FEBRUARY 2015

WEEK 3

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In This Issue

North Texas Home Prices Jumped 12 Percent in January

Move: We're Ready to Take on Zillow-Trulia

What's Love Got to Do With Credit Scores?

Couples and Money: 5 Ways to Find Financial Harmony

North Texas home prices jumped 12 percent in January

by Dallas Morning News

North Texas' home market started the new year with another big jump in prices. Median home sales prices rose 12 percent last month from a year ago.

That continues the much-higher-than-normal home price increases that have dominated the local residential market for months. Typically home values in North Texas grow by 3 to 5 percent a year.

Prices were up 7 percent for all of 2014 compared with 2013 levels, according to data from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems.

Dallas housing analyst Ted Wilson with Residential Strategies Inc. said the "lack of balance between supply and demand continues to add upward price pressure on houses."

"And there does not appear to be any near-term changes in this condition," he said. January sales of preowned single-family homes were 3 percent higher than a year earlier, with 4,852 homes sold by real estate agents through their multiple listing service.

The number of homes listed for sale in North Texas fell to 16,358 last month - the lowest total in more than a decade. The area had only a 2.2-month supply of houses for sale. "Housing inventory levels have been running at a level that is about one-third of the amount considered to be theoretical equilibrium," Wilson said.

Some real estate analysts have predicted a slower Texas housing market this year because of the decline in oil and gas industry employment and forecasts of slower economic growth for the state.

But so far there's no sign that the Dallas-Fort Worth home market is cooling.

"If sales and activity start to fall off from lower oil prices - a possibility, although generally not felt to be as significant in D-FW as in other markets - then it might give the market a chance to get back into better balance between demand and supply," said Dr. James Gaines, an economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M.

Last year, sales of preowned homes in North Texas rose only 1 percent from 2013 levels. Analysts said the lack of housing inventory depressed purchases in the area.

On average, it takes only about 60 days to sell a house in the more than two dozen North Texas counties included in the monthly housing survey.

Move: We're ready to take on Zillow-Trulia

by HousingWire

Predicts online real estate giants will struggle to integrate

With the close of the multi-billion dollar merger deal between Zillow (Z) and Trulia (TRLA) now complete, the landscape of online real estate is about to change dramatically again. But the companies' largest competitor says it's not really worried about what Zillow-Trulia does going forward and expects the companies to struggle through the integration process.

In fact, Move Inc., which is owned by News Corp (NWS) and operates Realtor.com for the National Association of Realtors, said that it's already seeing record traffic on Realtor.com and expects those figures to only grow.

"Zillow's year of the merge will be Realtor.com's year of the surge," Move said. "As our competitor grapples with the challenges of integrating two very similar businesses, Realtor.com will continue to provide the most accurate and up-to-date property listings in America, as well as the most valuable professional tools for brokers and agents."

The battle between the online real estate giants has only escalated in the last few months.

Soon after Zillow and Trulia announced their merger, News Corp announced in September that it intended to buy Move and bring Realtor.com into the News Corp family of media properties.

When News Corp made the acquisition of Move official, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson said he wanted to "turbo-charge" Realtor.com.

"In partnership with the National Association of Realtors and its 1 million members, we look forward to turbo-charging realtor.com and making it the most popular and profitable property site in America," Thomson said in November.

And the relations between Zillow and Move have been far from cordial in the last few months as well. Since early last year, Zillow and Move have been engaged in a legal battle over the hiring of Errol Samuelson.

Samuelson is currently the chief industry development officer for Zillow. He was hired away from Move and Realtor.com in early March. Later in March, Move and NAR sued Zillow for breach of contract, alleging that Samuelson stole trade secrets and intellectual property from Move and brought it with him to Zillow.

And late last year, the battle between Zillow and Move ramped up a couple notches, when Zillow disclosed that its listing agreement with Listhub will end on April 7.

Zillow made the disclosure in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission filed in January. In the SEC filing, Zillow said it is ending its four-year listing agreement with Threewide Corporation, which operates Listhub. Threewide is also owned by Move.

"There is no dispute between the parties with respect to the agreement, and Zillow will not incur any early termination penalties as a result of the agreement's expiration," Zillow said in its SEC filing.

But a in a statement provided to HousingWire, Move said that it hoped to continue the listing agreement.

"ListHub has been negotiating in good faith a new listing distribution and reporting agreement with Zillow on terms that reflect the best interests of the brokerage industry," Move said in a statement. "As communicated in public announcements, Zillow decided to end those negotiations and announced the launch of their own platform. Zillow chose their own route for their business model and interests."

As for where things stand now, Move reports that Realtor.com saw record traffic and increases in audience engagement that extended through the month of January and believes it's ready to take on Zillow-Trulia.

"We believe we're well positioned to compete and win in an environment of industry consolidation and data-driven consumers," Move said.

"Combining Move's and News Corp's real estate and media platforms enables us to connect a growing audience of buyers, sellers and renters with the market's most accurate and timely information, relevant news content and unparalleled professional expertise in order to help people find their perfect home."

What's Love Got to Do With Credit Scores?

by FoxBusiness

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

"So, honey, what's your credit score?"

Ok, so maybe the conversation doesn't go exactly like that -- but you do need some version of it.

Yes, it's awkward and wonky, but if you find yourself on a white, sandy beach on your honeymoon and you still don't know about your partner's credit history, shame on you.

"The two biggest reasons for divorce: infidelity and money issues," says John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at CreditSesame.com

That's exactly why employers often do credit background checks during the candidate screening process -- because your credit history is a referendum on your level of responsibility.

Now to be clear, employers look at your credit report. They do not have access to your score. But as part of their employment screening, they are searching for delinquent debt. And if you have a lot of it, it can cost you a job.

Same goes for your partner: You should care about his/her money habits and responsibility.

What can a credit score determine?

-The interest rate you get on a mortgage.

-Whether you get assessed a deposit to have the utilities turned on in your home.

-Whether you can even get a cell phone or cable.

So ask the question early on. And both you and your partner should be diligent about checking your credit reports.

"Ask to see it once a month," says Ulzheimer.

Contrary to popular belief, your credit score does NOT go down every time you ask for a report. (It CAN be impacted by lender inquiries.)

And be sure to check your reports from all three credit agencies: Experian, Equifax and Transunion. "Checking one is like locking one of the three doors to your house," says Ulzheimer.

Annualcreditreport.com will get you all three reports once a year for free. And here are a few sites that provide your report monthly, also for free: Quizzle, Creditsesame.com and Credit Karma.

So pay attention. Your credit report matters to all aspects of your life, regardless of how "unromantic" that sounds.

Couples and money: 5 ways to find financial harmony

by CNBC.com

This Valentine's Day weekend most couple's thoughts will turn to love, but it's also a good time to think about money. Do you and your partner work together to manage your finances? After all, it's hard to have marital bliss, if you don't find financial harmony.

Here are five steps that can help you and your significant other figure out what you really want from your money, now and in the future.

Be open about money missteps

Nearly one in four Americans in a committed relationship admitted they have a private account their significant other doesn't know about, according to a new Citi Double Cash Survey."If you have a secret, whether a hidden account or debt that's out there or spending that you're not telling your partner about, then come clean," said financial advisor Ellen Rogin, co-author of "Picture Your Prosperity."

Keep your emotions in check

Nearly seven out of 10 of the respondents in the Citi survey said they've avoided bringing up the topic of money in order to prevent an argument. "People end up not having the money conversation and then they go along and often this leads to miscommunication or even fights about money," Rogin said. To keep your emotions in check, treat your next discussion about money like a friendly business meeting.