31 cent ice cream tonight

Here's the Scoop -

The Baskin Robbins stores at Preston Royal and at Preston Center are serving up .31 cent ice cream scoops tonight from 5:00 until 10:00.

Yum!

[where: 75230]

Busy week for economic indicators

The Treasury Department is really busy over the next week keeping the economy watchers on their toes.

First, we're (yes - you, me and Uncle Sam) are borrowing a record amount of money this week- something like $101 billion. Tomorrow, the Treasury Department will also announce how much additional supply it will bring to the credit markets in the form notes and bonds next week. This may raise mortgage rates a hair. Folks in the know are predicting that the Chinese (and other foreign investors) won't be buying as much from the US Treasury - making for a sluggish auction. Mortgage investors will be watching and waiting over the next 2 weeks.

Economic reports of revised first-quarter Gross Domestic Product figures and the Personal Consumption Index are also being released, followed by the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. For those that find this all interesting - hang on for a wild ride. If you find all this boring - just read the headlines in 10 days.

[where: 75230]

Really Exclusive Community in North Dallas

There are several exclusive, gated neighborhoods in North Dallas - but this new listing is at the top of the chart. The gated neighborhood that includes 6615 Willow Lane consists of just 3 homes.

That must make the annual HOA meetings a breeze. The prime location - south of LBJ between Preston & Hillcrest - is just the starting point for this stunning home.

Understated sophistication is evident when you drive up and continues through the 4,700 sq feet. Soaring ceilings, open floor plan and large rooms overlook the private lush grounds.

With loads of storage and a pristine 3 car garage - this place has it all!

[where: 75230]

all these New Texans have to live someplace

Texas Tops List of Best Places for Jobs!

• Texas cities dominate a new list of the best places for jobs, with the top 5 large metropolitan areas for job growth all located in the Lone Star State.
• Nine of the top 20 cities on the Forbes overall list are in Texas.
• A robust energy industry and stable housing market are cited as factors for our state’s success.

BEST LARGE CITIES FOR JOBS

#1 Austin-Round Rock, TX

#2 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX

#3 San Antonio, TX

#4 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

#5 Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX

BEST SMALL CITIES FOR JOBS

#1 Odessa, TX

#2 Grand Junction, CO

#3 Longview, TX

#4 Houma-Bayou Cane -Thibodaux, LA

#5 Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX

#6 Laredo, TX

The bright outlook for population and job growth throughout Texas will drive demand for housing in every community of the metroplex.

[where: 75230]

Real Estate Scammers hurting too

Looks like the current real estate market is having a negative effect on the no-money-down-get-rich-quick 'gurus'. What a relief.

The New York Times reports that some of the infomercials from supposed 'real estate moguls' are now off the air, as these savvy opportunists face losses in their investments. Yippee!

Even Donald Trump has led poor suckers into believing that they could get rich in real estate - in their spare time - with no cash, no credit, and no education. Every time a Trump seminar came to town, my phone would start ringing with people looking for bargain properties to scoop up and flip. I could tell within seconds that they'd been to a seminar, had no idea what they were doing and were looking to loose their shirts.

The best site to check out these huckster schemes is John Reed's Scam Detection Checklist. If you are even thinking about taking a 'real estate investment course' - read this first. Don't make the scam artists the only ones to profit in the market.

You CAN get rich in real estate and a lot of people will create a great deal of wealth by buying real estate in today's down market. But they won't do it with no money down and no risk. It requires a lot of hard work, sacrifice and knowledge.

[where: 75230]

US Postal Ingenuity

From our local post office near Northwest Highway & Hillcrest ...

Don't even think about mailing that letter here.

[where: 75230]

Dallas market condition update

Several factors are keeping the DFW real estate market strong.

• Employment statistics are still good and much better than the rest of the country.
• Corporate and individual relocations into DFW are continuing. Forbes recently ranked Dallas #5 on Top 10 list of cities to which people are moving.
• The oil and gas industry, especially in the Barnett Shale, is another bright spot with a 25-30 year projected life span of each gas well.
• There is a 6.2 month inventory of existing homes listed for sale in North Texas. Six months is considered a balanced market.
• Builders have shown significant restraint in keeping housing starts low. DFW has only a 3.1 month inventory of new homes (finished and vacant) for sale.

Real estate is a local business and market conditions vary from neighborhood to neighborhood -and even block by block within a neighborhood. Some areas are slow, others are brisk and some are flat.

And in today's economy, flat is the new up!

[where: 75230]

Pay Day for Uncle Sam

Tomorrow is a big pay day for Uncle Sam. I'm certainly sending him a big fat check.

These two characters on Marsh Lane were at least lending some humor to the tax paying process yesterday. The guy in the green Statue of Liberty costume could have passed for ole Uncle Sam himself (which would have been a lot more appropriate that an old guy dressed as a French woman). I have no idea why the other guy's costume is red - except maybe to represent that our country operates in the red ... or that we're seeing red on tax day.

[where: 75230]

Happy Easter

Give your agent the day off.

[where: 75230]

Ooh La La ... French Mansion

I held a tres chic private preview party at this new home on Armstrong Avenue last night and the overwhelming response was Ooh La La! More an 100 VIP guests snacked on brie, pate and other French treats and admired this incredible property. All 13,000+ square feet of this magnifique mansion officially go on the market in a week for $8,750,000 unfurnished ($9,900,000 furnished).

One of the fabulous features of this property are the 8 fireplace mantles imported from France. The one shown here (with our party staff) is a hand carved Louis XIII stone mantle circa 1650 from a castle in Valle de Leon (Loire Valley) of France.

[where: 75230]

How Buyers find Homes to Purchase

The 2008 National Association of Realtors 'Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers' study, reports:

• 33% of buyers start their home search by looking online for properties for sale.
• 87% say that they used the Internet as an information source to buy a home.

Clearly sellers and Realtors must meet consumer demand for property information online if they are to have success in selling homes to today's homebuyer. If a home for sale is not on line, you are missing the boat.

A Google search shows more than 500,000,000 real estate web sites that are available to consumers. The battle for online superiority stretches in every corner of every neighborhood of every city. MLS rules allow brokers to display key features of a home on their web site. In this MLS "broker reciprocity", all brokers offer their listings for display on other broker sites in exchange for the ability to display all of the other brokers' listings on their own web site - making it convenient for the consumer to see all properties for sale in a given area from one web site.

Most notably, you can search homes for sale, request a showing, and find open houses. Accessing all of the non-confidential information available from the MLS is a powerful tool for consumers. To learn more details about a property, such as days on market, sold history, price changes,... you typically need to contact an agent to find it for you in MLS.

Keep in mind that there can be a lag time - ranging from a day to a week - for web sites become updated with information on home sales. If you are shopping for a bargain home, it may be gone by the time you find out about it.

To search the Dallas area MLS for home, simply go to my site at LydiaPlayer.com.

[where: 75230]

Look Younger, Loose Weight in one easy step

A fun loving colleague gave me a tip for how to instantly look 20 years younger.

Just get out of real estate. See how it worked for these lovely ladies.

[where: 75230)

Lost Your Bird?

A parakeet was found in the driveway of a home on Mimosa Lane yesterday. It is yellow with a little green. If you know it's owner, let me know.

The kind members of the Preston Hollow North Homeowners Association would love to reunite this bird with it's owner.

[where: 75230]