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Dallas Real Estate Peeps At The Urban Land Institute

That’s Courtney A. Underwood (and pooch!), Vice President of Asset Management, Underwood Financial, Ltd.

Dallas Real Estate AIA Home Tour: Engawa Power

This is a home I’d expect to see in California — 1810 Bermuda St. by Ron Wommack FAIA and John Rice of Ron Wommack Architect: perfect;y sized 3,500-square-foot home (3500 is the new BIG HOME) takes the shape of a two-story box.  Around two sides an engawa, a veranda of Japanese origin, anchors a linear garden and morphs into an enclosed porch on the upper level. This is the book collector’s home; the residence was designed to maximize wall space for exhibitions. Innovative building materials include cast-in-place board-form concrete, red-painted hardy plank and vertical corrugated metal.

AIA Home Tour: Ron Wommack and John Rice

Great example of homes we will see more of in the future as people want to be closer in to the city, seeking higher desity: 4143 Buena Vista St. Three units face the Katy Trail,  two freestanding units with roof decks take advantage of downtown views.  This design allows town homes to connect and seemingly disappear into the Trail environment.  Vertical corrugated copper, milsap stone reclaimed from earlier WPA projects down the Trail, and ipe wood screens provide privacy and architectural interest in this Uptown neighborhood.

Annual AIA Dallas Tour of Homes Saturday, Sunday

It covers six Dallas neighborhoods from Buena Vista to Tokalon to Maple Springs, and the most influential architects in Dallas. You will see the homes of an Austin filmmaker, a textile artist, a noted art critic and book collector, and several families devoted to eco-friendly lifestyles. Can’t miss, tickets are $25, jump for details: (more…)

ULI Dallas Report: America Is In A New Puritanical Environment

That’s how the expert consultants on yesterday’s powerhouse panel of Emerging Trends in Real Estate put it. Translation: luxury has been temporarily buried. (I like to say it has gone underground.) Among the many notes I have scribbled are phrases like this: 3 million young people have moved back in with their families or doubled up on housing due to job losses; 30 million members of the American workforce are unemployed. Because those kids will eventually want to move out of the house (really?), the investment forecast is positive for apartment complexes. Ditto single family, transit-oriented infill land — real estate verbage for the huge trend of folks moving in closer to the city, public transportation and jobs. Oh but high end luxury condos — not doing well. Houses are most definitely getting smaller and one panelist declared the death of what he called “Wal Mart Houses”. (Adios Sam’s closets.) Echo boomers and Gen X, Y do not want large houses and huge electric bills. They do not want to be house poor.  This same generation is cannibalizing retail because they use malls to socialize, not shop. Where do they shop? On line.

Local proof of the new Puritanism: D. Porthault, those glorious, luxurious, butter-to-the-touch linens that came to us at Highland Park Village, will no longer have a stand-alone shop in Dallas. The HPV store closed the end of June and planned to re-locate within the Park Cities, but the owners have decided not to re-open a store in Dallas.

All is not lost: Madison will carry some of the D. Porthault lines.

Drexel Park Hollow Auction Saturday and Pillsbury Doughboy House Porn

November 7,  29 “luxury condominium homes” will be auctioned off by Kennedy Wilson. I was reminded of this yesterday here at the Urban Land Institute meeting in San Francisco, when I stopped by the Sheldon Good & Company booth/exhibit. Sheldon Good auctioned off the The Centrum a few years back, kind of got sales jump-started. They were telling me that auctions are an emerging trend in real estate sales and not just for distressed properties (or condos) either; check out this:  the 40,000 square foot main house of the John S. and Eleanor Pillsbury estate, designed in 1916 to 1918 by architect H.T. Lindeberg, on Brackett’s point overlooking Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. This is the second time in the home’s history that it has been on the market.

Segue back to the Drexel Park Hollow: jump for  the deets on those interiors.

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Report From The ULI: Second Home Communities & Real Estate Trends

A long day in San Francisco, including a morning walk Wednesday in Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow and The Marina  — please see my Twitter posts. I honestly almost became a house manager in PH, I love the area so much. (Then I learned this is where Nancy Pelosi lives!) This afternoon, back to business. What in the world are we going to do with all those second homes out there begging for owners? Fractionalize them: yes, the future is betting on fractionals: living, aircraft, boats, everything. (Kids?) And while we’re at it, let me tell you what else I heard today about the second and vacation home market:

Ostentation is dead, at least for two years; I mourn.

Second home ownership is all about re-connecting people, bringing owners to nature.

Second home ownership is very social.

Second home ownership likes/wants the resort “experience.” More exotic, the better.

