WFAA-TV reports something that veteran Realtors have long known: sometimes potential buyers have sticky fingers and stick their hands not just into jewelry drawers but the medicine cabinet. In this case, veteran Virginia Cook agent Kyle Rovinsky, a good friend of CandysDirt, said a client distracted him while her boyfriend ransacked the medicine cabinet to fish for prescription drugs. In this case, he stole a full bottle (30 pills) of prescription Vicodin. This happened at a high-end home...

Want to get a taste of opulent living? Tour 4835 Lindhurst in Preston Hollow today at 2 p.m.

If you are dying to see what Preston Hollow luxury looks like, today’s your day. Two gorgeous Preston Hollow estates are open for tours today, and they are not to be missed!

The two homes — 4835 Lindhurst and 4346 Park Lane — will be open from 2 to 4 p.m. today thanks to Dave Perry-Miller, Christine McKenny, and Molly Malone.

With four bedrooms and eight magnificent bathrooms, 4835 Lindhurst is...

This is a quasi-guest...

Lochwood Love Snapped Up Fast

Not only am I hearing of multiple offers on choice listings in Dallas and as far north as Frisco, but now I know of several homes selling that never even made it into MLS. I am starting to become concerned that with so many homes by-passing MLS, we will not be getting a clear handle on true sales figures. According to the experts, there are pockets of healthy markets around the country: Orange County, D.C. and Dallas/Houston/Austin.  But Calculated Risk blog, which...

Will Bank of America's Principal Forgiveness Program bring borrowers back from the brink of foreclosure?

Thousands of homeowners underwater on their Bank of America mortgages could receive one of the 200,000 letters the bank is sending out offering partial loan forgiveness. According to Bankrate.com, BofA borrowers have to clear a pretty significant series of hurdles in order to qualify for the “principal reduction program”:

To be eligible for this principal reduction program, a...

And HURRY! Bargain hotel registration ends May 15!

We want to hear stories of personal triumph, in which you battled a property so run down and neglected that everyone else thought it was a lost cause from the beginning. (Let’s be honest: they thought you...

Remember when I told you all last month that, at the suggestion of his agent Allie Beth Allman, Troy decided to sell off the full acre lot next to his Highland Drive home? Then I told you someone was hovering? Well, Alan Peppard is reporting that the lot sold and closed this week.

I have so been meaning to tell you about this Good Guys house, a creek-view oasis! Looks like my timing was perfect, too, because 3914 Frontier was just reduced from $599,999 to $549,000. First of all, I know the owners and they really ought to be written into the contract for an additional price: you cannot rent a more perfectly handsome Nordic family.

Second, every inch of the 2920 square feet has had total loving care and hundreds of upgrades, including a master bath that will knock your exercise...

Eric Nicholson is in the habit of tossing babies around, so his new place will require high ceilings.

Eric Nicholson is the new Robert “Fingers of Fury” Wilonsky. The young journo, formerly of the Texarkana Gazette, has taken over the helm of Unfair Park, the Dallas Observer blog. With his new gig, he’s back in Dallas and holed up at his parents’ house in North Dallas with his wife, Megan, his 3-year-old, Connor, and another baby on the way. Obviously, he needs a great...

Meet Richard Soto, owner/broker of  VIP Realty here in Dallas. Richard has an interesting story: he is an agent who spends more time on marketing and SEO than he actually does selling. That’s because Richard is an extremely tech-savvy agent, and he knows where his business comes from: the web. Whether it’s Dallas homes for sale, Fort Worth real estate or Dallas Condos, Richard always tries to maximize his listings’ SEO, he says: that’s job one!  In fact, our interview...

Effective yesterday, children 17 years old and younger will no longer be allowed to independently cruise NorthPark Center after 6 p.m. The new curfew comes as part of a set of new policies instituted at the upscale Dallas mall that also includes restrictions on language and attire.

It’s about time. Could the pendulum be swinging back? Or will the kids just go over to the about to be majorly nipped and tucked Valley View?

NorthPark spokesman Mark Annick said the updated policies were not in...

Fernando M. Alva was a dear friend. I had not seen him for about nine months, but on  Wednesday afternoon, May 9, I had a fleeting vision of him in my mind as I worked on a blog post. Call him, I told myself, call him later on today and connect.

Here is how I met Fernando: he wrote me a letter, typed actually, correcting information I had written in a magazine article on real estate that was inaccurate. Imagine that. I called him, asked for an explanation, asked to meet him for lunch. We became...

Just a few more days left to tell us all about the worst REO property you ever touched – I mean, a real dog property — and tell us how you transformed it. Your prize: $100,000 in creative and marketing services. Get clicking right this very minute.

Update, 9:17 p.m. Bruce Tomaso at the Dallas Morning News was kind enough to give us a link, and now we hear from the folks at 3525 that Mrs. Hunt actually owned three units in this building  on the 13th floor, but only two (the B/C units) are listed for foreclosure. Mrs. Hunt, says Lee T. Wilkirson, owned B/C and also D, but D was sold as a separate unit:

 Her estate marketed the triple unit for sale, but was unsuccessful. It was eventually sold as two separate apartments, a B/C-unit combination...

Artists and live music on Saturdays and a five star hotel? A viable urban village at one of the country’s busiest intersections?

Scott Beck grew up at Valley View Mall, the same mall he bought about a week ago. Well, not actually in the mall, but within two miles of it, near Beltline Road and Preston. Translation: he was a North Dallas kid. He recalls vividly going to Tilt at Valley View with his brother and playing at the arcade for hours.

His father, Jeff, is in the commercial real estate...

This mid-century modern is nestled on a treed lot in Lochwood.

I am in love. Again.

I fell hard for the little Mid-Century Modern on St. Francis that was snapped up just four days after you saw it here on Candy’s Dirt. It was such a deal, and obviously I wasn’t the only person who felt that way.

So, knowing that someone is going to find this little ditty in Lochwood marketed by Ebby’s Brandon Stewart with three bedrooms, two baths, and 1,686 square feet of awesome, I’m not...

Sponsored guest post by Jeanne Smith, Guardian Mortgage Company

We all know interest rates are at record lows, we are beaten with this news every time we turn on the news. I mean, great rates are just a click away, right? Wrong! If you are basing your idea of the “best” mortgage rate on the rates you are quoted by lenders or ads on the internet, you may not be getting the best rate.

Sounds crazy, right? The web rules!

What most people don’t realize is that the rate quoted by a lender consists...

This foreclosure in Glen Lakes is the perfect new home for Pilar Sanders.

Things are not looking good for Pilar Sanders. After their hearing yesterday, Deion Sanders won a restraining order that will keep Pilar 500 yards from their opulent Prosper mansion and that gigantic African statue. So, obviously, the soon-to-be ex-Mrs. Sanders will need a place to stay, right? We have just the thing, and it’s a deal, too!

Pilar will feel plenty at home over at 5 Crownwood Court in the Glen Lakes...

It’s May and our market is heating up hot as the parking lots outside Museum Tower. I don’t know how the SPCA might feel about this, especially as it gets hotter, but how about some live “eye candy”, especially if you live near water? Check out the simple iphone video I took at Paigebrooke when we were filming for WFAA-TV’s Daybreak. Paigebrook has a large pond that several swans call home. One had recently laid seven eggs — which is high fertility for a...

This is kind of surprising to those of us who think of Dallas as one great big urban sprawl, everyone living on half acre lots or on ranches. We are actually pretty dense and getting more dense. A U.S. Census Bureau report on urban population density shows that the D/FW area’s density of 1,112 people per square mile is actually higher than many eastern, old-growth urban cities. Like Philly. Who’d have thunk it? Here’s how we stack up:

– Austin  (1,006 people/square mile)...

David’s dream team is growing like hotcakes! Handsome Robert Kucharski, buyer’s agent Paul Kirkpatrick and their assistant Kim Dunbar (a guy) joined forces with David Griffin & Company last week, moving over from Prudential. Robert’s work in Dallas is legendary, particularly in East Dallas and Oak Cliff, where he once listed the Mary Ellen Bentsen home on Swiss and now has 1504 Argonne Drive with over a half acre in Kessler Park listed at $1.295M. Recall that Keith Cox and...

You know, the Katy Trail is no longer the only hot trail in town. Here’s a pretty home on Northaven and backing up to the Oncor Power lines, but keep in mind that statement has a new meaning! The City of Dallas Parks and Recreation just completed the Northaven Trail right behind this house, and already it is a huge hit.  The trail will link White Rock Creek Greenbelt, Royal Park and the Elm Fork Greenbelt. It will connect with the existing White Rock Creek Greenbelt Trail and the proposed...

Sean Wallis bought this East Dallas Duplex for $12,500

I know you are out there, another real estate nutcase like me who has overcome impossible odds in dealing with REO properties? You’ve transformed stinkers into stunners, losers into lovers, lemons into lemonade with a strong splash of vodka.

Well, Housingwire Magazine is looking for you as they seek their first AGENT X, a true REO superstar. And there are some major perks involved, so pay attention.

The online pub seeks stories of personal...

I’m telling you, it’s War of the Roses up there in Prosper. I know the house is technically big enough for two people, but really, in a divorce, even Champ D’Or is too small. These people need to live apart plain and simple. Meantime, Deion is showing off the mansion to ABC-TV. Is he getting ready to sell again? Sources tell me he has more than $900,000 worth of mink coats. Looks like the water damage from last year is all repaired. But does anyone else find it strange that...

Holy updates, Batman! This sweet little traditional at 6927 Santa Maria looks brand-spanking new inside even though it was built back in 1964. The home feels huge, too, with more than 1,700 square feet that includes three bedrooms, two full baths, two living areas, and a gigantic backyard.

You know how much we love Lakewood, and this home is so close to the lake in Williamson Caruth Terrace. The schools are on the upswing, too. So you won’t mind paying the $359,000 price tag because,...

There has been too much real estate news occupying my brain this week — Museum Tower on the front page of the NYT, Champ D’Or closing, the continuing Deion and Pilar fracas. Now I have to digest this Trinity Tollway thing.  My husband is flat out against, I am for, I think. Pretty soon we’ll be like Deion and Pilar! I need a fix of House Porn, something not out on the boonies, but a home where you can walk everywhere because that is what these young Green things want us...

Because Bloomberg, in this story on the Museum Tower/ Nasher fracas, which actually and interestingly focuses more on the investments, more accurately the risks, taken by the $3.1 billion Dallas Police & Fire Pension System, linked back to the Dave Perry-Miller agent’s website:

“With 52 percent of its assets invested in recent years in such alternatives as the $200 million Museum Tower and the “American Idol” production company, it takes more risk than any U.S. public retirement...

It wasn’t reflective heat, but Austin, our oh so ecologically correct sister city to the south, had major problemos last summer with the W Hotel and Residences last summer. The Austin-American Statesman found that Austin ”does not insist on the safest kind of architectural glass for guardrails, or specifically, require engineering inspections of exterior balconies on the high-rise buildings proliferating downtown.” Wow. Naturally, this led to some lawsuits.

You may recall...

It’s kind of like having Kim Dawson as your real estate agent. No kidding, did you know Allie Beth Allman agent Irmgard Arthur used to be an international runway model and opened her own wildly successful school of modeling back in Germany? The classes included ladies self improvement, teenage charm and even exercise classes! She arranged arranged fashion shows and used the graduates of her modeling classes as models. No wonder she can stage her listing with a sweep of the hand....

The tweet from the New York Times twitter feed says it all.

The saga over Museum Tower has officially become a national news story. One can only wonder if this is the result of Nasher architect Renzo Piano making good on his threat to “make trouble” for the owners of the high-rise condo development?

No one quite knows what to do. The condo developer and museum officials are at loggerheads. Fingers are being pointed. Mr. Piano is furious. The developer’s architect is aggrieved. The...

The Wall Street Journal and other financial news media are reporting that the U.S. home ownership rate has slipped to it’s lowest in 15 years, and experts predict it will slip even further. Why? Mortgage lending is tighter than a violin string, with no signs of loosening, not even for an election. This echoed what every single Realtor I know says: we have record low, like HISTORICALLY  low mortgage-interest rates and falling home prices that have made homes more affordable than at any...

Or how about this: Don’t put that lid down, that floor opens up right under your feet! This bathroom was built, apparently, over an old elevator shaft. Cool or freaky? Thank GOD it’s not reflective glass!

Before you take that shot of the master bath, put the toilet lid down!

Apparently, leaving the toilet seat up when photographing a home’s bathroom is enough to get some Realtors’ dander up.

And don’t dare leave cars parked in front of your listing when taking a photo. Or leave the television on. That’s another big one.

Personally? I can’t stand to see smudged and dirty mirrors.

So, tell me, what’s your biggest no-no when it comes to a property listing?

Apparently Highland Park Pharm … I mean Soda Fountain has an impressive list of regulars, which happen to include some folks in the Dallas real estate business.

The Grand Dame of real estate, Ebby Halliday, is known to pop in every once in a while according to this story by Maria Halkias at the DMN. And Barry Hancock, a founding partner of commercial real estate firm Cienda Partners, starts his day off with two poached eggs, bacon, and an english muffin at Highland Park Soda Fountain. Every...

I THINK we are selling the house, but it’s hard to tell here. Someone please teach this agent how to hire a photographer! Oh, and while you are at it, pick up the trash before you snap!

I am going to share an email from one of the producers of this weekend’s USA Film Festival (extraordinaire) :

“I really meant what I said about the quality of residential architecture in Dallas. Patty and I walked through Highland Park today, and then roamed the SMU campus. We were delighted to find such an array of truly beautiful properties. Having spent some time in Houston, I really underestimated what Dallas has to offer. No longer. Your city is a gem.”

No other home I...

Elliot Gould. Sigh.

Thought you saw some celebs zipping around town this weekend? It was movie week in Dallas, and film lovers enjoyed great screenings at the Angelika from the 42nd annual USA Film Festival, the city’s oldest festival, notably a restored digital print of Marcel Carné’s Children of Paradise, the original True Grit (with Kim Darby in attendance), and a screening of the beloved The Princess Bride, part of a tribute to Rob Reiner, also in attendance. My signature, of course,...

To a real estate junkie like me, this was almost as exciting as getting a new Porsche: People are starting to get wise about Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller report. Did you notice that numbers came out this week, Monday in fact, the news was pretty bleak IN SOME LOCALES, but no one (here, at least) freaked out? Then the Wall Street Journal produced what I think is one of the most significant real estate articles in eons. If you don’t subscribe and cannot read it, here is what...

This adorable house at 5737 Palo Pinto screams "Key West!"

I was looking over this adorable listing, 5737 Palo Pinto in the Belmead area of Lakewood, and it reminded me of something. Still, I couldn’t put my finger on it. The teal paint and umbrella, the landscaping, and the clean accents were calling from somewhere else, somewhere much more tropical. And then it hit me … it’s 100 percent Conch Republic  style!

Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and my favorite — a claw-foot-tub!...

Comes word from The New York Post that the richest neighborhoods in New York are the ones where the most cheating goes on, apparently. The New York Post called in Noel Biderman, he the CEO of the site AshleyMadison.com… if you don’t know what that is, you’ve lived in the Bible Belt too long! (It’s a dating site for people looking to have extramarital affairs, SHOCKER!) Here’s what Biderman said about lousy spouses in the Big A:

“In the New York area in particular,...

It’s time for the Best of Big D voting again, and this year the good folks at D Magazine have a category for best blogs (published by a non-traditional media outlet). While CandysDirt.com was not included in the original line-up, editor Jason Heid kindly suggested we launch a write-in campaign! So I need your help! We really want CandysDirt.com to win before her first birthday! Otherwise, she’ll want a Ferrarri.

I am up against some stiff competition — friends, in fact —and...

This prairie-style home at 402 N. Rosemont Ave. is an incredible value at $359K.

When you buy a home in Winnetka Heights, you’re getting so much more than a building on a piece of land. You’re buying into a very active community that looks out for one another, one that takes pride in its landscape.

One of the four living spaces inside 402 N. Rosemont.

Trust me: Oak Cliff was my beat in my reporting days. Winnetka Heights has an active neighborhood association which is an asset when you...

Food fight! Ira found my soft spot the moment he told me he went to Dartmouth College. (Fodder: Dave Perry-Miller agent Stephen Collins is also a Dartmouth grad.) Granted, he was there ahead of me by a few moments, during those infamous all-male years. He was a contemporary of Chris Miller, who wrote Animal House – in fact, Ira was in Zeta Psi (are they still there?) while Chris Miller was in Alpha Delta. Toga, Toga, Toga! He tells me he instigated participated in the Thayer food fight...

Here’s yet one more good reason to buy yourself a condo at the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton: culture. One of Texas’s favorite sons, world-acclaimed pianist Van Cliburn, will soon be selling more than 150 exceptional works of art from his personal collection at Christie’s New York. Tonight, at ze Ritz-Carlton, in Salon A,  a select few will get to hear the musical icon describe how he conquered Russia as he collected all that art. Christie’s International Real Estate, the only...

According to Hexter-Fair Title Company, total sales for the region are already surpassing 2011 numbers.

I love Dallas, y’all.

We’ve got a lot of things going for us. Take our beautiful Arts District, our growing Southern sector, and our rebounding downtown, for example. And according to Standard & Poors/Case-Schiller Home Price Indices, Dallas is maintaining its ground when it comes to residential real estate.

In the S&P/C-S report released today, nationwide, home prices are...

Valley View Mall has apparently been purchased by the Jeff Beck family, who plans to turn the hollow, seemingly vacated, 39 year old mall into an outdoor complex called “Dallas Midtown.” According to WFAA-TV,  a press conference at 10 a.m will reveal further details. This will be a $2 billion project along the lines of the hyper successful The Shops at Legacy and Bishop Arts, so reports the Dallas Morning News. The plan is to bring restaurants, retail stores, office towers,...

There appears to be some construction going on at 4949 Swiss Avenue, but the historic home remains boarded up.

Lee Hancock wrote an excellent long-form dissection of Mary Ellen Bendtsen’s home, 4949 Swiss Avenue, after Mark McCay and Justin Burgess were willed the house under suspicious circumstances. While there have been some reports of construction going on at the “Grand Dame” of Swiss Avenue, the front is boarded up and the carriage house is still crumbling.

But it won’t...

Here’s a home that would have  been a great find for that piece in the New York Times on how hot the Dallas Design District has become. Not only are developers building lofts and $5000 a month apartment penthouses in the Dallas Design District, they are also building homes out of warehouse space — luxury homes and studio combos where you can live, work, play, and entertain all in one giant converted warehouse space gone luxe.

Take 2278 Monitor Street. $1,950,000. Now this is what...

Andy Keye + Whitney Photography

Update, 5:02 p.m.: I am delighted to report that the New York Times was completely wrong!  The Alta Lofts were NOT the first residential development in the district. Jim Lake Companies helped rezone the district back in 2005 to allow residential use, and shortly after built Trinity Loft, which was up and almost fully leased by 2007 — while PegasusAblon was still wet behind the ears, 2 years before the development. You can see the case study on the Lofts here:...

Would you like to know more about The Queen of Versailles? Attention all readers: CandysDirt.com is proud to be a sponsor of Opening Night of the 42nd Annual USA Film Festival in Dallas. We are so pumped we are offering you guys a freebie exclusive for CandysDirt readers: sign up for FREE tickets to “The Queen of Versailles” on Wednesday, April 25th, 7:00pm at the Angelika Film Center Dallas.

That is this Wednesday! And you will even get to be my guest at the fabu post-party Chez...

Tom Luce, managing director and founding partner of Dallas law firm Hughes & Luce, has agreed to be the go-between as the Nasher Sculpture Center and Museum Tower look to find a solution to their very, very hot problem.

According to KERA’s Art+Seek blog, the Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund, which owns the $200M Museum Tower, asked Luce to come on board. Here’s what Luce said:

“The Nasher Sculpture Center and the Museum Tower and the developers have jointly asked me to serve...

Just in case you feel like cheating on your house this weekend, I wanted to point you in the right direction: 3908 Southwestern. Have you ever seen a cuter listing? This angel looks all neat and traditional on the outside, but oh boy she is a sexy vamp on the inside! We love that the home was first built in 1939, hence it overflows with charm and character despite significant interior remodeling. In fact, once inside, you will see no evidence of 1939. It’s 2012, baby. Here’s another...

Blah, blah, blah — insert something snarky about the CueCat — blah, blah.

When it comes to QR (quick response) codes, I have to agree with this Phoenix Realtor: QR codes are not going to drastically change how Realtors market properties. The Internet already did that, so I can’t imagine a little pixelated box is going to help agents move listings any better than having a well-written MLS post with top-notch photos.

However, back in 2010, Coldwell Banker DFW wrote this bit of advertorial...

You get a two-story marble fire place and tons of well-preserved wood paneling with 6441 McCommas.

Flipping through the photos of 6441 McCommas Blvd. makes me hum Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride” completely by reflex.

Note to self: Put “Dazed And Confused” on my Netflix queue.

The interior of this 1975 Spanish style in Bob-O-Link estates is so incredibly well-preserved, right down to the foiled wallpaper and wood paneling. And boy, is there a lot of wood paneling....

5010 Gaston is the perfect prairie home in an urban, walkable location.

Guys, I have a confession to make.

I am not a fan of Garrison Keillor. No, it’s not because of the dustup after his speaking gig at Highland Park UMC. I just don’t like talk radio, or “A Prairie Home Companion,” for that matter.

I’ll tell you what I do like: I like a good prairie home. And that’s exactly what 5010 Gaston Ave. is. I fine, well-preserved, built in 1912 prairie four-square with...

Want to keep chickens but don't want to build your own coop? Williams Sonoma is selling the Bentley of chicken tractors.

City Chickens have officially gone mainstream. If the idea of building your own coop seems expensive, daunting, and well, impossible, you can now just order one from Williams-Sonoma.

The chicken coops, which are actually chicken tractors because of their mobility, are part of the store’s new agrarian line.  And there are beekeeping supplies there, too, as well as some...

Here is a rare find: a three-level townhouse in the heart of Oak Lawn with a PRIVATE three-car garage. There’s almost more parking here than there is in all of downtown Dallas. 4108 Douglas is centrally located –  you’ve got the commercial amenities of Oak Lawn, Highland Park Village to the north, Downtown Dallas to the south. So, I don’t have to argue with you about location. Of course, in this part of town, you are sort of a hybrid — you walk AND you drive. In...

The May 2010 D Magazine cover story alleges that Museum Tower is ruining the Arts District.

The tagline of the May 2012 cover story of D Magazine says it all: “How arrogance and greed made Museum Tower a threat to the heart of Dallas.”

Eesh. That’s pretty harsh.

The cover, which D Magazine editor Tim Rogers gave Twitter a sneak peek of yesterday, has a photo showing the glare bouncing off of Museum Tower at 3 p.m. According to the cutline, it’s a strong as “two and...

Jamie Laubhan-Oliver is a very stylish girl. She’s got more shares on houzz than bathrooms in Champ d’Or. And seriously? Her own post on styleswoon? The girl can decorate (and I hear her husband helps!). Seriously, it’s like I walked into catalog living!

So it’s no shock that Laubhan-Oliver’s lovely Cedars abode at 1813 Ervay St. was snapped up. Since their townhouse sold (thanks Clay Stapp Realtor Subhi Garbieh!), Jamie and her husband are renting downtown in the...

Realtor.com noticed something I noticed recently: that Troy’s house is now listed for $14 million. Wow, you might say, he’s caving in and lowering the price. Wrong. Well, technically yes, he did lower the price but that’s because you now get less land in the deal.  I have not heard officially from Allie Beth Allman, listing agent, but other agents tell me Troy lowered the price because he is selling the lot he acquired separately, carving that back out of the deal. Checking...

I know how poor you are feeling right about now. Have you sent in your check to Uncle Sam? Maybe you are reading this on your phone or ipad while waiting in line at the Post Office, where I was yesterday. (I wonder what happens when you bounce a check to the IRS… ) Well, I am feeling poor today, so I scoured for a home where I can move once they clear our bank account and I found this at 2005 St. Francis off Ferguson. (An Ed Murchison listing, who I sometimes refer to as Ed Cook!)  Hot...

Maybe they just want a different place on the field: Daryl and Diane Johnston are selling their home at 4414 Woodfin east of Midway. The former Dallas Cowboys fullback and Fox commentator, who was a vital part of three historic Super Bowl championship teams, is asking $3,150,000 million for the clean-lined, decked-out two-story property, which was built by Sharif-Munir Custom Home Builders in 2007. It rests on .66 an acre of land.

This house could shelter a pack of moose: it’s 7,930-square-feet,...

Andrea Gonzaba. She is adorable. She also just joined Clay Stapp & Company who is, as you know, one of the hottest real estate brokers in town, and I don’t mean just because he’s cute. Clay brought the buyer to Champ d’Or at the March 30 auction, as you know, raising the most well-Botoxed brows in town. Andrea emailed me out of the blue in January asking for advice on starting her own blog and kick-starting her apartment leasing business:

I follow your CandysDirt blog. I...

The Swiss Avenue Historic District will have even more gateways like this one at Fitzhugh.

Oprah: “YOU GET A GATEWAY! AND YOU GET A GATEWAY! EVERYBODY GETS A GATEWAY!!!!”

OK, maybe it’s not like that, but Swiss Avenue sure is getting a lot more distinguished. According to David Myre of swissavenue.com, folks are building two additional gateways to the popular neighborhood, one at the north end and one in the center.

“Workers have nearly completed one at La Vista and Swiss...

I was treated to Allie Beth Allman’s Monday morning meeting on Monday, and boy, what a treat. Chock full of valuable information — my notebook and head came home loaded. Not one, but two guest speakers: David Fair, and Joseph Pitchford, senior vice president Crescent Real Estate Equities, LLC, aka the folks who own the Residences at the Ritz- Carlton in Uptown. Which is one reason why I went, actually, to hear the latest on Uptown dynamics. (Stay tuned!) Of course, I also went...

Ohhh, this home. I am going to get you in trouble because you are going to be looking at these photos all day long, breathing in the flowers in that exquisite garden. I have known this home a long time, been in it, in fact, as a guest. 3316 Harvard is really one of the most charming, perfect cottages in Dallas: character, warmth plus bountiful gardens. Located at the tip of Highland Park near the Abbot/Harvard intersection, you can actually walk to Toulouse! Built in 1926, all that original...

<!-- .entry-meta -->Do you recall the saga of Dr. Richard J. Malouf , who apparently built quite a fortune and then some through Medicaid orthodontics? For one, he is getting closer to completing the 30,000-square-foot earth-friendly compound he is constructing over on Strait Lane.

Compound, hell, it’s an ENVIRONMENT with the following equation: 10711 Strait + 10674 Strait = one big mama house. So big, in fact, he has applied for a second electric meter, specifically a meter for three-phase power, which...

5404 Walnut Hill Lane

Champ d’Or is sold and Richard Malouf is getting 30,000-plus square feet, so mega square footage must be back in style. More proof that big is back when it comes to the uber rich building homes in Dallas real estate. And if you cannot find a lot big enough for your dream mansion, you just buy several and tear down whatever the hec is on them. Voila, dream compound!Readers have been emailing me, asking me who is building what appears to be a compound of homes on Walnut...

Here’s the thing about Museum Tower: you could buy here and never nail one piece of art to the walls because your views are your art! From 1800 square feet to the 9,000 square foot penthouse — who will buy that? Here is the smallest model, 2800 square feet of French art deco from 1930′s France with super clean lines and ebony wood. Marco French pulled in Donald Judd, Allan Knight and Nancy Corzine to fill a 2800 square foot residence designed to show buyers how the simplicity...

I was at the amazing Dallas Art Fair Patron party Thursday night, and while my mouth moved more than my eyes, talking to throngs of friends, one image caught my eye at the booth of Santa Monica dealer Peter Fetterman, Peter Fetterman Gallery. Probably, of course, because it was real-estate-y. It was fine art photography, seen here to the left of the photo. See the building that appears to have women standing in the windows? They are! It is a photograph of an old brownstone building in New York...

5410 Vickery Blvd. is a stunning Craftsman bungalow with tons of updates!

So, I think I’ve already admitted this, but I am a sucker for Arts & Crafts architecture. When I saw this $549K listing from Haley Wagstaff at Dave Perry-Miller INTOWN, well, my heart went all aflutter!

First: Love the exterior color scheme! The red door adds just the right amount of personality! So thoughtful! So Feng Sui!!

The livingroom features a fireplace and plenty of light.

But inside, you’ll find tons...

Mark Doty is a treasure trove of information. He seems to know the history of Dallas’ architecture backwards and forwards, no small feat from a man who grew up in Abilene.

Doty, who works as a senior planner and historic preservation officer for the city of Dallas, has compiled an impressive collection of photos and facts surrounding some of the Dallas architecture that became casualties of progress. “Lost Dallas” is an excellent resource for amateur historians or people who...

Cliff May-designed 5310 Wateka, at Wateka and Inwood, will be open for onlookers tomorrow.

Preservation Dallas has done it again. Listen up, all of you Mid-Century Modernophiles: Cliff May’s award-winning 1948 Pace Setter House design is on display tomorrow.

May, who was a bastion of modern design, sketched up this Greenway Parks abode that was custom built and owned by all of one person, which is almost as amazing as the home itself.

The open plan and natural light is characteristic of Cliff...

She’s looking for a property value of $2-3 M that must be showable without the lights on … great natural light is very important to these buyers, and isn’t that a smart thing to do? You know the standard rule of fare for showing a home is to get in there and light up the place BEFORE the potential buyers get there. Well, why not just tell them not to do that (and save energy)?

They desire an open floor plan which provides an open view of pool from kitchen, and that kitchen must...

Shaffer calls his chicken coop "Palais du Poulets"

Clay Stapp & Co. Realtor Alan Shaffer and his partner had heard tons of buzz about backyard chicken keeping making a comeback before they decided to take the plunge. Of course, both Shaffer and his partner, Juan Barreto, had grown up with family birds.

“My grandparents, great grandparents, and later our family took over their flock as they got older,” Shaffer said. “Juan also had a flock growing up in Puerto Rico.”...

This week Museum Tower offered sneak peaks at the three new model units that are, of course, setting high new standards in Dallas architectutal aesthetics. Emily Summers, of Emily Summers Design Associates, Ann Schooler, Schooler, Kellogg & Company, and Marco French, of Marco French Studio all created three beautiful homes, ranging in size from 2,100 square feet to 3,700 square feet. Each reflected the vision of its respective designer and clearly shows buyers how you can incorporate...

Mid Century fanatics out there, can you tell us? I was born in the (ahem, way latter) part of the mid-century and grew up with this stuff and in a tri-level home. But in Chicago, bet your booty we had a garage! Anyone know why most mid centuries in Dallas and Cali come with carports instead of garages? Where did the carport originate anyhow? Speaking of, I drove by the “Bruce Goff House that is not a Bruce Goff House” the other day at 7507 Baxtershire, JanMar, Dallas’s famous...

3507 Crescent Doris Jacobs

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and New York Senator Chuck Schumer will be in Dallas tomorrow at a $30,800 a-plate event for majority trust – or just $10,000 for the “chair” — Democratic fundraiser at the beautiful $4.2 million home of Russell and Dori Budd at 3707 Crescent at 1 p.m. That is very close to Doris Jacobs’ gorgeous listing at 3507 Crescent, listed for $6,995,000. Crescent is a very short street so while you’ve got...

1964 was a very good year, I remember it well. That was the year this “darling” home at 6856 Blackstone was born in Merriman Park.  Looking at that furniture reminds me of the house we had when I was a baby, and oh can’t you just tell that this is an original owner home? Designed by architect Harry Hoover, the home features long sleek lines, walls of glass, original cypress CYPRESS!!! paneling, and the typical flexible open floor plan: TV dinner in the kitchen or living room?...

