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Dallas Real Estate Blog
The DTRE Blog Has Moved!Contributed by DTRE on November 9, 2009 We've moved! The Dallas Texas Real Estate Blog has moved to a new location. We are excited to recently installed WordPress to better enable community and social functions to the blog. Please visit the new blog at the following url: http://www.dallastexasrealestate.com/blog/ Please visit our new blog for all new postings moving forward. Comments: 0 10 Most Expensive Homes in DallasContributed by DTRE on August 29, 2009 The competition was steep this year, but prestigious Preston Hollow neighborhood turned out to have most multi-million dollar mansions this year. Mark Cuban, Robert Crandall, and Ross Perot all live in this community and have homes worth more than $10 million dollars. Other than Preston Hollow, the most expensive neighborhoods in Dallas were Highland Park and Oak Lawn. Here are the 10 most expensive homes in Dallas 1) 6812 Hunters Glen Rd Dallas TX 75205 (Highland Park) 5 beds, 7.0 baths, 10,094 sq ft For Sale: $18,000,000 2) 3500 Beverly Dr Dallas TX 75205 (Highland Park) 6 beds, 9.0 baths, 18,841 sq ft For Sale: $17,900,000 3) 10660 Strait Ln, Dallas (Preston Hollow) 8 beds, 11.0 baths, 14,748 sq ft For Sale: $17,500,000 4) 2430 Victory Park Ln PH 2900 Dallas TX75219 (Oak Lawn) 4 beds, 8.0 baths, 8,902 sq ft For Sale: $11,750,000 5) 4850 Preston Rd TX 75205 (Highland Park) 6 beds, 10.0 baths, 13,969 sq ft For Sale: $10,950,000 6) 2430 Victory Park Ln PH 2900 Dallas TX 75219 (Oak Lawn) 4 beds, 8.0 baths, 8,902 sq ft Close For Sale: $11,750,000 7) 4237 Armstrong Pkwy, Dallas TX 75205 (Highland Park) 6 beds, 7.8 baths, 8,023 sq ft For Sale: $10,750,000 8) 10710 Strait Ln, Dallas (Preston Hollow) 6 beds, 7.5 baths, 11,000 sq ft For Sale: $7,497,500 9) 3619 Crescent Ave Dallas TX 75205 (Highland Park) 7 beds, 12.0 baths, 13,984 sq ft Close For Sale: $9,995,000 10) 4041 Grassmere Ln Dallas TX 75205 (Highland Park) 6 beds, 7.5 baths, 13,038 sq ft Close For Sale: $9,500,000 Similar Posting across our Network: 10 most expensive homes in Houston Most Expensive homes in San Antonio 100 most expensive homes in Dallas Comments: 0 Top 10 reasons to live in DallasContributed by DTRE on August 16, 2009 Dallas is the third largest city in Texas and has the fastest growing population of any American city. So why exactly do 1.3 million people call Dallas home? Here are 10 great reasons: 1. The Dallas Economy. Dallas has a strong industrial and financial center which provides many top jobs. Along with finance, technology, and real estate, many resident pay the bills by working in the oil and cotton industries. 2. The DFW and Love Field aiports. The Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is one of the largest and busiest in the world with 128 domestic and 37 international destinations. 3. Parkland Hospital in Highland park was named one of the best hospitals in the US by the US News and World Report 2008. 4. The Dallas Market Center. This huge market just North of Downtown is the world’s largest market for wholesale merchandise with 5.5 million square feet. 5. The average year-round temperature ranges from 55F to 76F. 6. Developers are currently investing $13 billion in the city’s urban core. 7. Dallas has more than 7000 restaurants including new restaurants by celebrity chefs Kent Rathbun, Wolfgang Puck and Stephan Pyles. 8. Dallas enjoys some of the most generous homestead exemption protections in the USA. 9. The newly developed Frisco Square is one of the fastest growing cities in the US with 1400 new apartments and 500 new condos along with a new City Hall, library and Heritage Center. 10. Dallas is home to the Dallas Cowboys, winners of 5 Super Bowls and the most valuable sports franchise in the world. Comments: 1 New Search Features mines information across all of our Texas Real Estate CommunitiesContributed by DTRE on August 8, 2009 Here at DTRE our goal is simple. Provide our users the most relevant information available on the web, and make sure its 100% free. With that goal in mind we have upgraded our internal site search to use Google's propietary search algorithm and mine data across our entire network of Texas Real Estate sites. That means that you will have instant access the blog posting, questions & answers, and listings across Texas regardess of which site you happen to perform the search on. Texas websites in the CityStateRealEstate Network:
Go ahead and give it a try. Just use the search box in the upper right hand corner of the site! Comments: 0 What is the Texas Homestead Exemption Act?Contributed by DTRE on July 25, 2009 A number of visitors come to DTRE looking for information about the Texas Homestead Exemption / Act, so here's a quick overview. The Texas Homestead exemption is a legal rule which is designed to:
