'Spring is in the air’ in Dallas, and here are plenty of excuses to get out and enjoy the delightful 80 degree sunshine, and experience something new in the Metroplex! Take a look at the upcoming events at the Dallas Arboretum in conjunction with Dallas Blooms and check out the AFI Dallas International Film Festival. Chef Rathbun of Abacus fame has now opened a new concept on Luther Lane, the country-style Blue Plate Kitchen for your culinary palette. The Park Lane Project and the Newflower Farmers Market offer a variety of new retail outlets. While many businesses are experiencing slowdowns in these economic times, some are clearly not! Enjoy! Contact Judy Switzer & Associates, your expert in Dallas real estate, at www.JudySellsDallas.com for more information on any of the following openings and events in Dallas, TX.

BLUE PLATE KITCHEN, Kent Rathbun's new restaurant turns to local farmers
Chef Kent Rathbun's new Blue Plate Kitchen, 6130 Luther Lane in Dallas, uses local foods in its country-style kitchen. Local foods help the area economy and cut down on the amount of oil it takes to move food from farm to table. Visit www.kentrathbun.com/blueplate/dallas/ to see what’s on the menu.
DALLAS COWBOY hopefuls gear up for Michael Irvin's reality show
Participants in Michael Irvin's upcoming reality TV show talk about the opportunity to win a roster spot for Dallas Cowboys training camp. http://www.dallasnews.com/video/dallasnews/cowboys_gen/index.html?nvid=340685&shu=1.

 
DALLAS ARBORETUM celebrates 25th Anniversary Of ‘Dallas Blooms, It’s A Classic’ March 7- April 12
This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Dallas Arboretum’s largest festival Dallas Blooms, presented by Chase, a signature event that millions of people have enjoyed. Over the years it has grown to be the largest outdoor floral display in the Southwest and has been named one of the top ten places to visit in the country, this spring by MSN. Dallas Blooms features 450,000 spring-blooming bulbs including tulips, daffodils, Dutch Iris and hyacinths which will bloom alongside over 100,000 pansies, violas, poppies and thousands of other spring annuals and perennials. Visit www.dallasarboretum.org/Events/Blooms.htm to check out special activities associated with this event that runs through April 12th.

ARTSCAPE FINE ART SHOW & SALE TO BLOSSOM DURING DALLAS BLOOMS ON MARCH 21 AND 22
ArtScape is the Dallas Arboretum's fine art and craft show and sale. This two-day art fair is moving to spring when our garden is at it's peak and so is our attendance. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Dallas Blooms, ArtScape is moving to the third week of the festival when our gardens are in full bloom and our publicity is at its peak. ArtScape weekend will feature artists from around the country, wine tasting, entertainment and food and fun for everyone. You won't want to miss it! For additional activities going on during ArtScape, visit our events page.

6TH ANNUAL PLANT SALE MAY 2 and 3
The first weekend in May marks the 6th annual plant sale at the Dallas Arboretum. With over 23,000 plants for sale, including perennials, succulents and summer annuals, amateur gardeners and seasoned horticulturists alike will have the difficult task of deciding which plants they fancy most. The sale is open to the public and free of charge on Saturday May 2nd 8am to 5pm, and Sunday May 3rd 8am to 12pm in the parking lot behind Rosine Hall. With plants starting at $1 and Dallas County Master Gardeners on site to help with your selection, this event cannot be missed.

2009 AFI DALLAS International Film Festival
AFI DALLAS 2009 is a reason to celebrate. For eight days beginning March 26 through April 2, the festival will inspire and continue to fuel your passion for the arts. There will be more than 180 screenings from filmmakers around the world, many of which will be in attendance. Visit www.afidallas.com for an index of fims, events and programs of this year’s event.

THE NORDSTROM RACK, Grand Opening at Park Lane, across from Northpark Center
The 33.5-acre Park Lane mixed-use development, across Central Expressway from NorthPark Center, today announced that it's open for business -- which is to say, four of the fifteen announced restaurants and retailers will commence to sellin' beginning tomorrow. First up is Nordstrom Rack, followed by the bows of Dick's Sporting Goods, which only yesterday saw its stock price rise after an analyst deemed it "well-positioned to weather the economic downturn".

