Sales Statistics For January thru May: A year-over-year comparison

I wanted to see how the YTD (Jan. - May) sales numbers for 2011 compared with last year's sales numbers. And since we all know there was that little "Buyer's Tax Credit" thing that falsely inflated our sales numbers for 2010, I went back to 2009, as well. So take a look and let me know what you think.

The first thing that sticks out to me is the 9% drop in the number of sales for Area 12 from '09 to '11, yet during the same time Area 12 has seen roughly a 25% increase in average sales price. This is intriguingly coincided with an almost 20% increase in DOM. I'm at a loss as to how to explain this. So perhaps some of you stats geeks out there can help out.

Area 12 (East Dallas/Lakewood/White Rock Lake)

Year # Sales Sales $ $/sf DOM

'09 707 $221,465 $118 98

'10 751 $229,455 $124 93

'11 648 $276,756 $134 117

***********************************************

Area 11 sales have increased over 50% during this same time period in 2009, yet from '09 to '10 the sales prices dropped 14%, only to increase slightly in 2011. Maybe this means North Dallas and Preston Hollow hit the bottom? If so, aren't you mad you missed out on some great deals?

Area 11 (North Dallas/Preston Hollow)

Year # Sales Sales $ $/sf DOM

'09 152 $842,824 $217 137

'10 217 $728,165 $187 162

'11 232 $761,022 $192 146

***********************************************

Sales in the Park Cities have increased a stunning 80% since '09, with a modest 8% increase in average sales price. This seems like a solid upward trend. This seems much easier to interpret than the other two areas.

Area 25 (Park Cities)

Year # Sales Sales $ $/sf DOM

'09 161 $1.049M $292 136

'10 275 $1.072M $298 143

'11 291 $1.133M $309 127

5331 Ridgedale Ave. in the M-Streets

Immaculate M-Streets home with fabulous updates and energy features. Granite counters,maple cabinets,Anne Sacks glass tile backsplash and breakfast area overlooking sparkling and heated saltwater pool.Bedrooms are huge and split.Spacious master has WIC and bath has marble and travertine finishes with jetted tub.Guest quarters has half bath and 1 car garage is newer frame with room for fridge.New AC, radiant barrier in attic, landscaping in '08!

5331 Ridgedale Ave. - $349,900

(Click on a picture for a larger view)


Living Room



Dining Room



Dining Room



Kitchen



Breakfast Area



Master Bedroom



Master Bath



Guest Bedroom



Guest Quarters


Saltwater Pool



Saltwater Pool

More details:

Description: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths
Square Feet: 1,242 main house + 130sf guest quarters with half bath
Garage: 1 car detached
Fireplace: Gas
Foundation: Pier & Beam
Utility: Stackable W/D
City: Dallas
County: Dallas
Zip Code: 75206
Schools: DISD
Year Built: 1938

To set up a viewing please contact Jeff Duffey. Cell: 214-507-2878 or jeff@duffeyhomes.com.

Neighborhood Stabilization Overlay = "I Hate You and Your House"

This has to be my favorite blog picture. And so very apropos for this article in DMN which just adds to the tension being built up in parts of East Dallas. (Is East Dallas really this bitchy?) It's no secret the residents here - yes, I live in Lakewood - have been dividing neighborhoods for years regarding tear downs and McMansions. But guess who's been doing the dividing? It's not the people tearing down homes and bringing higher income families to East Dallas schools. Have you ever seen or heard someone saying, "Screw you and your old home! I'm going to tear this bitch down and build the biggest and gaudiest house I possibly can just to piss you off. And I'm going to spend $700K doing it! So there!". I didn't think so.

If your 2 bedroom, 1 bath home is really that cute then someone will buy it and live in it. So until then, East Dallas, the Park Cities and Preston Hollow will continue to "one up" you when it comes to real estate values, Whole Foods, retail, restaurants, schools...get the picture?

Wikipedia says, "Cutting off the nose to spite the face is an expression used to describe a needlessly self-destructive overreaction to a problem." It's called change. Deal with it.

Who is "LANC"?

I received the following comment from a concerned Dallas resident (I assume),

"Anyone with a genuine interest inseeing the LANC area improve should question the intent of Mr. Allegro.He is at best a gadfly and at worstan accomplished purveyor of half truths and self serving inuendo.He would be comic if he were not so ill intended.He represents himself as a major real estate investor while the actuality seems to be that he tends to a family trust. If he seeks to insinuate himself into your group please be cautious. Yourfuture is worth the time it takes to investigate this man."

