The State of Real Estate

Dallas single-family home prices continue to outpace rest of nation

Good news for Dallas homeowners: Year-over-year single-family home prices are still on the rise, enough to keep us among the top 10 markets in the country. Bad news for Dallas homebuyers: Prices are up, and inventory is down — and it looks like it may be that way for a while.

CoreLogic, a residential property information, analytics and services provider, has released its March 2014 report, which shows that single-family home prices in the Dallas-Plano-Irving metropolitan area were up 11 percent over the same period last year. On a month-over-month basis, home prices increased by 2 percent in March 2014 compared to February 2014.

The Dallas statistic is nearly identical to the 11.1 percent year-over-year home price increase seen nationally in March 2014.

The Dallas statistic is nearly identical to the 11.1 percent year-over-year increase seen nationally during that same time. This marks the 25th consecutive month of year-over-year nationwide home price gains.

However, these numbers are down slightly from those reported in February 2014, when there was an 11.3 percent bump in Dallas home prices and a 12.2 increase across the country. But the March numbers were still good enough to put Dallas in the No. 7 spot nationally.

CoreLogic researchers were slightly concerned by March’s numbers and attribute the increase in home prices to an imbalance in supply and demand.

“March data on new and existing home sales was weaker than expected and is a cause for concern as we enter the spring buying season,” said Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Interest rate-disenfranchised potential sellers are adding to the existing shadow inventory, while buyers who can’t find what they want to buy are on the sidelines creating a new kind of ‘shadow demand.’

“This supply and demand imbalance continues to drive home prices higher, even though transaction volumes are lower than expected.”

Added Anand Nallathambi, CoreLogic president and CEO: “In many markets — especially major metro areas like Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York — home prices are being driven up at double-digit rates fueled by a lack of inventory and record levels of cash purchases.”

Back in Texas, CoreLogic reports a 10.3 percent year-over-year increase in the home price index (HPI) across the state. The Houston metro area saw gains of 13.7 percent — enough for a No. 4 ranking nationally.

To determine the HPI, CoreLogic looks at price, time between sales, property type, loan type and distressed sales. The CoreLogic HPI is a repeat-sales index that tracks increases and decreases in sales prices for the same single-family homes over time, which provides a more accurate “constant quality” view of pricing trends, as opposed to views of pricing trends based on analysis of all home sales.

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living single

Dallas lands among 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living alone

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In DFW, renters can afford to live solo.

Not everyone is cut out for living with roommates, but finding an affordable place to live alone can be tricky. Luckily, Dallas-Fort Worth sits among the top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living by yourself, according to a new report.

Analysts at Apartments.com discovered North Texas renters spend the seventh lowest share of their monthly income on single-bedroom rent out of the 50 biggest metros in the U.S.

The study used a 30 percent "common budgeting guideline" to calculate the share of median renter household income spent on one-bedroom asking rents across the 50 largest U.S. metros, and determined renters can only afford to live alone in 24 of the 50 metros without crossing the 30 percent threshold.

The median annual income of a DFW renter household is $63,172, and the findings show the typical asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment comes out to $1,348 per month. The study determined single renters spend 25.6 percent of their monthly income on rent based on the budgeting suggestion.

Texas' favorable rental market also extends outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: Austin surprised as the No. 1 most affordable metro for living alone, and San Antonio appeared among the top 10.

Austin renters spend the smallest share of their income on single-bedroom apartment rent, at 23.1 percent. That's based on a median renter household income of $70,008 and a $1,348 monthly one-bedroom asking rent price.

Dwindling rent prices and the prevalence of major tech employers are also attracting new renters, and the city has an 11.6 percent apartment vacancy rate.

"The average rent in Austin has decreased year over year, and construction of new housing increased by 30 percent over the past decade," the report's author wrote. "Tax incentives in Texas draw large tech corporations, like Google and Apple, to the Austin area, which has increased average wages, added more jobs to the local economy, and attracted renters in the process."

San Antonio ranked right above DFW in sixth place nationwide with solo renters spending 25.4 percent of their monthly income on single-bedroom rent, coincidentally the same share as single renters living in Raleigh, North Carolina and Salt Lake City, Utah.

This is the income and one-bedroom rent data in San Antonio:

$51,029 – median renter household income
$1,082 – one-bedroom monthly asking rent

A separate Apartments.com survey found 39 percent of U.S. adults would never feel comfortable living with a roommate, and 16 percent of renters would rather pay more in rent to live alone than consider living with a roommate.

"Factors contributing to lower rents may include recent high levels of construction, rising vacancy rates as renter demand catches up to supply, and fewer regulations, such as flexible zoning and lower development costs compared to other parts of the country," the report said. "Living alone has become a non-negotiable for many renters, and some renters are willing to make tradeoffs to afford this lifestyle."

The top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living alone are:

No. 1 – Austin
No. 2 – Oklahoma City
No. 3 – Phoenix
No. 4 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 5 – Salt Lake City, Utah
No. 6 – San Antonio
No. 7 – Dallas-Fort Worth
No. 8 – Denver
No. 9 – Portland, Oregon
No. 10 – Columbus, Ohio

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