Some aspects of the Dallas-Fort Worth real estate market are starting to recover, while other signs point towards continued financial distress. One positive bit of news was reported by the Dallas Morning News on March 26, 2010, “After a long freeze on commercial real estate investment, the sales market for Dallas-Fort Worth is beginning to thaw. The last few weeks, the trickle of completed buys in North Texas has started to pick up. And real estate brokers and buyers expect the flow of investment deals to grow stronger in the months ahead.” The piece, composed by Steve Brown, continued to state that “Farber said some potential buyers are still holding back, hoping prices will keep falling. And some are waiting for foreclosure bargains.”

Commercial foreclosures among Dallas-Fort Worth real estate continued to be problematic, however, surpassing the one billion dollar mark. According to a March 23, 2010 article also in the Dallas Morning News, “Commercial property foreclosure filings in the Dallas-Fort Worth area top $1 billion for the upcoming April sales. That’s much higher than commercial foreclosure posting totals in recent months…The Addison-based foreclosure-tracking firm counts 333 D-FW commercial properties scheduled for auction by lenders next month.” The article, composed by Steve Brown, continued to note that “During the last few months, the auction totals have averaged about 250…Not all properties listed for foreclosure each month are actually sold by the lender. Many times, the borrower reaches a new mortgage agreement or delays the forced sale.”

Dallas-Fort Worth homes for sale slipped slightly in February, according to a third article in the Dallas Morning News. This piece, written by Steve Brown as well, found that “North Texas home sales dropped 5 percent in February, the third month in a row that sales by real estate agents were down from a year ago.” The article continued to note that “The local home market had rallied in the fall as first-time buyers scrambled to take advantage of a federal tax credit. The federal incentive program was extended through April and broadened but hasn’t caused a similar uptick in year-over-year home sales.”

Despite real estate development activity in the Austin region, many real estate experts are concerned that the recent developments aren’t enough to promise improvements in the Austin real estate market in the coming months.  Since the economic recession of 2008 began, Austin’s commercial real estate market has struggled greatly with high foreclosure and vacancy rates, and real estate experts have noted that Austin’s residential real estate is largely overpriced, which is not good given that during the current economic times, prospective homebuyers are only interested in affordable housing.  Although slight improvements may be made in the coming months, real estate experts believe that Austin real estate levels will most likely remain stable throughout 2010, with 2011 bringing about recovery.

According to the Austin American Statesman, the commercial real estate in Austin has suffered great losses since the beginning of the economic recession that began in 2008.  Commercial real estate foreclosure rates have more than doubled between 2008 and 2009, making Austin one of the worst-performing cities in Texas.  Residential real estate in Austin has also suffered from high foreclosure rates.  Real estate experts have attributed the high commercial foreclosure rates to the numerous local businesses struggling to stay afloat.  Austin also suffers from high unemployment rates, with many businesses continuing to layoff workers.  The concern for job security plays a major role in determining the success of the residential real estate market in Austin, because many prospective buyers will only invest in real estate if they are confident that they will keep their job and a steady source of income to use towards paying off the house.

The Austin Business Journal has reported that the residential real estate in Austin will also continue to suffer in the coming months if sellers aren’t willing to lower prices.  National realtors have found Austin to contain a large inventory of overpriced homes, which is surprising given that Austin tends to be one of the more affordable housing market in the nation.  However, as long as prices remain high, homes are unlikely to find buyers.  Throughout the nation, only the affordable markets are the ones showing improvements, luxury markets continue to remain sluggish.  Many homebuyers are only interested in investing in affordable or “bargain” priced homes that have been previously foreclosed on or are being drastically reduced in price out of desperation.