Fort Worth Friday Follow Ups: Finding Out How Featured Homes Fare on the Market

Remember “priced to sell” 1521 Elizabeth Blvd. from a few weeks ago? That post got nearly 800 Facebook shares and and a spirited bidding war ensued, taking the eventual selling price to a sizable chunk of change over the original asking price. And it appraised.

“You have to really work and do research,” said listing agent Lisa Logan of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s. “There are no comps because there is such crazy-low inventory.”

A further complicating factor is that Ryan Place is far more heterogeneous than Fairmount, mixing Jazz Age Palaces and simple bungalows.

“Ryan Place is trickier than trendy nearby Fairmount where, in spite of low inventory, houses do turn often enough to establish values,” Logan added. “This property has a wonderful setting and though new owners may want to do updates to kitchen and bath, it has a near perfect floor plan and buyers will pay for that.”

Back up offers continued to stream in during the contract period.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should probably mention that I can see this house from my bedroom window, and while I am glad to see improving values, I dread the inevitable increase in property taxes having like most homeowners in Dallas-Fort Worth, just been hit with the maximum allowable 10 percent increase in valuation.

Around the corner, two blocks down, work continues apace on Brent Hull’s project on 2300 Willing Avenue.  Television filming has begun on this total reconstruction project. I say reconstruction because it has literally been dismantled and is in the process of being reassembled.

“Some elements and trim pieces haven’t come out quite so cleanly. We are having to fill in with some new pieces, but we intend to stay faithful to the original 1922 structure,” notes the chief trim carpenter, James Melendy. “We’re about halfway through and should see some paint as early as next week.”

Frankly, I still struggle to see how some of this will come together, but everything I see is encouraging. The living room windows are more massive than pictures reveal and have recently been liberated from their cementing paint and with reattached weights, glide smoothly in their frames.

Meanwhile in another part of town, 408 Virginia Place in Monticello from a post four weeks ago was quickly put under contract. Buyers seemed to appreciate the opulent, unique finishes and materials, and were willing to pay a neighborhood, per-square-foot premium for its outstanding design and ultra move-in ready condition.

To help me make sense of this mosaic and give me a feel for the current state of the Fort Worth real estate market I spoke with real estate doyenne Martha Williams of Williams Trew, the firm handling the sale of 408 Virginia Place.

“We expected a lively spring but are still hampered by low inventory,” she said. “There is practically nothing in Fort Worth’s older, near-south neighborhoods — Berkley, Tanglewood, Park Hill. On the west side, inventories are super tight in Rivercrest and Monticello.”

In a way this cycle is somewhat self perpetuating. I know a couple who are waiting to put their Monticello house on the market until they find a place to move to.

“We are seeing a slowdown at the million-plus range, which is clearly related to oil and gas, but below $500,000, multiple offers are fairly common,” observes Williams.

However 2323 Medford Court in Park Hill from an April post, listed at $1.217 million, had no trouble finding a buyer within one week. From personal observation, I would have to conclude that the present real estate market is sending conflicting messages, making predictions about the future elusive.

Eric Prokesh is an interior designer whose work has appeared on HGTV, and in books and publications including D Home, Southern Accents, House Beautiful, and House and Garden. In January 2005, HG named Eric one of the 50 tastemakers in America and D Home has included him as one of Dallas’ Best Designers for 10 years. Having lived most of his life in Dallas, he now calls Fort Worth home and is one of our experts on beautiful Fort Worth Dirt.