Tarrant Overtakes Dallas in CRE Sales Drop-Off

DALLAS-Commercial foreclosures are up and CRE sales are down in Dallas and Tarrant counties, a clear-cut reflection of the sign of the times. Tarrant, which had been faring better than its neighbor, is now feeling much of the same pain.

“It appears the cycle has been turning negative since the first of the year,” George Roddy, president of Roddy Information Services in Carrollton, TX, tells GlobeSt.com. “The numbers surprised me in that the real estate markets in Dallas are larger than Tarrant County’s yet Tarrant has overtaken it by a pretty wide margin.”

Sales information lags the market so Roddy used May stats for 2007 and 2008 to assess market conditions, perhaps a better barometer than year to date because it’s not skewed by the historical dog days of summer. Dallas County foreclosure sales are 60% higher than last year, hitting 40 sales in the first five months of this year. Tarrant County’s foreclosure sales spiked 161%, reaching 34 sales at the end of May versus 13 for the same period in 2007. A partial list of June sales shows the trend is continuing, he says.