Last week, we mentioned that home purchase contracts have increased an astounding 300 percent here at TexasLending.com since January. From that angle, the news just keeps get better.

According to our CEO, Kevin C. Miller:

“TexasLending.com is happy to announce our home purchase applications are up 400% since January. We attribute the growth to our focus on the future of the mortgage business which is home purchases. Plus it helps being in the great state of Texas where things are happening in many parts of the economy” said Miller last Saturday during his weekend radio show.  (Tune in to AM 570 KLIF each Saturday between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to hear shrewd home loan advice from  Kevin plus his thoughts on the state of the mortgage industry and housing market in Texas and beyond).

This is unquestionably great news. On the flip side, however, we keep seeing signs that the cost of buying a home is soon going to rise.

Some of it is simple supply and demand: After years of over-supply, we’re actually facing housing supply shortages in some areas. This, naturally, will cause prices to rise in those areas. Other cost increases are policy-related: Home interest rates can’t stay this low forever. And, already, we’re seeing different cash-strapped governments looking to housing as a source of additional revenues.

For example, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently increased some of its mortgage insurance fees. Similarly, the City of Austin is now considering either raising local property taxes or boosting construction fees in order to keep up with the city’s rapid growth.

So it’s a good idea to start the home loan process soon — while buying a home is still amazingly cheap — if your family is considering buying this summer. Here at TexasLending.com, we’re ready for you. We’ve got Dallas home loans, Austin home loans and Houston home loans of all shapes and sizes — home purchase loans for every need.

About Kevin Miller

Kevin Miller, Owner & CEO of TexasLending.com. TexasLending.com provides expert service in the field of residential mortgages.

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While there’s glimmers of housing market hope popping up all over America, this has been especially true lately in the Lone Star State. Spend any amount of time here and you quickly see why:

• Texas is a place of abundant land and affordable homes.
• Texas is home to robust industries that can sustain high levels of employment.
• Texas is beautiful, friendly and notorious for developing robust communities.

So it should be no surprise that home sales are absolutely surging here in Texas. This past weekend, our CEO, Kevin C. Miller, discussed on his radio show (broadcast each Saturday on AM 570 KLIF from 1-2 p.m) about the fact that home purchase contracts are up a whopping 300 percent since January at TexasLending.com.

It’s not just us. In North Texas alone, sales of existing homes are up 13 percent compared to a year ago while overall sales increased by 16 percent, according to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Meanwhile, finished vacant housing dropped from 3,314 to 3,070 during the first three months of 2012 – representing a healthy 2.5-month supply – according to D Magazine, citing statistics from Dallas-based Residential Strategies Inc.

“With the solid results most homebuilders have been experiencing this spring, our expectation is that the increase in start activity will continue to manifest itself in the second quarter of 2012 as well,” said RSI principal, Ted Wilson. […] “Many builders have shared with RSI their intention of pushing prices higher this spring. Much of this decision is borne by the reality that the next generation of lots is trending higher in price.”

Altogether, the picture looks pretty optimistic for the home ownership here in the great state of Texas. Even Forbes Magazine noticed, listing Austin as the second and Fort Worth as the fifth best cities for investing in a home.

The downside of a home-buying boom is that the cost of buying a home here is likely to increase significantly – especially considering that new fees from the Federal Housing Administration are now being added on. So if your family has plans to begin looking for a new home in the near future, do so soon.

Here at Texas Lending, we’ll be ready for you with a full arsenal of Austin home loans, Dallas home loans and Houston home loans. Contact us to get the process started.

About Kevin Miller

Kevin Miller, Owner & CEO of TexasLending.com. TexasLending.com provides expert service in the field of residential mortgages.

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The number of homes available has been — thankfully — falling, which means that home prices appear primed to rise again. But for the past couple years, a big aspect hindering a full recovery is what’s called “the shadow inventory” — unsold homes that are not even yet on the market.

The shadow inventory is caused by many things, including homeowners choosing to wait until prices recover before putting their homes up for sale, bank-owned foreclosed-upon properties being held off the market, or “underwater” homeowners for whom a foreclosure appears likely.

