Dallas, TX

Texas Has an Attitude

Texans have an attitude too! That is why we created 23,000 new jobs in October – the only state in the nation that created jobs, all other states lost jobs. How is that for defying economic trends and forecasts?

Texas also has the 15^th largest economy in the world, just behind Canada at 12^th place and Mexico at 14^th place. And with our economic growth we are expected to surpass Mexico with its 109 million people this year.

Texans have an attitude! If you plan on moving to the Lone Star State and the DFW area, give me a shout! I would love to help you find your place in Texas!!

Area Update...

Lewisville

• Castle Hills continues to exceed projections as the development moves north with new villages near the new 121 Tollway. Also, Killian Middle School and Independence Elementary opened this year in north Castle Hills. Other new subdivisions sprout along 121.

www.cityoflewisville.com

Carrollton

• The new Carrollton (Green Line) Dart Rail is scheduled to open in December 2010. The city plans major development in Old Town with brownstones, apartments, retail, etc.
  

www.cityofcarrollton.com

Coppell

• Sprouts – the City Council on December 9^th will consider approval of the request by Sprouts for their new store at the NW corner of Denton Tap & Sandy Lake. The P&Z has already given approval and preliminary construction has already begun. Also, the new Market Street Grocery and Center at Denton Tap & 121 Tollway opens in January. Together these two stores will provide almost 600 new jobs.
• Three new upscale housing subdivisions along Denton Tap Road with Toll Brothers and David Weekley are opening – price ranges $475,000 to $1.1 million.

www.ci.coppell.tx.us

Cypress Waters at Northlake

• Lucy Billingley’s new 10,000 home development is expected to begin as early as late 2009. It will consist of multi-family, condos, townhomes, garden homes and single family. The Coppell ISD has purchased 4 school sites – 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school site for the development.

Las Colinas

• Hines Development has opened two new premier housing developments along Riverside Drive and builders are now selling beautiful home sites. The neighborhoods are Riverside Village and the Lakes of Las Colinas and the streets are now in. Approximately 700 homes will be built with a price range from $300,000 to $1 million.
• CFB ISD has reserved a site for a new middle school along LBJ Freeway near Riverside Drive for La Villita Middle School. Next to this site the school district has also reserved a site for its next football stadium to serve the district’s growing population in Irving and Coppell.
• The Las Colinas Urban Center is exploding with new growth with the construction of the new Water Entertainment Center, the new Irving Convention center on Las Colinas Blvd (opens November 2010), 3 new hotels, and over 1,500 new condos and apartments, many constructed by Lucy Billingsley.
• The new Dart Rail Line (Orange Line) opens December 2012 from Downtown Dallas to Las Colinas. Acquisition of land has begun.

Valley Ranch

• Everest Heights Mall – the new South Asian Mall at LBJ & Bush Tollway is now under construction and scheduled to open in late 2009. It will have 45 retail stores, a six screen theatre, concert hall and banquet facilities, fine dining restaurants, food court and Asian grocery facilities. This will be the finest Asian mall in the nation and will provide up to 800 new jobs. It will serve the over 100,000 South Asians that now live in the Dallas suburbs. Please go to www.everestheights.com for a virtual tour of this exciting new mall.

www.ci.irving.tx.us

To view homes in the DFW area go to www.patohomes.com

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: