Your Expert Guide

Oak Cliff: Hidden gem energy with historic charm just south of Dallas

There are so many great places to live in Dallas that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

Photo courtesy of Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty

Midcentury modern is just one of the home styles you'll find in Oak Cliff.

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Ever since she got her real estate license in 2006, Kay Wood has been drawn to Oak Cliff. Two years later she became a resident, having chosen the area not only for its location — while her business is in Dallas, her husband works in Fort Worth — but also for its engaged and diverse community, many of whom have called the South Dallas area home for generations.

"Oak Cliff has great energy," the real estate agent says. "There have always been artists, advocates, and entrepreneurs here. People get involved in big and small ways; neighbors still look out for each other. My family loves to visit our many incredible neighborhood restaurants and participate in community events like the Mardi Gras parade and its Dash for the Beads or iBike Rosemont."

Before she entered real estate, Wood was a college art history professor. Her mother is an architect, so with those two combined Wood likes to say that houses are in her blood. And Oak Cliff has plenty to satisfy her cravings.

"I loved the diversity and integrity of the architecture here," she says. "When I first started showing homes in Oak Cliff, they were so much less expensive than comparable homes in other parts of the city. That's maybe not quite as true now because the secret is out, but Oak Cliff still has a lot of wonderful and affordable neighborhoods."

Wood offered up a few of her personal favorites about life in Oak Cliff. Here's her guide to the area:

Where to eat & drink
"There are too many to name!" Wood says. "I do love that I can go to a different great local coffee shop every day of the week. I'm a working mom with three kids — I drink a lot of coffee."

A couple of Wood's new favorite restaurant experiences in the area include sitting on the patio at Cenzo's Pizza & Deli with friends or enjoying date night at Otaru.

"While technically West Dallas, my family loves riding our bikes to Manhattan Project Beer Company or Cibo Divino for dinner," shares Wood. "Nova is such a wonderful neighborhood watering hole, and we always know we can get great a meal and stellar service at Encina. I love the produce at Cox Farms (it's the only place I will buy avocados). The gems of Oak Cliff aren't all that hidden these days. The secret is out."

If you're ready for a full day's eating itinerary, Wood has plenty more to recommend:

For breakfast: Tribal All Day, El Jordan, TacoDeli, Trade's Deli, or Norma's (my kids' favorite).

For tacos (because priorities): Taco Y Vino or Maskaras (but for elotes, always the guy at El Si Hay).

For drinks: Nova, Manhattan Project, Tiny Victories, Ayahuasca at Xaman, The Wild Detectives, and Old Monk OC is a new favorite.

For lunch/dinner: La Bodega, La Campiña, Eno's, Tribal All-Day Cafe, Whisk, the newly relocated Lucia, Written by the Seasons, and the newly opened Pillar.

For coffee: Houndstooth, La Reunion, Wayward, Hola, Davis Street Espresso, Xaman, Little Joy, and Peaberry.

For bakery/dessert: Joy Macarons (especially the pistachio ice cream), Oak Cliff Bread, Cretia's, Melt, Emporium Pies, and Picole are some of our favorites.

Where to play
There are plenty of way to stay active in Oak Cliff. Wood names Stevens Park Golf Course, Oak Cliff Pilates, the Coombs Creek Trail, and Kiest Park as favorites, along with a day spent traversing the Dallas Zoo.

"I'm so looking forward to the forthcoming Halperin Park (formerly Southern Gateway Park, currently being built over I-35 by the Dallas Zoo) and Harold Simmons Park," she notes.

What to see
See a concert at The Kessler, watch new and classic movies — and sometimes live events — at the historic Texas Theater, or spend hours wandering the Bishop Arts District, which is packed with restaurants and boutiques (and is a hot spot for visiting celebrities).

Where to live
"Whatever style of home you want, Oak Cliff has great examples," says Wood. "Tudor? Traditional? Craftsman? Midcentury modern? You name it, we have it."

Wood points out that this is due in part to the area's numerous historic and conservation districts, but also thanks to generations of neighbors taking pride in their homes.

"If you want a Craftsman, you have Winnetka Heights, Kings Highway, Kidd Springs, and Lake Cliff," Wood says, listing Oak Cliff neighborhoods. "If you want a Tudor, Kessler Park has some of the best. For midcentury modern, check out East Kessler, Kiestwood, Wynnewood North, or Wynnewood Hills. Want a Dilbeck? There are a number of them in Stevens Park and L.O. Daniel. Contemporary? Kessler Woods or East Kessler. There are so many more, almost too many to list!"

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Kay Wood lives, works, and plays in Oak Cliff. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email kwood@briggsfreeman.com, or call 214-908-5442.