The Stammen Family put their house on the market as they look for a more "country" locale.

Thad Stammen is a family man. Nothing supports that notion more than Stammen’s willingness to move his family from their pristine Highlands of Preston Ridge home in Plano to the more secluded and rural areas of Collin County. They love their home, and the schools (Hightower Elementary, Frankford Middle, Shepton, Plano West) and the location: It’s near the Park and Preston shopping...

Jeff and I go way back and I cost him $1000. I first met him virtually when I was blogging over at D Magazine. Someday I will tell you that story, maybe in the tell-all I hope to publish someday.  Meantime, let that little tease whet your appetite for this gorgeous mid-century modern!

This is Jeff’s house and it’s a plum of a mid-century mod, built in 1956. It is located in a neighborhood called Casa Linda Forest – just across the train tracks (literally) from Little Forest...

6414 Westlake in Lakewood for $729K

Lakewood is one of the hottest neighborhoods in Dallas, where home values have held strong and may even be climbing upwards. The editors at Daybreak on Channel 8 specifically asked for homes in a certain price range, like $200,000. Those are hard to find in Lakewood “proper”, where average prices run about $500,000 to $600,000 or more. So I provided homes in the peripheral areas such as hot hot (and affordable) Lochwood, Little Forest Hills, and...

I mean, now that Lamar is leaving the Mavs. So far not a word on trying to get out of the $7500 a month lease on unit 2604, and I’m told they have a sealed deal through August 2012. Then owner Mack Hicks will probably lease it again or put it on the market, obviously with Allie Beth Allman and new celeb trimmings. That pad has seen a lot of action during the last few Odom-Kardashian months, everything from NBA players to a sex swing. (Great for a reality show!) By the way, did anyone...

This lovely home is going to be featured in Better Homes And Gardens, and for good reason: check out that awesome wrap-around front porch!

Paul Muniz’s gorgeous Winnetka Heights Craftsman home on South Windomere is quite the stunner. He says a fellow Winnetka Heights resident mentioned his home to the folks at BHG, and they’ll be flying out tomorrow to shoot folks sipping mojitos on his amazing porch.

“I’m not sure when it’s going to be published,” Muniz said, “but...

If you are as frustrated as I have been over the state of the nation’s mortgage industry, you might want to join me Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at The Blue Fish (18149 North Dallas Parkway) to hear experts from Supreme Lending, Proficio Mortgage and Town Square Financial talk about recent changes, guidelines, and upcoming trends. Really, it’s enough to make your head swim! Ha! That’s why they chose a seafood restaurant! It’s my belief that we have more of a lending problem...

Wait, you actually PAY for lunch? Have you not heard of RealEstateLunchBox.com?  Why pay when you can eat free every single Dallas real estate day?

Keith Yonick, agent extraordinaire with Prudential, is the genius behind the site. He wanted to organize free real estate Realtor lunches after the inspiration of one Dan Yoder, a Bill Griffin agent. The site has grown to be so popular that a New York City agent named Mrs. Rosen called Keith and told him she was the dan Yoder of New York and wants...

I cannot think of a better place for your Easter egg hunt than this lush lush LUSH backyard oasis snuggled away over at 4612 Watagua in Bluffview. Well maybe not snuggled: the home is actually on a ridge, has great topography and I felt like I was back in the hills of Napa! I know they say the Hill Country begis in Oak Cliff, but sometimes, when I’m in Bluffview, I think it starts right there. Built in 2000, this 7863 square foot home has gone through three owners all of who have added...

Yes, 6863 Gaston is pretty plain from the front, but wait until you see the inside.

Do you remember when you were young and someone told you not to judge a book by its cover? Now, the saying is just a giant cliche, but sometimes you come across something that really typifies this expression. This week’s Friday Four Hundred marketed by Keller Williams City Center’s Vicki White is a perfect example.

Interestingly enough, I have driven past this Gaston Avenue home almost every day for...

 Meet Kellyn. Darling young gal, writer, blogger, SMU grad, we used to work together at D Magazine. Kellyn lived for years at The Palomar, but now wants to live somewhere downtown, like maybe the Merc, two bedrooms with a roomie. Any suggestions as to where she should look?

William Gerlich here, or Trey (one of my very favorite names) is a young journalist (and blogger) fresh out of college and working his butt off over at People Newspapers. Young, darling, aggressive, he wants to move into Highland...

I cannot believe there is a home right smack near Jan-Mar for less than half a million. This one is actually, are you ready, only $350,000! Listen up people: $141 a square foot!

You get three bedrooms, two full baths, three living areas, two dining areas in a circa 1954 that screams mid-century modern from Hillcrest to LBJ!  7714 Midbury is perfectly sized (I think) at 2,294 square feet. OK, I know she looks like she needs a little work, but folks this here is a diamond in the rough. And what...

Rob Elmore

Despite what some people may think, Dallas real estate agents are the giving sort. There’s no other group of people who can rally the troops to buy tickets, spend money, and fill up a room for a good cause.

So it’s no big shocker that, as Keller Williams Uptown agent Taylor Walick explains, the KW Cares charity was able to raise $10,000 — exceeding their $4,000 goal — to help with beloved Keller Williams agent Rob Elmore’s medical bills.

The “Night in Vegas”...

If I fib, my daughter usually rats me out so yes, I confess, had a gold swan faucet in our Park Lane house all through the 1990′s. There — I do feel better. It was in my master bath tub. The faucets were goobly gah gold, too. They came with the house– OK, it’s Lent. I lied. I paid good, hard money for them and had them installed.  Jeeze, is this confession or something?

Maybe that’s why I can relate to this house. There was a time when this kind of decor was haute...

Livin' it up at Bolsa on Davis Street -- delicious!

I will just lay it right out: David Griffin and Keith Cox are two of my most favorite people in the world. David and I go way back to when he was marketing the W Residences — God, that makes me feel old! (But David looks so young!) He has always, always been bullish on downtown Dallas real estate and property south of the bridge, Oak Cliff/Kessler/Bishop Arts. David started selling real estate with Virginia Cook and re-joined the firm...

According to Tiffany Hamil, Tarrant County residents have longer than they think to protest

“It has been common practice in Tarrant and all of the surrounding counties for YEARS that the District will send out their notice of appraised value on May 1st,” says property tax consultant Tiffany Hamil. “Tarrant County has been known to even send their notices out past May 1st, but to my knowledge they have never sent their notices out PRIOR to May 1st … until THIS YEAR.”...

“Almost ten years to sell the place, it sold at auction in about ten minutes.”

I just had to talk to him, touch him, be in his presence! And when I asked Clay Stapp if last weekend’s sale of Champ d’Or, that 40,000 square foot mega giant up in Hickory Creek, wasn’t by far the most amazing and interesting transaction he’s ever had he said : “For sure!”  I think he’s still on cloud nine. Here’s how it went down:

Clay met the client,...

6224 Aberdeen $1.65 ish multiple offers sold in 6 days in February

6238 Aberdeen listed for $1.79ish in March

Recent convo with an agent who is seeing a problem in the market with new listings right now. Because the first quarter of 2012 was brisk, he thinks maybe prices are goosing up. Quarter One was brisk because buyers and sellers had become more reasonable, not because prices were up. When that excitement is ”improperly communicated”, sellers start “overpricing”...

Empty trucks tossed like toys earlier this afternoon in Lancaster. Tuesday is MLS Day and the storms hit shortly after most tours ended. Meantime, working with any banks in the areas on this new power outage map from Oncor, you may have a closing or two delayed.

Bowl while it blows in the basement of Champ d'Or!

I’m not talking about showing homes, I mean, where did you run for safety when the tornado sirens started blaring? I was out driving, looking at homes — OMG I’ve got the scoop on 4511 Watauga coming up, Jeeze Louise 13,000 square feet and another double-level closet! What is it with these two story master closets? My daughter texts me that there are tornadoes, my husband tells me everyone at Presbyterian has gone to the basement!...

Naturally, I won’t sleep until I find out who got the winning bid on Champ d’Or this weekend and how much they paid — confidentiality clauses are the bain of my existence.

I’m getting a few clues. We know it was a Dallas family — Preston Hollow, I’ve heard — with international connections. Many readers have emailed with speculation:

Bob and Mynra Schlegel: Champ could really use an infusion of fresh Pavestone and even though Bob sold the company, I’m...

Love the outdoors? Dream of sitting on a balconey gazing right into Mother Nature, watching the birds flutter? This house at 11311 Lanewood Circle is for you. Lochwood is hands-down one of the most affordable little micro-communities in Lakewood, and here again is a great not-so- little house (1790 square feet) for less than $250,000 (this one is $249,000). You get three bedrooms, three full updated baths, two living areas, a second story with master and that second living area, and even a study off...

This is one of those “Thank God we live in Texas” days. Yep, ran across this nugget from Forbes.com on the cities with the most construction: if construction starts are a leading economic indicator, then we are in hog heaven. Three Texas metros are leading as far as construction starts and made it on the top twenty: Dallas, Houston, San Antonio. Dallas, no surprise to anyone, is number two right behind New York City with $9.5 billion yes billion with a b in new construction starts....

Later today, the venerable PR firm of Rubenstein Public Relations will release this press release with more details, the official details, of Friday’s sale of Champ d’Or. As I told you yesterday, we know Champ was swooped up by a Dallas family with international ties (read: jet setters) and I have just learned that Clay Stapp was the buyer’s rep.  As I may have explained before, just because a home sells at auction does not mean the realtors are left out. This firmly plants...

I love April Fools. My two favorite jokes include putting a rubber band around the kitchen faucet sprayer so that the unsuspecting user of said faucet gets soaked, and hijacking a friend’s phone and sending a picture of a positive pregnancy test to their entire contact list.

Were you the butt of a good April Fools joke yesterday? Anyone planning something cheeky for today? There has to be a Realtor out there who can pull off an epic prank …

Side note: No foolin’, but mortgage...

Lower than low: you know how depleted our inventory is getting in Dallas, so you really need to get on over to see these hot new listings strutting their stuff for the world to see Sunday afternoon. Let’s start with 6622 Lupton. First of all, location: this is prime Preston Hollow living, a 94 by 183 square foot lot and 7115 square feet of decked out living space. The home was built in 2006 of stone and limestone, and I love the elegant Old World (but not overdone) design. The foyer...

This young lovely is for the Mediterranean lover in you. (And SUCH a bargain!) 5158 square feet primed and ready for a nice, big family, she was built in 2001 by Geoffrey Grant, who also builds in The Creeks of Preston Hollow, has a red tile roof and a brick driveway. Smooth limestone floors everywhere keep this home cool during hot summer months and make it seem more like a sophisticated beach house in Cannes year round. Six bedrooms, five baths and two half baths, great backyard oasis...

I have been on pins and needles waiting out this auction, bugging Robbie Briggs and Laura Brady at Concierge Actions all day yesterday. At about eight p.m. last night Robbie Briggs emailed me that “It was a fascinating process, and it appears to be successful.” Today I heard from Laura Brady who said — “we haven’t released details to anyone… the high bidder has formally requested confidentiality about their name and the high bid amount.” Which means...

Update 8:36 p.m. Robbie Briggs and BFS will be working with Eloy on Tim’s condo, but showings probably won’t be scheduled for 30 days. Wow. I had heard that Tim Headington’s spread up there on the 21st floor of the Ritz Residences Tower I was just totally out of this world. Well, now the Wall Street Journal reports he’s put the units — suites 2100 and 2101, which he joined together — on the market for $14 million. He’s got 8228 square feet total (2717...

I’ve had a response from Kristin Gibbins at the Nasher Sculpture Center about the new controversy over intense heat generated by Museum Tower’s curved glass windows:

CD: It’s not as if the Nasher and half the country has NOT known about Museum Tower going up for what, four years now, and that is made entirely of glass?

Kristin Gibbins: The issue is not that Museum Tower has a glass facade; the problem is caused by the type of glass used. Museum Tower could have used any number...

There is too dang much real estate news going on today! I’ve got Tim Headington’s Ritz penthouse, the new controversy over the glass at Museum Tower, second home stats and more agents moving offices. And Champs d’Or is being auctioned off at this very minute. Whoever said real estate news wasn’t exciting?

Whatever is that sculpture on the coffee table?

I’m excited to bring you a home fresh on the market (so new, in fact, I will have to link later!) very south of...

Great article in Thursday’s Dallas Morning News by Michael Granberry about an ensuing battle between Museum Tower and the Nasher Sculpture Center that we can only hope won’t lead to the l-word: lawsuit. Of course, the story is behind the paywall, and I highly recommend you read it. If not, here’s a synopsis:

Sometimes it’s tough to get along with your neighbors, especially if they encroach on your property. With homes, it can be noise or the neighbor’s dog who defecates...

If you have an aversion to slithery creatures, might not want to move over to Harry Moss Park off Arborside Drive and Royal Lane in Lake Highlands. Homeowners there have lost dogs to nasty snake bites from Copperheads. Some are even afraid to let dogs romp in the park. In fact, there are now signs at the park along with hanging snake skins warning residents because it is apparently mating season for snakes, and I guess our recent rains have made them frisky. No way I’m going over there...

Get the details over on SecondShelters.com.

Update 3/29: Dang, this one is sold leased! This hot market is making my job even harder!

Do not tell me we do not have gorgeous, sleek, affordable contemporary housing within steps of everything you need — well, the Katy Trail, Knox shopping, and some of the city’s best restaurants. You tell me a lie I will hit you over the head with 4525 Cole Avenue, No. 11: a three story empty nesters’ dream den.

Two words will tell you a lot about this home: Diane Cheatham, the builder/developer...

AP photo

I was in California over the weekend, and sat through several presentations from top agents in Silicon Valley as a favor to a friend considering putting his home on the market. It was interesting to see how they presented comps and market homes out there. Only one of the agents still uses print ads to market homes, another never places ads in the larger circ papers — “waste of money”,  said he, preferring smaller hyper-local pubs, if any. For this crowd, it’s...

I received word today that Prudential’s Turtle Creek office over at 2 Turtle Creek Village, suite 250, (off Blackburn) has shuttered. In fact, one agent had to run down to another real estate office on Oak Lawn Avenue to use the computer to print off a listing agreement and other vital real estate documents. So I ran down to check and sure enough, the office suite at 250 is as bare as a newborn baby’s butt – no sign of life. The security guard told me the tenants snuck out...

Tiny but mighty: I love the house, the charm, the floorplan, the sidewalk, even the name of the street: 7006 Vivian Avenue. Who wouldn’t want to live on a street named Vivian? This charming cottage in the Santa Monica Conservation District is just overflowing with warmth and cuteness, and so clean and neat on the inside you wonder if anyone really lives there. You get three bedrooms, two living areas, and only one bathroom but that is pretty typical (unfortunately) for the area. A second...

This is Briggs Freeman agent Joan Eleazer and her beautiful real estate selling family in the main parlor up in Hickory Creek. Layne Pitzer is Joan’s daughter pictured here with her precious children, and Joan’s husband (Layne’s dad) Jeff Eleazer. They were all up at Champ d’Or weekend before last for the special invitation pre-view party before Saturday’s big auction. I loved it when Layne introduced her perfectly-mannered angels to me, adding they are doing...

Last week, we introduced you to Garcia Desinor, Junior and told you about his new-fangled real estate broker model. Junior (as he has been called since the day he was born) hires agents and pays them a salary, almost unheard of in the traditional agent broker model. Junior is married to Kristin Desinor, they met at Texas Tech. We continue the convo:

CD: So, tell us, where do you live — sleek downtown condo?

GDJ: Kristin and I live in Bluffview in a  traditional 3 bedroom, 3 bath brick...

There’s no April Fool’s about it: new FHA regulations will make mortgage loans more expensive in just a few short days. Major changes coming down the pike make it even more urgent that you get clients into the pre-approval process before April 1, 2012.

What’s happening? The Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) is going up. I checked in with Marcus McCue over at Guardian Mortgage to see what the hec homebuyers need to know:

• The MIP applies to both FHA purchase and refinance...

