Hot in Here

Dallas-Fort Worth real estate market is red-hot this summer

Homes are going quick in DFW, one of the hottest markets in the country.

Photo by Shoot2Sell Photography

Hot, sizzling, scorching — whatever you want to call the real estate market right now, Dallas-Fort worth is it. And Realtor.com agrees, putting DFW (plus Arlington) nearly at the top of its "Hotness Index" during what it's identifying as a record-breaking August.

The real estate website says that home listings are staying on the market for a median 72 days — two days faster than this time last year, but four days slower than last month. In Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, that number is only 41 days. That's actually one day faster than in July.

That impressive stat earns us the No. 2 ranking, behind Vallejo-Fairfield, California, and its 37 days. This is the fourth month that the California area has been at the top of the list.

“Summer 2016 was one of most competitive buying seasons that we have ever witnessed, fueled by historically low mortgage rates and inventory shortages that resulted in record-high prices," says Realtor.com's chief economist, Jonathan Smoke.

One other Texas city lands in the top 20, and it's kind of a surprise. Waco, which has been a no-show up until now, is No. 8. Homes in Waco stayed on the market for a median 47 days in August, and a quick 36 in July.

Realtor.com also points out that the median list price for homes across the country was $250,000, which is 8 percent higher than one year ago and virtually the same as last month. That's a new peak for August. Even with an estimated 475,000 new listings coming onto the market in August, the total national inventory remains considerably lower than one year ago.

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Million-dollar homes

Multi-million-dollar gated home community The Preserve rises in Frisco

Preserve

A palace on the prairie of The Preserve in Frisco

Construction has begun on a multi-million-dollar custom home community in Frisco. Called The Preserve, it's situated among PGA Frisco’s championship golf courses and near the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, with multiple phases that will roll out over the next few years.

The Preserve is part of Fields, a 2,500-acre development in North Frisco off the Dallas North Tollway. Fields is co-developed and owned in partnership with The Karahan Companies, Hunt Realty Investments alongside investors Chief Partners and Cross Tie Capital.

The development will feature retail, dining, entertainment, hotels, corporate offices, native Texas plants, flowers, trees, and 250 acres of park space. It's designed by the same team responsible for Plano’s Legacy West, led by Fehmi Karahan.

Phase 1 of The Preserve will feature 233 homes crafted by 10 North Texas luxury homebuilders: Alford Homes, Coats Homes, and Starside Builders have all begun home construction. The other seven are The Preserve Bella Custom Homes, Endurance Homes, Faulkner Perrin Custom Homes, Hawkins-Welwood Homes, Shaddock Custom Builders & Developers, Sharif & Munir Custom Homes, and Ventura Custom Homes, for whom construction will start soon.

The Preserve Frisco The Preserve in Frisco, soon to be covered with homes.The Preserve

Lot sizes range from 6,800 square feet to more than an acre. Home design options will incorporate high ceilings, open floor plans, glass walls, and seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor such as patios, infinity pools, and landscaped exteriors.

The surrounding area will have more than 2,000 new trees plus views delivered via design elements such as floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive outdoor living areas.

Many of the homes will address sustainability, health, and wellness with green architecture, energy efficiency, water conservation, and recycled building materials.

It will combine the privacy of a gated community with resort-style living, featuring amenities such as the PGA golf courses, 20+ miles of hike and bike trails, and the exclusive Brookside Club with an expansive swimming pool, state-of-the-art fitness center, tennis and pickleball courts and a playground.

Prices will start at $3,500,000.

Hunt Realty SVP Todd Watson calls it one of the most anticipated mixed-use projects in the area -- æa perfect location for discerning buyers seeking their forever home or a secondary residence" — although he's involved with the project so he's probably biased.

“As part of the Fields development, with prominent neighbors like PGA of America and the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, we know The Preserve will be one of the most sought-after addresses in North Texas," Watson says.

According to the Frisco Economic Development Corporation, Frisco’s population has increased by 500 percent in two decades and was recently recognized as the fastest growing city in Texas and third across the U.S.

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