PARK LANE PROJECT AT A GLANCE
Whole Foods and smaller shops with surface parking face Greenville Avenue on an elevated level. The rest of the tenants are at the same level as the North Central Expressway frontage road.

WHAT'S THERE (with tentative opening dates):
Entertainment
Splitsville Lanes – Fall
Retail
Nordstrom Rack – Today
Dick's Sporting Goods – Today
Lane Bryant/Cacique – April 3
Children's Place – April 24
Aveda Institute – July (opened temporary space Monday for job fair and student applicants)
Old Navy – Fall
Whole Foods – late 2009 or early 2010

Dining
Bailey's Prime Plus – Summer Fresh Berry – Summer/fall
Gordon Biersch – Fall
Planned but no opening date announced: Hotel Sorella and SportsClub/LA health club
SOURCE: Harvest Partners

NEWFLOWER FARMER’S MARKET Grand Opening this Week

East Dallas is the latest neighborhood to benefit from the expansion of organic and natural food stores. Founder and CEO, Mike Gilliland is positioning his organic food chain as a low-price leader vs. competitor Whole Foods Market.
Newflower Farmers Market has its grand opening today on Henderson Avenue just north of Ross Avenue in a former Carnival store, two weeks after Whole Foods Market opened its new Lakewood store.
Newflower founder Mike Gilliland is competing against Austin-based Whole Foods for the second time. He also co-founded Wild Oats and says his latest chain is designed to stand up against the world's largest organic grocer in ways that Wild Oats couldn't.
Fresh produce takes up one-third of the space in Newflower Farmers Market stores. The Colorado company looks for real estate bargains and uses refurbished equipment, cases and fixtures whenever possible. Like Whole Foods, its cash registers use double-sided receipts to reduce paper waste 40 percent. But the former Carnival store was more expensive to restore than he anticipated: "We had to touch every surface."
He put organics on sale often and added other regular specials, such as a rotating selection of wines each week at three for $10. www.sfmarkets.com will take you to the parent company website for daily specials.
In today's economy, the company's tag line of "serious food at silly prices" has proved fortuitous seven years after he made it up. He started with private labels in key grocery categories. The Wednesday sale circular is filled with loss-leaders, especially on the cover. "We lose money on the first page of every circular."
The olive bar and coffee prices are less than those at Whole Foods, and he doesn't try to compete with Whole Foods' extensive prepared-food departments. "We think shoppers will come to us for basics and go to Whole Foods if they need a fancy cake," he said.

Creative Ways to Bring “Certainty” Back to Consumers

Even though the Dallas area is weathering the proverbial housing storm better than most of the nation, total transactions compared to a year ago, are way down. Prospective buyers are concerned about the economy, as well as job stability and longevity. Very few sectors of our economy are immune to the trickle down effects of the market slowdown.

Even though the Dallas area is weathering the proverbial housing storm better than most of the nation, total transactions compared to a year ago, are way down. Prospective buyers are concerned about the economy, as well as job stability and longevity. Very few sectors of our economy are immune to the trickle down effects of the market slowdown. Interest rates declined this week as a result of the weakening job market and of reduced concerns about inflation. And now, according to an article written in today’s edition of the Dallas Morning News, lenders are in the business of marketing “peace of mind” along with their notes. A home purchase is most often, the single largest investment a person will make in his or her lifetime. It is an emotional buy and can be very stressful. So what can provide the buyer with adequate peace of mind during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, to motivate him or her to purchase a home?

 

Richardson, Texas based, Service First Mortgage is the first lender in the Dallas-Fort Worth offering a program, for a one-time fee, that promises to pay up to six months worth of mortgage payments in the event the borrower is laid off during the first twenty four months of the mortgage. The fee for the security blanket, if you will, is based upon the size of the loan and the amount of coverage.  About a dozen insurance companies offer stand-alone job loss protection in Texas.  However, some companies do not market the coverage as insurance.  Service First Mortgage calls its coverage a mortgage protection plan.  Other programs are membership based.

The question for home buyers becomes, “is this single event insurance or protection” the way to go, to provide the peace of mind necessary in today’s uncertain climate? Generally speaking, specialty insurance is not a good buy. One might analyze the extra funds needed in the bank to be considered “self-insured” in the event he or she gets laid off after closing on a home. Is it worth purchasing a policy or protection plan, or does it make sense to include six months’ reserve payments in one’s own qualification calculation?