Kidding about the zip line over to Sean Payton’s, but not kidding one bit about this Southlake treasure. And yes, there is a zip line! I honestly cannot recall seeing a home this jam-packed with great goodies. I don’t even know where to begin to describe it all. This 2100 Kimball Hill Court is like paradise for a family with kids. First of all, 1.3 acres in the coveted Colleyville Independent School District. Cul-de-sac lot, 6616 square feet which is big but not monstrous. And yeah,...

You know how much I love Northwood Hills with those great Richardson schools! My nephews and nieces lived up here for years and all four are wonderfully educated. My nephew James is even making movies now with Tom Hanks. So when I tell you this house at 7507 Spring Valley Road is not just beautiful but a bargain, I kid you not. It sits on a freshly landscaped lot and the home overfloweth with updates. You get a whopping 4588 square feet, five bedrooms, four and a half baths, three...

I feel like this blog should be sponsored by Southwest Airlines today. Look at this babydoll, or rather what many say was supposed to be the “Baby Mama’s” pad: a one bedroom unit on the third floor of the Azure, 2900 McKinnon unit 307 fresh on the market for… are you sitting down, checkbook in hand? $254,000. No kidding. No wait: $254,900. God, what is $900? One bottle of good wine?

Poor Terrell Owens. His luxurious, 3559 square foot Azure condo upstairs with six parking...

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell has sentenced the New Orleans Saints with a serious series of fines and penalties, and all but sent their coach, Texas resident Sean Payton, to Siberia. Which mean, might we be seeing more of him in the Lone Star State? Maybe time for dancing lessons in that disco in his new home?

Robbie hosted Briggs Freeman’s annual awards luncheon at the Dallas Country Club on February 29. Look at these tip top producers:  Lindy Mahoney, Becky Frey, Claire Dewar, CEO Robbie Briggs, and the Eleazer Team. Behind her, Becky’ has a shiny award that reads “Over $35 million”. Sold, that is!

I’ve told you about this house before: A Man Cave deep in the heart of Preston Hollow, with more baths than days of the week, and SEVEN living areas and fireplaces. YU DARVISH could totally afford it! Now you can win $1000 by coming to a fun party —  food by Adelmo’s – at 5242 Park Lane, the beautiful striking home built by Bella Custom Homes. It’s a perfect example of LUSH Preston Hollow living with a capital “L”.

The gated estate, one of many new...

Valets at the W Hotel were scrambling this morning at 7:30 a.m. when a rush of sleek cars and black suited commercial real estate types descended. The Urban Land Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based commercial real estate development, planning and research group was in town talking about the markets and what we can expect in the future. When it comes to housing, smaller homes closer to urban areas will be hot for new construction, as post-bubble buyers seek smaller mortgage payments and shortened...

So this is where he takes all his conquests! 9031 Clearhurst Drive. I feel like this is Testosterone Week here on CandysDirt.com with all the big, handsome, hulking homes we are featuring. Well, now I may just have the best bachelor pad of them all: this is the home of Dallas Most Eligible star Matt Nordgren. And yes, this is where it has all happens… the Master bedroom. Oh the stories those sheets walls could tell! I had to dial up my good friend Cynthia Smoot, since she is the expert...

This is why auctions can be so darn effective: Champ d’Or is getting a Texas-sized dose of publicity not just here but all over the world now. I shot a video for Zillow there last week, and now it’s gone plumb viral. Which means, lots of hits to our site today. I thought this comment was interesting:

I want to throw up! Obscene riches. Remember babe, someday your be in a box in the ground. You’ll have the same square footage as all of us.

Ain’t that the truth? Sounds like something...

A reader writes, our Tax Doctor Tiffany Hamil responds:

Dear Candy: I am confused by the age 65 homestead deal in our state. Is it the same in each county? When you turn 65 do you get a break on your property taxes or are they just frozen? I understand this is because property taxes support public schools, or at least initially they did, and the philosophy is that once we hit 65 we have no more children in the public schools. We are 60 and trying to figure out if we should remain in our home for...

We’ve only had icky weather for two days, but already I’m pining for sunshine. I finally took the hours to lovingly chronicle the sparkling, perfect, incredible place that is The Palms in Coasta Rica. This is one of my favorite second home spots in the world hands down. The place is paradise. You can have a luxurious beachfront home there starting at $129,000. I have never been so close to the sand yet sleeping in a luxurious (Duxiana ) bed. My advice: buy…

Those door-to-door magazine solicitors are getting way more aggressive — be careful! A magazine solicitor stabbed a 21-year old Preston Hollow resident and WFAA-TV has all the deets: the 21 year old answered the door, and the male solicitor babbled about needing money for an organization:

“He came up and was very inarticulate, and said some kind of babble about needing money for some organization – obviously fake,” the man said.

The victim ended up with 11 stitches...

Doris Jacobs was named Allie Beth Allman & Associates #1 Top Individual Producer for 2011 out of 300 agents (!!!) at last week’s Awards Banquet at the Dallas Country Club! And may I add: here are two of the most beautiful women in Dallas real estate!

I’ll be honest: I about fainted when I saw the price on this stately, New England-y Georgian home at 4815 Royal Lane. It’s kind of the Dallas version of the Home Alone house, but bigger and better.  Yes, I know it’s on Royal Lane and homes on busy streets generally fetch less than those on quieter inside streets or cul de sacs. In fact, they can fetch 40 to 50% less and tend not to sell as quickly in a down market. And appraisers tell me homes on busy streets are selling now...

I need to get in touch with assistant city manager Joey Zapata and check out his new digs in Oak Cliff. Zapata moved out of a cush suburban home and into the city, buying a 1949 vintage home in El Tivoli Place in North Oak Cliff. I read his guest column last week in the City of Dallas “10 Seeds of Change” newsletter. It caught my eye, but truth be told, Rudy Bush over at the Dallas Morning News beat to me to reporting on it. It all came full circle today when someone asked me about...

Check it out over on SecondShelters.com

Open House Sunday, and I know North Texas real estate agents are on high alert for Steven Breed. In fact, I feel like we need a Tweet-Up to lasso this guy.

Breed is your worst nightmare at an open house: he has sticky fingers and, obvi, a problem or two. Once again, Breed is out of the slammer and into “buying” real estate, apparently, after posting bond last Feb. 16, this after being arrested Feb. 6 for stealing jewelry.

No sooner is he out than the 55 year old was allegedly spotted...

If you have a house or room that is greener than this one, send it on over to us to post. Meantime, have a safe and happy St. Paddy’s Day!

We all know Troy Aikman’s Highland Park  house on Highland Drive has been on the market now for nine months, at least. We all know it hasn’t moved. Steve quoted Allie Beth Allman saying she’s had several offers, and you can bet your bippy she took the whole Kardashian/Odom crowd over there to look/see. Maybe they wanted to lease it? Warren Buffet was in town last week checking out his Nebraska Furniture Mart, but a $24 million home is not his style, much as he might want...

I am so excited to be on Daybreak with that precious Ron Corning, who, as it happens, went to the same college I went to, Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. (Or, as my husband says, the “heathen Wheaton”. This one is NOT Billy Graham’s alma mater.) Besides Ron’s taste in paint colors, we are going to talk about how there are way fewer homes on the market these days! If you are looking to buy, you need to arm yourself with the latest info and read this blog RELIGIOUSLY....

Forget those rich broads – Diane, Lisa, Rhonda, Tiffany and  Desiree. This home is so dang cute IT should be the star of its own show. We could call it The Real Houses of Preston Hollow. I know when you think Preston Hollow, you think about all the estates lining Park Lane, about Randall Stephenson’s family fortress over on Walnut Hill Lane, and those 7800 square foot McMansions crammed onto the lots east of Preston. But this is the REAL Preston Hollow, before hip roof injections...

Jamestown is one of the little secrets of Preston Hollow living: you are west of Preston, but not too close to the Dallas North Tollroad. However, should you need to go anywhere, you can take Jamestown right to Royal, swing right and lickety split you are blinging your tolltag. That’s why this home at 11233 Jamestown caught my eye.

Sure, it needs some work, like a major wallpaper peeling party. I see all that floral and I think granny gowns and The Brady Bunch. But look beyond those florals...

Look at that handsome young man! Garcia Desinor Junior’s story just kind of melts my heart and makes me feel good about, well, don’t laugh, America. I know this sounds schmultzy for the profile of a dynamic Dallas Realtor who is only 28 and already knocking it out of the Ballpark. But really, Junior’s story is the American Dream — something this immigrant’s grand-daughter can totally relate to.

And yes, that’s his name: “I’ve been called Junior ever...

Update 11:54 pm: I’m told the building is completely sold out, as a developer in 2005 revamped it. No active foreclosures but like life anywhere, you can never say never.

This unit at the historic Santa Fe Terminal Building #2 , also known as “SoCo Urban Lofts” at 1122 Jackson #1006, is being billed as the most unique loft in downtown Dallas. You know, I think they have something! It’s a 3-story, 1173 square ft., open floor plan – loft! – with bedroom...

Subscribe to CandysDirt.com and we’ll REALLY take you inside the world of luxury Dallas real estate every day. Like, literally: you’ll get private invitations to select events, REAL sneak peaks inside exquisite Dallas homes, and the chance to rub shoulders with fellow real estate aficionados. Unlike most subscription gigs, we don’t want to sell you anything — we just want to invite you to party!

See that little box on the right of your screen — “Connect with...

I ran to a few open houses Sunday, and wondered if turn-out was lower because people were thrown off by the Daylight Savings change. One agent told me he had to cancel TWO open houses in Preston Hollow: the homeowners had plumb forgotten about the change and were not ready. Others I went to were slow. So I ask you, does the time change in the spring (losing an hour) or fall (gaining an hour) affect your open houses? Should you just not have an open house on these weekends?  In fact, what...

I have to go to two open houses, but this really great article from HOUZZ (the best home interiors blog, I think) just crossed my desk and I MUST share. First of all, I have been fighting paper mess for years. YEARS! From the business receipts you must retain to all the paper crap that comes in the mail, I sometimes need a Zanax just to deal with it. The amount of paper mail I get is ridiculous! Many years ago I had a...

No kidding! Recall the piece I wrote earlier this week on a gadzillion bathrooms being the newest building craze? I spent the afternoon up at Champ D’Or in Hickory Creek shooting a video, and you learn something new every day. I have been to Champ a few times but never, ever knew the mansion has heated drawers tucked in the Master bath.

These are impressive: they are deep, metal-lined drawers right next to the vanity, you pop in a robe or towel, turn it on and voila! Toasty warm snuggly...

She’s 101 and looks better than me! Happy Birthday to Ebby Halliday! She began celebrating Wednesday with a benefit pancake birthday breakfast at Eddie Deen’s Ranch, raising money for a fund benefitting students at the new Ebby Halliday Elementary School, her namesake. Today is, of course, the big day and she will spend Friday at the school doing even more!

Sold before hitting MLS

The North Texas real estate market is showing signs that it is getting stronger. Today everyone is reporting the good news, Steve Brown at The Dallas Morning News, and  Sandra Baker at the Fort Worth Star Telegram: pre-owned home sales in North Texas soared in February — up 27 percent from a year ago. That’s the biggest rise in six months. And last month’s increase was one of the largest gains the local housing market has seen in the last seven years. Meantime,...

Sean Payton and fam are now officially imbedded in the Lone Star State and you know what that means: they are now card-carrying Texans! In early January, Sean and his wife bought a stunning 7,785 square foot home in a delicious part of Vaquero that is honestly one of the most beautiful homes I’ve seen out there, maybe anywhere. I mean, no offense NOLA, but you would not find a house like this in Louisiana. No way Jose. PLEASE check out this slide show for detailed photos.

2006 Brazos Court...

This new listing blows me away. Just came across my desk and I could not sit still. First of all, it is not you: there is hardly any inventory to sell across town until you get north. I’ll be covering that in a future post. This Lakewood/Casa Linda pup is at Buckner/Ferguson and has been re-built by hand over a ten year period by owner architect. (Buying architect owned homes is a huge real estate secret: they get special deals on materials and it’s kind of like living with a doctor...

Marisol Nichols plays Heather Cruz in GCB, a tough as nails (and single) Realtor who’s face is on every billbard in town. I thought she was great and loved her signs. So did the real Ebby Halliday, by the way, who I saw yesterday at a pre-birthday celebration. But you may not know I also got to PLAY a Realtor a few weeks ago for a Reality Show “sizzle reel” that is being shopped right now at the networks. I just wanted to play myself, Dirt Blogger, but the producers asked...

It was about this time last year — well, February 2011 — that Sean Payton got everyone all flustered thinking he was maybe trying to get closer to Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. Well, of course he wasn’t. He had other fish to fry. But Payton and his family did move to the uber exclusive Vaquero Club in Westake. As in the number one home  to many PGA golfers, current and former Texas Rangers players and other celebrities.  Payton, his wife Beth and kiddos hunkered...

Adrian Beltre's magic bath

Homes are getting smaller and people are downsizing…are you kidding? The latest fad in home design: homes with a gadzillion bathrooms. The Los Angeles Times reports California Real Estate brokers who cater to the rich say their clients are now asking for homes with at least two bathrooms for every bedroom. Here in Texas, we have long Texified bathrooms. Every grade school child learns all about the Alamo and that the master bath is a MASTER SPA with spacious...

Houston Chronicle

Well, we know Texas HOA’s are pretty strict, but this story might make you spring for joy. Down in Spring, Texas, near Houston, Nick and Jeni Dreis brought home a 6-month-old red kangaroo as a vocational training animal for their 16-year-old daughter Kala, who has Downs syndrome. Kala named the kangaroo Mike, who the Dreises were grooming to assist disabled persons in a future organic park and wildlife preserve near Conroe , according to ABC News reported.

But then, their...

Um, is that a dog on the ledge?

I think I say this every week: this is the best part of my job, seeking out affordable homes that are so dang cute you just want to eat them up. Look at this YUMMY angel at 11110 Flamingo in Lochwood,  east of Lochwood Blvd. $239,000 — practically free! First of all, I love the addy because Dyslexia here cannot possibly reverse those numbers. (Oh, but I can drop the “0″!)

Secondly, have you seen this yard and pool? The professional landscaping...

Agent Heather with HOME Real Estate? (Someone’s “always sitting on her face.”) And who in Dallas real estate says stuff like, “you can always work with another agent, but they will charge you a fee…”

Hmm. Anyone?

My favorite part of Sunday night’s debute episode was looking at Bluffview homes near Love Field two inches from Southwest’s runway.

You might as well call today GCB Day in Dallas. You know, Good Christian BUYS! First of all, 5447 Swiss  has been lowered from $1.2 million to $999,000 or $180. per square foot which includes, they tell me, more than $300K of updates and upgrades. Of course, not sure if that is retail or wholesale but in any case, you are getting some major, major perks here. (Or, like Amanda said when she saw Carlene, that’s not just plastic surgery, that’s a tear down!) This home has been renovated...

A patio-loving  reader writes:

Hey Candy, I was curious if you could recommend a reputable company that specializes in building outdoor kitchens, stonework, etc. I am wanting pergola and an outdoor kitchen, with fire pit. I know you have so much involvement with real estate, I figured you may know a really good company for me! I learned the hard way several years ago during a disastrous bathroom remodel…from that moment on, I only deal with companies that someone highly recommends, with...

From Beverly Hills to Beverly Drive! I am so very, very proud to announce that our sister blog, SecondShelters.com, has been named one of the top 25 luxury real estate blogs in the nation by one of the top luxury Realtors in the nation, Jade Mills of Coldwell Banker Previews International, in Beverly Hills. What makes me blush with even more pride is the fact that SecondShelters tops a power list of my brilliant blogging mentors like CURBED, Homes of the Rich, Hooked on Houses, Reside SF, among...

I see Steve Brown now has the Champ auction story up behind the Dallas Morning News pay wall, which I subscribe to. Nothing new in his report except that the auction house handling the sale once sold one of Cher’s $8.7 million Hawaiian homes. (See what that means.) Meantime, here’s the website for the auction. I have been placing a lot of office bets with people on what the reserve price will be — that is, the seller’s bottom line price. Looks like it is $10.3 million....