And then I read the following comment on Trey Garrison's post about the halted Fairfield Residential Development Plan,

"How did the opposition group to this development (the Lovers Amesbury Neighborhood Coalition) manage to leverage so much power? The two ring-leaders (Norma Minnis and John Allegro) live on the far side of White Rock Lake… 4 TO 6 MILES AWAY from the proposed development. What dog do they have in this hunt and why does Angela Hunt even bother giving them the time of day?

One thing that I’m really starting to get tired of is these fake, astro-turf “Neighborhood” action committees that, more often than not, are actually something else entirely. If organizations like the LANC have legitimate concerns, why do they have to masquerade as something they are not?"

I know Norma Minnis personally and plan on asking her about this. And I assume John Allegro is the East Dallas Realtor whose office is right behind Cantina Laredo off Abrams. I know his wife Mary so I eventually plan on discussing this matter with her as well. My concern is that Norma Minnis (I can't speak about John personally since I've never met him) is a great person and as far as I can tell a well respected person in the real estate industry. But I'm not sure she and one other local Realtor weilds this much power. I can see how someone like Neil Emmons would be able to sway Angela Hunt's vote seeing as he is the first line of defense on the City Planning and Zoning committee. But to give an organization like LANC so much power seems that we might be overlooking the true source that is halting development in East Dallas.

If LANC truly holds this much power then they owe East Dallas a HUGE explanation for their actions. And while I appreciate folks calling people to the carpet, I can help but feel like I'm missing something here.

M-Streets & Lakewood Sales Stats Year-to-Date

Area 12, aka East Dallas, encompasses WAY too much area in my opinion. Search for homes in zip codes 75214 and 75206 and just see how many homes come up. Anyway, M-Streets and Lakewood are also affectionately known to Realtors as Area 12, Sub-areas 6 & 7, respectively. Think areas roughly South of Mockingbird and North of Gaston; East of 75 and West of White Rock Lake. Enough of that, here's what I found out.

Number of homes sold: 66 (94)
Avg. price/sf: $178.53 ($175.57)
Avg. sales price: $416,985 ($393,812)
Avg. days on market: 80 (74)

*2007 statistics for same time period in ( )

Apparently South of LBJ is showing similar not-so-hot results when it comes to number of homes sold over the same time period compared to one year ago. East Dallas posted a 30% drop in number of homes sold but, just like Preston Hollow, boasts a higher average sales price with a 6% increase. Check out all the fun 2007 and 2008 numbers for yourself.

Another East Dallas Development Bites the Dust

The picture above was the proposed mixed retail development set to replace a currently empty Carnival grocery store site on Henderson Ave. in East Dallas. Read the January '08 story on Unfair Park here. These are the types of developments areas should embrace and be grateful someone is willing to come in and better the community by sprucing it up visually, bringing tax revenue, bringing in new residents, you get the idea. But boy does East Dallas have a way of making sure these developments never leave the ground. The Observer's Unfair Park again has the follow up story about how the developers have pulled out of the project after receiving negative feedback from area neighborhoods and city plan commissioners.

East Dallas beat down Whole Foods until they gave in and are now renovating the terribly outdated and extremely unattractive facade of the old Minyard building instead of constructing a gorgeous brand new building with all the bells and whistles. I'm honestly surprised East Dallas didn't run them off completely. I certainly wouldn't have blamed WF if they did run for the hills.

I've also heard rumors that a proposed development near Central Market on Lovers Ln. is being voted down by city plan commissioners as well. This development would replace old and run down apartment/condo buildings and in its place will be mixed retail and living space.

And now this recent (un)development that would have substantially enhanced an area of Henderson that greatly needs it. How and why does this keep happening in East Dallas and why are people content to sit by and allow the city plan commissioners and a few local (and very loud) muckrakers to speak for the general population? Maybe I'm just frustrated because I personally think developments like this significantly boost an area's desirability. When people want to shop and visit a particular area they also tend to want to live there which in turn can increase property values. Look at the West Village, McKinney Ave., Victory Park.

Am I missing something here? I've yet to hear a solid argument as to why it's a bad idea to knock down an old existing building to build a brand new state of the art building. And I don't think nostalgic feelings or outdated zoning ordinances are a good argument. Zoning laws change daily in Dallas so that's a load of BS in my opinion. Anyone?