Real Estate

To a real estate junkie like me, this was almost as exciting as getting a new Porsche: People are starting to get wise about Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller report. Did you notice that numbers came out this week, Monday in fact, the news was pretty bleak IN SOME LOCALES, but no one (here, at least) freaked out? Then the Wall Street Journal produced what I think is one of the most significant real estate articles in eons. If you don’t subscribe and cannot read it, here is what it says in a nutshell: REAL ESTATE IS A LOCAL STORY.

Finally, some wisdom, what I have been preaching long as I’ve been blogging. Not only is real estate a local story, it is a HYPER LOCAL story, which is why Park Cities and now Preston Hollow home prices are inching upwards. Which is why North Dallas and Bent Tree is still soft and the caboose on the train.

A smattering of home-price indexes is painting a confusing picture of where housing markets are headed. One reason for the confusion is that there’s no such thing as a national housing market. That may have been true in 2004, when all housing markets rose together, or in 2008, when they all fell together. But one difficulty in writing about “the housing market” is that there isn’t “one” market—and increasingly, the nation’s many housing markets are moving in different directions. (more…)

A Houston-based apartment builder that constructed downtown Dallas’ largest rental housing community is working on a project in Victory Park.

Camden Property Trust is negotiating to purchase the 6-acre parking lot just north of American Airlines Center, property brokers say.

The property owner, Hillwood Investments, said last week that it will soon move the parking there to make way for the apartment construction.

Hillwood so far has not identified the apartment builder in talks to purchase the land on Houston Street northwest of downtown Dallas.

Read more at Camden Property to build Victory Park apartments | Dallas Urban Core, Downtown & Uptown Real Estate Investment, Brokerage and Tenant News.

Fairfield Residential’s plans to build apartments on an almost three-acre parking lot in Dallas’ West End is seen as a boost for downtown’s entertainment district.

An apartment project is being planned for a vacant block in downtown Dallas’ West End district.

Construction of the rental community could be a big boost for the entertainment district in the northwest corner of downtown.

Read more at Fairfield Residential plans West End apartment project | Dallas-Fort Worth Business News – News for Dallas, Texas – The Dallas Morning News.

Do local and state officials tune out when you try to talk to them about bicycling? Are they unconvinced by arguments about public health, transportation options, or clean air? Do business leaders send you packing when you suggest building new bike lanes and bike parking, fearing that the loss of car parking will keep customers away?

Then show them the money.

Bikes can mean big business, and businesses are beginning to realize it. At a Bike Summit panel Wednesday on the economic boost cycling can provide cities, speakers highlighted another strong message cyclists can bring to politicians when making their case for investment in bike/ped facilities.

Far and away, the biggest reason business owners resist the addition of bike infrastructure is that they’re afraid it will limit parking. Once they realize they can get 12 bike parking spaces for each car spot, sometimes they begin to change their tune. Even better, they begin to discover that cyclists can be their best customers. “We tend to shop closer to home and shop more often,” said April Economides, a consultant who helped the city of Long Beach, California build bicycle-friendly business districts. Rather than jumping in the minivan and heading to the suburbs to go to the big shopping malls, cyclists patronize the businesses in our neighborhoods.

Read more at Why Bicyclists Are Better Customers Than Drivers for Local Business.

Vibrant downtown areas are linked to greater public transit use and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from driving, according to a new report.

The peer-reviewed research report, “The Impact of Center City Economic and Cultural Vibrancy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transportation,” authored by Matthew J. Holian, PhD, and Matthew E. Kahn, PhD. and published by The Mineta Transportation Institute is available for free here.

“Many studies have shown that urban sprawl is associated with more driving and less public transit use,” said Dr. Holian. “However, the existing literature provides little guidance for policy makers on how to reverse sprawl and reduce vehicle emissions. Our report suggests that a vibrant urban core may plausibly affect land use and transportation patterns. So, that leaves us with a key question. Can policy makers promote green cities by fostering a vibrant center core?”

Read more at Report: Vibrant downtowns linked to greater transit use – News – METRO Magazine.

Trinity Bicycles Now Open Downtown in Sundance Square.

This adorable house at 5737 Palo Pinto screams "Key West!"

