Supply and Demand Drive Home Costs in North Texas

Dallas Market Ranked #1 in Real Estate Sales

The Dallas Morning News has reported that DFW home prices have risen more than 40 percent in the last four years.  The median price of a new house sold in DFW in 3QA 2016  rose to $336,381.  Labor shortages have added more than $4,00 to the price of a new house due to delays in construction, shortages of skilled labor and higher costs for materials.

Prices for pre-owned homes in North Texas were up 12 percent in September, the biggest yearover year gain in 2016.  Among other statistics tracked by realtors, it took less than 40 days on the market to sell a house.  A chief economist with the Real Estate Center said new listings enter the MLM as pending sales rather than active listings.

A recent report by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) ranked Dallas as the #1 real estate market in the U.S.  in 2016.

Service Is in His DNA

Association Board member and former board president  Dr. Bill Jenkins has capped a career of service to others as a volunteer and leader in his community.  A recent cover article in the Colleyville Charm community magazine features his family and recaps his career in education, during which he served in numerous leadership roles.  He has served on the Broughton Maintenance Association board in Colleyville for several years.
 
A natural leader and people-person, he has been generous to give a talk about his leadership insights to CMA’s professional staff in the Mid Cities region office  Like many association leaders, he draws on a wealth of life and work experiences to help his community. Thanks to Dr. Jenkins and other volunteers who make a lifelong commitment to giving back.

Click here to download the article.

HOAs Respond to Extensive Storm Damage

Storm season has arrived early and often in North Texas.  If your homeowners are hit with extensive damage, your Board of Directors or ACC Committee should consider making some special allowances for homeowners faced with damage repairs.

For example, one board has waived ACC submissions for external paint repairs  as long as the paint is replaced with the same color. Some ACC committees have convened a special team to review and act upon storm related damage applications within 1-2 business days.  Notification has been sent to owners on how to flag applications as STORM DAMAGE and submit documents for review.

Another association sent a letter to owners outlining a temporary suspension of violations, such as:

The violations are being suspended for 120 days for the following: 

• Roof/shingles (damaged/missing)
• Fascia/Soffit damage
• Chimney damage
• Shutters
• Windows/Window frames
• Fence damage
• Garage doors
• Exterior light fixtures
• Solar panels
• Most exterior damage, except for weeds

The requirements waived for ACC requests are for the following: 

• The shingle type/color doesn’t change
• Replaced shutters are the same type/color
• Front doors are the same color
• The fence height/material remains the same

If it is a new fence and you are staining it, the ACC request for staining is waived if the following pre-approved stains are used: (Be specific about what is allowed!)

1. Olympic (http://www.olympic.com/color/stain-color-and-finish)
   a. Clears (any)
   b.  Toners: Cedar Natural tone, Honey Gold
   c.  Semi-Transparent: Cedar Naturaltone 716; Sierra 700 Naturaltone; Fir/Pine 718; Olive Brown  Light Oak 909. 
2.  Cabot (http://www.cabotstain.com/colors-and-finishes/families/Semi-Transparent-Colors.html) a.   Semi-Transparent: Desert Sands, Cavalry New Cedar, Frontier Bark Mulch 
3.  Behr (http://www.behr.com/consumer/colors/stain) (Select Semi-Transparent or Transparent, click on color and it gives you name/number to the left)
   a. Semi-Transparent: Cedar ST-146; Cedar Naturaltone ST-533
   b. Transparent: Cedar Naturaltone 501/401; Golden Honey T-170, Chocolate T-129; Natural Sequoia T-172

Spring storm events, whether rain and flooding, hail, high winds, or tornadoes, require weeks and months of work and recovery to restore the community.  It's an opportunity to build good will with neighbors and address these, and other service outage and damage events in your community's disaster recovery plan.

Contact your association manager for assistance to plan and communicate a timely response to storms and emergencies in your community.

Thank you and Happy New Year!

Dear Board Member:

Thank you for your support in 2015!  As we kick off the new year, we'd like to share some highlights of valuable time-saving services CMA offered last year.  We hope your association enjoyed these benefits. 

What better way than a Top 10 Countdown!

10	Real-time viewing of violations and inspection photos for owners. (Compliance coordinators now employ iPads).
9	Increased use of our e-voting offering, to improve owner participation in board elections and involvement in community decision-making. (A 62% increase over 2014).
8	Expanded Customer Care staff, which now includes three bilingual representatives.
7	Introduced tracking of common area inspections through internal work orders, to record issues, oversee repairs and allow historical reporting.
6	More use of e-statements by owners, thus saving associations the cost of printing and postage.
5	New user-friendly print community information booklets and online e-booklets for new owners. Owners have convenient access to more online association information and more electronic forms.
4	New online tutorial videos to help owners pay online, submit ACCs, view violations and account information and use other online services.
3	More affordable solutions for shared-screen and audio-video conferencing needs, such as board meetings. (Texas statute now allows video-conferencing for HOA open meetings).
2	Improved communications through Board Tasks. This online tool enables and captures manager and board communications on a centralized, secure server (no more searching through old e-mails)!
1	Better than 99% client retention among our associations!

If you would like additional information on any of these services, please contact your Property Manager!

Happy New Year!

Your CMA Management Team