Ebby’s fantastic ode to House P- er, Candy (I’ve sworn off the P-word for lent) will be hitting the mailboxes of 30,000 of the most exclusive (OK, wealthiest) homes in Dallas this week. Gosh, if you get one, that means  you’ve arrived! The magazine just gets better with every issue: this time there are more delicious, gorgeous listings such as 4212 Versailles here — reduced, by the way, to $2,999,999. Since I’ll be in a conference most of the day, blogging only...

Thinkstock

So with rents averaging around $1000 for a two-bedroom apartment in the Metroplex, it is almost cheaper now to buy than rent. Does this have the troops stirred up about home- buying again? Yes…maybe. More agents are telling me how the market for first time homebuyers is picking up in Dallas. I went north to Plano and talked with André Kocher of Keller Williams and Wade Betz of Guardian Mortgage Company about the new, more fiscally conservative homebuyer coming in for loans....

In honor of Inman’s Dallas ReBoot, we have a townhome in Richardson this week at 600 Raford Hill Lane, east of Central that is so darn cute it is almost sinful to see how cheap it is: $184,900. And that’s reduced from a Rocky Mountain high of $189,999. Plus: you get upgrades galore. Beautiful wood floors in the foyer, a formal living room and cozy den set the stage for all the custom touches that are offered. Enjoy cooking in the spacious kitchen that features 42” cabinets,...

Or, as Mama would say, “terlit”.

I first met Dallas designer Denise McGaha at a Junior League dinner. My daughter, Cassie, and her hubby Jake could not attend due to a scheduling conflict so the old folks got to go in their place. We were seated with the most delightful people, including Denise and her darling husband. I think we talked so much we wore out the tablecloth. We have kept in touch, and Denise has written some columns for SecondShelters. But no one does it better than Rebecca...

As I told you last week, Champ D’Or is going to be auctioned off in a special, select residential real estate auction on March 30. The auction will be handled by Concierge Auctions, who only deal in the highest of high end properties, as I may also have mentioned. And if you are starting to suspect that auctions are the way more White Elephants Highly Customized High End Luxury Homes are going to be sold, you are absolutely correct. In fact, auctions are a great way to sell some properties....

Once he was the highest paid wide-receiver in the NFL, but now Terrell Owens is facing foreclosure on two Dallas condominiums less than three miles apart. His luxurious, 3559 square foot Azure condo with six parking garages sold at a short sale last November for about $1.4, if you will recall, or at least that’s where I called it.  Looks like a couple named Monsour bought in in early December, and the unit, which T.O. once was asking $2.25 for, is now on the books at $1.425 million....

No longer in this house

I mean, he could add so much to the discussion…right? Maybe he ought to run a breakaway seminar?

The clock is ticking, tick tock. All you have to do is name ALL of the agents who have tried to sell Champ D’Or in Hickory Creek which, as I told you, is going to auction March 30th. Tell me their name and broker affiliation at the time. That place has had more agents than Wilt Chamberlain had lovers. You could start a Boutique firm with all the agents who have tried to sell it. Anyhow, I’m taking answers here in the comments section until midnight… then announcing the winner...

These are the darling folks from Fuji TV in Tokyo, Japan, who are in town for a week filming Dallas real estate. A few weeks ago I got an email from the LA-based production coordinator, Ayumi Kitahara, asking me to help round up Dallas homes for a special segment. Turns out they read my blog about Yu Darvish’s house hunting, and became fascinated with Texas real estate:

Our morning show is called ”Mezamashi TV” and it is very high-rated nation-wide news/entertainment program...

By Karen Eubank

Trader Joes is moving to Big D, opening at the old Arcadia Theater in the fall,  and we couldn’t be happier. So happy, in fact, that we’re house hunting for their management! We’ve found the perfect place so close our TJ pals can bike to work! (They can fire up the Prius in July/August!) Joe Atkins has this custom two-story, 4 bedroom, 3 bath stunner listed at the QUIET end of (5934) Belmont for only $614,900! Built in 2003, it has hardwood floors, a game room, and something...

Now this one ought to make your heart quiver! Empty nester or young singles who do not want to mess with nosy neighbors right over-the-wall or those pesky Home Owners Associations meetings will find this home as close as you get to true single family living in the heart of Oak Lawn. And even better: there is a private swimming pool! And a patio! You get 2407 square feet of formals, three bedrooms, three and one half baths, all on one floor. (Wait, maybe I should stop right here — this...

Social. Mobile. Tech. Video. Gadgets. Blogs. If you are in real estate, they can make or break your career. If you are just getting in, bless you, you’d better know what they all are.
And if you are too cheap to pay the $49 fee, you can always play our “Whose The Agent Contest” to win a free ticket to Dallas Agent ReBoot. See ad to the right and click, click away to register.

$1,950,000 on Hillcrest Street. in Fort Worth

Oh the battle for the high end real estate dollar is getting heated up in our sister city to the west, Fort Worth. Williams Trew, a high end Fort Worth residential real estate firm, is becoming an affiliate of Sotheby’s International beginning May 1. The company will be re-named Williams Trew Sotheby’s International Realty, the companies said officially Thursday.

This is a boutiquey- firm very much like Briggs Freeman Sothebys: Williams Trew is...

3817 Mockingbird Lane FW $839

Just talked to Robbie Briggs about the Williams Trew deal with Sotheby’s. Briggs-Freeman owns the Sotheby’s franchise for Dallas and Collin Counties, NOT Tarrant. William Trew got the Sotheby’s application through likely because they are a local firm, he says, and Sotheby’s likes strong local, upscale brokers. But, he said, that is not going to stop Briggs- Freeman from selling real estate in Fort Worth.

“We will be in Fort Worth selling...

and we have bigger bedrooms...

We skidded in at Number 9, but no wonder we love big bedrooms so darn much! Dallas still made it into the Top Ten! Washington, D.C. made the tip top of the list of U.S. cities with the most members per capita at Ashley Madison, that notorious adult dating web site for married people who like to, well, cheat. The website says it has around 13 million members in 17 countries around the world; and here’s a shocker: AM membership spiked by a whopping 977 percent...

Or Mini Champs. McMansion Champs –McChamps! This could be why Alan Goldfield has decided to auction off the over the top dream chateau with the Chanel Boutique-replica closet etc. etc. that he has been trying to sell for almost ten years up there in Hictory Creek. A few weeks ago I found out that a chunk of Goldfield properties in Hickory Creek surrounding Champs were sold to Centurion American Development. As in the man I call Saint Stoneleigh,  Mehrdad Moayedi, head of Carrollton-based...

First of all, I’m cheating, but I can because I live in Dallas. It’s Thursday $300K and this home is $400K, but go ahead, make an offer. The price has already been lowered by $30K and DCAD has it appraised at $366K, so there! Talk about a great little woodsy, tucked away location… 6520 Linden is it. This home is being marketed as a lot, which is why they are not showing the interiors. But look at that lot! It’s on the private, dead end of a street off Preston Crest north...

2013 Annabel Lane

Used to be you couldn’t get people IN houses, now you can’t get them OUT! I got a call from folks up in Flower Mound that another house squatter has been told to get out of a luxury home located at 2013 Annabel in Flower Mound, this one about two miles south of the neighborhood where James Robinson squatted for more than six months.

I went up there and sure enough, the front yard at 2013 Annabel Lane in Grand Park Estates is strewn with belongings. (At first, I thought...

I have been sitting (or rather, skiing) on this news for about a week now, verifying. Listing agent Joan Eleazer with Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s has confirmed that Champ D’Or, the 48,000 square foot Turbeville Road mansion up in Hickory Creek, near Denton, French baroque castle meets Plano McMansion dream chateau, clearly the most outrageous home in Dallas, or rather, North Texas, will be auctioned off March 30.

Not sure yet what Champ’s reserve will be — that’s...

Warren's Park Lane estate

Why is everyone so surprised over energy billionaire Kelcy Warren buying the naming rights to Woodall Rogers Park? It’s not like I haven’t been telling you this is a man who REALLY likes dirt. On February 18, Cheryl Hall at the Dallas Morning News had a dandy exclusive story about Warren’s (rumored) $10 million purchase of the naming rights to Woodall Rogers Park, our venerable 5.2 acre greenbelt park over the freeway that will frost the Arts District...

I love Dallas real estate because only $215,000 buys you this gorgeous, super clean ranch style brick home in Richardson ISD in Country Forest. 10250 Chimney Hill is pristine and spotlessly clean for the OCD in you and young engineers will appreciate all the replacements, from roof to gutters and even attic vents, air conditioning new last July when we all were sweltering. The 1978 interiors have new paint, carpet, even mini-blinds as well as pretty light fixtures. You get a whopping 2626...

I figure that once you leave the White House, you might be a little weary of pomp, circumstance and overdosing on traditional. Laura Bush is said to vastly prefer clean lines in her home decor, I guess that’s what all that Williamsburg cherry ball and claw does to you after eight years! So why not make your NEXT White House a striking, clean as a whistle contemporary like this uber mod baby by Lionel Morrison, he of the $9.75 million  Northaven home design fame (off the market, currently...

I’m in Park City, Utah, checking out some amazing second home bargains for SecondShelters.com and yes, testing the slopes. (Big snowfall tonight!) But if you are in Dallas this weekend, you can get out of town without ever paying the tolltag fee at DFW. Just check out the amazing Open House at 8545 Midway: a home on Midway that is really NOT on Midway. It is so beautiful I have the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing about it. You know how Midway meanders down towards Lovers Lane in Bluffview...

OK, here is another home you absolutely have to see while it’s open Sunday February 19 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. This home, once owned by interior designer extraordinaire Laura Hunts’ parents (and has her signature design all over it!) is Unit 6B at the venerable Vendome on Turtle Creek. It’s 3869 glorious square feet with everything you will ever want or need in a sky home, from a private elevator entrance with vestibule entrance to three bedrooms (one is a duo purpose office)...

by Karen Eubank

“Location, location, location! This is one of the few places in Dallas with so much within walking distance!” said Jim Olvera, photographer extraordinaire.

Say what?

Olvera is a gentleman who has only lived in the most tasteful neighborhoods in Dallas and calls it like it is. He now lives one block south of our Friday $500K, 6414 Northwood. I mean, this IS Preston Hollow, known for those leafy, patrician acreages and lawns, and a certain former President. Who walks here unless...

I have written about this house before, and I could write about it every single day of my life. It gets my vote for one of the most beautiful homes in Dallas on the INSIDE as well as out. And then talk about location! 5424 Edlen is perched on one of the most desireable corners in Old Preston Hollow: Edlen and Hollow Way. Edlen was named after one of the developer’s two daughters, long ago. We used to live within two blocks of this fabulous home, which is how I know all this stuff. We even...

Dear Tax Doctor: From reading the recent post, the one about the guy building a compound on Walnut Hill Lane, it seems that you can get a tax break from living on a busy street. Someone else also told me this recently. We want to lower our property tax burden and get a smaller house. I am told to buy one on a busy street (our kids are grown) to keep the property taxes down, but realize we may not see great appreciation in that busy of a location location. Is this true? How much can you save...

Here’s another project for you to steal down in Kessler Woods: $304,200, reduced from $319,000. This house SOLD for $435,000 back in 2007. Great bones and a view that is more San Fran than Dallas. Hill top privacy with wrap around balcony and tree top views on  an elevated .43 acre lot. Great Chef’s kitchen with a Viking commercial range, custom stainless and granite countertops, designer cabinetry and built-in internet video screen. Huge master suite with private access to the...

Inman’s Agent ReBoot is coming to Dallas AGAIN this month, Wednesday, February 29, all day long at the Renaissance Richardson. Soon you’ll have a cute ad over there on the side to click on so you can sign up. It’s all of $49.  

What, you may ask, is Agent ReBoot and why should you be there?

ReBoot is a mini Inman Real Estate Connect for brokers, agents, investors, anyone real-estate obsessed or interested in the latest real estate technology news. In one day, you’ll hear experts...

Hot new listing for you steamy lovers out there at 3604 Waldorf, little west of Marsh. Full disclosure: we lived on nearby Ainsworth years ago, our very first home. Yeah, the print on our marriage license wasn’t even dry (and my husband had stuck himself with a needle while drawing blood from someone with VD at Parkland, great Valentine’s Day memories!) but like every first time homebuyer, I wanted a house! Very huggable updated home in Royal Hills set behind two sprawling, healthy oak...

I laugh whenever I read that American homes are getting smaller. Maybe SOME homes. But custom homes for the uber wealthy here and elsewhere are bigger than ever. True, there is my generation of Baby Boomers who are contemplating downsizing. Had lunch with Mickey Munir last week of Sharif-Munir Custom Homes, who told me about a fabulous new zero lot line development for people like me he is developing on Forst Lane called ‘Iris Hollow”. (Details coming soon here on CandysDirt.)

“The...

More proof of what I was writing earlier: big is back when it comes to the uber rich building homes in Dallas real estate. And if you cannot find a lot big enough for your dream mansion, you just buy several and tear down whatever the hec is on them. Voila, dream compound Readers have been emailing me, asking me who is building what appears to be a compound of homes on Walnut Hill Lane, Old Preston Hollow, south side between Hollow Way and Meadowbrook.

“Is it a bunch of Arabs?”...

Golfing hottie Hunter and his bride, former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Kandi  (Harris) are building a 19,000 plus square foot home in The Creeks of Preston Hollow. The mega mansion at 10719 Bridge Hollow will not only have underground parking, it will have an underground basketball court! Hunter’s home in Colleyville, (pictured here) meantime, remains on the market at $1,499,999. The 7105 Vanguard (Colleyville) home is just about the value of Hunter’s one-acre Bridge Hollow lot...

As I told you two weeks ago, the Mary Kay home is on the market and listed with precious Karen Luter of Allie Beth Allman. Fox 4 is doing a story on it this Wednesday, and I’ve even had called from Japan. Of course, it is no longer owned by the late Mary Kay Ash and in fact, the blonde cosmetics tycoon had moved out of the house during her later years and back into her home at 7246 Lupton, pictured below. Meantime, guess who jazzed up the interiors on Douglas? None other than designer-with-a-real-estate-license...

Let’s face it: there are only a handful of streets in Dallas that make people drop their jaw when they find out where you live: Strait Lane — I’ve decided to buy my next house on the tip top northernmost stretch of Strait just to get the reaction from people. Park Lane, to some extent. I lived on Park Lane for ten years and many times people asked me for an apartment number, as if! There is Lakeside Drive, Highland (hi Troy), Euclid, and there is the Grand Dame of Highland...

This Friday Five Hundred is just a little bit late because I was out cheatin’ on my house before it got cold, finding you more House Porn! And lookie what I found lurking at 3914 Inwood Road: Perry Henderson’s house! Just so happens this manicured puppy is on Open House Tour Sunday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. News flash: the price has just been slashed to $575,000 from $650,000. In fact, MLS probably still says $650,000 because the numbers on this price change are so hot you need to blow...

Just to show you how crucial housing and home building remains to the nation’s economic recovery, Fed Chairman Ben Bernake rubbed shoulders (and used hand gestures) with Bob the Builders last week in Orlando. His talk was the hottest ticket in town at the 2012 National Association of Home Builders International Builders Show in Orlando. Dallas photographer Suzanne Felber for Lisa Stewart Photography played reporter for me and, hopefully, got a little sunshine! Here’s how Bernake...

Remember Clarence Ray Nagin? How can we forget. Reuters is reporting that former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin is being investigated by federal authorities for allegedly receiving favors or items of value from vendors under city contracts. Nagin was the mayor of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit back in 2005, and was highly criticized for the way he handled the disaster while he criticized help from D.C. The Daily Beast says Nagin is reportedly cooperating with both the FBI and the U.S. Justice...

James Kunstler, whose name reminds me of William Kunstler, would call this home at 10233 Betty Jane near Merrel and Marsh an Eyesore. Or maybe even an Abortion. I really, really think it’s an opportunity. OK, let’s face it: an older person lived here and I will bet you it took five dumpster truck loads to empty this place. We collect STUFF as we get older and unless you make a concentrated effort to shed it, you can end up with a home that looks like an episode of HOARDERS. I also...

