Real Estate Market Stabilizes in Park Cities, Preston Hollow
[pullquote-left]“A house that needs a lot of repairs isn’t attracting buyers. Buyers want to move in and throw a party that night.” -Kay Weeks[/pullquote-left]
Real estate activity in Park Cities and Preston Hollow neighborhoods has begun to stabilize after a welcomed pickup during the first half of the year.
What that means for sellers is a seasonal slowdown, said Dave Perry-Miller agent Julie Provenzano.
“Upticks don’t really happen around the holidays in the luxury niche,” Provenzano said.
While the price per square foot for homes in the Park Cities and Preston Hollow saw strong growth this summer, both areas saw decreases in September, according to market numbers. Both areas also saw large upticks in the number of days properties sat on the market.
“This is a great time to remind [sellers] that buyers set [sales prices for] their homes, they don’t,” Provenzano said, advising homeowners to wait out the new year before listing. Using what she says is gut instinct from more than 20 years in the industry, she anticipates “a really strong first quarter in 2018.”
Kay Weeks, an agent with Ebby Halliday, Realtors: Ebby’s Little White House, said after about five years of price depreciation the market in some of Dallas’ most prestigious neighborhoods is starting to become a buyer’s market.
“I don’t think we will see prices going down,” she said, “but we will see them stabilizing.”
Provenzano agreed, saying that the “days of kiss the [seller’s] ring have subsided.
“It is not a feeding frenzy out there, and there are good conversations happening with sellers and buyers,” Provenzano said, which has paved the way for “more realistic seller expectations.”
Provenzano said she’s also seeing the market move toward a build-it-from-the-ground up mentality.
“The amount of lot sales in the Preston Hollow area are unbelievable,” she said. “What I am seeing for dirt is very strong.”
It’s not just builders paving that market. Provenzano said a lot of homeowners are purchasing lots to build their dream homes, and they’re “paying a premium for the dirt because they are not price-sensitive,” she added.
Because trends are now leaning toward custom homes that are light, bright, and open-concept, Weeks said in order to be competitive, owners of homes built 10 to 15 years ago will need to refresh the properties before selling.
“Buyers are very sophisticated and very particular,” Weeks said. “A house that needs a lot of repairs isn’t attracting buyers. Buyers want to move in and throw a party that night.”