Texas Homestead Exemption allows an exemption from property tax on 20% of the house value. Additional exemptions are made for county taxes, those over the age of 65 and those registered disabled. The property must be the primary residence of the applicant. Texas Homestead Exemption has no dollar value limit but has a 10-acre limit for homesteads inside a municipality and 100-acre limit for those in a rural homestead. Texas Homestead Exemption also prevents the forced sale of a home to meet the demands of creditors, with the exception of mortgage holders, note holders and tax authorities. Finally, it provides a surviving spouse with shelter. Texas offers some of the most generous homestead exemption protections in the USA. Although the protection is substantial, it does limit the ability of the homeowner to mortgage the property, as a home equity loan and/or mortgage on a property with Homestead Exemption may not exceed 80% of the value of the property. Comments: 2 The Dallas Heights at Park Lane finds Tenants despite Residential Slow DownContributed by DTRE on July 4, 2009 Just a couple of months after opening, the prestigious ‘Heights at Park Lane’ apartments are 40% leased. Ranging in price from $1200 to over $10,000 a month for a penthouse, the convenient location is appealing to those who like to live in the heart of a retail and entertainment area. Renters tend to be in the 30-35 age range and are looking for a pedestrian lifestyle without the need for a car. The views from the upper floors of the Heights are certainly quite unique over Macy’s, Nordstrom, Dillard’s and as far as Downtown Fort Worth on a clear day. Similar Postings: What keep their value better, Dallas townhomes or condos? Houston Midtown Neighborhood Profile Comments: 0 Is it time to start buying foreclosures in Dallas?Contributed by DTRE on June 23, 2009 Despite a further 5% drop in median home sales prices in Dallas-Forth Worth in the first quarter of 2009, foreclosed homes are not being seen as a bargain. More than 30% of potential buyers think that prices have further to fall and buying a foreclosed home now could see the house continue to lose value. A report by the National Association of Realtors reported that 70% of renters interviewed expressed an interest in looking at foreclosed homes with the intention of buying. With more than 30,000 homes in Dallas Fort Worth being posted for foreclosure in the six months to May 2009, there is likely to be plenty of choice for bargain hunters in the near future. Similar Postings: Which Dallas neighborhoods have the most foreclosures? San Antonio homeowners struggle with mortgage payments Comments: 0 Dallas Prepares for Twister SeasonContributed by DTRE on June 14, 2009 Dire warnings that Dallas is long overdue for a major tornado do not seem to convince homeowners to construct their own storm shelters. Dallas is well within ‘Tornado Alley’, where dry northerly air meets moist air from the Gulf giving the unstable conditions which spawn twisters. While Dallas City Emergency Management has response planning for such a disaster, the American Red Cross is committed to providing food and emergency housing for a possible 40,000 residents who may be left homeless after a major tornado. Aiming to complete their ambitious preparations by late 2011, the Red Cross still needs to train 11,000 more volunteers and identify more community buildings which could be used as temporary shelters. Similiar postings: Home Warranty Insurance 7 steps to increase the life expectancy of your home Comments: 0 Westlake leads Dallas Neighborhoods for Resales in Q1 of 2009Contributed by DTRE on June 9, 2009 Latest reports for the first quarter home resales show the highest number of sales in Dallas were in expensive Westlake neighborhood , whilst the lowest number were in Wilmer-Hutchins. However, Wilmer-Hutchins also showed houses remained on the market for the least number of days while North Dallas homes remained on the market for much longer. The biggest percentage change in house prices has been recorded once again in Westlake and price reductions were less drastic in central Oak Lawn. All in all, prices continue to drop, making Dallas a buyer’s market for those looking to invest in property. Comments: 0 Dallas Homeowners can sell surplus solar powerContributed by DTRE on May 28, 2009 Solar panels have been popular in the southern states for many years for heating swimming pools, but in the race to develop greener energy, progress is developing fast. Solar energy customers can now sign up for a program with Green Mountain Energy Co. to sell their surplus solar energy generated and receive excellent retail rates. When home solar panels generate more power than the homeowner can use, the excess power simply flows onto the grid. Retail prices are paid for the first 500 kilowatt hours per month sold to Green Mountain Energy, at last making solar panels return the initial investment in double-quick time. Similar Postings: How Do You Pass a Building Inspection with New Green Systems in Your Home Comments: 1 New Homes Sales Down in Dallas in 4Q 2008Contributed by DTRE on April 11, 2009 The last quarter of 2008 saw a 30% dip in new home sales, as reported by the Dallas Morning News. This 30% number sounds alarmingly high, so it's important to note that it is in reference to the "number" of new home sales in the area, not the average "price" of home sales over the noted time period. This is important to note, as there are a number of factors that are included in a trend like this. The first ingredient