Articles for October 2nd, 2009
House Porn From the Ritz
Got my hair straightened today but that won’t stop me from getting in this pool!
Kicking It Up at the New Ritz-Carlton Tower: Candy’s In House Porn Heaven
Now that we are empty nesters, every time something breaks in our home the code-phrase is — time for a condo. (Which reminds me: my Northland ice maker is broken. Again.) We dream the impossible dream of a day when life can be easy — no broken sprinkler heads to replace, no frantic calls to the pool man, no leaks, no home repairs. (Is the wine cellar broken? AGAIN?) So when the good folks at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas offered a luxury stay in a new designer-furnished showcase home at their brand new Tower Residences so we could try it on for fun, I jumped at the chance! Can you imagine, this is like going to home porn heaven: the interiors are by Robb & Stucky. And don’t think I won’t be LIVING on that PRIORITY phone. (Attention Ritz staff: eat your Wheaties!) Stay tuned this weekend for a blog report, and post Ritz-Carlton depression on Monday. Join us virtually at our cocktail party Saturday afternoon — poolside, if weather permits. If not, we’ll watch the sunset from our new home away from home, get healthy (and work off Fearings) in the exercise room and then get rubbed down ’till we shine at The Ritz –Carlton Spa. And to think all this could be ours for a mere $800,000…
Eat your heart out, Jason Sheeler. (Sounds like you did.) We’re going to The Ritz!
In 2010 Real Estate Rises Again?
Dallas Dirt now accepting contributions for the new phrase that best describes the real estate market going into 2010… a phrase that clearly beats “Stay alive ’till ‘85″.
Stay Alive ‘Till 85; Open The Pen in 2010
I popped into the HBA’s lunch meeting today at Maggiano’s in time to hear the guru’s of Dallas real estate talk about our future: Appraisers D.W. Skelton and Bradley Edgar; David Brown, Director of Metrostudy Dallas Fort/Forth; J. Brigham North, Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank; and Mike Bradshaw, Senior Vice President Division Sales Performance Executive, Bank of America. In a nutshell: new tough appraisal laws are crimping sales, a move to suspend the RVCC in Congress is going nowhere, bank credit departments want vanilla properties, expect regulations to get worse and the management companies are here to stay. Get used to nursing your appraisers along: in one instance, an appraiser had not even measured the house! Since we are heading into October and the stock market is already getting P.M.S., D.W. Skelton reminded us of the buzz word back in 1984: stay alive ’till ‘85. That sentiment is being echoed again as indicators tell us the Texas real estate market has bottomed out and will be looking much more chipper in 2010. You could almost see the relief on builder’s faces. Texas should be like an island sprouting from a sea of drowning real estate with positive job growth, improving (not spectacular) home sales. 2010, open the pen.
Or as one of the builders said: stay out of the pen… ’till 2010
Mid-Century David Braden Home On OOCCL Fall Tour
David Braden, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, was one of a whole generation of gifted architects in Dallas during the middle part of the last century, gifted enough so that George Dahl chose his firm into which to merge his own when he was ready to step back from running his own firm. Although much of Braden’s work has been non-residential, you will have the opportunity to tour Braden’s very own house during this year’s Old Oak Cliff Conservation League Fall Home Tour, October 10 and 11. It is said that the cantilevered deck was one of the first in Dallas–caught on pretty well, I’d say.
Real Estate Investors Take Note: Two Texas Cities Are Hip
They would be Austin, called by many the “San Francisco” of Texas and number five on the list, and our fair Dallas, number nine. These two cities are youth magnets — places where young people in a recession might migrate to find jobs and flourishing businesses. No surprise that Washington, D.C. is number one what with all the federal funds flying out of the treasury doors. But I was surprised to see that Atlanta didn’t even make the list, and San Francisco was nowhere to be found while San Jose came in number six. This is the kind of news real estate investors want to hear — where young workers venture, housing is needed.
Where Does The Co-Founder of Twitter Live?
In San Franciso, yes, but no longer in this rather sterile looking penthouse : Evan Williams and his wife are building a new contemporary home, and I bet it will be green.
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