Somewhere in the sub-prime debacle, individual borrowers forgot about the personal responsibility associated with taking on debt. We can all look in a mirror, regardless of what a lender is telling us we qualify for, and we know our own spending habits. They may or may not be congruent with what a typical borrower, on our income, can afford each month.  And ultimately, the debt is our debt.  

 

The Wisdom of D. W. Skelton, Dallas appraiser

The speaker at this week’s North Dallas MLS meeting, 3/3/09, was D. W. Skelton, one of the most respected appraisers in this area. The following are excerpts from his presentation. I hope you find the information invaluable. I have been preaching much of this in my BLOG, but wanted you to hear it from a reliable source who sees the impact every day.

“The spring market should be pretty good with buyers deciding to look and buy and also some Relocation families will be moving; however, more homes will be coming on the market within the next two months meaning more competition for sellers.

This spring it will be important to price your properties ahead of the market; look at current listings that are comparable to yours and price yours below those listings because THE MARKET IS DECLINING. If you don't sell it during this spring/summer market (March-July) you may not get as much for it for the next two to three years.

Buyers will be looking for the house they really want but one that is priced right and some will justify spending more than they want to spend for an exceptional house if they plan on living in it for several years because the market will eventually rebound.

Since there will be relocation buyers coming into the market that should help to get the local buyers back out since they will see sales picking up and won't want to miss a good house. Sellers must realize that this is a very small window of opportunity to sell so they should price their home so that it will sell and have it in the best condition possible.

New Guidelines that appraisers must use in appraising a property that goes under contract starting 4/1:

1. Appraisers are being asked by lenders to use only sales from the past three months, not six months as has been the practice. If they must use sales from 3-6 months, due to a lack of activity, they can go to Page Two of their appraisal with secondary comps. Because in many facets of the market, there have not been many sales since October of '08, this is very difficult.

2. The date of sale (within the 3-month period), then the close proximity to the house under contract (must be the closest comps even if the square footage is considerably different) It used to be that the comps had to be within about 300 sq. ft. plus or minus the sq. footage of the subject property. If the home is much bigger than others in the neighborhood it will be considered over-improved and its’ value will be modified accordingly.

3. In the jumbo arena (loans over $417,000), appraisers can only use solds documented through MLS and a matter of public record. This precludes the use of builders' homes sold directly by the builder and FSBOs (For Sale by Owners).

4. Appraisers are not required to use foreclosures as comparable sales. Foreclosures are considered "stress" sales, unless the home is in an area (primarily suburbs) where many homes in the neighborhood have been foreclosed and they are the only comparables available.

It is D. W.’s opinion that homes that have not sold by the end of Spring/Summer 2009, will decline in value over the next 18 months.

THE STATE OF LOT VALUES

D. W. Skelton does much of his appraising in the areas of Dallas where homes are purchased for lot value, by buyers who want to build their dream home, or by builders who will build a spec home or a build-to-suit for one of their clients. It takes about a year to build a spec home, and the lot will not be worth what the builder paid for it, and the numbers won’t work in a declining market to make it worth the builder’s while. Only custom build jobs should be done by builders at this time.


Because the appetite for lots by builders is declining, due to the speculative market drying up, prices for land are dropping too. Park Cities' lots are still strong except on the end areas. Univ Park 70' lots that were $1.5-1.7M are now worth $1.2-1.3M. Preston Hollow lots that were $3M per acre (estate area) are now $2.5M or lower. 100'x180' lots have dropped from $45 sq.ft. to $40 sq. ft. This has all taken place in the past 12 months and each sale is lower than the previous sale.”

Judy Switzer & Associates can help you to establish the optimal list price of your home so you are successful moving it in the Spring/Summer market. In a declining market, in addition to looking at sold data from the past three months, it is important to look at pending sales and the active listings. Take into consideration the number of pending sales and solds, at a given point in time, to determine with the present inventory, how many months it will take to sell all the homes on the market in your area. That should coincide with the continual days on market (CDOM) data available through MLS.

Visit www.JudySellsDallas.com and sign up to receive a Market Snapshot of your neighborhood!

