Condo Comeback

Condo appreciation blows past single-family homes — especially in Dallas-Fort Worth

Condo sales in Dallas are outpacing single-family home sales.

Ever since the recession, condos have suffered under the stigma of low and slow appreciation. Now, says a new report from Zillow, condos are coming back with a vengeance, outpacing single-family home values. And Dallas-Fort Worth is No. 1 on the list, with a staggering 20 percent growth from this time last year.

“The housing bust hit condo values hard, and over the past few years, buying a condo wasn’t always considered a good investment compared to a single family home,” says Zillow chief economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. “But that’s changing, and condos increasingly represent a strong-performing, often affordable choice, particularly for first-time buyers interested both in homeownership and in keeping a lower-maintenance, city lifestyle."

Nationally, condos are appreciating at 5.1 percent annually, while single-family homes are at 3.7 percent. In DFW, single-family homes have appreciated 14.9 percent over the past year. Increasing rents, limited inventory of low-value homes, and the popularity of urban life have prompted this runaway condo growth.

“However, as younger buyers compete for homes in urban neighborhoods, it’s important to consider some of the additional costs of condo life, especially homeowner association fees, when weighing options,” says Gudell.

To help compare, condo values decreased by 11.1 percent annually in November 2008. Single-family homes decreased 6.5 percent around the same time.

zillow reports

Neiman Marcus Saga

City of Dallas obtains mystery land deed for downtown Neiman Marcus

Neiman Marcus

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There's a new chapter in the ongoing breakup saga between the city of Dallas and Neiman Marcus, the luxury retailer which is closing its longtime location in downtown Dallas at the end of March.

When Neiman Marcus parent company Saks Global announced its decision to close the store, they attributed it to a dispute with one of the landlords, regarding a small parcel of land on which the store resides.

According to a release, the city of Dallas now has the deed for that property in its possession, which it is willing to donate to Neiman Marcus, and is hoping this will persuade Neiman Marcus to stay, please please stay.

The release says that members of the Dallas Consortium for the Downtown Neiman Marcus — a group that includes downtown developer Shawn Todd of Todd Interests, Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, and members of Downtown Dallas, Inc., the advocacy group for downtown — plan to meet with Saks Global executives to discuss the future of the store.

Tolbert says the City is now in possession of the deed for the Slaughter property that was at the root of Saks Global’s decision to close the store.

“I want to thank the Dallas Consortium for the Downtown Neiman Marcus for their continued efforts to ensure ongoing operations of the Downtown flagship store," Tolbert says. "The City of Dallas now officially holds the special warranty deed for the parcel that Saks Global Properties said was needed to keep Neiman Marcus’ Downtown store open."

Downtown Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus has already removed the signage from its downtown Dallas location.Photo courtesy of C. Troy Mathis

“I also want to thank the Slaughter family for their donation, and their desire to preserve the prosperity that this iconic brand contributes to Downtown’s vibrancy," Tolbert says in the release. "With the deed documents now in hand, I am looking forward to hosting Saks Global Properties and Investments CEO Ian Putman and his team on Wednesday morning at City Hall."

Dallas and Saks Global have been engaged in a back-and-forth over the future of the store.

On February 18, Saks Global announced its intent to close the store.
On February 25, downtown leaders rallied to try and prevent Neiman Marcus from closing.
On February 26, the owner of the piece of land which Saks Global said had been a problem committed to donate the land.
On February 27, Saks Global said it would be closing the store regardless. In fact, they've already removed signage from the building.

Since the dispute began, statements from the city have generally been met by responses from Saks Global, with the back-and-forth playing out in the public sphere on websites like CultureMap Dallas. Which is to say that there may well be something forthcoming from Saks Global soon.

UPDATE 3-4-2025: Saks responded with a statement saying that "the Dallas Consortium’s ongoing tactic of using the press to pressure us into changing our strategy in Dallas is highly unproductive. Even after our corrections to their previous false statements, they continue to go to the press, making inaccurate claims. Our decision to close the Neiman Marcus Downtown Dallas store is final and we are moving forward as such."

The statement calls it a "far more complicated situation than what the public is being led to believe and has been going on for more than a decade. While we had been willing to hear the Consortium’s perspective, a meeting was not confirmed. We have made several attempts to be connected directly to the City Manager, as an official representative of the City of Dallas, and we were denied."

"We are committed to growth, and are focused on Neiman Marcus’ future in Dallas. That future is at the NorthPark store, where we are planning a $100 million renovation."

downtown