The smart money, says my readers, is staying parked. And the banks still are not lending, asking for higher down payments and higher rates.

“I met with a Banker this week who wanted 50% down on my $200,000 purchase of 6 small duplexes in East Dallas near Lakewood.  I told him if I were going to do that I might as well purchase 3 outright for $100,000 and not bother with him.”

Lending requirements have not loosened. Washington can spout all the rhetoric, sign all the consumer oriented bills they want, but my source says none of it is filtering down to help the average real estate investor.

” I can show a book of properties over the last 9 years of over 50 properties turned for an excellent return but they will focus on 1 or 2 properties that didn’t perform and say that is the reason for the higher % down and higher rate. ”

I feel the need to create a poll.

We are home to 64 Fortune 500 companies, more than any other state, and those now come in a wide variety of industries, no longer just oil, though oil, women with big hair and Cadillacs is what we are known for. Which is a good thing because we are no longer dependent on the swings in barrel pricing. Besides, the JR Ewing image is kind of fun.

KXAS-TV’s Ashanti Blaize says we also managed to avoid the worst of the real estate crisis:

“While in other major cities we’ve seen condo high-rise projects either slowed or come to a screeching halt, in Dallas we’ve seen an influx of some of those projects,” says Blake.

But be forewarned, we may not hold the crown for long. The report also says rising commercial rents and high wages hurt the state in the all-important Cost-of-Doing-Business category, where it comes in at number 30. Can you say Franchise Tax? I don’t know how long ago that CDB study was done, because I’ve seen commercial rents come down significantly. And the jury is still out on the downtown condo market. We’ve had our influx, but now the trick is to fill them with warm, mortgage paying bodies — or preferably, cash!

Texas was one, Virginia two, Colorado three, North Carolina where everyone I know seems to be buying or building a second home four, and surprise surprise Taxachusetts Massachusetts was number five. Could that have anything to do with the fact that Ted Kennedy is no longer there????

Update: Go figure. Now I’ve just read CNBC’s most expensive states to live in, and Massachusetts is right there on the list. You could rattle this list off in your sleep and save thousands in research fees: California, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Alaska, Vermont (Ben and Jerry’s???) , Maryland, Rhode Island, New Jersey. Looking at that list it is clear that our affordable housing keeps us off it. I paid $2.00 for a dozen (free-range, hormone-free) eggs yesterday at Tom Thumb.

The Houseman Building at 400 North Akard is being restored and apparently filling up quickly. P&B Live, an actuarial and benefits firm that helps companies leverage resources spent on benefits, payroll, recruiting, and retirement, has taken a whopping 4000sf in the Houseman, and P&B is the latest company to move its corporate headquarters to downtown. The company has national offices in Austin, Medfield, MA and Minneapolis, and is set to take the space over in September. Houseman is still filling, fielding many calls.

And get ready for this: a commercial property flip! 1910 Pacific, a class A office tower that Boxer properties just purchased three months ago for approximately $4.5 million, is back on the market for $12.9 million+. Surely they Cloroxed and renovated but… awesome $6 m???? And does this mean it’s Miller Time?

As you can see from this chart, downtown Dallas asking rents took a nosedive in late ’08, but are bleeping upwards. Remember, what’s good news for commercial is frosting on the cake for residential…

And as Steve Brown points out, the fire-sale price is less than the building cost to build: $35 million, which was considered a new benchmark back in the day.

Built in 1965 for the First National Bank of Dallas, the 52-story, 1.3 million square foot office building is touted as a golden potential multi-use redevelopment with a perfect location for commercial, retail and residential living.  Modern, pedestrian friendly, car-less living that is: bordered by Elm, Pacific, Akard and Field Streets, the Akard DART Station is adjacent to the property to the north; the lower level is part of the network of underground pedestrian ways and retail that serves multiple buildings throughout downtown but which sometimes gives our town a ghost-town feel when everyone is down there, ducking out the heat.

According to the press release, the landmark is situated on approximately 80,913 square feet and has a 469-space, below-grade parking garage.  The 8-story base has approximately 50,000 square feet per floor while the tower has approximately 16,000 square feet per floor.  It is ideally suited for residential conversion due to its shallow bay depths, according to a recent study by Merriman and Associates.   The first and second stories are deeply recessed providing areas for a lavishly appointed street scape.  Clad in dark glass with white marble vertical elements containing florescent lighting fixtures, a dramatic vertical image emerges.  Interior common areas have white marble floors with bird’s-eye maple and cherry wood walls; 25 elevators are complimented with lobbies of white marble floors and travertine walls and trims.  Elevators are clad in stainless steel with bird’s-eye maple interior walls.

At $15 per square foot, I guess this could make some interesting condos. A 2500 square foot home in the raw as is now would be $37,500; finish it out, you’re looking at $500,000. I also wonder what they are going to do with the existing ground-leases and the time remaining on those leases, which would preclude doing anything condo-like.

But I am glad to see this fine building get a chance to re-invent itself, and I have hope. His name might be Tim Headington.

“I wanted to share the following info with you both regarding the Trader Vic’s space in Dallas.  We will post this to the Trader Vic’s Dallas Facebook fan page shortly.

“We apologize for the lengthy silence.  As you may know, earlier this year a pipe burst in our restaurant.  We tried tirelessly to find a way to keep the doors open, but the cost of remodeling was just too high.  We will not be reopening Trader Vic’s Dallas, however, we are very excited about a new concept restaurant that will be taking over the space.  For now, that is all we can share.  As we work through this process, we will use this fan page to keep you as informed as possible.  Thank you for all the great memories at Trader Vic’s Dallas!“

Greenlight Advertising is working with those involved to facilitate the transition of the space from Trader Vic’s to the new concept.  If either of you have questions, feel free to ask me and I will do my best to get you what you need.”

Sad sad sad. I remember all the excitement when Trader Vic’s opened, how much fun we’ve had over dinner and drinks there. The very best to all involved, and dying to find out when and if we can buy some Trader Vic memories…

Both, he answered.

I cannot wait to see this pilot. Cut!

By the way,  this office space (with those gorgeous views) is leased. Harwood International will be moving its headquarters from 2828 N. Harwood to the 14th floor of Saint Ann Court later this spring. Designed by Los Angeles Architect Shimoda Design Group, the 26-story (this floor) 0ffice tower was completed in fall 2009. It is the sixth out of 17 phases in Harwood planned by Harwood International who also, of course, built the Azure.

Midland is about a con artist named Bob (not Tiger) who juggles love with two women in two cities (Dallas and Houston? I hope they don’t get the Neimans  accounts confused) and Voight, a powerful Texas legend,  is the father of one of the ladies. Scenes were being shot in his “office” on the 26th floor overlooking the city. I overheard some of the scenes today and it sounds like this Bob guy is very confused. Over love.

Another source tells me nothing sold. Nada.

“The brokers were saying gee whizz, this was going for $20,000 an acre a year ago,” he said. “Well it ain’t one year ago.”

He told me the general consensus of the buyers, most of them heavy hitter investment banks and private capital groups, the folks with  cash, were shaking their heads and saying, when are these sellers going to get real? Unless the property was a screaming bargain, they were not going to buy. You can see how the dried up capital market sucks down real estate values as it shrinks the buyer’s pool:  since almost no one can get commercial loans, the only buyers left are the guys with greenbacks. And their message was loud and clear: it’s not low enough.

My sources tell me the top bid for those four acres at Walnut Hill and Central Expressway, primo primo primo, was $6.5 million. Asking: $10,725,000.