Housing Predictor for 2008

As a broadcast news major in college, I really enjoyed TV and journalism.
However, in recent years, sensational television has ruined consumer confidence. As a real estate agent in Dallas, I can safely say that the market in the Metroplex is strong. That doesn't mean we don't have our share of inventory or problems, but compared to other parts of the country like Ohio, Michigan, Florida and California, we are kicking some tail!
Let's compare some statistics from the past three summers for Dallas:
The first column is number of sales
The second column is average sales price
The third column is total sales
The fourth column is months of inventory

June 2005 6,416 $210,700 28,875 6.1
June 2006 6,875 $219,900 30,323 5.9
June 2007 6,009 $233,700 33,624 6.6

Very interesting statistics if you ask me. I remember the summer of 2006. You couldn't keep a good house on the market for three days. Multiple offer situations were not uncommon. That was the summer that the "coast" real estate markets were at their peak. Smart folks were cashing in on their overpriced home and getting the heck out of Dodge. Where did they go? Ah ha, the Lone Star State. I ran into more buyers from California and Florida! Those buyers were creating the temporary frenzy because many of them thought the market in Dallas was like that in their state. Not so much. Builders were trying to keep up with the trend by churning out spec homes like elves at Christmas. So once the bust happened, that left our consistent little market here suffer a bit. But the most interesting stat to me is that although the summer of 2007 saw 800 less homes sold than the previous summer, the price was also considerably higher. While most states were suffering from double-digit depreciation, we have actually stayed steady or enjoyed appreciation.
Dallas has a sort of mystic romance for an urban area, attracting many newcomers to "Big D." Its real estate market has had a history of erratic battles, but nothing as dramatic price-wise as major east and west coast markets. Dallas will still work through 2008 with healthy home sales volume and is projected to appreciate slowly at 2.0% in 2008 (courtesy of HomePredictors.com)
The bottom line is, the interest rates are fantastic and there are a lot of homes out there. If you are hesitating to buy because of the doom and gloom you hear on the nightly news, take a look at the stats and ignore the haters!