The North Texas real estate market's full recovery from the recession likely will continue in 2014, a local real estate agent and a Texas A&M University economist predicted.
They said homes are expected to keep selling quickly and interest rates should remain attractive.
Keller Williams agent Lavon Bolech of Southlake said homes in top condition and priced at market value today "sell and sell fast" in her territory, which includes Grapevine, Colleyville, Southlake and Westlake.
In Colleyville, homes were on the market for an average of 98 days in 2012. The number dropped to 63 in 2013. The average number of days in Grapevine dropped from 55 to 34; and from 76 to 63 in Southlake, all according to data compiled by the North Texas Real Estate Information Service.
Sellers also are getting their asking prices, Bolech said.
While prices aren't as high as they were pre-recession, when many homes sold for over market value, they are better than 2008-12, when a home had to be in perfect condition and priced under market value to sell, she said.
Bolech also said she has also seen multiple offers on properties lately, "something we had not seen in a very long time."
Ups and downs
Sales of single-family homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area were up in November 2013 about 20 percent over the previous year, said research economist James Gaines of the Texas A&M University Real Estate Center.
One result of greater activity has been fewer homes on the market.
"Inventory at all price points is down," Bolech said, adding that many people refinanced and renovated when interest rates were at their lowest and have decided to stay put.
Gaines said the low inventory also is a result of the recession. Land wasn't being bought and developed during the past five years, he said.
"There's a natural, undeniable kind of delay in the market," he said.
But the re-emergence of area homebuilding activity is evident.
Residents don't have to look far to see heavy equipment leveling land: Winding Creek Estates off Carroll Avenue is under construction in Southlake and the ground is being worked for Vineyard Creek Estates off Hall-Johnson Road in Grapevine.
Other developments, such as Granada in Westlake and the Overlook at Bear Creek on Pleasant Run Road in Colleyville, have the necessary municipal approvals.
Most city council agendas the past six months included requests for approval of residential subdivisions in Grapevine, Colleyville and Southlake.
"New construction was practically nonexistent for the past few years," Bolech said. "We started to see the new construction market at the end of 2012 and 2013 boom."
Prices rise
While the new homes will relieve the small inventory in time, higher prices could also push more homes into the market.
Gaines said the average home price in the Dallas-Fort Worth area had risen by about 10 percent in November 2013 over November 2012.
"The good news might be because of home price increases last year, more people might decide now is a good time to sell," he said. "A lot of people who may have been sitting on the fence or the sidelines and couldn't get the price they want, now maybe they can get that price."
On the buyers' side, interest rates are likely to creep up this year, both Bolech and Gaines said.
Gaines said rates likely will stay low but rise higher than the extreme lows of last year and previous years.
"Actually, overall it's a very good outlook if you're in the real estate market," he said.
But he noted that uncertainty over health care and mid-term U.S. and state elections this year could influence everything.
"There's no telling what the politicians will come up with to try to buy votes," Gaines said. "As Mark Twain said, 'No man's property is safe while Congress is in session.' "
Westlake
The NTREIS data on Westlake is compiled together with its larger neighbor, Trophy Club, and the numbers seem to follow the trends. The data showed homes on the market an average of 78 days in 2012 and 54 in 2013.
But the figures may not fully reflect what is happening in Westlake, with just 1,000 people, high incomes and upscale homes. The town is growing. The Granada subdivision, with 84 lots, was approved last year, as was mixed-use development Entrada.
