Archive for January, 2010

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The Allure of Colleyville

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Colleyville has made it big. This once-rural farm community now graces the top ten lists of best places to live, both in Dallas and Fort Worth and across the nation. Money Magazine named Colleyville as one of the “Best 100 Places to Live in America” and Newsweek and D Magazine have also honored this small town with big accolades.

Small-Town Roots

From its small-town roots to superb location, Colleyville is a highly sought after community. Colleyville boasts a low crime rate, an excellent public education system (one of the best in the nation), a beautiful and expansive park system and superb recreational facilities. Its close proximity to both Dallas and Fort Worth attracts many professionals looking for a reasonable commute time without the stressors of the city.

Thoughtful Developments

Colleyville’s wide open farm lands have now given way to some exclusive neighborhoods, although the preservation of nature has been honored throughout the building process. Well-planned developments are a mainstay in Colleyville, as it’s quite common to see beautiful, stately homes amidst rolling land and wooded expanses.

Two particular developments, Broughton of Colleyville and Whittier Heights, have changed the way we think about suburban living. Instead of the typical suburban concept, these developments boast beautiful, open green spaces, winding trails and looping cul-de-sacs which lead into one another. The design of these neighborhoods, as well as several throughout Colleyville, emphasize the importance of community interaction and socialization.

Perhaps it’s the rural feel of Colleyville that attracts so many people. Although business is essential for most individuals, they still often crave the solitude and serenity that a quite suburb like Colleyville offers.

Colleyville has now become one of the premier communities in North Texas due, in part, to its well-designed neighborhoods and well-planned growth and development. The residential growth of Colleyville has also spurred commercial growth, which is expected to continue for years to come.

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New Home Communities in Las Colinas

Monday, January 11th, 2010

Las Colinas is Irving’s pride and joy. This massive master-planned development is home to a myriad of commercial, residential and environmental developments, and boasts more than 2,000 companies, including 40 Fortune 500 companies.

Real estate in Las Colinas is prime and highly sought after, from residential to commercial. There always seems to be a flurry of activity going on in Las Colinas at any given time, and that includes new home communities like La Villita:

La Villita of Las Colinas

Traditional Spanish architecture abounds throughout the master-planned community of La Villita. This community is focused on a high quality of life and a superb community life. Beautiful surroundings are the hallmark of La Villita, including miles of walkways and greenbelts, all of which wind through the community’s lakes and canals.

Beautiful bridges offer lovely views of the lakes and surrounding beauty, and the many parks and plazas through La Villita provide a serene resting place for the residents. In addition, La Villita provides a gateway to Champion Trails, an extensive system of hiking and biking trails that extend along the Elm Fork of the Trinity River.

This 200-acre residential development boasts old-world style Spanish and Mediterranean architecture and design and a variety of residences, including apartments, townhouses and single-family homes. All of the homes of La Villita are located along the lake, the canals, the trails, the greenbelt or the pocket parks, thereby providing maximum natural beauty.

Some of the design elements of La Villita include: tile roofs, stucco exteriors and wrought iron and cedar detailing.

La Villita is located just south of Interstate 635 and the Bush Turnpike, on the northeast corner of Royal Lane and Riverside. La Villita includes 1,375 apartments, 260 townhomes which are priced from the low $200,000s and 300 single-family homes which are priced from the $320,000s to the $600,000s.

The development of La Villita has continued to thrive even as the North Texas real estate market struggled, likely because of its exceptional location and its superb quality of life.

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The Dallas Office Space Market: How has this Market Changed?

Friday, January 8th, 2010

The outlook for Dallas office space in 2010 will see some major changes, mainly regarding how office space is leased, negotiated and managed. The struggling Dallas office market during 2009 has caused many Dallas landlords to re-evaluate how they lease and manage their properties. In particular, Dallas office space landlords can no longer afford to lose any money from their tenants, and are therefore prepared to do what they have to do to make ends meet.

How the Landscape of the Dallas Office Market is Changing:

  • Renegotiating Leases may be Easier for Tenants – In a typical economy, smaller tenants usually don’t have the leverage that larger tenants are afforded. However, given the state of the Dallas office market, even smaller tenants can negotiate great deals on their current space or new space. Simply put, landlords recognize that they may no longer be in the position to turn away potential tenants.
  • Prime Credit means Everything – If you are a small business with prime credit then you are a hot commodity in the Dallas office market in 2010. As more and more small business owners struggle to pay bills, the business owner with great credit is highly sought out by landlords. The reason? Landlords are now, more than ever, in search of tenants with a low likelihood of default on their rent.
  • Letters of Credit over Cash Deposits – The accepted form of deposit among landlords used to be cash deposits. However, this has changed significantly, given the fact that bankruptcy courts will come after cash deposits if a tenant files for bankruptcy, thereby leaving the landlord with nothing. Given this fact, many landlords are now seeking letters of credit worthiness from tenants instead. And not just any letters of credit; landlords are now seeking letters of credit from Triple A-rated banks. This is also a major reason why tenants with excellent credit are afforded the most leverage when it comes to negotiating lease prices with their landlord.

