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Housing Price Recovery Stumbles Northeast of Dallas

It’s been nearly a decade since the U.S. housing market crash. Home values nationally have been on a steady upward climb for months. But the aftershocks of the housing crisis have a few ripples to work through. 

A new report issued by the residential real estate company Trulia this week shows that only a third of homes in the United States have recovered their pre-crisis value. That average, however, is not evenly distributed. Trulia found that full recovery to pre-crisis values has occurred in historically desirable markets like San Francisco, and in markets not as greatly affected by the recession, like Dallas.

In Dallas, Rockwall, and Collin counties, nearly 100 percent of homes have recovered to pre-crisis values. But further away from Dallas, recovery rates fall off. On average, Northeast Texas counties have seen recovery rates around 20 percent.  Van Zandt County has the fewest homes to have recovered pre-crash values. Just under 10 percent of homes in the county have done so.

Hunt County, on the other hand, has seen significant recovery. More than two-thirds of homes there are back to or above pre-crisis values.  Ashley Hammons, owner of AT Home Texas Real Estate in Greenville, has a theory as to why.

"We are pretty close to the Metroplex," she says. "Within driving distance we have a lot of people that are in Hunt County that commute to Dallas, and we still have the country feel, a small town feel."

Hammons says the slower recovery rates in counties like Van Zandt and Lamar could have to do with less proximity to the Metroplex.

Scott Morgan has been an award-winning journalist since 2001. His work has appeared in several newspapers and magazines as well as online. He has also been an editor, freelancer, speaker, writing teacher, author, and podcaster.