Back in the fall a few real estate pros said, “this is the peak”.
Were they right?
Take 4236 Lorraine Avenue, one of my favorite Highland Park homes originally built for Tim Headington, but bought and remodelled by Al Hill who brought in Elizabeth Robertson to completely renovate. The 14-year-old mansion was designed by architect Patrick Ford. Originally the home was listed at $6.4 million. Then that real estate dynamo Caroline Summers of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s got the listing and worked it, worked it, worked it.
The home, which is stunning, closed October 24 for $5.7 million. The 6,574-square-foot Mediterranean home in Highland Park sold for $867 per square foot, not too shabby.
And Caroline tells the Dallas Business Journal that she has been involved with three $5 million plus deals in Highland Park just since November.
“In the past 400 days, all of the sudden, the market has turned into a frenzy. This has been a phenomenal year.”
No kidding.
But while the market for “normal ” homes is churning, the multi-million dollar market seems a little, well, soft. Or just soft-er.
Price sales distribution of million dollar plus homes is always a fraction of the total market — like 1%. But am I feeling a little softness in Area 25 (Park Cities) price per square foot sales? Let’s look at the whole year minus December:
2014 2013
November $324 $328
October $374 $330
September $337 $301
August $325 $335
July $346 $345
June $350 $330
May $369 $326
April $354 $343
March $356 $326
February $358 $281
January $286 $268
January 2014 was way higher than January 2013, whilst November looked a little softer. The average for 2014 seems to be $343, where the 2013 average is $319.
We shall see what December brings. I mean, next thing you know, we’ll have $1.99 a gallon gas!
