Steve Brown Says Andy Beal Shopping the Hicks and Crow Estates for Christmas

No shocker there — the billionaire banker is worth about 11.7 billion, which is plenty of cheese to plunk down on the $100 million Hicks estate Walnut Place on Walnut Hill Lane OR the $46 million estate of Trammell Crow on Preston Road. (It has been reduced from $59.356 million, not sure Steve got that message.) Two entirely different properties. And money is no object. And Beal’s freaking young, age 62. Still single, far as I know.

The Hicks estate, is turn-key ready: it’s an historic home of 27,000 plus square feet that was meticulously renovated with every attention to detail. There are seven bedrooms plus a 3,000 square foot master and quite honestly, you could live just in the master and mistress’s closets, though the separate entertainment house (which houses the theater) is one of my personal favorites.

The Crow estate at 4500 Preston Road is one of the largest properties in Highland Park, and while the home is exceedingly grand, it might need a little renovation. Which would give the new owners a chance to make their own imprint and statement upon the house — choose their own designers, architects, etc. You simply cannot beat the property or location. We are talking 6+ acres in the heart of one of the nation’s most desirable communities with almost guaranteed home values, security and schools. In 1906, when HP began, only 5 multi-acre sites were created on Preston Rd overlooking Turtle Creek: this Tudor home designed in 1912 was one of them. It has only had 3 owners. The grounds include a century-old tree.

As we told you a couple weeks ago, the Crow estate was taken off the MLS marketplace in early November for the holidays, according to Allie Beth Allman.

Which is totally understandable. Homeowners have way too much to fuss with during the holidays. ‘Course we know that sometimes big homes come off the MLS, sit for awhile, and then are swept up by buyers who like to keep their names out of MLS. Last night I took a survey by Concierge Auction, the amazing high-end national auction house (one of the leading ones, actually) that has moved quite a few Dallas props… here are some of  the questions they ask:

— How many homes do you own? (1 to 5 +)

–If you own multiple homes, why did you purchase the additional homes — vacation, investment, wealth distribution, for children or parents

–Do you have concerns about having your information distributed on public websites like Redfin or Zillow? (Privacy, in so many words.)

I also know that billionaires like to make moves at year end, when they are worrying about things like taxes and know most of us are focused on the holidays and not what home they are buying. But I did speak with one billionaire a few years ago who is still eyeing the Hicks property because it’s the most expensive house in Dallas, and he would want the distinction of owning that. He also is watching the political landscape in this country carefully, which is changing, as is the world’s political landscape. And don’t forget Beal is good friends with Donald Trump.

So thanks, Steve, for the tip. I don’t know what to tell Andy Beal about these properties except… check out Lisa Blue’s place too, over on Deloache. I just LOVE that house!