Dallas-Fort Worth home prices were up by a small margin in the third quarter, and most of the increase was probably due to more sales of higher-priced homes.
The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that median home sales prices in the D-FW area were up 1.6 percent from third quarter 2009.
The small gain here came as nationwide prices were basically flat, the Realtors said.
"Even with swings in home sales, prices this year have been changing very little from year-ago readings," Realtors' chief economist Lawrence Yun said in the report. The Realtors are forecasting flat home prices in the year ahead.
The just-released national data lines up with local figures that show median home prices in North Texas are up 1 percent year-to-date.
Of the 155 metropolitan areas that the Realtors track each quarter, 76 markets showed price declines.
Home sales in North Texas have slowed dramatically since federal housing tax credits expired at the end of April. But the bulk of the decline has been for lower- and moderate-priced homes. High-end home sales are still rising in many neighborhoods.
"Now that the tax credits have expired, we have seen a real drop-off in the activity at the lower end of the price spectrum," said Ted Wilson, a housing analyst with Dallas-based Residential Strategies Inc. "As a result, the median price has climbed."
David Brown of MetroStudy Inc. agreed: "The average and median prices have increased over the last year because of the surge in sales of homes priced over $500,000."
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