No wonder the home builders all want to come here. No wonder everyone is moving here. A report out today from a major researcher housing indexer says we have one of the lowest home foreclosure rates among major U.S. cities.

At the end of 2011, 3.4 homes were in foreclosure across the nation, but in Dallas, only 1.4 percent were in foreclosure.

CoreLogic says the biggest bad boys now are Orlando with 12.2 percent and  Tampa at  12.1 percent of homes in foreclosure.

Dallas and Seattle tied as...

The swimming pool. Wall mosaic depicts a fave northern family vacation spot.

It was like a coming out party this afternoon over at 3505 Turtle Creek Blvd. as every high end agent in town tossed on a fur wrap and checked out the former home of Bill and Margot Winspear. Mrs. Winspear now lives in a smaller unit in the same building. You cannot blame her: this one is 14,740 whopping square feet and they were not kidding when they said 24 foot ceilings! I got lost five times and felt like I was in...

I get it. I really do. ‘Specially after you see my next post. 8712 Argentine Way (Plano) is like a virgin home with 3881 square feet — Jeeze Louise that’s almost 4000 square feet, in fact you can just fudge and SAY “I have a 4000 square foot home”, I give you permission. Let it roll off your tongue because Gosh darn it, you earned it, unlike the Flower Mound House Squatter.

There are four bedrooms, three and a half baths, granite and stainless in the kitchen, marble,...

This is an unusual Sale of the Week, and yes, I am teasing you. Teasing because I won’t have detail photos of this listing available until later today, but I want you to come back to see. So here are all the deets to whet your appetite and get you back here for more House Porn. And this, my dear readers, is House Porn at it’s highest and finest in Dallas.

The name Winspear rings a bell, no? As in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House that comprises one of the four beautiful arts...

It’s funny: while HSH Nordbank AG was seeking repayment of $79.8 million in debt on The House from the folks over at Block J LP, which may now be the biggest foreclosure posting in Dallas, I was touring the fabulous progress over at the Perot Museum. I snapped this photo of The House from The Perot and recall thinking gee, how nice it will be for those kiddos at The House to scamper over here to learn science, just like little ones head to the MOMA after class in NYC. For a fleeting...

Hey Kenneth Robinson, the folks of Flower Mound might soon be shining your boots. The more this story gets around — the story of the man who tried to get a home by adverse possession for $16, the better Flower Mound sounds: the latest description I’ve heard is “ritzy”. Now Flower Mound is a great little community out there near Argyle, Barton and and Lewsiville, but I have never heard it described as “ritzy”. Have you? All of which has me thinking: maybe...

Just what everyone needs in their home, a shark tank and spray-on tanning room. I’m starting on mine tomorrow!

First of all, the Texas connection to this 44,954 square foot home going up in Tarpon Springs, Florida — a cute Greek fishing village near Tampa/St. Pete — is that the owners are Texans. Who, we don’t know — YET.  It’s all tied up in a tricky trust desiged to cloak the real owners, like most rich people do. Florida writers say this home is about the...

With Dallas real estate inventory at an all time low, about the only way you can find listings is by having a savvy agent who is worth their weight in Hip Pockets — that is, homes for sale that are not listed in MLS. (Or, ha ha, reading this blog.) Lookie at this precious brick ranch north of LBJ near George Bush and Preston, Highlands North: It is four bedrooms, three and a half baths, two living areas, two dining areas, sparkling clean swimming pool and a two car attached garage. Completely...

This cute little puppy at 10142 Apple Creek Drive in Dallas has been updated and is ready for Mama Bear, Papa Bear and the cubs to move right in. 2619 square feet with three bedrooms, three baths and two living areas. Built in 1979 but totally updated from the studs — new kitchen with those three must haves: cabinets, granite and stainless steel. The roof is new, foundation repaired, and all baths have granite. This area is also relatively close in, near Audelia Forest/LBJ, and mercifully on...

I’m in Roanoke in Denton County where Bank of America has just tossed the famous Flower Mound Squatter out of 2205 Waterford Drive in nearby Flower Mound.

Waterford's backyard pool is as green as pea soup

Update: Not only did Bank of America win in court today, they paid $7,330.04 in property taxes on this house 12/14/11.

 It looks like Kenneth Robinson will NOT be getting a house for $16 after all. This morning, in the tiny metropolis of Roanoke, Texas, at Justice of the Peace Precint #4, JP J. W. Hand ruled in favor of Bank of America, the lender who apparently acquired the note on the abandoned house from Accredited Home Lending, who held...

We know you’ve always wanted to see inside those “10 Most Beautiful” Homes they run over at D, I know I always did and still do! So I was delighted to be able to finally show you! This home at 3722 Cragmont, one of my favorite streets in a way cool ‘hood called Northern Hills, was feted in last fall 2011′s issue! I love English Tudor and this is such a classic. This home reminds me of Sanborne House on the Dartmouth campus. It’s like you live where tea is...

$1530.99 big ones is the property tax bill for 2205 Waterford Drive, due January 31, less if Mr. Robinson elects to take a homestead deduction. I am driving to Denton Monday morning to find out if he paid these taxes on time, also to see if Kenneth Robinson shows up in court at 9:00 a.m for his eviction hearing. Meantime, it looks like the “real” owner of the home has been located: William P. Ferguson is living in an apartment in Houston.

For deets on the best little beachfront community to hit Port Arasas and the Texas coast since, well, forever, check out our second home blog http://www.secondshelters.com/2012/02/02/home-spotlight-cinnamon-shore-rocks-dallas-marquee-grill-guess-showed-party/. And yes, even Eby came and dipped her toes in the water!

I have this thing about homes and real estate, obviously. Not only do I like to know the stories inside every house — the tales of the sale — I also like to know the house behind prominent people. Like Nancy Goodman Leitstein Brinker. She has really been in the news lately, with the controversy over abortion funding/non-funding/maybe-funding of breast exams at her org, the Susan B. Komen Foundation, arguably one of the most powerful charities of the 20th century. It was named for...

Steve Brown says the 28-story residential downtown tower styled by French designer Philippe Starck with 130 units is heading for foreclosure, and it could be one of the largest in Dallas history.

“I think it’s the biggest residential foreclosure posting we’ve ever had in Dallas,” George Roddy, president of Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service, which reported the filing, told Steve Brown at The Dallas Morning News, who broke the story. “I haven’t seen anything bigger than this...

This is a practically brand new Lakewood Heights home that has just gone on the market. If you like new Craftsman construction, and I do, you will LOVE this. I am also obsessed with the rock that was chosen for interior accents and exteriors. Love the wood floors, too. The 3700 plus square foot home was built three years ago by a local investment group who then leased it for three years. Look what all you get at this price PLUS new construction: five bedrooms, three and a half baths, covered...

If you own a second home, you need to contact Yun, a graduate student in Finance at Rockester Institute of Technology. He and his team are working on a marketing project about second homes, creating products to help second home owners protect their properties. Say an unauthorized person was in your home while you were not — could a body heat sensor trigger an alarm? How about water bugs that beep or call you when a leak is detected? How about temperature controls when you are not there? Here’s...

This one sure took some digging, but I may have found the best bargain west of the Mississippi,  south of LBJ for darn sure. 10824 Saint Michaels Drive is a short sale in Preston Hollow. OK, east Preston Hollow and more accurately the Saint Michael (Royal Park Estates) area near JanMar, but no less a GREAT location. The lot is .39, almost half an acre. 2936 square feet. Four bedrooms, three and a half baths, two or more living areas, two-car garage and two carport spaces. That thing in front...

UPDATE: Karen tells me listing price is $3,300,000, which is less than DCAD value — unreal!

Listed with precious Karen Luter of Allie Beth Allman, who tells me she has been working her fingers to the bone for weeks trying to get this home ready for sale. Not in MLS yet, and not much has changed at 8915 Douglas since the late Mary Kay Ash — do I need to add she was the famous founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics?—  moved out to return to her home off Boedecker because she thought...

If we didn’t learn our lesson last year, let’s learn it now. It’s much better to stay home in a three million plus palace with a secret chamber and man-cave and WATCH the game on a huge wide-screen TV (while shooting POOL!) than to brave the ice and snow. And what a man-cave this home holds! 6700 plus square feet all devoted to the guys –well, at least in one room! This is a custom build by noted builder Sharif & Munir with exquisite finishes and their signature...

by Tiffany Hamil

Each year in Texas, January 31 brings death to savings and escrow accounts to anyone who owns property in the Lone Star state. It is on this day that property taxes in Texas are due. We may feel the pain now, but the time to fight is actually this May. To help you plan, check out the 2012 Property Tax Calendar below to further understand important dates in Texas Real Estate:

January 31st Property Taxes are due for the 2011 tax year.

May 1st The District notifies the property owner...

We think Kenneth Robinson might be looking for a new home after next Monday, so we are dedicating today’s Tuesday Two Hundred to him. In case he wants to stay in Flower Mound, but move just a little south, here’s what we found: 2892 square feet on a landcaped lot with trees, hardwood floors, soft paint colors, plantation shutters, tall ceilings and lots of natural light. Four bedrooms, three and a half baths and formals plus gameroom. The kitchen has an island and walk-in pantry,...

I am pleased with the local numbers out from the nation’s major data trackers. The latest Case-Shiller report released Tuesday morning showed that seasonally-adjusted home prices fell 0.7 percent nationally between October and November 2011, and dropped by about 3.7 percent since November 2010. We did sooo much better, even when looking at stodgy Case-Shiller which I don’t like for many reasons, for one that they do not include new homes sales. In Dallas, the index reported that...

The DCAD website is as slow as molasses today, and I’m on a ten minute hold with the tax office “due to high call volume.” It’s time to pay the property taxes and yes, I waited till the day before the very end. Property taxes are due tomorrow by midnight. I’m curious how many of you pay your taxes by check or credit card? If you are escrowed, chances are your taxes were paid by Dec. 31. That means Dallas County got free use of your money for a month.

If the website...

One of my favorite neighborhoods in Dallas, I used to live about a block from 5549 Falls from 1990 to 2000. This is a very, very smart little nook of Preston Hollow. I say little only because the lots here are hefty one-half acre lots surrounded by sprawling estates of one acre plus. Small only by comparison, and you get the same huge, chunky, leafy trees. To the east you have the Dallas North Tollroad, which should help you shave a few pennies off your property taxes. But to the west are the...

Update: I caught up with the listing agent, Eloy Carmenate , who just happened to be at DFW on his way back to Miami. Wouldn’t you know that he also happens to be a friend of Doris Jacobs, who I just had lunch with today? They worked a deal together on another one of Tim’s home on Crescent. Eloy, who is now half-way to being my BFF, says he has lots of clients in Dallas. Stay tuned for more pics!

This one has my name written all over it: a room just for tasting champagne!

You know our...

I had lunch with one of the top builders in Preston Hollow today, who tells me an LA guy has emailed him (off his website, power of the web thank you very much!) and is mulling a move to Texas. The guy is a CEO and wants to move his whole company here. Here is what he told this home builder (via email) he wanted in a home:

Italian Mediterranean design

-A large multi-acre lot, 3 plus acres with a gate

-24 hour gated community with security

-Enough room to land a private helicopter

-Executive aviation...

I have been test-driving the Mercedes ML and just love it, so I am in an M Streets frame of mind. How could I resist this darling Greenland Hills tudor on one of THEE very best blocks that has a shower big enough for a block party? Built in 1929 but very much updated to the prsent, yet hand-crafted charm and history abounds. This is a house you want to hug, from the gleaming original hardwoods to a master bath that will knock your socks off. (This is a Master you will want to take to bed!) The...

There is this young man named Rucker Hill. His mother is Nathan Grace Real Estate dynamo Peggy Hill. Now Rucker is apparently remodeling homes with Rucker Design & Build, and we are so very glad — look at this baby! This is a 1973 era home, and those years are very hot with young buyers, I hear. You get over 2000 square feet and the necessities of three bedrooms, two and a half baths, two living areas. You get a creek lot (almost 1/3rd acre) in Lake Highlands and you get style, baby. Tri...

We may not have a beach in Dallas, but we do just a few hundred miles south at Cinnamon Shore…

Why not combine two birds into one feather or whatever that saying is. I saw this house Tuesday and just cannot get it out of my mind. Probably one of the most amazing conversions of a 1950′s ranch I have ever seen! It’s in Midway Hollow, good side of Lenel, and even better for you has just been reduced by ten C-notes. This dream pad is at 3942 Davila, near Midway and Northwest Highway. (Great shops at Midway Hollow and hello, Fernandos!)

It is an 1850 square foot soft-contemporary...

This has to be the greatest thing since, well, designs by Dorothy Draper: Interior designer Carleton Varney, who designed several units here in Dallas, including The Residences at the Ritz Carlton and also at The Stoneleigh Hotel, has also designed furniture, lighting, dinnerware and linens; he has two lines of fabrics, as well as a CD (“Carleton Varney, Music With Style”).

His client roster includes the likes of former President Jimmy Carter, Errol Flynn, the late Joan Crawford, and he’s...

Oh my, on the housing real estate front, his SOTU speech was even more dissappointing than I had anticipated. While President Obama spoke, I was at the rain-drenched McFarlin Auditorium at SMU hearing out Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short and his latest book I am dying to devour, Boomerang. I thought it ironic that Lewis told us how we are socializing big banks, and described the incredible graft and greed in Greece that has led to their almost total economic downfall. Example: on the Greek...

photo courtesy of Robert W. Hart

Fort Worth and Dallas real estate moola has helped Glenn Close achieve the dream of her lifetime: Albert Nobbs, an independent film that was heavily financed by Crescent Real Estate Equities CEO John Goff and his darling wife, Cami, is in line for some Oscar gold after it was nominated for three Academy Awards this morning!  The star, writer and producer Glenn Close was nominated for Best Actress, her co-star Janet McTeer was nominated for Best Supporting Actress....

It’s not huge, and it’s on the ground floor of a brand-spanking new condo about two seconds from the bridge over the dunes. I love me some Cinnamon Shore in Port Aransas, Texas!

I love architects, and this is their space to wax eloquently. This summer in Pebble Beach, I toured the famous “Butterfly House” by Frank Wynkoop. When I saw the bench where the architect/owners’ son sat and watched many a sunset, I felt a harmony not just to the environment, but to him. That is exactly what great architectutal design creates. With Amazing Architects, we will  feature regular blog essays from leading Dallas/Ft. Worth architects.  We welcome Gary Olp,...

What do you think about home solicitation?

I have a “No Solicitation” sign, or rather I should say, I HAD one. Someone snitched it, probably a solicitor. I generally do not like to be bothered when I am at home unless it’s a friend or business meeting knocking at my door. So I am thrilled with the city’s new “get tough on solicitors” talk. I also do not like papers randomly thrown in my yard unless I have requested them – clutter clutter clutter.  It’s...

The folks from Cinnamon Shore in pretty, pretty Port Aransas are coming to town next week to show us their stuff. I’ve been to both Port Aransas and Cinnamon Shore and LOVE the place! We have friends who own a home in Cinnamon Shore and love it so much, they are buying another home. (I’m eyeing the condos!) It’s the Texas coast answer to Seaside and Watercolor, and Port Aransas totally captured my heart. If you are looking for a second home that is not on the other side of...

I watched cousins of this development in the rough a couple of years ago, when I first toured the new Uptown East and The Dwellings. In what was once dilapidated homes and apartments breeding bedbugs, developers have razed and blazed. One is even making urban dwelling beautiful and affordable. These units on Rusk are quite new, so new, in fact, if you look at the google map street view it still shows a construction site!  These homes are about 1700 square feet, two bedrooms, two and a half...

We see it even in Texas: price declines, low mortgage rates and rising rents have made owning more affordable now than renting. But despite agents’ most positive view of the Dallas real estate market, housing is still kind of stuck in the mud, even here. Many markets report continued price declines, while Dallas is struck by another problem: lack of inventory. Our funky, fun Austin is now the most expensive place to live in Texas because of rising rents. Hardest of all is qualifying...

