Julie Johnson, Realtor, CMS, QSC

The last 3 months of 2008 were difficult. As the stock market dropped, so did the number of showings on my listings. The holidays did not help. Retail posted some of the lowest sales numbers ever, and homes sales slowed about 14% in Dallas.

Now, it is 2009. We have a new President, a new year and new hope for the future. Although the number of homes sold has decreased, more people have decided not to sell, making for a fairly steady 6-month supply of homes for sale.  In just the first few weeks of the new year, I have already noticed an increase in buyer traffic on my listings and more flyers being taken. And as the weather improves and the days become longer, things will only get better.

After 6 months of continual decline, homes sale went up in February. My office and title company have seen more closing in January and February 2008 than in 2007. While parts of the county have suffered greatly, Dallas has barely felt the pinch, and the new FHA guidelines should make it easier to get a loan. The FHA limit increase from $204K to $271K. For DFW, this loan amount includes many nice homes in good neighborhoods. All this points to us having a great Spring and Summer in the Metroplex area.