Did I mention earlier this week that we were taking a lot of listings? Well, that continues to be very true.  Now, maybe it is just the pre-holiday jitters and people want to get their homes on the market really fast and all that.  On the other hand, the listings taken in the previous months of the year were less than half of those taken in 2006, during the same period.  I think the additional listings to some degree represent the fact that many people were simply holding back on their decision to put their home up for sale.  With all of the talk in the news about the housing bubble having finally exploded, it’s no wonder sellers were putting off listing their home. Fear and uncertainty has a lot to do with people’s decisions (Shall I put it up for sale in a down market or wait until it turns around?).  Now, one is left to wonder why so many sellers have suddenly opted for listing now.  My guess is that they realized that our local market (emphasis added) did not crash or burst but instead held its own against a background of negative hype, dire predictions and bad news.  Our housing market appears to be stable because we’ve seen only 3 to 5 percent increases in the Ft. Worth and Northern Texas home values (a stark contrast from our east and west coast neighbors across the country. Our market was stable and relatively uninteresting while California, Florida and other markets saw dramatically inflated home prices that went unchecked for extended periods.  Those markets caved in on themselves due in large measure to the fact that so many lenders were approving mortgages for buyers that were at a high risk of defaulting.  It was an inadvertent set up for the fall to come. Of course lenders were not solely responsible because they had willing and unrealistic participants applying for these too easily obtained loans. Borrowers eventually began to default on these loans which correspondingly resulted in an increasing rate of home foreclosures glutting the market.  This was in combination with the fact that homeowners were suddenly eager to sell because they could no longer afford to pay the increased monthly amount on their adjustable mortgage.  Added to these factors was the veritable blow delivered to the sub prime mortgage market where many lenders went out of business and potential new buyers were suddenly shut out because they did not fit the criteria behind the new lending guidelines put in place by the lenders that remained in business. All this is to say, that lots more houses ended up on the market (we're talking East and West Coast, etc.) at a time that there were fewer people in the market able to buy them.  The result...is a larger inventory of homes to chose from, a dramatic decline in home values and a lot of fickle buyers in no seeming hurry to buy.  This is otherwise known as a "Buyer's Market".  From a local standpoint however, changes in the broader market have had a modest impact to buyers and sellers in Fort Worth and Northern Texas Real Estate market.  Yes, the void left behind due to the lack of the participation of the previous sub prime loan segment of the market is just as real here in Fort Worth, Texas, as in other parts of the country. The difference between us and those other markets is the fact that we didn’t have as many of the other adverse factors in play all at the same time. However, for you buyers that can qualify for a loan...we need you to do your part and get busy buying! According to history, it’s all going to be OK! 

Regards,

Bernie