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Hottest Headlines of 2025

Popular suburbs move into Dallas' hottest real estate headlines of 2025

Photo courtesy of City of McKinney

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Editor's note: As the year comes to a close, we look back at the 10 most-read real estate stories in Dallas for 2025 — including new honors for several local suburbs, market trends, and all-important Walmart news. These are the 10 hottest real estate headlines of 2025 in Dallas:

1. Dallas-Fort Worth suburb blooms as No. 1 best place to live in U.S. One Dallas-area city took the top slot on a list of "the 100 Best Places to Live in 2025." The list — from relocation marketing platform Livability.com — put Flower Mound at No. 1 for its appealing size and affordability. The suburb also claimed the No. 7 spot in a ranking of America's most livable small cities.

2. North Dallas neighbor ranks as No. 1 most affordable city in U.S. A Dallas suburb landed on top of a list of the most affordable places to live: McKinney ranked No. 1 based on its relative cost of living and high median household income.

3. Massive mixed-use development coming to key intersection in McKinney. McKinney is getting a new $1.3 billion mixed-use development. Called Long Branch, it will be a 155-acre project at the northwest corner of US-75 and the future 380 bypass, consisting of housing, retail, office, grocery, and hospitality. The development has 80 acres slated for active development, and will unfold over the next decade in four tracts.

4. Dallas-area suburb ranks as 3rd best place to live in Texas in 2025. The Dallas-Fort Worth mid-city of Coppell has been ranked the third best place to live in Texas in 2025 by rankings and review website Niche.com. The survey determined the best places to live in based on crime rates, public school rankings, the local cost of living, job opportunities, and more using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI, and others.

Coppell, Dallas suburb Coppell was ranked the third-best place to live in Texas for 2025. City of Coppell, TX Municipal Government/Facebook

5. 11 Dallas suburbs soar as fastest-growing U.S. cities in last decade. It's no secret that Dallas-Fort Worth's population is growing faster than most other metros in the U.S., but now several surprising Dallas neighbors have been named among the top 10 fastest-growing suburb nationwide over the last decade. Celina nearly led the nation with an astonishing 314 percent increase in population from 2014 to 2023, according to a growth study by marketplace platform StorageCafe.

6. Dallas neighbor is the No. 1 fastest-growing affordable city in U.S. A national study has declared Texas is home to the most affordable, fast-growing cities in the country, with Dallas suburb Frisco taking the lead at No. 1. Frisco and five more Dallas neighbors ranked high on GoBankingRates.com's list of "50 Most Affordable, Fastest-Growing Cities in 2025."

$Millennials moved to Texas more than any other state in 2019, with Frisco being\na top choice.$ Frisco is the most-affordable, fastest-growing city in the country. Photo by Roger Robinson/Visit Frisco

7. Dallas neighbor beckons movers as top U.S. suburb with small-town feel. Wylie, a city less than 30 miles from downtown Dallas, ranked as the No. 7 most highly sought-after U.S. suburb of 2025 in MoveBuddha's national survey. In addition to being recognized as the 7th most desirable American suburb, Wylie also ranked as the second-most desirable suburb to move to in Texas.

8. 2 Dallas neighbors rank among fastest-growing wealthy suburbs in U.S. Celina and Prosper, two boomtowns north of Dallas, are among the top three fastest growing affluent suburbs in the country. The cities' affluent status was unveiled in a GoBankingRates' study ranking the "30 Fastest-Growing Wealthy Suburbs in America" for 2025.

The Old Celina Park in Celina, Texas Celina is the No. 2 fastest-growing wealthy 'burb in America. Photo courtesy of celina-tx.gov

9. 6 Dallas suburbs make top 10 list of best Texas cities to move to. Advisors at ConsumerAffairs, a customer review and news platform, ranked the 50 most populated Texas cities across five main categories — affordability, safety, economy, health care and education, and quality of life — to determine which were the best places to move to. Each city was given a score out of 100 possible points. Four of the top five best places to move to in Texas are located in Dallas-Fort Worth: Allen (No .1), Frisco (No. 2), Plano (No. 3), and McKinney (No. 4). Two more DFW suburbs, Mansfield (No. 6) and Richardson (No. 10), rounded out the top 10.

10. Booming Celina hits the big time with its first Walmart Supercenter. The city of Celina is getting its first mega Walmart: According to a release, it will be a Walmart Supercenter located at the northwest corner of Preston Road (Highway 289) and the West Outer Loop. The store has been in the works for a few years, but the Celina Economic Development Corporation celebrated the opening in a groundbreaking on April 16.