Home tire kickers turn to homebuyers in North Texas

NORTH TEXAS – Tougher lending standards have continued to disturb the home market this year, but in many Dallas-area neighborhoods, what is really slowing home purchases is a lack of inventory.

With preowned home sales up 15 percent across North Texas in the first nine months of 2012, demand has outstripped supply in many neighborhoods. The inventory of preowned homes on the market in North Texas has dropped almost 40 percent in the last two years.

In September, there was an overall 4.5-month supply of preowned homes listed for sale with Realtors, with some areas including Grapevine, Allen and Frisco all having less than a three month supply. This is well below the six-month inventory level that the industry considers a balanced market.

There are still more than 14,000 preowned single-family homes listed for sale in the Dallas area, about 30 percent lower than October 2011.