Why Home Prices Are Rebounding in Some Cities: Supply, Supply, Supply

Really nice piece here in the New York Times explains why we are beginning to see home prices creep — I said CREEP — upwards,  even in markets like Phoenix and Las Vegas: lack of inventory. It’s a very similar situation here in parts of Dallas, mostly the Park Cities, Preston Hollow, and Lakewood: hip pocket is becoming a mainstream word, as agents clamor for listings. There’s just not enough to go around for several reasons:

-Builders credit died up, so builders are not building as many specs. Few specs, in fact.

-It still is much harder to get a mortgage, especially if you are self-employed.

-People pulled back from selling unless they had to.

-People leased in lieu of selling, holding out for rosier prices.

-In some cases, the foreclosure inventory has gone down or is being held back by the banks.

David Blitzer said it best:

 “Because of new buyers having difficulty getting mortgages and because of the still-large number of foreclosures hitting the market in some parts of the country, it’s hard to say that we’ve turned a corner,” David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor’s, said in an interview.”

Bottom line: don’t get too excited. The market is improving, but we are not out of the woods, yet. Still, that home pictured? Custom build by Tatum Brown Custom Homes. Glorious. Sold without even being on the market about two seconds after the owners decided they might want to sell.