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Historic Highland Park estate hits the market for first time in over a century

The home features chevron-patterned hardwood floors and multi-pane, floor-to-ceiling windows.

Photo courtesy of Allie Beth Allman and Associates

The opportunity to live on almost two acres in the heart of Highland Park seldom comes along because people tend to hang onto these large estates. Once in a great while, a large family property hits the market, and some lucky buyer hits the jackpot.

For the first time in over a century, the historic Highland Park gated estate at 4009 Armstrong Ave. is for sale. You have probably passed by the home thousands of times and have never noticed it. That’s by design, and it’s one of the major attractions of the property.

“The privacy is amazing because you can’t see another house,” Allie Beth Allman listing agent Christine McKenny said. “The property is positioned between Turtle Creek and Hackberry Creek and offers incredible privacy for Highland Park. You don’t have a lot of opportunity for a Highland Park gated estate.”

Judge Nelson Phillips moved to the property in 1906. He was appointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas in 1912 and sold the estate to William Ott Connor in 1913. Connor was the first elected mayor of Highland Park. The house has remained in Connor’s family for over a century.

Leadership runs deep in this family. Connor’s father was a mayor in Corinth, Mississippi, and his brother was the Dallas mayor from 1887 to 1894. Prior to public service, W.O. Connor was the chairman of the board of Republic National Bank in 1920.

Connor built the present home in 1941, and he built it big, even by today’s standards. At 8,331 square feet, it must have blown folks away back then.

It’s clear no expense was spared. A custom wrought-iron balustrade frames the front entry, veranda, and rear balcony. Marble flooring and a spectacular staircase grace the foyer. Chevron-patterned hardwood floors and multi-pane, floor-to-ceiling windows were as essential to a Highland Park estate in 1941 as they are today.

There are five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a powder bath, library, den, and upstairs living area. What’s astonishing is how much a home of this age checks off so many of the boxes we see as essential for current construction.

Although we hate to see historic homes razed — and indeed this property is in great shape and could be enlarged and further renovated — we all know the value of this property is in the land. Still, wouldn’t it be nice to find a buyer that valued the history?

If walls could only talk.

McKenny has the property listed for $18 million. An open house is scheduled from 1-2:30 pm Sunday, November 12.

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A version of this story originally was published on Candy's Dirt.

Traditional in appeal, the home's hallmark is the custom wrought-iron balustrade framing the front entry and veranda.

Photo courtesy of Allie Beth Allman and Associates

Traditional in appeal, the home's hallmark is the custom wrought-iron balustrade framing the front entry and veranda.

home-for-sale

REAL ESTATE NEWS

Nearly half of Dallas home sellers are slashing prices amid buyer’s market

Photo by Dillon Kydd on Unsplash

Nearly 58 percent of San Antonio home sellers dropped their list price in February

Prospective home buyers in Dallas may want to seal the deal this spring. According to a new Redfin report, nearly 47.3 percent of home sellers in the city dropped their list price in February.

Two other Texas cities clocked ahead of Dallas: In Austin, the number was 55.2 percent, and in San Antonio, it was an eye-popping 57.9 percent — the highest share among the 50 most populous regions in the U.S.

According to the real estate marketplace, Texas’ dominance on this list isn't coincidental. Along with Florida, the state has been building more homes than anywhere in the nation, giving prospective buyers more options and bargaining power.

Nationwide, 34.2 percent of February home sellers cut their asking price, a 31.5 percent rise from a year earlier and the highest share ever since Redfin began tracking markets in 2012. The average cut was $40,915, approximately 7 percent of the original sticker price.

Redfin attributes the discounts to a classic supply-and-demand imbalance. High mortgage rates combined with economic uncertainty have kept buyers on the fence while sellers continued to flood the market with new homes. The company speculates that the real rate of cuts may be higher since it does not account for delisted properties.

“A lot of people who couldn’t sell their homes last year opted to delist instead of reducing the price, with a plan to relist this spring because they knew that would give them a better chance of selling,” says Redfin real estate agent Aditi Jain, via a release “Some homeowners need to move immediately, but those who can afford to time the market may get a better price.”

Redfin says that spring consistently produces the lowest share of price cuts, with May having the lowest share in six of the past 10 years, and April taking the title in three others.

Sellers who closed in December faced the highest likelihood of cutting their price. Sellers who have owned their homes longest are also better protected from market fluctuations.

Owners who have lived in their homes for at least seven years cut prices at a rate of 31.8 percent, compared to 37.4 percent for those who have owned for two years or less. More recent buyers who purchased their homes at the height of the pandemic boom are now reluctant to accept what the market will actually bear.

The five U.S. cities with the highest shares of cut listing prices are:

No. 1 — San Antonio, Texas (57.9%)
No. 2 — Austin, Texas (55.2%)
No. 3 — Dallas, Texas (47.3%)
No. 4 — Tampa, Florida (45.9%)
No. 5 — Fort Lauderdale, Florida (44.9%)

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