“THE PRICE IS RIGHT”?
Preston Hollow and Northwood Hills Real Estate

 

 

Arguably, the single most important aspect of one’s selling strategy is getting the listing price right! Wishful thinking or testing the market are not sound strategies.  

 

When most areas of the country are experiencing reductions in home values reaching double digits as a percentage, North Dallas, and more specifically Preston Hollow, and Northwood Hills is faring quite differently.

 

There are several reasons for this phenomenon. First of all, far North Dallas did not experience the wild inflation that was a part of many other markets in the United States. Therefore, the affordability index, the ratio that compares housing prices to incomes, was never out of whack in Dallas. There was never a need for a pricing correction. Secondly, nearly 300 people are moving to the area daily. Thirdly, we are optimistic about our economy because of the Barnett Shale, a natural gas source bed rock that stretches over 16-21 North Texas counties and is still actively being discovered, and what that means for us locally now and for the next thirty years or more. Its 6000+ square mile reservoir is already the second largest producing on-shore domestic natural gas field in the United States.

 

North Texans are not immune to the impact of the financial crises our country faces, however.  Our region has been hit hard by foreclosures and short sales over the last couple of years.

 

So what if you have experienced a change in your life, and find the need to make a move?

           

In most of Dallas’ more established neighborhoods, prices have remained steady to down a percent or so in some cases, days on market are up, and inventories have remained relatively constant. In these neighborhoods there is a wide range of values due to the condition of the home, the degree in which the home has been updated, and the lot the home sits on. Older neighborhoods elicit a slightly different buyer than the brand new high end developments in west Plano or Frisco, for example. The buyer in North Dallas is purchasing, first foremost, location and convenience. Secondly, the purchaser values the home’s surroundings. Lot, trees and privacy are important to him/her. The home itself is only important as a subset of the first two considerations, as the buyer acknowledges, it can be changed or modified.

 

Now that we understand the likely buyer for your home, can we assess what it is truly worth. After all, it is “the ready, able and willing buyer” who will ultimately establish its’ value.

 

Given what we know, the first thing we need to establish is “what is my lot worth”?  In Northwood Hills, north of LBJ, for instance, the standard lot size is approximately one half acre. South of LBJ, in the Preston Hollow area, lot sizes vary, but are typically worth approximately $1M/acre. Because Northwood Hills is further than Preston Hollow, from downtown Dallas, by ten minutes to fifteen minutes, one can expect lot values to be a

 little cheaper. A buyer will expect to get more for his money in Northwood Hills than he would expect to get south of LBJ. Are there trees on the lot? When I look out to the back yard, do I see a neighbor’s roof, or second story windows?

 

By comparison, in newer neighborhoods in west Plano and Frisco and others, the builders have gone to great lengths to put gorgeous homes with state-of-the-art finishes and amenities in them, but most have very little useable yard, other than a pool in some cases, little to know vegetation, except what came with the builder’s landscape package, and most of what one’s sees when they peer in the back yard is concrete and the high-pitched roof and second story windows of their neighbors.

 

Another consideration is how the home’s condition compares to its’ competition? This includes how the home has been maintained. Have the systems been updated? How old is the roof? Are the windows thermal-paned? Does the home need interior or exterior paint? Will the buyer have to come in and neutralize the color scheme? Is the home move-in ready?

 

And thirdly, is this a home the buyer will be able to expand? Does it have the space that will give a buyer the flexibility to have what owners in 2009 expect in a home, i.e. an office or study, a guest bedroom or mother-in-law suite, an exercise area, a gourmet kitchen that can be opened to the family room or main living area? Or, should the home be priced at lot value?

 

Finally, what is the value range for a home that has been totally renovated? And, what is the value of a home that has been torn down and re-built from scratch?

 

In Northwood Hills, sold values range from approximately $120/ft to over $240/ft. It is very important to understand these nuances when pricing a home for sale. If the Price Is Right, Bob Barker or now, Drew Carey might concur, that the sale price will actually be higher than if the home’s list price starts too high and then must endure several price reductions during its’ marketing period. The longer the home is on the market, the less it is worth! Contact Judy Switzer & Associates at www.judysellsdallas.com or call 214-445-6555 to get an assessment of your property’s current value.