Home sales, outlook getting better

Austin Business Journal
A February survey of public and private builders across the country from John Burns Real Estate Consulting shows that Texas saw new home sales, traffic and expectations pick up in January. The survey gathered information from 236 home building industry executives.

“I spent several days in Texas this month and can confirm that the pick-up is real and is driven by lower mortgage rates in an area where home price appreciation was insignificant and the economy is still OK,” said John Burns, CEO of Irvine, Calif.-based John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

However, Burns said, new home prices are still trending downward everywhere, including Texas.

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Foreclosure Bus Tour Gives Homebuyers a Different View of Shaky Real Estate Market

The half-day tour includes stops at eight or nine homes reclaimed by banks during the recent wave of North Texas foreclosures. The homes range from extreme fixer-uppers to spotless new abodes with granite countertops and media rooms.

"It gives you a different perception of the foreclosures," Demetria Newkirk, a Carrollton city employee, said Saturday after viewing an elegant two-story North Dallas home recently marked down from $1.1 million to $795,000.

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