is that with the current economic crisis, fewer people are looking and buying new homes and are content to wait out the down times. The other important factor is that capital from banks and lenders is much harder to come by, which leads to fewer projects flooding the market. To that point, the trend could feed itself, as one expected impact of this downturn is that local home builders are scaling back their new construction projects which could further amplify the trend. Read the article here. Comments: 0 Dallas Suburbs and Exurbs Continuing to GrowContributed by DTRE on September 13, 2008 How far north can we go? The suburb sprall of Dallas continues to extend further and further north as the years go by. Richardson to Plano to Allen to McKinney...there never seems to be an end to the Dallas suburbs. And now we're starting to see growth in the 'exburbs'. The Bond Buyer has an interesting article about exurb growth in Rockwall County. For those not familiar with the term, 'exurbs' refers to surrounding areas that are technically further out than the suburbs...which there is admittedly a large grey area for Dallas, as the suburbs continue to extend further north. Comments: 2 Dallas Condo Market Struggling. Did you see it coming?Contributed by DTRE on August 3, 2008 It seems like it had to happen at some point. Despite the national real estate market downturn, the Dallas market has been able to remain relatively unscathed compared to some west coast markets. That said, one had to wonder if the local metroplex market could continue to support the massive amount of condo and townhome development in Uptown and downtown Dallas, and as the real estate market continues to struggle, the Dallas condo market is finally starting to feel the pain. The Dallas Morning News reported on Friday that some builders have turned what were planned as for sale units into rentals after seeing lack of market response. With a number of units still open in new developments, other planned developments have been postponed or cancelled. The article goes on to say, "condo sales have been the hardest hit sector of the local real estate market" with sales of condos and townhomes down by nearly a quarter year over year, citing subprime mortgages as part of the problem. And with mortgage rates up, the cost of ownership is up. Read the Dallas Morning News article. Comments: 1 Dallas home market "arguably" still going strongContributed by DTRE on May 19, 2008 The Chicago Tribune had an interesting article yesterday that described Dallas "arguably the most stable housing market in the country". While this might pain a picture of a booming market, given the decline across the country, everything is relative. The article details how home sales are actually down 15 percent versus the amount of sales a year ago and says prices could drop another 8 to 14 percent before the market bottoms out. The most interesting part of the article to us was the following: "Consumers expect more today and they expect more than they did last year and more than the year before," said Google executive Justin McCarthy. "They expect more content and more of it to be free." Of course, DTRE is all about free content, so we're glad to hear experts see the importance of this trend! Read the full article here. Comments: 1 New Dallas Real Estate Interactive Listings MapContributed by DTRE on April 6, 2008 DTRE is proud to announce a completely re-designed Dallas Real Estate Listings section with an interactive map that includes home location as well as neighborhood boundaries. As shown below, the properties will be listed on left (pulled from Google Base), and then automatically populated into our interactive map on the right-hand side of the page. If you click on one of the properties, the map will immediately re-center to show that particular listing and have a pop-up with pertinent information.  We have also improved the search functionality to help you find the exact homes that you are interested in. For instance, if you only want to see Dallas Foreclosures just choose Foreclosures from the listings type drop down. We have also added the ability to narrow your search to Dallas, Irving, Fort Worth, and Arlington. Here is a pre-sorted search for Forth Worth Real Estate Listings. As always, please feel free to drop us an email and let us know what you think. Comments: 0 |
Recent Blog Posts...The DTRE Blog Has Moved! Comments: 0 10 Most Expensive Homes in Dallas Comments: 0 Top 10 reasons to live in Dallas Comments: 1 New Search Features mines information across all of our Texas Real Estate Communities Comments: 0 What is the Texas Homestead Exemption Act? Comments: 2 The Dallas Heights at Park Lane finds Tenants despite Residential Slow Down Comments: 0 Is it time to start buying foreclosures in Dallas? Comments: 0 Dallas Prepares for Twister Season Comments: 0 Westlake leads Dallas Neighborhoods for Resales in Q1 of 2009 Comments: 0 Dallas Homeowners can sell surplus solar power Comments: 1 Archive:1Q 2010 3Q 2009 2Q 2009 1Q 2009 3Q 2008 2Q 2008 1Q 2008 3Q 2007 2Q 2007 1Q 2007 Other Blogs:Houston Texas Real Estate Blog Austin Texas Realty Blog San Antonio Homes Blog Seattle Washington Real Estate Blog |
