best home investment in a 5-10 year period? (Dallas, Plano: hardwood floors, for sale)

[USA_Mom]

I don't see them selling for awhile, 5-10 years, so I think she'll personally be fine for the most part. But she will definitely sell at some point, she went from 1200 sf in Cali to nearly 4000 in Louisiana and is at 2700ish and thinks it's too big for 2 people, and really it is hard for her even with a housekeeper to keep up with.

[Lakewooder]

It may be too late for Lakewood to get a deal (but remember just like Park Cities and North Dallas it just keeps going up and up) but there are adjacent areas that have some good deals but may involve some risk. For instance the areas around Henderson Ave. just north of Ross were considered bad even 2-3 years ago. But now the whole street is being rapidly gentrified like the area near Knox and Central Expressway. There are several projects which some of us know about but have not quite started (and these are big name developers) so I think there is still money to be made. I would even go so far as saying buy something that is in still less desirable areas south of Fitzhugh.

I live in Junius Height Historic District now (just declared historic last year) and it's between Swiss Ave, Munger Place and Lakewood Shopping Center. It has many great craftsman bungalows (getting very popular around the USA) and Lipscomb Elementary is exemplary once again. There's a house up the street from me listed for $339,000 and some of the streets which are perpendicular to Gaston are even more. But you can sometimes find something for less than 200K - I've seen several from $140-180K range in the last few months. But it will need work.

Mount Auburn is another area which is down and out but is next to the vaunted Hollywood Heights, Tenison Golf Courses and I-3O - Mount Auburn Elementary has been rated exemplary for the past two years and now the East Dallas Veloway/Hiking Trail from White Rock Lake is about to start construction on Mount Auburn's north side. There are a couple of tear-downs and McMansions in MA already but it really hasn't taken off yet. Yep it could be risky but you could get a great rental even if things don't improve for a while...I would buy on the streets closest to Hollywood. This is zip 75223 if you want to look.

[FarNorthDallas]

Richardson, Garland and Plano are not built out and they have been around for decades. It will be a long long time before Frisco and McKinney are built out.

Originally Posted by NY - Dallas

in 5-10 years I would assume these suburbs will be built out.

[turnbun]

You're incredibly way off. Houses don't appreciate much with cow pastures beside them and plentiful amounts of new housing. People will buy the new house and your will remain unsold. Developers will turn the cow pastures into new housing.

Buy in Dallas. Landlocked cities will always have higher appreciation. East Dallas North Dallas

I totally agree.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

Richardson, Garland and Plano are not built out and they have been around for decades. It will be a long long time before Frisco and McKinney are built out.

Actually Richardson only has one residential parcel left to be developed and they just zoned it at the end of last year. It ain't big either. Garland is close to build out w/ only a few small parcels scattered about the city but nothing of significant size. Plano is close behind. What is getting Frisco so close to being built out are the builders throwing up houses faster than people are buying them.

[Lakewooder]

Throwing up is right and by unskilled labor too...look at how they glue and staple houses onto cheap slab foundations atop fill dirt...

[GoPadge]

Now that's not fill dirt, some of it's prime, if overpriced, farmland.

[socketz]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Throwing up is right and by unskilled labor too...look at how they glue and staple houses onto cheap slab foundations atop fill dirt...

Your out there sometimes with these blanket statements Lakewooder...

I'm sure your good ole home in Dallas was built by a team of skilled craftsman that belonged to a union and took lunch to work in a little green lunch pail.

Abstetos, lead paint, lead pipes....all those good old things we put in houses back when they were 'done right'

[socketz]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Actually Richardson only has one residential parcel left to be developed and they just zoned it at the end of last year. It ain't big either. Garland is close to build out w/ only a few small parcels scattered about the city but nothing of significant size. Plano is close behind. What is getting Frisco so close to being built out are the builders throwing up houses faster than people are buying them.

Your starting to come up with some blanket statements as well Mom.

There are still tons of people moving to Frisco (that's alll I hear people in Plano talk about). Yes, there are foreclosures in certain areas to the far West (next to 423) and the east, but these are areas I've told people to stay away from. If you stick with The Trails, The Teel Corridor, Areas along Legacy and the exclusives areas like Starwood and Stonebriar, resale will be excellent.

Frisco is close to being built out 5-7 years because there is an enormous parcel 100s of acres (flanks both sides of the Tollway up to the 380) that belongs to an old wealthy guy that refuses to sell. Alot of the other land is zoned commercial. If you go to some of the new home developments in the areas I recommended (Pearson Farms, Cobb Hill, etc), they have maps of the entire area and can tell you what's going where. Also, the Grand Park in SW Frisco will take up alot of space as well going from Legacy up through Main.

Once Phillips Creek Ranch is built out, Frisco will be winding down....

For you guys to still be predicting the demise of Frisco and Mckinney and recommend that people look at 50k homes in Garland....that's madness. Maybe compare Firewheel to Frisco and places like Stonebridge, but not the other parts of Garland, especially not the 50k areas.

[socketz]

Originally Posted by hamiltonpl

You're incredibly way off. Houses don't appreciate much with cow pastures beside them and plentiful amounts of new housing. People will buy the new house and your will remain unsold. Developers will turn the cow pastures into new housing.

Buy in Dallas. Landlocked cities will always have higher appreciation. East Dallas North Dallas / Uptown / Downtown are all good places to invest.

Landlocked cities huh....once you exclude the three areas you mentioned, let's list all the cities that fall into this category that do not appreciate: Farmer's Branch, Mesquite, Carrollton, most other parts of Dallas other than the handful of upscale areas you mentioned....the list could go on and on....alot of areas just peak, then go downhill and never really come back. The key here in the Dallas market is to look for energy and growth, that will create positive perception that then attracts buyers.

I know a couple people that have bought and sold in Frisco 2-3 times in 7 years and made out each time. Again, you guys are using one brush to paint a huge area.

True, if you buy in a new area, you must be discriminating and ou cannot sell in your community if it is not built out.....but to say it will never appreciate is just incorrect.

I'm sure many people said the same thing about Plano years ago....FORECLOSURES!!!! THE COMMUTE!!! IT'S GOING TO GO UNDER!!! PEOPLE ARE ALL OVER EXTENDED!!!! 30k MILLIONARES!!!!

But look at how nice Plano has become.

Also, at the end of the day, a huge market here is people moving in from other states......why are so many of these people ending up in these upscale northern burbs if their destiny is foreclosure and depreciation ? I've met almost nobody that comes here and falls in love with Dallas. Sorry. Even among my customers and co-workers, when I ask about Dallas, the typical answer is first a grimace, then a "you don't want to be looking there".

So my point is, it is not the panacea the group of 3-4 members here make it out to be and there will be people moving into the northern burbs for a long time, even amongst the resistance of the Collin County Vodoo Dolls you advocate.