To whit, we are talking a down comforter in a cabin or tent. (More biz for Bibbentuckers.) Outdoor amphitheatres. More experience and memories than opulence. Multi seasonal nature, and a social connection between real people. 82% of the U.S. population claims to walk outdoors, 84%  of parents want their children to spend more time outdoors, and all families really want to get re-connected to nature. Oh, but they also want easy access to airports. (I so relate, we want it all!) In fact, today I heard that LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION has been replaced  by ACCESS ACCESS ACCESS. Want the recipe for success for a second home community? Try amenities, telecommunication and air travel.

Second and all homes are getting smaller. Here’s what people want in design: Simpler design, smarter design, higher density neighborhoods, the elimination of secondary living spaces, flexible space, and a connection to nature.

Guess who’s buying way smarter than their parents and daring even to ask what utilities cost? Generation X.

D Sale of the Week: Belmont Beauty, House of Tudor

Fairies, elves, knights in shining armour, I see all this and more in this restored 1931 built Lakewood Heights Tudor that has been restored and remodeled to sustain 21st century living. Yet it has retained the charm of yesteryear, from the exterior brick, roofline, leaded glass windows, moldings and sunroom.  6318 Belmont  is larger than it appears to be,  2703 square feet loaded with four bedrooms, three baths, sun room, large master suite and ginormous closets. And talk about proximity to White Rock Lake — please! This is the Lakewood dream life, biking to White Rock, Whole Foods, footing it to Lakewood Village. Master suite is upstairs with a stunning bath suite. Garage is detached and in back, with an electric gate. The yard: to die for deck and trees. The price: not bad — $479,000. Twist Brett Gray’s arm over at Dave Perry-Miller, but not too hard, please.

Urban Land Institute Report: All We Need Is Luv and Paranoid Optimism

I may be tossing my anti-depressants after yesterday’s keynote at the ULI by The Economist former Editor- in- Chief Bill Emmott.  What is going on with this global recession, are we out of the woods, and how will it affect real estate? Emmott says he has paranoid optimism that indicators are getting better — fewer job losses, maybe some hiring in the U.S., flexible economies, and exports. He called this a “LUV” recession recovery,  L-shaped in Europe and Japan where the recovery will be weak; U-shaped in the U.S. because of our openess to capitalization flow, tech and environmental fever, and increases in hiring; V-shaped in China and India where there are real inflation risks. Emmott said we are in unchartered waters, with “known knowns” and “unknown unknowns”. The knowns: consumers are retrenching, concerned about damage to their wealth. Consumption will not lead this recovery. There is a huge rise in public debt, taxes are heading upwards in the U.S., U.K. and Japan. The current administration will extend the welfare state and tighten financial regulation — there is a huge pressure to regulate, with regulation almost taking precedence over the recovery.  The unknowns: the psychology of the masses. Economists failed to predict this massive recession, said Emmott, because they tend to omit psychology. Unknown: how much will consumers decide to pay down debt, and for how long? China is a source of optimism but also an anomaly, a large economy with fixed currency.  Biggest shockeroo of all has a Texas slant: why is oil still at $80 a barrel when demand is so low? Answer: OPEC, speculation. Rising oil prices, another unknown, could shadow our recovery.

Overheard At The Urban Land Institute Tonight

Well, when you read this, it will be what I heard last night. The deliquency rate on securitized commercial mortgages is at 4.83%, almost 5%, and that is a NINE-FOLD increase over last year. That’s mortgages on all commercial real estate, and that is not good news.

Urban Land Institute Meets In San Francisco

And I’m off to SF to bring you the latest from this conference, because urban issues are affecting Dallas more these days than ever before. The ULI schedule is jam-packed, I’ll post and tweet right from the conference so stay tuned all week starting tomorrow!

Voting Day: Your Two Cents on Property Rights, Property Taxes

Get thee to the polls today! It’s voting day and there are 11 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution, including five that will affect our property rights, the property taxing authority, and who controls our dirt. Here you go, with my humble suggestions on how I will vote. Let me know quick if you disagree!

Yes to Proposition 2, property rights, to amend the constitution to authorize the legislature to provide for the taxation of a residence homestead solely on the basis of the property’s value as a residence homestead, regardless of whether the property may have a higher value if it were used for other purposes. Texas homeowners have seen their appraisals rise substantially, not necessarily because the value of their homes increased, but because the land was considered more valuable as a potential business site. Texas already prohibits agricultural land and timber land from being appraised based on other possible uses, but no similar protection exists for homeowners. This is key to homeowners to keep their property from being taxed at a higher rate in some urban areas where the land might be more valuable as a shopping mall or other enterprise.

