Darren Dattalo

The Big Picture. Things are pretty good here on Lower Greenville. Despite the dismal economic news, interest rates are good, prices are mostly holding and homes are selling. Even though Dallas saw a 35% decline in home sales in November compared to November 2007, our neighborhood faired well for the most part. Lot purchases continue to be non-existant and new development condos are moving slower than the developers would like, but the mainstay of our area, the older single family homes, are still moving.

Original Homes: Inventory was reduced considerably in Dec. for the older original homes from 107 to 89 bring us down to 7.5 months of inventory. Considerably better than the Dallas average and not too far off from the ideal level of 5 months. The AVERAGE selling point is still $190/ft for these older homes despite falling lots values.

Newer Construction: Still holding about 10 months of inventory overall for new construction. Not too bad. The new builds are being absorbed a little faster than the pre-existing new construction. Several of the builders have lost their spec homes to foreclosure and I suspect these will put price pressure on the remaining spec homes.

Condos/Townhomes: Condos are still struggling in the area. Only one condo sale in December out of 32 units on the market. The biggest concern is the average Days on Market for condos here up to 284 days. Before you reach for your calculator, that's 9.5 months. Oddly enough, there seems to be no slow down in the number of new projects breaking ground.

Lot Values: If there aren't any lots sold in the next couple of months, I'm going to officially declare the market gone. :-) You can count the number of lots sold in the last six months on one hand. Despite the absence of a market here, the average price being asked has inexplicably risen to $28.09/sqft.

And Now for the Numbers:

LOWER GREENVILLE DEAL OF THE MONTH**

Home of the Month: 5810 Morningside

This is a classic M-streets Tudor. 4 bedrooms, 2455 sqft completely updated mechanicals and cosmetics. Listed at $398,000, that works out to $162/sqft. The updates in this home are comparable to homes listed over $200/ft. The fatal flaw? No garage. The home does have a Porte Coche and a garage could easily be added. The curb appeal is excellent and neighbors are terrific.

**NOTE: Currently listed by Allie Beth Allman and Associates. This property is not my listing. I do not earn commissions or fees of any kind in return for mentioning this listing.

WIN SOME, LOSE SOME. October was a pretty tough month for Lower Greenville. At the end of the month there were a lot of homes under contract looking to close in November, so hope remained. The good news is that those homes did in fact close. Not as many as July, but pretty good for a November. On the downside, lot values are not looking good. Could this be a bubble? Stay tuned....

Original Homes: The smaller, original homes are the strongest part of the market here. They comprise the most sales, fetch the highest $/sqft and are generally what people have in mind when they say "I wanna live in Lower Greenville". Inventory dropped from 125 to 107 homes this month and 18 sales were recorded (compared to 11 in Oct.) We have right at 6 months of inventory in this part of the market which is perfectly normal. Compared to other areas and other products, the good old Arts & Crafts bungalow is doing just fine, thank you.

Newer Construction: No change in new construction sales. Three units sold out of 66 on the market. Builders have been lowering prices and are now averaging under $175 per sqft. Resales on new construction are having the hardest time right now. With over 30 homes on the market, only 1 sold in November.

Condos/Townhomes: Tick, tick. Like clockwork, we continue absorbing condos at a pace of 3 per month. This month a few of the higher priced ones sold bringing the average sales price above $350K (as opposed to last month at $115K). Two of the three that sold this month were of the "Single family attached" style. (Most of us call that a townhome or a duplex)

Lot Values: We no longer have a market value for lots. Bold statement, but it is quickly becoming true. Right now, there is not enough information to determine what if any value the land has. Lot values appreciated far more rapidly than home values so a bubble in lot values is not out of the question. There were no lots sold this month, but 13 remain on the market. See my note below regarding the "Deal of the Month" on 5710 Velasco. One year ago, this lot would have sold quickly for $225K. Today, it is listed at $145K and has no takers after two months on the market.

And Now for the Numbers:

LOWER GREENVILLE DEALS OF THE MONTH**

Home of the Month: 5947 Marquita

This home is in the M-Streets East Conservation District and is nicely updated. You don't often find an updated 3/2 over 2000 sqft for under $350K in this neighborhood. Plus this one is on a quiet corner lot on a lovely tree-lined street. This street is a favorite for dog walkers in the area.

Lot Deal(s) of the Month: 5710 Velasco & 5436 Miller

5710 Velasco (see story on Lot Values above) has been listed for 60 days at $145K. The home burned several months ago and is not habitable. It could probably be repaired or it could be scraped for a new build. Although this lot is three doors down from Greenville Ave, its a good street with friendly neighbors. At lot value, this would have sold for more than $200K a year ago. At this price, it would be a great investment to warehouse or renovate. Fully renovated that value would be over $300K.

5436 Miller is being auctioned off on Dec 13th, cash only. The home needs repairs and financing is not an option. They are starting the minimum bidding at $99K. Given the slow interest in lots at this time, this could be a real bargain.

**NOTE: These properties are not my listings. I do not earn commissions or fees of any kind on any of these listings.

LIFE GOES ON. As expected, the trifecta hit the market this month. A Wall Street disaster, the State Fair in town and an election looming have all factored into a really slow October. The inventory remained about the same, but the number of sold properties this month was about half of that in September. The Good News: lots of homes are under contract right now and November should be a good month, back on track.

Original Homes: No real changes this month to inventory or Days on Market. Only 11 homes sold out of 136 listed, reflecting the general October slowness. But baby, the Craftsman bungalow is HOT! Several sales recently topping $200/sqft. This barrier was breached by the M-Street Tudor a couple years ago, but the smaller, wood-framed Craftmans have not caught up. Recently, we've seen several going at $205, $210/sqft.