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The Newest Homes in Collin County

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Collin County is home to Plano, Allen, Frisco, Fairview and McKinney, all of which have seen exceptional real estate growth, considering the struggles of the North Dallas real estate market. It’s no wonder, then, that new homes in Collin County are plentiful and superb.

McKinney

McKinney is known as a charming town with an old-world feel. From its historic courthouse to its charming town square, McKinney provides an exceptional quality of life, and has therefore experienced plenty of growth. There are many planned communities throughout McKinney, most of which offer the finest amenities and services to its residents.

The Gallery at Stonebridge Ranch

The Gallery at Stonebridge Ranch features homes from $270,900 to $369,900. This master-planned community offers its residents such amenities as a golf course, swimming pools, a clubhouse, recreational fields, bike paths and tennis courts.

Frisco

Frisco offers a small-town atmosphere with a reputation for being one of North Texas’ best destinations for sports. New homes in this quickly growing city all comply with the EPA’s Energy Star program, thereby setting the groundwork for responsible home building in North Texas.

Pearson Farms I

Pearson Farms I features homes priced from $277,900 to $379,900. This master planned community includes homes from 2,528 to 4,077 square feet.

The Villages at Willow Bay

The homes of the Villages at Willow Bay are priced from $264,900 to $379,900. The convenient Frisco location makes getting in and around Dallas, Frisco and McKinney a breeze. Homes in this community are served by the acclaimed Frisco Independent School District. Amenities of this community include a swimming pool and spray park.

Allen

Allen has enjoyed great growth, mainly because of its prime location near Plano and Lake Lavon. The small town charm of Allen provides a nice balance to its modern conveniences, including the three-city arts center.

Windgate Manor

Homes in Windgate Manor are priced from $252,900 to $358,877 and range in size from 2,152 to 3,456. This family-friendly community features neighborhood trails, scenic greenbelts and nearby shopping and entertainment.

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Leasing Office Space: How to Approach the Process

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

You’ve made the decision to lease office space in Plano – now what?

You have plenty of options when it comes to leasing Plano office space, so make sure you are making the right decisions every step of the way. Most importantly, you want to make sure that you are choosing the Plano office space that best fits your needs.

How to Start the Process of Finding the Perfect Plano Office Space:

  • Carefully Consider your Needs – Come up with a game plan and stick to it. In other words, don’t let the pretty surroundings lure you into leasing something that you either don’t need or can’t afford. Make a list of your must-haves and take it with you when viewing Plano office space. Take the time to imagine your business operating out of the space and how the flow may affect your ability to effectively run your business.
  • Make a Budget First – One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a business owner is looking at office space before you have set a budget. Often times, this can lead to a false sense of reality and could lead you into a rental agreement that you cannot realistically afford.
  • Hire an Agent who is Skilled in Commercial Properties – You may be inclined to tackle the job of finding Plano office space by yourself, but this may not be the best decision. A real estate agent who is skilled in commercial real estate can provide you with invaluable insight regarding leasing office space and also help you negotiate a fair deal on your lease.
  • Think about the Future – Although you certainly don’t want to get yourself into office space that is too large for your needs, you also don’t want to be caught in a situation where you’ve outgrown your office space before you even moved in. Consider your future plans and how they will fit in with your office space; ask your landlord if increasing the size of your office space is a possibility so you can best prepare for your future business decisions.

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Looking Ahead: What 2010 Holds for the Real Estate Market

Monday, January 4th, 2010

Good news may finally be here: after two years of enduring a declining housing market, North Texas looks poised for a nice rebound.

Will the bounce back happen right away? Unlikely. Will we see an improvement over the next few months? Without a doubt.

Officials at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas have noted that the local economy appears to have finally bottomed out, thereby providing ample room for stability and growth once again. There are plenty of signs that the worse is over for the Dallas housing market, which means 2010 will finally show the glimmers of hope that so many real estate agents and sellers have been desperately searching for over the last couple years.

Pre-Owned Homes Sales Increasing

Some of the positive signs include the increase of pre-owned home sales over the last two months, compared to the same time last year, as well as the number of homes in North Texas have fallen to their lowest level in more than two years. In other words, fewer homes on the market mean that more are being sold.

Positive Signs for Builders

Builders, of course, see these numbers as a positive sign that the demand for new construction will also follow suit, and are therefore beginning to start more houses in preparation for the increase in sales.

Right now there is currently a less than six-month supply for new homes priced under $250,000 and about a six-month supply of homes priced between $250,000 and $500,000 in North Texas.

Builders are still experiencing difficulty with strict lending practices, which has also resulted in a low new home supply. However, some industry analysts are still predicting that builders will produce about 15,000 new homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2010.

Tight Lending Standards

Tight lending practices are expected to persist in 2010, thereby providing obstacles for small builders. Some analysts therefore predict that larger public companies will account for the majority of new homes starts in 2010.

Declines in homes sales have finally leveled off, and median home prices are even showing signs of increases.

Given the fact that the Dallas economy is expected to bounce back much quicker than other large cities (mainly because it didn’t experience the housing bubble that many other large cities did), it appears that 2010 will finally be a year to being breathing again.

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