only applicable to FHA insured mortgages – lenders commonly use this on conventional loans as part of their overall Loan Quality Procedures as well.

I see this rear it’s ugly head most often when there is a common name as part of the transaction (such as John Smith as the listing agent).  One measure that can be taken is to provide full names including middle name (not just middle initial).

be sure to tune in to REAL TIME REAL ESTATE DFW @ 3pm Saturdays on KWRD Christian Talk radio 100.7 FM The Word.

N TX sales 6,126 homes! + more!

existing single-family home sales up 13% from a year ago in the 29-county North Texas region where 6,126 homes were sold.  the median price was up 11% in March to $155,000, per the Real Estate Center @ Texas A&M University.  Q1 2012 realized a 16% jump from Q1 2011 as well while the median sales price for the entire quarter was up 5%. 

DFW Builders were also rockin’ and rollin’ with home starts up 8% for from Q1 2011 to Q1 2012, according to Residential Strategies in Dallas. 

“With the solid results most home builders have been experiencing this spring, our expectation is that the increase in start activity will continue to manifest itself in the second quarter as well,” said Ted Wilson, a principal with Residential Strategies.

moral of the story = buy now while rates AND prices are low!

Read more here:

FHA delays ruling on collections accounts!

The Federal Housing Administration has rescinded and will delay a ruling that as of April 1 prohibited borrowers with more than $1000 in collection accounts from getting a federally backed (FHA) mortgage.

FHA postponed the ruling until July and will take public comment from lenders, builders and other industry professionals until then to clarify guidance.

TX up 2.8% AND 16.5%

Texas existing home sales grew 2.8% in February from a month earlier, outpacing transactions nationwide according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Sales also increased 16.5% from February 2011, rising in the four largest Texas metropolitan areas of Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin.

The rest of the state’s economy continued to grow in February, with employment up 2.8% at an annual rate according to the Dallas Fed.

foreclosures down AND N TX inventory lowest in DECADE

Foreclosure filings are down by more than 20 percent this year in North Texas.  Home foreclosure filings in the DFW area are down 22 percent for April from a year earlier levels. And so far there is no sign of an expected bump in home foreclosure postings.

 

what’s more??  there are FEWER homes in North Texas with ‘for-sale’ signs in their yards.  in fact, the overall number of pre-owned (existing) houses for sale in North Texas are at their lowest level in more than a DECADE.  many areas have less than a 4 month supply of single-family homes listed for sale.  to put things in perspective – a 6 month supply of homes is considered to be a ‘balanced’ market with anything less than that leaning towards a seller’s market.  nationally speaking the average months of inventory is 6.1 months.  three of the tightest home markets are in the suburbs of DFW.  in fact, get ready for this, Grapevine has ONLY a 2.5 months supply of homes on the market with their total inventory being down 43% compared to last year. 

 

what does all this mean??  well, if you’ve been considering buying – you MIGHT want to get off the fence because the good homes are moving fast.  on the other hand, if you’ve been considering selling – you MIGHT want to get off the fence while a potential buyer can still lock in an ultra low rate compelling them to buy your house!

 

according to cole the real estate sky is NOT falling!

tune in to Real Time Real Estate DFW with Cole on Saturdays at 3pm on KWRD Christian Talk Radio 100.7 the Word.

 

full article Dallas Morning News

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