Newer Construction: Only two new construction sales this month with 30 still available. Prices holding steady at around $600K for sold prices. How many homes have to sell at this price before builders realize that prices above $750K do not fly here? One interesting thing this month, pre-owned new homes are starting to outsell new construction, never lived-in homes. This has been a long time coming as the area continues to gentrify. We now have enough new construction resales to be competitive with the new builds.

Condos/Townhomes: No real changes in this market. 3 condos sold with 40 on the market. The average selling price is $115K for those three. This would not buy a doormat at the Palomar where half the inventory remains and no units sold this month, or last.

Lot Values: One lot was sold this month, out of 21 on the market. For those keeping track, that's averaging about one per month over the last 6 months. The price on this one was $215K, and I remain amazed at the number of people marketing building lots at $250K without any price reductions. That price was aggressive a year ago, but is just silly now.

And Now for the Numbers:

The Typical Home*

*NOTE: These typical home values are based on a rolling three month average. With the uniqueness and diversity of the homes in our area, this does not represent a trend, only a snapshot of the market.

Between hosting a party for 800 at National Night Out and trying to celebrate a birthday, I'm running a little late getting this month's update posted! The frightening economic meltdown happened after October 1 so the number's in this report do not reflect any impact to the market from that. We may see some impact in October's report. October should be a double whammy: not only the economic turmoil, but the fair is in town which every year puts a muzzle on real estate activity. Days on Market continues to be high in all parts of town and Lower Greenville is no exception, averaging about 150 days.

Original Homes: Not much change this month. The $/sqft has remained about the same, inching up about 0.5%. The inventory is up about 10% over last month which has pushed us to 7.4 months of inventory. Higher than last month but still very healthy in any market.

Newer Construction: After a small jump in new construction resales last month, we were back to typical levels of 6-8 homes sold per month. Inventories are around 9 months which is still better than city wide average but not quite as low as we would like.

Condos: This was a very weak month for condos. Only one unit sold in the Lower Greenville area. This continues to be skewed by the fact that half of the inventory is at the Palomar which is a product that is not typical for our market.

Lot Values: Two lots were sold this month. For those keeping track, that's double the number in the previous two months combined. While two is not statistically significant, At least there is some movement in that market. The average price for these lots was $213K. Most of the list prices on tear down lots have drifted down from the $230K range of a year ago to the $190K range today. There are still several hold-outs asking $230K or more, but none of these have sold. I suspect the builders will be taking a lot less risks with spec homes over the next fews months.

And Now for the Numbers:

The Typical Home*

*NOTE: These typical home values are based on a rolling three month average. With the uniqueness and diversity of the homes in our area, this does not represent a trend, only a snapshot of the market.

For several years now, the neighborhoods of Lower Greenville have held celebrations of National Night Out. As the LGNA Crime Watch coordinator, I've helped organize this event since the begining. I'm a big beleiver in neighborhood building and these events are a great opportunity for neighbors to mingle and talk about things going on in thier neighborhood.

This year, the National Association of Town Watch, the national organizer, allowed us to move the event from the sweltering heat of August, to October 7th, a much more managable date for those of us in Texas. So this year promises a much cooler and hopefully funner event.

Most of these events have grown significantly in scope and popularity. Some take the flavor of a festive block party while others take a more serious approach such as a crime summit. Here are a few of the events planned for different parts of the neighborhood.

National Night Out In Tietze Park

For the fifth year running, three area neighborhood associations - Lakewood Heights, Lower Greenville, and Lowest Greenville West are joining forces to hold one of the city's largest National Night Out events. Approximately 5,000 households are represented by these three organizations, and this event generates 700+ attendees each year. The event will be held Oct 7th, 5:30-8:30 p.m, once again at Tietze Park.

In addition to the new date, they are moving the party to the Pavillion area of the park in order to take advantage of all the recent improvements to the park. This event is about giving residents a chance to meet and talk to all the organizations that work to improve the quality of life in our neighborhood. There will be representatives from many city departments and plenty of police officers to talk to about crime concerns. In addition to the face painters and hotdogs, this year there will be having a free-throw contest with prizes for different age groups. Be sure to look for this blogger at the Crime Watch Table!

M-Streets National Night Out

They got a late start but Greenland Hills (The proper name of the M-Streets) is having a block party in the 5200 block of Ridgedale between Lanari and Homer on the evening of Oct 7th, 5:30 to 7:30pm. There will be a live band, refreshments, city representatives and police officers present.

Vickery Place National Night Out

Vickery Place has traditionally had a very large block party to celebrate NNO. This year's event will be held Oct 7th, 6-8pm on Glencoe, between Miller & Willis. they will have a live band, a clown and lots of food and drink. They do not charge admission for the event, but there is a small fee for food and drink.

Wilshire Heights National Night Out

Tuesday evening, October 7, 2008, from 6:30 - 8:30 PM, the Wilshire Heights Neighborhood Association is sponsoring National Neighbors' Night Out. In Wilshire Heights, they will serve drinks and snacks that evening from 6:30-8:30 PM on the front lawn of 6204 Kenwood (Beth and John Wing); this is at the corner of Kenwood and Norris.

As a special treat, beekeepers from the Texas Honeybee Guild will be there. We will also have a fire truck on hand for the kids to enjoy, our local patrol officers will stop by, and the Greater White Rock Early Childhood PTA will have a table with information on their group. So you can see that we will have a full house. This should be a great event where neighbors have a chance to meet neighbors informally.