According to Loansafe:

“The problem with the shadow inventory is, no one really knows how large it is,” said Doug Holmes, an agent with Carolina One Real Estate who analyzes sales market statistics for CharlestonRealEstateStats.com.

The reason the industry is so intently focused on the number of homes up for sale and the looming shadow inventory go to simple supply and demand.

“The shadow inventory overhang is a large impediment to the improvement in the housing market because it puts downward pressure on home prices, which hurts home sales and building activity while encouraging strategic defaults,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for Santa Ana, Calif.-based CoreLogic.

From a pure market perspective, this could create a situation where prices begin to rise and then quickly plateau or even fall again. If home prices rise, a slew of homeowners may decide that it’s finally time to sell — essentially flooding the market and pushing prices back down again.

Economists have long said that we’d need to go through this type of market jumpiness before reaching a full, sustained recovery. And the effect is similar to unemployment numbers: Statistics only officially count people actively looking for work. So when unemployment numbers begin to fall following a recession, many folks will decide its time to begin looking for work and rejoin the official ranks of the unemployed, causing statistics to balloon temporarily.

But if home prices rise primarily because of added fees or taxes (as we’ve mentioned in previous weeks. See Home Prices Fall to 2002 Levels: Buyer’s Market PersistsandFHA Mortgage Insurance Fees To Increase), the effect likely won’t be as strong.

Although even then, there could be an illusory stimulus — i.e. the same reason why products are listed as $19.99 instead of $20 (or the $21.60 price that includes sales tax). Decisions to buy something or sell something are more heavily influenced by the sticker price than the post-sale bottom line. So if home sticker prices around the neighborhood begin to rise, other potential home-sellers might take note and begin considering whether or not its time for a sale – even if an additional slice of the sale price will end up in Washington.

All this is to say: expect plenty of ups and downs and stops, stalls and starts in the coming months. But right now prices are low. Very, very low. And home interest rates (as well as home refinance rates and home equity rates) are very low as well.

So if you’ve been wondering when it will be time to buy, it’s a good idea to do so now. There may be additional troughs ahead, but it won’t get any better than this current buyer’s market.

Contact us to learn more about our Dallas home loan, Austin home loan or Houston home loan options today.

About Kevin Miller

Kevin Miller, Owner & CEO of TexasLending.com. TexasLending.com provides expert service in the field of residential mortgages.

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Home prices still haven’t quite hit bottom, according to a slew of statistics released this week. In fact, in January, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major markets fell to levels that we haven’t seen in almost a decade.

According to CNN Money:

Home prices dropped for the fifth consecutive month in January, reaching their lowest point since the end of 2002. Home prices have fallen a whopping 34.4% from the peak set in July 2006.

Housing market indicators have sent confusing signals so far this year, with existing home sales and new home sales down month-over-month in February, but up year-over-year.

Potential homebuyers lack confidence in the market, according to Michael Feder, CEO of Radar Logic, an analytics company that produces daily spot prices for real estate. A big problem looming is a massive number of potential foreclosures.

On the other hand, home builders have turned more bullish and are gearing up for more new construction. Mortgage rates are also still very favorable and the economy is getting better with hiring on the rise.

“On a good note applications for home purchases in Texas, especially with TexasLending.com are on the rise,” says TexasLending.com CEO and Founder Kevin C. Miller on his weekly radio show (airing Saturdays on AM 570 KLIF from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.). New home construction permits are also increasing.

Rising home purchase numbers usually means that home values will soon rise as well. But for a variety of reasons, home prices seem determined to be the last indicator in this economy to return to a more normal strength. As we mentioned a couple weeks ago, new charges from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) expected to go into effect on April 9 will further suppress home prices, as at least a small percentage of what families can afford to spend on a home will instead go to the government.

In the meantime, low home prices mean its still a simply extraordinary time to buy a home. It’s bad news for folks stuck with a home they can’t sell. But if the time is right to buy for your family, give us a call soon to get the Dallas home loan, Austin home loan, or Houston home loan process started. With fees, fluctuating interest rates and future market uncertainty ahead, it’s a good idea to lock in these low prices and low interest rates while you still can.

About Kevin Miller

Kevin Miller, Owner & CEO of TexasLending.com. TexasLending.com provides expert service in the field of residential mortgages.

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