Dallas-area home prices are largely unchanged, a U.S. agency reports

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

Dallas-area home prices were basically unchanged from a year ago in the third quarter, according to the latest U.S. government estimate.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency also said that Fort Worth-area prices were down 1.15 percent from a year ago in its report released Wednesday.

Nationally, prices were down 3.2 percent from third quarter 2009, the agency said. That compares with a 0.3 percent gain in the Dallas area.

The federal home price index is based on mortgages issued by government-sponsored mortgage companies – Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and FHA. That makes the data different from price reports that use a broader measure.

The National Association of Realtors reported recently that Dallas-Fort Worth area home prices were up 1.6 percent in the third quarter based on sales through the local Multiple Listing Service.

Texas, with its overall 1.1 percent rise, was one of the top states for home price gains in the third quarter, the FHFA said.

The biggest declines were in Idaho , which was down 9.8 percent, and Arizona, down 9.3 percent.

Among individual cities, Deltona-Daytona Beach, Fla., topped the list of losers at 15.68 percent, followed by Bend, Ore., with a 13.73 percent annual price drop.

The largest annual price increases were in Battle Creek, Mich., up 4.39 percent, and San Jose, Calif., 4.10 percent.