North Dallas/Richardson/Plano Real Estate

This report covers the area north of Northwest Hwy. and south of LBJ.

Well this month's report is a perfect example of how statistics can sometimes be misleading!

The report shows sales jumped 100%. Sounds great, but there were only a total of 28 Sales. Not exactly setting the market on fire. The average Sales price continued to decline and the number of active listings also declined. The months of inventory is now down to 13.4 months. This is still very high but not as bad as it has been.

Now for the good news! There were several million dollar plus sales this month!

Sales: 28

Average Sales Price: $789,026

Median Sales Price: $432,000

Days on Market: 107

Pending Sales: 31

New Listings: 117

Active Listings: 521

Months of Inventory: 13.4

Sales were off by 4% in January compared to a year ago. The average sales price and median sales price both were up sharply but this was due to an atypical distribution in the price ranges. Basically what happened was that there were fewer homes selling in the lower price ranges and a few more sales in the upper ranges. Pending sales were down by 4% and the number of active listings continues to decline leaving a very small 2.9 months of inventory.

Richardson has the smallest inventory on the market of any area. If you are a buyer this leaves you with very few choices. The best homes go quickly!

Sales: 43

Average Sales Price: $183,658

Median Sales Price: $176000

Pending Sales: 55

New Listings: 91

Active Listings: 230

Months of inventory: 2.9 

Extended and Expanded Tax Credit Expires 4/30/10

For prospective homebuyers who are on the fence about making a home purchase, the next few months represent a countdown of sorts as huge tax credits are about to expire. Here are important details for you to know:

Tax Credit for First-Time Homebuyers (FTHBs)
FTHBs (that is, people who have not owned a home within the last three years) may be eligible for the tax credit. The credit for FTHBs is 10% of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $8,000. Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.

Tax Credit for Current Homeowners
The tax credit program now gives those who already own a residence some additional reasons to move to a new home. This incentive comes in the form of a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified purchasers who have owned and occupied a primary residence for a period of five consecutive years during the last eight years. Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.

What Are the New Deadlines?
In order to qualify for the credit, all contracts need to be in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and close no later than June 30, 2010. Those in the military do have some special extensions on the timelines available.

What's So Great About a "Tax Credit"?
The benefit of a tax credit is that it's a dollar-for-dollar benefit, rather than a "tax deduction", or reduction in a tax liability that would only save you $1,000 to $1,500 when all was said and done. So, if a first-time homebuyer who qualified for the entire benefit were to owe $8,000 in income taxes and would qualify for a tax credit of $8,000, she would owe nothing.

Better still, the tax credit is refundable, which means the homebuyer can receive a check for the credit if he or she has little or no income tax liability. For example, if a first-time homebuyer is eligible for a tax credit of $8,000 but is liable for $4,000 in income tax, she can still receive a check for the remaining $4,000!

Higher Income Caps
The amount of income someone can earn and qualify for the full amount of the credit has been increased. Single tax filers who earn up to $125,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, single filers who earn $145,000 and above are ineligible. Joint filers who earn up to $225,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, joint filers who earn $245,000 and above are ineligible.

Maximum Purchase Price
Qualifying buyers may purchase a property with a maximum sales price of $800,000.

It's also important to note another upcoming deadline as the Federal Reserve winds down a program that has been keeping home loan rates artificially low. The fact is that the lowest rates of 2009 were driven down to their attractive levels because of the Fed's Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) purchase program, which the Fed once again emphasized in its January 27, 2010 Rate and Policy Statement will end on March 31, 2010. As the Fed's program winds down and ends, rates could rise over time since MBS will have less support from the Fed.

Extended and Expanded Tax Credit Expires 4/30/10

For prospective homebuyers who are on the fence about making a home purchase, the next few months represent a countdown of sorts as huge tax credits are about to expire. Here are important details for you to know:

Tax Credit for First-Time Homebuyers (FTHBs)
FTHBs (that is, people who have not owned a home within the last three years) may be eligible for the tax credit. The credit for FTHBs is 10% of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $8,000. Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.

Tax Credit for Current Homeowners
The tax credit program now gives those who already own a residence some additional reasons to move to a new home. This incentive comes in the form of a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified purchasers who have owned and occupied a primary residence for a period of five consecutive years during the last eight years. Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.

What Are the New Deadlines?
In order to qualify for the credit, all contracts need to be in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and close no later than June 30, 2010. Those in the military do have some special extensions on the timelines available.

What's So Great About a "Tax Credit"?
The benefit of a tax credit is that it's a dollar-for-dollar benefit, rather than a "tax deduction", or reduction in a tax liability that would only save you $1,000 to $1,500 when all was said and done. So, if a first-time homebuyer who qualified for the entire benefit were to owe $8,000 in income taxes and would qualify for a tax credit of $8,000, she would owe nothing.

Better still, the tax credit is refundable, which means the homebuyer can receive a check for the credit if he or she has little or no income tax liability. For example, if a first-time homebuyer is eligible for a tax credit of $8,000 but is liable for $4,000 in income tax, she can still receive a check for the remaining $4,000!

Higher Income Caps
The amount of income someone can earn and qualify for the full amount of the credit has been increased. Single tax filers who earn up to $125,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, single filers who earn $145,000 and above are ineligible. Joint filers who earn up to $225,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, joint filers who earn $245,000 and above are ineligible.

Maximum Purchase Price
Qualifying buyers may purchase a property with a maximum sales price of $800,000.

It's also important to note another upcoming deadline as the Federal Reserve winds down a program that has been keeping home loan rates artificially low. The fact is that the lowest rates of 2009 were driven down to their attractive levels because of the Fed's Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) purchase program, which the Fed once again emphasized in its January 27, 2010 Rate and Policy Statement will end on March 31, 2010. As the Fed's program winds down and ends, rates could rise over time since MBS will have less support from the Fed.