By Karen Eubank
When a house comes with a name, you know it’s something special. George Harrison had Friar Park, Winston Churchill had Chequers, Cornelius Vanderbilt had The Breakers and of course Elvis had Graceland. Now, you can have “The Element’s House”.

In, of all places, Plano!

Imagine a contemporary castle, complete with moat, albeit not even ankle deep, so no alligator worries! It’s 7,000 square feet of travertine, Venetian plaster, bamboo floors and marble. This five bedroom,...

And for good reason, too, due a serious illness in the family of one of the three players being honored: Lamar, Vince Carter and Delonte West. (I’m not saying who out of respect for the family, and we hope hope hope the ailing party gets well very soon!) The bash set for this Thursday, given by Mavericks Player Shawn Marion and Linda & Simmie Cooper, has been rescheduled to early February at Shawn’s 12,000 square foot home on Isabella Lane. Yep, that’s the one with the...

A Man Cave deep in the heart of Preston Hollow, more baths than days of the week, and SEVEN living areas and fireplaces. Only YU can afford it! Check out this recently completed manse at 5242 Park Lane by Bella Custom Homes: perfect example of lush Preston Hollow living. The gated estate, one of many new on this rue, offers over 10,000 square feet of living space with five bedrooms, seven full and three half baths, seven living areas, and a 4-car garage. The front entrance is no less than three...

Your Thursday $300K comes better late than never because it is so darn tootin’ cute. (And I am so darn tootin’ busy!) Might be a little outside the Bubble up in Denton, but what a pretty home. New construction —yes, I know it looks old, but this home at 1822 West Oak is located in Denton’s West Oak Historic District and walking-distance to UNT. May look charmingly historic, but her insides are newer than new: scraped hardwood flooring, granite countertops, custom cabinetry,...

We are in the process of refinancing and it has been hell. So you can imagine my surprise yesterday when I learned that my very own Congressman, Pete Sessions, along with three other members of Congress, is under investigation for the favorable rates they received from Countrywide Financial Corp., which was a poster child for sub-prime lending. The favorable rates are one thing; I’ll bet these guys also did not have to have the financial proctology exam most borrowers have to go though...

A new law aimed at stopping internet piracy is like taking a chainsaw when you really need a scalpel. Sound familiar? Welcome to the U.S. government. Bloggers and Realtors who market on the internet need to know more about this law. Rather than join the fight by having a black day, I asked Dallas attorney John G. Browning to weigh in on the battle for CandysDirt:

For those who tried to consult Wikipedia or certain other websites on January 17, 2012, only to see a darkened homepage, you might...

If it helps you try and guess what kind of a home he’ll buy in Dallas, know that Yu Darvesh just divorced his wife, actress and TV personality Saeko, age 25 and the mother of his two children. I had wondered if Yu has a family. Knowing this explains why he was looking at this slick glass goddess over at the W: 2430 Victory Park, #2509 right smack below Khloe and Lamar. Yu toured this two-story with Crestron Audio Visual System, elegant mother of pearl and suede entry with LED lighting,...

Briggs Freeman/Sothebys is sponsoring an amazing home tour next weekend, a first-ever modern home extravaganza whamo that will feature 12 contemporary homes which exemplify modern living in Dallas. Having chaired a home house tour a few years back for the Medical Alliance, I am happy this is a self-guided driving tour. (But 12 homes! We went crazy with four!) Drive you will, but still get inside to see everything from floating staircases and glass entryways to gourmet kitchens, and veritable...

Are you still reeling from the news that Yu Darvish signed for six years with the Texas Rangers to a tune of about ten million per year? Plus he just got $51.7 million just to negotiate. I know, crazy world. Insane. But here’s what I’m thinking: he’s going to have to buy a place to live in Dallas or Westlake, and we’ve got some great choices, though agents tell me inventory is slim pickin’s. Still, we have Phil Romano’s spread on Strait Lane, Kirby and Kari...

 This stunning home at 7714 Fisher Road was built in 1994 but looks as timeless as a mansion overlooking the Pacific in Pebble Beach. You have almost one super landscaped acre, yielding the upstairs Master with a large deck and perfect lake views. A classic floorplan offers  4169 square feet with three bedrooms, two and a half baths, three living areas and even, yes, columns. There is also a wine cellar, den, “bright” kitchen, and formals. About that “bright” kitchen:...

Last week Dallas Morning News real estate editor Steve Brown shook the Dallas condo market world when he wrote that “Lenders may take Palomar condo tower”. He said that since last year, “Behringer Harvard has been trying  to renegotiate the debt on the Residences at Palomar condo building.” The news was that one of Behringer Harvard’s funds missed a $3 million payment in early 2011 on both the Palomar Residences and a Colorado project. What this means is that...

It’s got to be the color. Nathan Grace, a slick  East Dallas brokerage firm that really likes the color orange, seems to be doing something very, very right: despite the economy, they are growing. Of course, the market in Lakewood and Lake Highlands is hopping. And Nathan Grace itself appears to be the poster child of the New Age brokerage: leaner, uber community oriented, hyper local, customer service job one. Its tough being a broker these days. Now joining Nathan Grace: a top-producing...

Remember the Dilbeck ranch, PaigeBrooke, in Westlake that was built by Ted Dealey and moved in six huge chunks to avoid the wrecking ball? John Charles Stevens Dilbeck is one of the area’s most famous and treasured architects, and anyone who DARES tear down a Dilbeck home quickly becomes homeowner non grata. So it is with great pride I offer you today’s Tuesday $200K: a Dilbeck home at 411 North Montreal with updated kitchen, second floor master, beautiful hardwoods and all the...

Last week was Inman’s Real Estate Connect, the famous conference where real estate meets technology. I go annually to get a look ahead at both tech and marketing innovation coming down the pike, for Dallas consumers and real estate agents. Agents, of course, lap this conference up like a kitten. But consumers, too, can glean a lot of valuable information to help them find the best agents and know they are getting the very best service.

Key topic: real estate data. No doubt it is the role...

Last week, bogus emails were decrying the declining state of NorthPark Center, where “gangs are proliferating”. One was apparently not so bogus. This email alleged that a gang beat up a Dallas Academy student near NorthPark last week, and also, sadly, that the manager of Macy’s NorthPark store refused to provide help when the bloodied teen’s friends brought him inside the store to clean him up.

Turns out, there was an assault on Jan. 2. According to Dallas police, “20 to 40″...

I have watched, no, stalked, this home at 9839 Rockbrook for a long, long time hoping it might descend into a downward price cycle spiral and end up under $2 million so I might could buy it. But that, my dear readers, is just California Dreamin’ on my part.

Where do I begin? Maybe by wiping the drool off my face. Perfect location, really one of the best in Dallas. Forget Park Cities, Preston Hollow is way too crowded. Rockbrook has always been the street that to me, says, “you’ve...

We all love the Mmmmmm Streets, as I call them. Here is an angel at 6232 McCommas just waiting in the wings: updated home in absolute move in, mint condition. Cape cod style with dormers makes you think it’s nestled in Connecticut or even The Hamptons. Still, you get about 2500 square feet of southern charm in this puppy. Outside, professionally landscaped grounds. Inside, cozy interiors and a darling Feng Sui red door! The living areas have fireplaces, crown moldings, plantation...

Oh now this is one reason why ranches are coming back in vogue. This home just west of the Disney Streets in North Dallas will get her claws on you and never let go. 3918 Royal Pams Drive, pretty street name. Remodeled by Baxter Anderson Construction, it is probably at the top of the finish-out spectrum for the location at $334,890. What was once a plain Jane, four bedroom/three bath typical north Dallas ranch built in 1961, is now a showplace. This gal had floor to ceiling (every room) work,...

Though you won’t find a putting green, you will find everything else your heart could possibly want or even dream of having in this 8696 square foot Brookside Estates honey at 7048 Turtle Creek Lane. Where do I even begin? Pour a glass of wine and flip through this link: I cannot find a favorite room. I just love them all, from the formals to the media room, wine cellar, great master suite with his and her baths —-forget separate potties, hell, every man and women who live together...

Remember Steven Breed? The Open House jewel thief may be scouting open houses with sticky fingers again. Plano police are warning all North Texas real estate agents that Breed, who is out of the slammer, may be back to his old tricks. He is suspected of stealing personal belongings from homes. For the last two years, agents have reported things missing from open houses from Frisco to Preston Hollow after Breed pops in. He was arrested last summer, accused of stealing jewelry while a real...

I guess the good news is this house at 2824 Stanford gets you in the Park Cities for under $700,000 — barely. You are off Boedecker on a nice street — Stanford — and you have a three bedroom, two bath house. 2333 square feet and a 65 by 140 foot lot. All groovy. But what I don’t get is this kitchen. Looks like it might be one up from the original from when the home was built in 1941. White Formica and Kentile, so 80′s. I’m thinking we need an intervention STAT....

You’ve heard this before: never buy your art to match the sofa. True, but if you are seeking some beautiful, reasonably-priced art to stage a listing or your own home, what if there is no sofa to NOT match? Hop on over to Gallery Interiors HUGE new art sale. Owner Mark Lafferty has gotten in a shipment of hundreds of paintings in all shapes, sizes and colors — so many he has had to float some pieces in an outside tent. Prices are ridiculously low; the artists continue to starve?...

3816 Turtle Creek is, of course, the former home of Braden Power, now owned by the beautiful Leigh Bailey. Everyone knew it as the “Party House” when Braden owned it, mostly because he was a bachelor who liked to have fun. The home’s history is like writing a book on Dallas real estate agents: absolutely everyone in town had the listing.

Built on .7 acres bordering Turtle Creek and designed by owner Braden Power, co-founder of Power Properties, the home was created with loving...

I cannot tell what I like better, the trees or the finger! Sure is a great house at 1713 Oak Brook Lane in Allen. Just can’t, um, see it!

“Pantry is really large with lots of shelfing…very neat” Really?

“Big separate shower in master bathroom…neat and clean.” Really? So why do we have junk hanging out the cabinet door?

This puppy is new to the market or I would have found her sooner! 5742 Ellsworth. Have you ever seen anything more adorable? First of all, I am as big a sucker for Austin stone ANYTHING as I am Dartmouth men. I own an Austin stone cottage in San Antonio. When we added HVAC they had to drill five times to get in the drain pipe, that’s how solid this stuff is. Not only is this light, bright 1529 square foot charmer CUTE, it’s got a great location right off Matilda. The circa 1945...

These beautiful, original West Park duplexes built in 1937 pop onto the market about as often as never. They are CHOCK full of character; where else do you find a home with authetic sunrooms — times two? Here’s what else is wonderful about this darling duplex at 4541 Fairway: you can keep it as two separate three bedroom, two bath homes, or, with some minor tweaking, make it one big-arse, six bedroom, four bath home. Also, as I looked this pup over, it occurred to me this...

Albert Nobbs is the tale of a woman posing as a man in 19th-century Ireland, and it is an amazing, incredible story of humanity: how cruel we can be, how we will do anything including totally losing our sense of self in order to survive. Last night we were treated to a private premiere of the movie in Fort Worth thanks to power couple Cami and John Goff. John is chairman and CEO of Crescent Real Estate Equities, which owns the Residences at the Ritz Carlton in Dallas, one of my favorite...

The perfect second home 30 minutes north of Dallas over on SecondShelters.com…

Word is that Candice Crawford Romo is busy as a nesting mom-to-be getting her new baby’s nursery ready for a spring arrival.

And will that baby be able to toss a pigskin with Tony on the lawn of their Cottonwood Valley home here?

You bet: word from a very reliable source is that the baby is a BOY!

This home at 7116 Desco Drive is not for the faint of heart. If remodeling raises your blood pressure, this house is not for you. But there is a very strong classicist in me and this house just grabbed those Ivy League/Antebellum stirrings and clung on like a dang horny vampire! She needs work, oh does she need work. But this is a house I would totally buy, tear apart and redo. As someone told me about it, the bones are not just great, they are AWESOME.

First of all the entrance is elegant and...

Looks like the tank is missing a top and what is that cellophane on the bowl? I’ve seen construction workers who “go right through” if you know what I mean.

I have not seen it yet, but I am heading there Friday. The Richwoods development in Frisco seems to be on everyone’s radar. It’s only 3 minutes to Highway 121, 4 minutes to the grocery store and 8 minutes to Stonebriar Mall. 121, by the way, is my new favorite highway to get to DFW or I-30 likety-split.

It’s a gated community with homes starting in the $300,000′s PLUS Frisco ISD, one of the most sought after school districts for families relocating to DFW. There is...

So. It’s 2012 and we have been at this for what now, three years? Our market first started feeling the pinch about 2008. Texas is like the caboose on a long train: we are the last to fall off the cliff.

Foreclosures skyrocketed from 2008 to 2011. The folks at Standard & Poors are now saying that home prices are back to 2001 levels. Foreclosure rates in the Dallas-Plano-Irving area for September are slightly higher than 2010′s rate, according to a housing report released by CoreLogic....

I love how one home sale opens up Pandora’s boxes to other sales and real estate tales!

The Church of Scientology bought this property at the corner of Buckner Boulevard and Dixie Lane in 2000 and made the neighbors mighty nervous. In 2008, it was on the market for $725,000, listed with Perry Jones. According to a 2005 article in the Dallas Morning News, the home was originally built in the 1940′s, enjoyed a stint as a bed and breakfast as well as a wedding chapel. Imagine, if you...

 By Karen Eubank

Well Khloe K, you sure blew it. Belle Nora has been purchased as a true love story twice, once for a man and his wife, the other a father for his daughter.

Dave Anderson, one of our own East Dallasites, purchased the historic East Dallas mansion last week. Keller Williams wonder agent Vicki White was the listing agent for this grand, beloved landmark that had been on the market since November, 2007: a whopping 790 days. Clearly an issue of timing; by 2008 we knew where the real...

Playboy photographs

Remember Jodie Fisher? She’s the former salesperson and actress who cost former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd his job, really, when she accused him of trying to initiate an affair over a two-year period. Ms. Fisher was Born in Brownwood, Texas, 7/17/60; went to Texas Tech; her dad was in oil and gas production. I have heard she also worked in commercial real estate in Dallas, briefly, though I could never figure out exactly where.

In 1980, Fisher posed in Playboy’s...

Our First House Porn of the New Year! 6810 Hammond Drive in darling, darling Hollywood Heights/Santa Monica. Look at this brick and stone High Tudor treasure that has been reduced to $275,000, from $299,000. You get the circa 1929 charm on the outside, but inside, everything is NEW: updated kitchen with stainess appliances, Jenn-Air gas cooking top, granite counters, clean new Maple wood cabinets, and pendant lighting. Hard wood floors!!! There are only 1603 square feet, but you still get three...

This stunning, historical East Dallas home located at 8254 Garland Road overlooking White Rock Lake that was listed for sale at $2,790,000 back in the day (meaning 2008, sigh sigh) and was coveted by many of the Dallas rich and famous including Rolando Blackman, who made a cash offer on it back when he was consuming devouring all the real estate he could consume, which unfortunately led to some problemos, like losing at least one of his three W condos to foreclosure, sold. (Looks like Mr....

The First Lady of Dallas Real Estate, Ebby Halliday, turned 100 this year on March 9 and the whole city celebrated! Ebby’s birthday week was jam packed with luncheons and parties and celebrations, all totally appropriate for the most beloved woman in Dallas! The best was the gala celebration at the Meyerson Symphony Center for 1000 guests with the magic that only Todd Fiscus can create. From the patron party at the home of Jeff Rich and Jan Miller to the gala itself, complete with...

I know you are out there shopping, looking for bargains. If you are looking to fluff up your home — somehow, the holidays always make us realize what interiors we need to spiff up –  head over to one of my very fave stores,  Mark Lafferty’s Gallery Interiors at the southwest corner of Preston Road at Royal Lane. Mark is having a “January end-of-the-year clearance sale”. That is, he is clearing out merchadise (holiday and other) at some pretty racy prices! (Mark,...

