DCH Christmas Carol: Dallas Housing Past, Present, and Future
As we wind down this year, there are some rituals that we like to do as a business to start the new year. Of course we do our finances and hang Christmas decorations, but we also like to look at lessons we have learned and sit in the bigness of gratitude we have for our community. This has been an amazing year. We have been awarded grants, expanded our team, and we have made some really great connections within our community. Our reach is continually expanding and spurring us to double down on our goals for 2023. An odd thing occurred in our practice of going through our files at the end of the year. We ran across newspaper clippings that framed our 2023 goals so perfectly that we felt like they were a gift from a ghost of Dallas Housing past. With deep gratitude from where we have come from, and excitement with where we are, and commitment to providing housing in the future, we present our version of the DCH Christmas Carol.
Ghosts of Dallas Housing Past
When we went through these clippings, we found some ghosts of Dallas housing past. Who or what is haunting the Dallas Housing Market? Well, there are some practices that take advantage of those looking to buy homes, but who cannot qualify for conventional mortgages. With rates edging up and a lot of volatility in the market in 2022, we worry that this practice will gain more speed. We would like to be sure our community understands risks incurred in contract to deed real estate deals.
In an article from 2016, contract to deed transactions were on the rise. This form of seller financed transaction is often marketed to those who are without fiscal education or means to understand what they risk by undertaking one. Investors purchase homes that are in need of repairs or are in underperforming areas and then place a legal burden on the new owner to repair them, thus bringing up property values for the whole, and basically make the developers money, while bankrupting the buyer. Read more about what this means here, but be wary of too good to be true seller financing.
Lesson. If seller financing sounds too good to be true, it well may be. Do not be tempted into financing arrangements that place an undue burden on the buyer. Are you considering buying a home or trying to get out of renting in 2023? Contact a member of our team or visit some of our supporting partners who have resources to help you plan and give free education.
Ghost of Dallas Housing Present
Two articles in one week, one that we found, and another that was published by NAR are nearly identical in information, which culminate in the Dallas housing present. According to the National Association of Realtors, Dallas Fort Worth is the third ranking market to lead the nation in 2023. What does that mean? Home affordability, job and population growth, and inventory levels are the strongest in Dallas, for most. Below are the criteria NAR used:
Housing affordability
The number of renters who can afford to buy a median-priced home
Job growth
Migration gains and population growth
An increase in active housing inventory
Less severe housing shortages
This is really exciting news, and it is true in terms of affordability, we are well situated on this index, but we have a few very big problems. The problems we see were also apparent in a 2015 newspaper article from our files regarding how hot the market was getting, and it IS. Unfortunately, affordability is not shared or proportionate across all socioeconomic segments. In 2015, prices were up nearly 10% but Dallas developers were not meeting demand and homes were disproportionately built for new home buyers.
Lesson: With so much exciting growth in the job sector and with opportunity for people of Dallas to prosper, we need to make sure that this growth is felt and distributed equally. DCH is actively working with community leaders and within communities to develop housing that allow small business owners and those simply looking to be able to live where they work. We need to be present and aware of how our community is impacted by immigration and density, and craft creative housing solutions such as adaptive reuse projects and more resources to help people create community in Dallas.
Ghost of Dallas Housing Futures
We have a shortage of 186,000 homes in Dallas as we head into 2023, but we also have some things to be really hopeful for. First, Dallas is committed and many community partners are recognizing this problem and offering programs and funds to alleviate housing shortages. Both private and public support is readily available for developers who deliver solutions. Second, we are launching a 5 in 550 Initiative to build 550 units in the next 5 years. Along with our development, which include pending projects include an aging in-place community and another adaptive reuse project, Armonia, that will break ground in 2023.
Lesson: Our lesson for the future is simple. Gratitude and discipline. Dallas City Homes has been actively working for housing equality for the past 30 years. It is with discipline that we have established a name for ourselves and we are ready to deliver even more to our community. We are so grateful for all of the support we have had in 2022, that we are confident about the future in 2023. We want to thank those who came to support our Armonia Spring Festival, who donated during North Texas Giving 2022, who helped put together amazing financial literacy programming ,and donated funds to DCH.
We cannot wait for 2023, let’s build up Dallas, DCH style.