In the News

From 2:00-4:00 PM, 4915 Wedgewood Lane ($2,390,000). From 3:00-5:00 PM, 10660 Strait Lane ($10,000,000), 10650 Strait Lane ($6,895,000), 3421 Beverly Drive ($4,199,000) and 3500 Dartmouth Avenue ($3,995,000). We would love to see you stop by!

The Burger King at Lemmon and Douglas is scheduled to become a Capital One branch bank. The 500,000 square foot LTV Tower in the Arts District will be converted to mixed use, including 171 hotel rooms on floors 5-14; 186 residential units on floors 15-32; parking on floors 2-4 plus underneath.

DFW home starts rose 35% in first quarter, highest total in five years. 4,312 homes were started. First quarter sales were up 25%. At the end of March, just under 3,200 new homes were available. Material and labor costs are up.

The corner site at Park Lane and north Central Expressway will soon see a five story office project with 120,000 square feet retail space on the ground level.

S&P Dow Jones data show north Texas home prices up another 7% for January, the 11th consecutive monthly gain. Core Logic says the “shadow inventory” of distressed homes is down 18%. Average US home prices are back to fall 2003 levels.

A 6-acre apartment community is being built at Cedar Springs and the Dallas North Tollway. The Aura apartments will comprise 399 units. The 33 story Pacific Tower downtown will become a hotel and residences.

February single home sales in north Texas for February were 5,325, up 14% over a year ago. Condos were up 12%, farms and ranches up 39%. Pending sales showed single family up 15%, condos up 33%, farms/ranches up 16%. Biggest percentage change was in the $700-$800,000 range, followed by $400-$600,000. Current inventory is at a 4 month supply.

Home prices nationwide rose almost 10% in January according to CoreLogic, with indication of a similar gain for February. Dallas home prices were up 8% and inventory is still low.

The Realtor association reports that contracts to buy homes rose from December to January to the highest level in more than 2 1/2 years, suggesting preowned home sales will continue rising.