REI and Trader Joes, Too?

Why? Because these are the lucky ‘hoods that get the first Trader Joes in Dallas. I am so psyched. My dogs are so psyched. Teresa Gubbins and others report that Trader Joe’s has announced two new locations for stores, one in Dallas and one in Plano.

The Dallas store will open on Lower Greenville Avenue where the Arcadia Theater once stood. The Plano store will open in an old Kroger location at Preston and Park, in the same shopping center as outdoorsy store...

Look, I want them to stay together, I really do. Comes this story in the Dallas Observer where Pilar Sanders says she “is committed to their marriage.” Wow. Good for her. For them. Then today, TMZ — and as I have said before, God knows where they get their stuff — reports that Deion’s daughter Deiondra (she’s from a previous marriage) seems to be accusing Pilar of not being truthful, or something:

“…she GOES OFF — claiming Pilar straight up...

Who’d have thunk it? Way back in January, we were gearing up for our very first Super Bowl ever, and everyone was trying to lease their home out to the highest bidding celebrity. Troy Aikman was on the cover of D Magazine, “The football god on marriage, loss, and how he lucked into broadcasting the biggest game on earth.”  I had been hearing from early November on that Rhonda Aikamn bought a house in Preston Hollow. I thought, optimistically, it was maybe an investment prop? Then...

Our glorious fourth quarter of 2011 showed more national declines in home prices.

Data through October 2011 showed decreases of 1.1% and 1.2% for the 10- and 20-City Composites in October vs. September. Nineteen of the 20 cities covered by the indices also saw home prices decrease over the month, even San Francisco!

Grrrrreat.

“There was weakness in the monthly statistics, as 19 of the cities posted price declines in October over September,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee...

I had to laugh when Steve Brown wrote about the Stoneleigh last week right before Christmas. “More than three years after work stopped on the project,” he said, “the owners of the partly built Stoneleigh condominium tower in Uptown are planning to restart construction soon.”

Really? See this photo? I took it last September. When construction was supposed to start.

Well, maybe I was premature. Mehrdad Moayedi, or Saint Stoneleigh as I call him, bought the unfinished project...

I am being sooo lazy this week, but I could not stay away from the keyboard when I saw this home. Oh. My. God. I honestly almost called Vicki White at Keller Williams to tell her she had a typo on the price — but no! This is the real deal: 2550 beautiful and renovated square feet for $289,900. The split-level home is located on a gorgeous, treed one-half acre in Lindenwood Park, the “L Streets”, and has been totally updated. Built in 1963, you get those lofty Cathedral-style...

NOW it’s a done deal. December 23 is the day Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom executed the lease on Unit 2604 over at the W, the former bachelor pad of Mack Hicks. Rogers Healy and Steve  got in a lot of camera time with Khloe & Company as he showed them every condo available in downtown Dallas so they could be sure. Allie Beth Allman was the  landlord’s rep on this one, and she had been looking for occupants since November 28. Also, this unit leased last Super Bowl weekend for...

Check out those shaggy beast chairs for the show or an apres-game rest! You sure won’t find those in LA! After seeing this totally WOW house, I couldn’t resist one more option for our new transplants. And I retact my earlier statement that Mack Hicks’ unit at 2604 is the most expensive lease at the W. Homes are just like what my father used to say about boyfriends and streetcars: another one comes along in 30 minutes and then it’s even pricier. This is a two-story unit,...

Happy Holidays to one and all. We are signing off for a few days to enjoy holiday cheer, a bit of eggnog, and give you a nice present for the New Year: speed. CandysDirt.com has grown so phenomenally in the last six months we need a bigger, faster server. The big move will take place over the holiday weekend — wish us luck! We’ll be back next week on our new server on a light schedule to talk about the best homes of the year in Dallas real estate! From our house to your’s,...

Candy Evans – Profile – You + Dallas.

Check out those shaggy beast chairs for the show or an apres-game rest! You sure won’t find those in LA! After seeing this totally WOW house, I couldn’t resist one more option for our new transplants. And I retact my earlier statement that Mack Hicks’ unit at 2604 is the most expensive lease at the W. Homes are just like what my father used to say about boyfriends and streetcars: another one comes along in 30 minutes and then it’s even pricier. This is a two-story unit,...

Happy Holidays to one and all. We are signing off for a few days to enjoy holiday cheer, a bit of eggnog, and give you a nice present for the New Year: speed. CandysDirt.com has grown so phenomenally in the last six months we need a bigger, faster server. The big move will take place over the holiday weekend — wish us luck! We’ll be back next week on our new server on a light schedule to talk about the best homes of the year in Dallas real estate! From our house to your’s,...

Candy Evans – Profile – You + Dallas.

I published the press release from Santa Ana-based First American Title Insurance today, the second largest Title Company in the U.S., before I had a chance to sit down and tell you what I’ve been hearing on the street. First of all, the acquisition is underway and will be complete in January. David Fair will stay on in his current capacity for the next several years. (What else would he do?) Apparently the buy out offers have been pouring in for the last 15 years, but David played hard-to...

By Karen Eubank

Best. Christmas gift. Ever: a Hutsell for under $450,000!

If you don’t know what a Hutsell is, shame on you. Architect Clifford Hutsell built homes that make Lakewood, well, Lakewood. When you see tile roofs, arches, eclectic detail and exterior stairs leading to second floor colorful balconies, you know you’re gazing at Dallas history. A lot of these homes are fairly large and fairly expensive, but this one is neither. All are memorable.

This intimate house at 7327 Lakewood...

Update: I’ve just learned from a Hollywood producer that the reason Khloe & Company took their time interviewing and selecting Dallas real estate agents was that they wanted the right personality for the show! That’s right, everything they do is TV drama and their agent had to “present well when they were taping him”. That would be Rogers Healy. They already have pieces and parts for two episodes in the can with Rogers as their agent. Hooray for Hollywood…

This...

We now have a Miami correspondent over on SecondShelters, and this is her first find! This home is right on the beach, a waterfront Mediterranean built in 1925 with 4659 square feet, asking $2.4 million. On the beach, very convenient, no? Guess what’s also convenient? Having a toilet smack in the middle of your very (messy) den! 3591 Flamingo Dr Miami Beach FL 

And check SecondShelters.com for more fun posts fresh from Miami by Andrea Kavanagh!

Joseph Gulloto? Allie Beth Allman? Alan Peppard (you have to subscribe, but here goes) says she took her grand daughter and the Andrews grandaughters down to show Khloe some W condos this weekend and got mic’ed up for the show, little girls and all. He also says Khloe and Lamar have leased Mack Hicks two-bedroom unit, #2604, pictured here, for $7500 a month. Allie Beth is the listing agent. It’s the most expensive lease at The W. Apparently it was once a three bedroom, but was converted...

Khloe & Company and Deion’s Big D have kept me so busy I forgot about the DeMarcus Ware story sitting on my desk: the Dallas Cowboys linebacker plopped his home, Castleton Manor at 6900 Rockingham Court, on the market recently with a price tag of $2.198 milion out in Colleyville. From the looks of it, Ware wants to move on up to fancier digs.

And why not? He’s the highest-paid, high-performing Dallas Cowboy ever, with a six-year, $78 million contract extension that has a $40...

Update: Rogers Healy tells me he has signed the representation documents to handle Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom’s Dallas lease.

I hear they have looked at, and really really like, this two bedroom corner unit 2604 in the North Tower. In fact, they may be drafting the papers, but this unit could also be for Rob Kardashian, Khloe’s brother. The weekend was total exhaustive house-hunting over at The Ritz Residences and the Azure, where Joseph Gulloto showed Khloe, Lamar, Rob and...

One of the best streets in Lake Highlands, this 1402 square foot cutie pie will melt your heart, just like it did mine. This home screams 1950′s so loud you can hear it in Fort Worth!  Only rooms, 2 full baths, surprisingly a two garage. Upgrades and amenities abound, including a very open floor plan, lots of natural light, fresh hardwoods throughout, warm colors, fresh exterior paint, nice granite countertops, slate backsplash, gas range, stainless appliances, stainless undermount...

In the very competitive real estate title biz the stakes just got higher. Details forthcoming, stay very tuned!

Happy week before Christmas to you! Just a few more shopping days left, so I offer up one of the very best bargains in Preston Hollow. In fact, this may be one of the best deals in North Texas. Brand new 5700 square foot home, built in 2009 on a huge 100 by 200 sized lot, only one who’s ever lived here was a lease tenant, a bachelor. Who never cooked. 6007 Waggoner — yes, I said Waggoner, that hot coveted PH street — has five bedrooms, five and a half baths, two living areas,...

So that’s why she wanted the house in Heath! I had heard that Pilar Sanders was looking at a $2 million home in Heath, Texas, and I wondered why in the world she would want another house. They need one like, well, like they needed a leaky ceiling last spring. Deion and Pilar have that mammoth compound up in Prosper, plus the penthouse at the Azure on the same floor as Greg Brady. Made no sense that she wanted a whole house. Should Brady decide to lease to Khloe Kardashin and Lamar Odum,...

Deion loves Tatum Brown Custom Homes

This is the $2 million house in Heath, Texas that Pilar Sanders wanted Deion to buy her about a month ago. It’s 11,000 square feet, has two four-car garages to hold the Bentley’s on either side of the house, two master suites designed after the suites at Caesar’s Palace in Vegas, four bedrooms and four and a half baths. But, according to my very close sources, Deion refused to give her the money to buy the $2 million home in the prestigious...

You may have heard of the late, great film producer Martin Jurow. He was a longtime studio exec and agent through Hollywood’s golden years. He died at the age of 92 in 2004, but lived in Dallas for years with his lovely wife, Erin-Jo, where he was, among other things, an assistant Dallas County DA. Besides putting Audrey Hepburn on the map (and producing) “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” he produced  ”The Pink Panther,” ”The Great Race,” with Jack...

A real, live gingerbread house just in time for the holidays! Have you ever seen anything cuter? I could EAT this house. So cute, such charm. Classic M Street Tudor style home has just received a new coat of exterior pain — I mean, paint on that trim! Three bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 living areas including oversized living room. Hardwoods throughout, yeah! Master has private bath. Detached, one-car garage with quarters which includes full bath and kitchenette so air tight it is currently being...

Claim to fame: here’s how great this neighborhood is. Guess who used to live here? Who, in fact, raised his kiddos here — not in this house, but on this cul de sac? Roger and Marianne Staubach, that’s who.  I love this little nook just north of LBJ — yes, it’s north of the Big O and you are creeping dangerously near to the 972 world — kidding! This is a great location, because you are still close enough in to make running everywhere a snap, yet you can get...

This weekend is the busiest weekend of the year for parties. Next weekend is Christmas Eve and Day, so this weekend before bears the brunt of holding a ton of parties across Dallas. How do I know?

Every single outside heater in Dallas is rented!

Need a little fluff for your house party decor — garland, mantle, tree or centerpiece?  If you think that all the furniture stores in Dallas are gone,  vanished, you may be right: no more Gabberts or Robb & Stucky. More on that in a future...

Someone e-mailed me a week or so ago and asked if Prudential Real Estate had sold out. The answer is yes, it did. Prudential was acquired by Brookfield Residential Property Services — the Canadian-based franchisor that provides services in the U.S. under the Real Living brand –  for a cool $110 million. Word is business as usual and Prudential Real Estate brokerage affiliates will be able to continue to use the Prudential brand based on the terms of their franchise agreements. Some...

Agents, put down your tools and snap those ipads shut. Looks like Khloe and Lamar only want to lease in Dallas. Sources tell me that an agent “representing a Mavericks player” called over to the Azure today asking if they had any three bedroom condos for lease. Unfortunately, they do not. They have some nice two bedrooms — one on the 18th floor, another on the 23rd, so maybe take two, one for Khloe and Lamar, one for brother Rob?

But I have another idea. I also hear that a...

Found this on the fun Houston Real Estate blog called Swamplot, one of my favorites, and to whom I look for inspiration. This gorgeous photo really shows the home, and the owner, at their very best, don’t you think? What’s that saying: you snooze, you loose?

Don’t forget to send in fun, horrific house photos as you jingle merrily from party to party. Candace@CandysDirt.com. Someone’s got to have an ugly house in Dallas — we cannot let Houston have all the fun!

Anyone have a luxurious, furnished condo to lease? If so, contact Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom’s agent stat. Or brother Rob Kardashian – he’s moving here, too. Pretty soon, we’ll have all of the Kardashians in Big D. I know agents who are dusting off listings with power vacs. The NY Daily News reports that Rob Kardashian, Khloe’s younger brother and recent “Dancing With the Stars” finalist, will be joining the couple in Texas, this news from the mouth...

By Karen Eubank

Karen here, piping in with my thoughts on where Khloe and Lamar are going to need a crib, ha, maybe even a REAL crib! Candy’s been shopping in Uptown and Preston Hollow, well, let’s not forget the most important part of town, East Dallas! I’ve got the purrrfect house for Khloe, one that comes loaded with just what she needs in her life: drama. Khloe is known for loving the “glam-traditional” look, so we here at CandysDirt think Bella Nora would be...

Not only is this 1900 square foot holiday angel located in one of the best neighborhoods around, it’s been totally renovated from the gleaming, gorgeous hardwoods to everyone’s stainless kitchen delight with custom cabinets, quartz counters and glass tile backsplash. The two bathrooms have been completely updated, none of this “toss in a new commode and Home Depot sink stuff”. All innards updated, too like the electrical panel, light fixtures, roof, HVAC, and really...

Every Realtor in Dallas is thrilled that Lamar Odom was traded to the Dallas Mavericks over the weekend. Why? Surely the young couple is going to need a Dallas pad — either a super sleek condo to crash when they are in town, or a home where they can nest and maybe get started on making Kris a grandmother again. I recall one episode when Kris was house hunting with Khloe back in LA, and she seemed to favor sprawling Mediterranean. At least, that’s what Kris liked FOR Khloe. Based...

This is The Azure

Once again, TMZ is getting more SEO mileage by reporting that Terrell Owens had to short-sale his Azure condo, NOT his Condo at The House as some outlets reported this morning, then duly corrected. I was so confused I caught Bobby Dhillon who is marketing The House, in Vegas to ask him what gives. As I recall, the House was not even being marketed in 2008, and certainly no one moved in until 2009 earliest. Bobby confirmed that Terrell doesn’t own anything at The House....

Great Q & A with Ellen Terry and Robbie Briggs in Friday’s Dallas Business Journal with some new details about the merger. Candace Carlisle sure does a great job of covering commercial & residential real estate as well as sports biz. You have to subscribe to read the interview, but here are a few salient points:

-Robbie and Ellen first started talking about her coming on board six months ago.

-Ellen told Ebby two weeks ago about her decision (which is when I heard rumblings) and...

by Karen Eubank

Which neighborhood in Dallas has defied current market trends? What area of town has steady new construction and extensive remodeling on almost every street? What neighborhood is so solid that young professionals return to buy homes around the corner from their parents?

Lake Highlands of course! It’s one of the few places you can find homes in a broad price range, enjoy exemplary Richardson schools and still get downtown in fifteen minutes. And within Lake Highlands is a wonderful...

There are those of us who love homes but hate grass. What the heck is so wonderful about it anyhow? It sucks up water we need to preserve, it burns up in August, it gets muddy, soggy, chiggers and collects dog poop. Grass, who needs it?

But I like homes, so this one might really be my dream home. 9011 Prominence is basically a 6,000 square foot patio home built in 1993, hence the great pricing: $499,000. (Today I saved you a dollar, don’t ever say I don’t give you anything.)  But in...

Dave recently put Ebby behind the wheel of his Bentley...

I’ve just heard that, about 30 minutes ago, Ellen Terry was driving in her Jaguar with Ebby Halliday when Ellen had a fender bender right in front of Ebby’s Little White House. Ellen had apparently picked up Ebby from her home, and was taking her to, I’m told, the Little White House office down the street to drop off “something”. No telling what Ebby said to Ellen in that car to make her hit a post, but...