Area Home Prices Rise

Local home prices in the Dallas area hit a post-recession high in the latest housing market report.

According to the closely watched Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller Home Price Index, local home prices were up 10% in March from a year earlier. March marked the fourth month in a row that Dallas home prices increased at a double-digit rate from the previous year.

Nationwide, though, prices remain almost 20% below where they were before the recession. But, according to S&P's Dave Blitzer, Dallas and Denver are the only two cities in the country where home values have set new post-real estate-crisis highs.

Ted Wilson with Residential Strategies recently noted that with the current shortage of homes on the market, Dallas area home prices may rise another 10% this year.

In another sign of strength in the Dallas/Fort Worth and N. Texas residential market, the average time it took to sell an area home in April declined to 53 days, indicating a very strong seller's market.

Given rising home values and the strength of the market, today may be an exceptionally advantageous time to be a seller in the Dallas/Fort and N. Texas area.