New Residential High Rise for Preston Center?

Plans are in the works for a new residential high rise at northern border of the Park Cities. Currently the plans are in the form of a zoning change request.

The proposed building would be on Westchester Drive between Luther and Sherry Lanes. If you know the west side of Preston Center, the location is currently the 3 story Preston Doctors Center built in the 1950s. It's located just south of a fitness place and north of a drive thru bank ( across from the new Black-eyed Pea and Spoon restaurants).

Developers are proposing a 29 story building with 350 residential units and retail space on the first level. That's really tall for this area. The Shelton high rise is 23 stories. I'll take a unit on the 6th floor with a downtown view please.

Stay tuned for more details. [where: 75230]

North Dallas Housing Statistics

Market statistics are in for the start of 2013 and the picture is bright for Texas, North Texas and Dallas. But lets take a closer look at North Dallas real estate. For the areas south of LBJ Freeway ( I-635) and north of Northwest Highway:

 

Between Midway Road and Central Expressway ( I-75) 

 

Number of Sales in January 2013: 42

% change from a year ago: + 68%

Average sales price: $929,113
% change from a year ago: + 44%

Average Days on Market to sell: 78
% change from a year ago: - 28%

Months of Inventory of available homes for sale: 4.1
% change from a year ago: -46%

West of Midway Road

Number of Sales in January 2013: 32
% change from a year ago: - 6%

Average sales price: $232,046
% change from a year ago: + 24%

Average Days on Market to sell: 72
% change from a year ago: - 24%

Months of Inventory of available homes for sale: 2.5
% change from a year ago: -47%


East of Central Expressway ( I-75)

Number of Sales in January 2013: 28
% change from a year ago: + 4%

Average sales price: $298,801
% change from a year ago: + 11%

Average Days on Market to sell: 79
% change from a year ago: +18%

Months of Inventory of available homes for sale: 1.8
% change from a year ago: -52%


South of Northwest Hwy, between Love Field and Central Expressway

Number of Sales in January 2013: 24
% change from a year ago: - 33%

Average sales price: $838,312
% change from a year ago: - 28%

Average Days on Market to sell: 101
% change from a year ago: + 6%

Months of Inventory of available homes for sale: 3.2
% change from a year ago: -39%

The lack of inventory of homes for sale continues to be a strong issue - driving prices up and keeping the number of sales lower.  [where: 75230]

Moving to Texas statistics

When it comes to real estate, Texas is the land of milk and honey. Folks just keep moving here in droves and those people all need a place to live. Great news for real estate in Dallas.

 

You can see from this chart of moving statistics that the area in blue had more people moving into them than are moving out of them.

This trend has been going strong in Texas for the past 8 years. In 2012, Texas had 145,314 people moving here and only 12,705 people who moved out of the state.

[where: 75230]

Behind the Pink Wall in Dallas

The famous Pink Wall in Preston Hollow is coming down!
But don't panic, it looks like it is just being replaced. Hopefully with an identical pink wall.

If you've ever talked real estate in Preston Hollow, you know what "behind the pink wall" means. The famous pink wall was named by Ebby Halliday and it is just that - a pinkish brick wall that runs along Northwest Highway. The area know as "behind the pink wall" is north of Northwest Highway and just east of Preston Road. It consists of two high rises ( the Athena and Preston Towers), a couple of mid rises and several condo complexes from the 1950s and 60s.

Most of these older condos have large rooms, spacious closets and tiny kitchens - with a servant's entrance, of course. For a long time they attracted Park Cities and Preston Hollow retirees looking to downsize. Some referred to them as the last stop before the Sparkman Hillcrest cemetery down the street. It was also known as a haven for new divorcees. Today the residents still include many senior citizens but a good share of singles, newlyweds, investors and second-home owners as well.

This charming neighborhood includes the streets Averill Way and La Bandera lined with huge trees and condominiums with old Hollywood glamorous names from like La Fontaine and The Seville. Imagine sipping a martini by the pool, in your metal shell-backed lawn chair, ashtray on the table, with your pin-up girl swimsuit and floppy hat, while listening to Frank Sinatra.

That's behind the pink wall.
 [where: 75230]

January 2013 DFW Real Estate Stats

Here’s some more great news on the DFW real estate market from my friend Britt Fair, President, Hexter-Fair Title Company.

Take a look at the monthly dollar volume of single family sales in the North Texas area. The DFW home market started 2013 with a super January performance. January 2013 dollar volume of sales (shown as a dark blue dot) were $909 million, which was 29% higher than January 2012 and 59% better than January 2011.

The 29% year-over-year increase was due to both a 4% increase in average sales price and a 23% increase in the number of sales. [where: 75230]

Love Dallas Real Estate

Few professionals truly love their jobs as much as I do. This year my Valentines are all homes!

I'm genuinely grateful to be able to help my friends and clients find their perfect match in a home. If you're longing for your Dallas real estate dream, let me be your matchmaker this year! [where: 75230]

Selling Homes 140 Characters at a time

Social media continues to gain in popularity with real estate agents and home buyers alike. With the inventory of homes for sale in Dallas so low, agents are spreading the word about properties via Facebook, Twitter, email, etc. Creativity on the internet has become an important part of marketing properties for sale and finding homes available for sale.

Check out the latest ranking of the Top 99 Realtors in the U.S. on Twitter. These agents were chosen based on the amount of followers, quality of tweets, and regional influence. What a nice surprise to find myself on this list. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here and then click "follow". Click on the graphic to see a larger version.

 [where: 75230]