Candy's House of The Week

Talk about a pool party: West Highland Park contemporary boasts mobile poolsidelounger

This is a beautiful West Highland Park contemporary with dreamy amenities.
Photo courtesy of Becky Frey/Briggs Freeman Sotheby's
A lounging platform takes you from spa to snuggle.
Photo courtesy of Becky Frey/Briggs Freeman Sotheby's
Yes, that's a suede-lined fireplace!
Photo courtesy of Becky Frey/Briggs Freeman Sotheby's

You want to do a little name-dropping about your home? Go for it with this baby at 5343 Livingston Ave.

This home has a pedigree a mile long: architecture by Joshua Rice, interiors by Gonzalo Bueno, and landscape and pool by Hocker Design Group. It also has that rare first-floor master bedroom, which, along with the living spaces, wraps the pool and patios that are visible through banks of windows.

A cozy but bright study near the front entrance is the perfect library or home office. But my favorite space is the huge, open kitchen with to-die-for marble counters. It just flows seamlessly into a stunning dining area, all of which is open to the formal living and den.

Wall finishes are, well, Gonzalo Bueno bueno. Suede surrounds the formal living room fireplace, so I hope those sparks don’t fly.

This house just feels sleek, yet sunny and warm — perfect for empty nesters with occasional children. (That’s my new favorite phrase, BTW. What if you could really have occasional children?) It is also suited to a family who appreciates privacy. Two spacious bedrooms and a large game room complete the second floor. Mom and Pop stay down; little darlings go up.

Now for the exteriors. The 5,286-square-foot house sits on little more than a quarter of an acre, but who cares when you have the most beautiful pool in Dallas? Check out that showplace of a piscina with a moveable lounging platform. This pup rolls from the hot tub to the fireplace. It’s where you can dangle feet, bake your noggin, or sit by the crackling fireplace with a cashmere wrap come November.

Built in 2008, this contemporary home has three bedrooms and three and a half baths. It is loaded with the best of everything: designer fixtures, enough Ann Sacks honed limestone to rival the Dallas Museum of Art, Vermont Danby marble, and Holly Hunt lighting. Wall finishes are, well, Gonzalo Bueno bueno. Suede surrounds the formal living room fireplace, so I hope those sparks don’t fly.

Because it was built so recently, the home is wildly energy efficient: four HVAC units plus allergen-free filtration, extra insulation in exterior walls and ceilings to lower heating and cooling costs, commercial double-pane windows, and thermal shielding under the hail-proof metal roof. Plus there are two 50-gallon high-efficiency water heaters with recirculation pump, so you’ll never run out of hot.

As for location, West Highland Park is one of the hottest neighborhoods in Dallas right now. Houses here are being gobbled up by empty-nesters and young marrieds like deep-dish pizza at a football party.

I just love the clean, crisp lines and everything else about this house. I even like the asking price: $1,850,000.

unspecified

bang for your buck

These are the 10 most affordable ZIP codes for Dallas-area renters

Photo by Jenifer McNeil Baker for Greystar

undefined

Buying a home in Dallas is difficult enough to afford these days, and doubly so if you're already paying high rent on an apartment or a house. But there are 10 Dallas-Fort Worth ZIP codes where renters can get the most bang for their buck, according to a new study by financial services company CashNetUSA.

To find the most affordable ZIP codes to rent in the U.S., analysts compared median household incomes by ZIP code to the average annual rent costs using the Zillow Observed Rent Index. ZIP codes where the average annual rental costs required the lowest percentage of median household income were considered the "most affordable."

Two Dallas suburbs and their ZIP codes specifically stood out in CashNetUSA's ranking of the most affordable ZIPs for renters across the Metroplex: 75013 in Allen (No. 1) and 75033 in Frisco (No. 2).

According to the study's findings, the average monthly cost of a rental in Allen comes out to $1,716.45, and the median annual income of an Allen household is $145,220. Analysts then calculated that the annual rent of a home in the Allen ZIP code only takes up 14.18 percent of a household's median income, which is the No. 1 lowest in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Allen was recently named one of the best small cities to live in, with a scorching hot real estate market to match its thriving popularity and growth.

In Frisco's 75033 ZIP, annual rent costs only represent 14.89 percent of a household's median annual income. The area – which encompasses the Meadow Hill Estates, Preston Highlands North, Christie Ranch, Newman Village, Shaddock Creek Estates, and Collin neighborhoods – has a median household income of $149,525, and average rent costs add up to $1,855.49, according to the study.

Meanwhile, Dallas' own 75214 ZIP code ranked No. 8 in the metro-wide ranking of most affordable ZIPs for renters. This area consists of several established Dallas neighborhoods, including Northeast Dallas, Wilshire Heights, Lakewood, Lakewood Hills, Junius Heights, and Munger Place.

The median annual income for a household in 75214 comes out to $104,583, and the average rental costs $1,669.40 per month. That means annual rent payments account for 19.15 percent of a household's median income, according to the study.

The seven other ZIPs that make up the top 10 most affordable ZIP codes for renters in Dallas-Fort Worth include:

No. 3 – 76248 in Keller
No. 4 – 76085 in Weatherford
No. 5 – 76262 in Roanoke
No. 6 – 75078 in Prosper
No. 7 – 75048 in Sachse
No. 9 – 75077 in Highland Village
No. 10 – 75093 in Plano

Top ZIP codes for renters in the U.S.
CashNetUSA found the No. 1 most affordable ZIP code for renters nationwide is 66224 in Leawood, Kansas, where annual rent only takes a 10.57 percent cut out of a household's median annual income.

Elsewhere in Texas, San Antonio's 78248 ZIP ranked as the No. 4 most affordable ZIP code for renters in the U.S., and the No. 1 most affordable ZIP code statewide.

Two Houston-area ZIP codes – 77401 and 77094 – ranked No. 9 and No. 12 nationally, while Allen's 75013 ZIP code fell two spots behind to claim the No. 14 spot.

frisco suburbs zip codes rent