Prices Soared in Hollow, But They Fell in Park Cities
Preston Hollow’s real estate market was on fire in January when compared to the same month a year ago.
According to MLS statistics compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, the average price for single-family houses sold last month in Area 11 was $929,113. That represents a 44-percent increase over January 2012.
The median price in Area 11 — which is bounded by Northwest Highway, Midway Road, LBJ Freeway, and North Central Expressway — was $593,000, which was a 52-percent increase over the previous January. That means 50 percent of the single-family houses in Area 11 sold for less than $593,000 and 50 percent of them sold for more than $593,000.
“The market finally heated up in Preston Hollow,” said Becky Frey, an agent with Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty. “It kind of sat dormant for a while. And the prices have picked up.”
Not all real estate transaction are reported to MLS. But the outlook was not as rosy in Area 25, which includes the Park Cities as well as Bluffview, Devonshire, and Greenway Parks. Although the average price ($838,312) and median price ($827,500) were higher than those in Area 11, those numbers represent declines of 28 percent and 4 percent, respectively, when compared to January 2012.
“Preston Hollow obviously has a broader area and a broader spectrum of prices than the Park Cities, so that house that’s, you know, $500,000 to $750,000 or $800,000 — those are just flying off the market in Preston Hollow,” Frey said.
The average price per square foot in Area 11 rose by 15 percent to $213. In Area 25, it fell by 15 percent to $267.
The inventory in both areas dropped signficantly. In Area 11, there was 4.1 months’ worth, a 46-percent decline from a year ago. That means if no other single-family homes came on the market, it would take 4.1 months for the listed houses to all sell. In Area 25, there was only 3.2 months’ worth, a 39-percent fall from January 2012.
“We definitely have more buyers than sellers right now,” Frey said. “People still want a good home that they don’t have to do a lot of work to.”