Yes to Proposition 3, to amend the constitution, require the legislature to provide for the administration and enforcement of uniform standards and procedures for appraisal of property for ad valorem tax purposes. Some argue this opens the door further for state involvement in local property taxation, but it appears this proposed amendment would make sure that properties in different counties are appraised according to the same uniform statewide standards. It would allow appraisal standards to be enforced by direct action against appraisal districts, rather than relying on penalties against school districts. Since state funding to school districts is partially based on local property value, it’s unfair to allow values to be determined differently in different counties.

Yes to Proposition 5, to amend the constitution to authorize the legislature to allow for a single appraisal review board for two or more adjoining appraisal entities that elect to provide for consolidated reviews of tax appraisals.
This is sheer efficiency, helping folks in rural counties who can’t find qualified candidates to sit on their appraisal review boards. Proposition 5 would let counties join together to form consolidated appraisal review boards.

If you like your beach-front property, No to Proposition 9, which would define what is a state-owned public beach and may limit ownership of beach-front property. The public, individually and collectively, would have an unrestricted right to use and a right of ingress to and egress from a public beach, and the amendment would authorize the legislature to enact laws to protect these rights. Our coasts will end up like Scotland, where people can walk all over another person’s property. The Open Beaches Act gives the state too much power to restrict the right of private landowners to enjoy their property. Placing this authority in the Constitution would only worsen this problem by making the law more difficult to change in the future. Under the Open Beaches Act, the state has forced homeowners to move or remove their houses after hurricanes and other changes to the coastline. The law should be weakened, not placed in the Constitution. No, no, no!

Yes to Proposition 11, to limit eminent domain. Eleven would amend the constitution to provide that the taking of private property for public use, erstwhile known as “eminent domain”,  is authorized only if it is for the ownership, use, and enjoyment of the property by the State, its political subdivisions, the public at large, or by entities granted the power of eminent domain, or for the removal of urban blight. The amendment would prohibit the taking of private property for transfer to a private entity for the purpose of economic development or to increase tax revenues. (Yes, this happens.) The amendment would also limit the legislature’s authority to grant the power of eminent domain in the future unless it is approved by a two-thirds vote of all the members elected to each house.
Proposition 11 would help curb abuses of the power of eminent domain by stating the legitimate purposes for eminent domain in the Constitution. Passage of this amendment also sends a strong message from the Legislature and voters that eminent domain must be used for very limited purposes, only when it is really needed.

No go vote!

Dallas Real Estate: Someone Please Control This Kitchen

I am being totally serious when I tell you that this is the way the agent photographed this charming starter home on Bonham Street and then PUBLISHED the photo. Wait, it gets better — check out the rest of the mess. Is the stove torn up or what? Not enough cabinet space obi? Call 1-800 GOT JUNK stat!

Dallas Neighborhood Battles: NSO On Desco Drive?

It exhausts me keeping up with the neighborhood wars in this town — the conservation district battle in the Disney Streets, and now Desco Drive wants to do conservation light: the Neighborhood Stabilization Overlay.

Subprime Loan Meltdown: Goldman Bet It Both Ways

Must read/see, this report by McClatchy Newspapers’ Greg Gordon, a five-month investigative report on how Goldman Sachs, otherwise known as Government Sachs, peddled more than $40 billion in securities on 200,000 risky home mortgages, but at the same time it was peddling these as investments, the company also bought $20 billion in insurance betting that the real estate market would tank. Did the customers know that? One of the insurers was AIG, the huge insurer the government bailed out. How AC/DC of them.

Will CIT’s Bankruptcy Filing Affect Dallas Real Estate?

By now you’ve heard that CIT Group has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Taxpayers, who gave the company 2.3 billion last year, will likely not be re-paid. I’m not discounting that, but even worse, CIT is one of the country’s largest lenders to small business and retailers, like Neiman Marcus. Two months prior to the holiday season is not a great time for retailers to lose access to capital. My concern is how this will trickle down: small and mid-size businesses will not be able to fiance short-term surges, which will seriously affect their business models, and commercial real estate may take another bullet. We have seen the effects of the credit crunch in real estate, now we’re going to see it in the retail industry, which is in everybody’s face on a daily basis. Consumer confidence? You see where I’m going with this: we’ve had 60,000 home foreclosure postings this year.

I so do not like being Debbie Downer, truly, but the prognosis isn’t looking too positive. Your thoughts?

Update: Today’s New York Times downplays the disaster scenario I envisioned last night. Apparently this is a pre-packaged, “different kind of bankruptcy” that allows the company to re emerge from court protection by the end of the year, which is a pretty speedy recovery.

