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 is Remedy for Redlining and Bluelining
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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Homes That Make Us Happy – Timeless Observations
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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How A City Can Flourish – What to Avoid and What to Pursue
Harper Belmont Media interviewed Douglas Newby for a documentary they were doing on short-term rentals (STRs). Here are 20 video clips taken from that interview where I am discussing additional dwelling units (ADUs) and STRs and what happens when density is added to single-family zoned neighborhoods. Included in the conversation are the reasons why adding…
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Observations and Clarifications to Tom Foster Texas Monthly Article
Tom Foster, a Texas Monthly writer, wrote an article on Allie Beth Allman and her large presence in the Dallas real estate market. She is a deserving subject as she is the last of the residential real estate titans of a generation. Ebby Halliday is gone, Charles Freeman is gone, Virginia Cook is retired, and…
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Seven Reasons Why People Are Moving From Los Angeles to Dallas
The trickle of people moving from Los Angeles to Dallas five years ago has now become a wave. People are moving from Los Angeles to Dallas for the same reasons that for years people moved to Los Angeles. For generations people moved to Los Angeles for the blue skies, beautiful weather and the sense of freedom…
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The Characteristics of Homes People Love
For the people who really love their home, 10 characteristics that make them happy come up over and over again…
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Neighborhood Gates for President Bush New Home Will Double Land Value on Street
Small changes in a neighborhood can often have great impact good and bad. Here gates double value.
MLS Remarks Can Diminish Value of Home For Sale
How an agent writes about a home in MLS Remarks impacts how well the home sells. I will be giving you an example of how generic MLS remarks might cost the seller a million dollars. If an agent can’t write about a home, an agent can’t talk about a home. If an agent can’t talk…
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How Wealth and Luxury Impact Homes and the Real Estate Market
The pandemic has us thinking about wealth and luxury in a more profound way—more than superficial opulence and privilege, but as a guiding force in determining homes that make us happy living, working and playing. Wealth and luxury impact homes and the real estate market more significantly than builder or industry design trends. Those with…
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Pandemic Changes More Than Where We Work and Live
Pandemic Changes Congestion Until the pandemic, people’s choices were largely shaped by their workplaces and commutes. A 25-minute drive to work could become an hour and a half at rush hour. One might have to wait 60 minutes to get their 7:00 p.m. reserved table for a 90-minute dinner. A 15-minute quick trip to buy…
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Tax On Aesthetics – Architect-Designed Homes
Who would think low-taxed Texas would have tax on aesthetics, curtailing the construction of architect-designed homes? There are many unintended consequences of high taxes such as impeding economic growth or high tax rates reducing tax revenue collected (i.e., New Jersey and Connecticut). Only now do I realize that Texas’ high property taxes impede the building…
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Dallas Super High-End Homes—Boom or Bust?
What constitutes “super high-end homes” in the Dallas area? Recently Steve Brown reported in the Dallas Morning News that one part of the D/FW market that shows no sign of a slowdown is the super high-end homes. However, that depends on how you define super high-end homes. Three years ago I wrote that there was at least a…
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Adding Density Destroys Neighborhoods One House at a Time
Density is the Holy Grail of New Urbanism, from creating new zoning for granny flats, rooming houses, townhouses, duplexes, fourplexes and backyard two-story rental houses in established neighborhoods to encouraging dense mixed use development on undeveloped or redeveloped land. The advantage of urban density and the idyllic effect of density has been the battle cry…
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Strongest Property Rights Mayor Was Also Strongest Preservation Mayor
Who would think property rights and preservation are compatible. Mayor Robert Folsom, a developer and strongest proponent of free enterprise and property rights was also Dallas’ strongest preservation mayor. Mayor Folsom opposed the city planners multi-family mixed used plan and supported the property owners’ single-family rezoning plan for a multi-family area of apartments.
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