In March, more than one in 10 homes sold within three days of going up on the market, the report said. Dallas ranks fifth in the country just behind Portland, Ore., where 14.5% of homes sold in less than 72 hours.

Just one month prior, 38.8% of Dallas-area homes sold within two weeks of being listed.

The Redfin report mentions the high demand and low inventory as two causes for the quick sales.  The report also said population growth in metropolitan areas has more buyers looking for houses.  The D/FW market saw a 1.6% population increase from March 2013 to March 2014.

Denver, Colo., has the fastest-selling housing market in the U.S.  Twenty-seven percent of homes there were bought within the 72-hour window, according to Redfin.com.

Analysts from Redfin.com warned buyers to be prepared for competitive situations through the spring

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Dallas-homes-selling-at-rapid-rate-255204101.html

To determine which housing markets are best for first-time buyers, the report examined key factors like market popularity, prices, inventory, time on market and employment.

Fort Worth boasts a median list price of $175,000, more than 8,250 homes on the market and a median listing time as 67 days. Meanwhile, Dallas has a median list price of $224,900, more than 15,500 homes on the market and a median listing time as 57 days.

“First-time buyers have a widespread impact on the local housing markets,” Move Inc. CEO Steve Berkowitz said in a statement. “In transitioning from renters to owners, new buyers pay property taxes and other fees and taxes associated with homeownership that benefits local schools and services.”

*Read more – http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/real-estate/03-28-14-best-cities-first-time-homebuyers-north-texas/

Millions of current renters nationwide aspire to buy a home in the next year, according to the inaugural edition of the Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI)(i) , suggesting strong demand among potential first-time homebuyers if market conditions are favorable. But existing headwinds, including tight inventory, rising mortgage interest rates and growing affordability problems in a handful of areas, may make it difficult for potential buyers to follow through on those aspirations as the market enters the busy spring home shopping season.

In 19 of the 20 large metro areas surveyed, more than 5 percent(ii) of all residents indicated they wanted to buy a home in the next year. Among current renters, homeownership aspirations were particularly strong, with about 10 percent of all renters nationwide saying they would like to buy within the next 12 months. The vast majority of these respondents also said they were confident or somewhat confident they could afford homeownership now(iii) . If all renters that indicated they wanted to buy actually did purchase a home in the next year, it would represent more than 4.2 million first-time home sales(iv) , more than double the roughly 2.1 million first-time home buyers in 2013.

Read More: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140313-907014.html

– http://www.chicagotribune.com/brandpublishing/forsalebyowner/chi-fsbo-top-us-real-estate-markets-dallasfort-worth-20140228,0,6672817.story

Thank you to everyone who participated in this blanket drive. Each year the amount of donations has grown. We doubled the donations from last year. For more information about Philip’s Wish visit www.phillipswish.com