Dallas Real Estate: In Case You Are Wondering…

Why our market seems to be in the doldrums, check out this editorial by Peggy Noonan. All the grown ups are gone. She details a national malaise that is the basic reason why people aren’t buying and selling (real estate or anything) in this country. One agent told me he has a client who wants to buy a home in Dallas but has to wait first for her home in Chicago to sell, and it ain’t moving. A woman in my Real Estate class last week told me she has a home in suburban Chicago that costs her $4000 a month, she’s got a tenant in there paying $1800. Our market is the high spot in the nation, and would be so much better if transplants who want to buy here could. People come here from Detroit and think they can buy a house for 20 cents on the dollar.

And that, dear readers, is how the national real estate malaise hurts us.

Dallas Real Estate: I Wouldn’t Come Near This House

What happens when that offer is too low.

Halloween When You Have A Really Big House, Ctd.

Halloween When You Have a Really Big House

When you super size the house, you have to super size the ghosts and spiders, as well. And nothing like a ghost made out of a quilted Frette bedsheet!

Dallas Real Estate: More Scary Houses

Halloween with a contemporary edge — the mummies have escaped but clearly prefer limestone over Granbury rock.

Dallas Real Estate: Halloween on Steroids, North Dallas

Dallas Real Estate: Really Scary Houses

The Butler has been replaced at this home on Audubon in Bluffview.

Dallas Real Estate News: I Had Lunch With Steve Brown!

It was so much fun: Steve Brown offered his words of wisdom to the Elite 20 Real Estate agents at Bent Tree Country Club Wednesday, and I got to be a fly on the wall. Steve was pretty positive, and said he thinks our market has bottomed out past the worst, which he says was last March, April and May. We could be at the bottom of an “L” pattern or, hopefully, a “V”. He was very encouraged by the Case Shiller report and hopes that by the end of next year we may see some plus signs on our values. Steve is not concerned by the glut in our condo market, either: says condos are now a lifestyle choice, unlike they were in the 80’s. (But those home association fees! Someone recently told him that when you buy a condo, you are buying the the “right” to rent something.) Here’s what concerns him — and me, too: foreclosures — 60,000 for the year. Job losses — 64,000 lost in Texas, and we will have to see if employers step up hiring come next quarter. Buyers are not paying retail, and are in fact treating sellers like their homes are the Dollar Store. This is true: one homeowner told me that a couple from New Jersey came in and offered 40 cents on the dollar for their home. People from other parts of the country are so used to the bargain basement mentality, they don’t get it that our market is not Phoenix. Real Estate bargain hunting is going to be a tough brand to shake. Believe it or not, we will have a dearth of new spec homes in the coming months. We need jumbo credit and we need it now! Oh, and Brad Edgar, who was also at the event, asked him about the DMN’s Sawbuck deal. Said Steve: I don’t think its an issue. All businesses have to diversity and seek incremental sources of revenue. If the real estate market picks up, he said, the DMN’s investment in Sawbuck will be the least of any one’s concerns.

Steve, you are a really great speaker! Sorry I had to rush back to class.

D Sale of the Week: Twin Posts (and Columns) on Twin Post

This is one of those lovely, lazy North Dallas ranches many seek to save from the ’dozer claws. It’s located in a great neighborhood east of Welch Road and north of Forest Lane, and it was built in 1965, when this area was developed. A generous lot—122 by 131—means you can have a pool and some yard. Not too far east and north are scads of builder homes, both spec and custom. Forget about the low ceilings; focus instead on the living, dining, kitchen, vaulted den, and four or five bedrooms—the fifth plus bath located off the kitchen as it is in so many homes of this era, ostensibly designed for household help or in-law visits. (If you put your in-laws near the kitchen, dinner may magically appear!) On the bedroom wing, there’s a Jack and Jill bath between two bedrooms, and one more bedroom has a private bath. Then there’s the master suite, which was designed by Ellen Amador. Set apart from the other sleeping rooms, it features not just a large bedroom but also a sitting room, huge remodeled master with tub and shower, and two walk-in closets. Plus—another reason why this house is so great for the money—there is a study or exercise room off the master that opens to a patio. I think there’s a lot of living packed into 3,679 square feet, and I’d love to see my kids in this home. I also think this might be a perfect empty-nester palace: one floor, with room for grandkids. The kitchen needs new counters, and I’m a big fan of two dishwashers, but the price ($625,000) ain’t too shabby. And just wait until those multiple trunk live oak limbs get TP’d by all the private school kids in the ’hood.