I was looking over this adorable listing, 5737 Palo Pinto in the Belmead area of Lakewood, and it reminded me of something. Still, I couldn’t put my finger on it. The teal paint and umbrella, the landscaping, and the clean accents were calling from somewhere else, somewhere much more tropical. And then it hit me … it’s 100 percent Conch Republic  style!

Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and my favorite — a claw-foot-tub! — make this home perfect for families or frequent entertainers. You’re close to White Rock Lake and tons of shopping. And don’t forget that Lakewood has some excellent schools, too.

This cute, cute, CUTE 1929 Craftsman has too many great features to list …

But I’ll try anyway! There’s an updated kitchen with stainless steel, a gorgeous masonry fireplace, and huge porches that are sure to make your dinner guests swoon as you sit outside, imagining you’re taking in the Gulf breeze. All you need is a little Jimmy Buffet and some margaritas …

Here’s the kicker: This home, marketed by Julie Boren in the ever-popular Lakewood, is priced at $549,900. Hop on over to DCAD and you’ll see that it’s appraised at $592,490. What does that mean? THIS HOUSE IS A STEAL. If the paradigm that DCAD appraisals are usually under the home’s true value, than this home must be worth around $650,000. But, it could be yours for $549,900!

— Daily Local Real Estate Dish By Dallas Real Estate Insider — Candy Evans at CandysDirt.com

It’s time for the Best of Big D voting again, and this year the good folks at D Magazine have a category for best blogs (published by a non-traditional media outlet). While CandysDirt.com was not included in the original line-up, editor Jason Heid kindly suggested we launch a write-in campaign! So I need your help! We really want CandysDirt.com to win before her first birthday! Otherwise, she’ll want a Ferrarri.

I am up against some stiff competition — friends, in fact —and every vote counts, so I hope you will help me out!

Please vote for CandysDirt.com. You can vote once a day, every day, until May 6. (If you forget, not to worry, the site won’t let you vote twice in a day.) Vote from your laptop, mobile phone, iPad and any other internet device thingee with a unique IP address daily!! Get your friends to vote. Church! Post this on your Facebook page! Tweet!

Click right here: CandyDirt_BestOfBigD.

Thanks! We love y’all!

— Daily Local Real Estate Dish By Dallas Real Estate Insider — Candy Evans at CandysDirt.com

Comes word from The New York Post that the richest neighborhoods in New York are the ones where the most cheating goes on, apparently. The New York Post called in Noel Biderman, he the CEO of the site AshleyMadison.com… if you don’t know what that is, you’ve lived in the Bible Belt too long! (It’s a dating site for people looking to have extramarital affairs, SHOCKER!) Here’s what Biderman said about lousy spouses in the Big A:

“In the New York area in particular, with successful people there may be more cheating going on because the more opportunity you’re given — and that’s the reason you see athletes, celebrities and politicians involved in affairs — the more other people thrust themselves at you… “For women, the more successful they are, the more likely they are to cheat,” Biderman said. “For men, we’ve found that infidelity usually comes into play when children come on to the scene”

So while I await my call-back from Mr. B about Dallas demos, what neighborhoods in Big D do you think would have the biggest cheatin’ hearts? I’m going to guess — based on Biderman’s accessment – Park Cities, Preston Hollow, Plano and Uptown. Park Cities and Preston Hollow — high net worth residents who have more people “thrust” at them. Uptown? More celebrities and Cougars at Rattlesnake Bar. Plano because I’ve heard that Legacy bars are where all the divorcees hang out.

What do you think?  This is important stuff to know when you are buying a house!

— Daily Local Real Estate Dish By Dallas Real Estate Insider — Candy Evans at CandysDirt.com

A few days back we noted the dust-up between Arts District officials and City Hall over the placement of food trucks in that stretch o’ downtown. Long story short: Vendors were told they needed to fork over $150 for a permit about which they weren’t told a year ago, while Code Compliance also kicked the food trucks out of the street and back into a parking lot across from the Meyerson Symphony Center. Shortly after that initial post, the city came back and said, well, OK … we’ll let ‘em back at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. So, there was that at least.

And while they figure out that permitting problem, we get word from the Arts District that the trucks have found a new home: at the Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park. They began serving out of that space Monday.

Read more at After spat with City Hall over food trucks, Arts District finds new place to park them at AT&T PAC | City Hall Blog.