Dallas is home to the best collection of 20th century homes in the country. Highland Park is associated with the best homes in Dallas. How did Spanish Revival style homes come to represent the finest homes in Highland Park – the best of the best – and evoke the excellence of Highland Park? The story…
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The Institute of Classical Architecture and Art (ICAA) invited me to moderate a panel of top Dallas contractors on February 13 to discuss building traditional homes in contrast to building modern homes. I’m very excited about this upcoming event and wanted to share some of my thoughts as I prepare for what promises to be…
For a perfect illustration of home value and the many factors that elevate a home’s value, consider the Hal Thomson-designed home at 3925 Potomac Avenue. As I’ve shared before, home value is determined by a home’s location, its neighborhood, its site and its historic and architectural significance. All these characteristics combine to make this architecturally…
Preservation celebrates another preservation victory. I just sold one of the most important architecturally significant homes in Dallas with deed restrictions included in the sale that prevent the home from being torn down, and helped the property sell for a higher price than the appraised value. David Williams-Designed Home Sold for Over Appraised Value and…
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Most houses sell at generic prices and there is a reason why. The real estate industry is geared for homeowners to sell their homes for the same prices as their neighbors’ homes. The whole industry—realtors, lenders, appraisers, homeowners and homebuyers — accept the current concept of comparables. Legislators and regulatory agencies even dictate the restrictions…
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Below is the Talk Presented by Douglas Newby to the Beverly Drive Book Club It is a real treat for me to be here with you today. Thank you, Susan Bednar Long, Karen Edwards, Ruth Ruhl and the Beverly Drive Book Club for inviting me. I can’t think of any place better than the Beverly…
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Dallas has the best collection of 20th and 21st century architecture in the country because of the cross-pollination of ideas from the extraordinary lineage of talented Dallas architects with the regional and national architects that design homes in Dallas. The interaction of architects with each other and the patrons of architecture at this architecturally significant…
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Why do single-family occupied homes matter and need to be protected? Homeowners are the heart and soul of the city. When homeowners start leaving a neighborhood, the neighborhood declines. When homeowners have confidence in the future of a neighborhood, they buy a home in that neighborhood or reinvest in the home they already own in…
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Some Confuse a Homeowner’s Greatest Property Right With How Many Uses the Homeowner can Utilize for Their Home A homeowner’s greatest property right is not how many uses a homeowner can use their home, in addition to that as a home, such as a tavern, rooming house, short term rentals (STRs), office suites, pharmaceutical production…
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Everyone knows that a single-family home loses value if an STR (short-term rental) opens up next door. Homebuyers will pass over the STR-compromised home for other comparable homes desired by homeowners. And another thing happens. Dallas is losing population and, even more important, losing homeowners. An STR opening on a block might be so disturbing…
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New Urbanism is Like a Virus New Urbanism is a virus that keeps coming back in mutated forms – Organic Urbanism is the cure – Douglas Newby Why Does New Urbanism Need a Cure? New Urbanism is like a virus. For 50 year it keeps coming back in mutated forms. It needs a cure. First,…
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For decades, Highland Park homes have been torn down, however, this year this activity has accelerated . Perhaps new residents have had an impact. For instance, the great influx of home buyers from California to Dallas has created many benefits for Dallas and has exacerbated some problems. The greatest negative effect on our urban landscape…
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Historically and Architecturally Significant Home is Celebrated and Saved in Highland Park Preservation Success is achieved in Highland Park! Many consider this Highland Park home designed by Mark Lemmon to be the most historically significant home in Highland Park and maybe even in Dallas and North Texas. Highland Park, University Park, the State of Texas,…
Greenlining designated areas of Southern Dallas for new and renovated single-family homes would give that neighborhood a positive direction, an economic thrust, homeowner confidence that propels a neighborhood and a certainty of success. The More Homeownership in a Neighborhood, the Stronger the Neighborhood The strength, safety and viability of a neighborhood increases with the rise…
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In 2016, I did a TEDx Talk, Homes That Make Us Happy, based on my blog article, Characteristics of Homes People Love. I look back at those insights to show that the characteristics of homes people love were apparent even before the pandemic. However, the pandemic made us focus on the elements of the homes…
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