Here’s the Stories Behind the Stories: Your 10 Most Read on CandysDirt.com in 2025
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If 2025 proved anything, it’s that CandysDirt.com readers are still deeply motivated by the intersection of power, design, and history — and they click when a story taps into more than just a price tag.
This year’s most-read stories weren’t simply about big houses or big names, though there were plenty of both. They reflected a moment when North Texas readers were grappling with change: well-known names reshaping neighborhoods, iconic estates resurfacing, massive turnover of revered downtown real estate, and architecture — especially Midcentury Modern — continuing to capture design minds. Celebrity curiosity played its part, but so did civic concern, cultural memory, and a fascination with how wealth moves through Dallas-Fort Worth over time.
From the house in Wylie forever tied to one of Texas’ most infamous true-crime cases to confirmation that Luka Dončić isn’t going anywhere just yet, readers showed up in force for stories that blended real estate with broader cultural gravity. They clicked on record-setting estates sold halfway around the world, rediscovered forgotten architectural gems in Lake Highlands and Forest Hills, and followed the latest chapter in Fort Worth’s ongoing Sundance Square saga. They also paused — collectively — to mark the loss of Jacque Wynne, whose imprint on Dallas philanthropy and society ran far deeper than any address ever could.
Together, these ten stories pulled in longtime CandysDirt.com readers and brand-new visitors alike. They’re a snapshot of what captivated North Texas in 2025 — not just where people live, but why those places still matter.
1. Candy Montgomery: The Most Famous House in Wylie, 43 Years Later
When the popular HBO Max miniseries Love and Death landed on Netflix Dec. 1, it reignited a very Texas obsession — the salaciously told story of an axe-wielding adultress who murdered her friend in Wylie and essentially got away with it. This CandysDirt.com story I wrote in June 2023 revisits the 1980 killing of Betty Gore and examines the case through our local real estate lens, focusing on the modest Wylie home where the crime occurred.
The story took on a second life with readers this year, too. Even the comments section became part of the intrigue, sparking a spirited debate over whether a frequent commenter named Janice — a staunch defender of Candy Montgomery — could actually be Candy herself. Janice… Candace… But no. Janice explains she has nothing to do with the Montgomery case, but is close to someone who was wrongly accused of a crime.
It proves that in true CandysDirt fashion, sometimes stories take on a life of their own — read more about the Wylie home and then settle in for the comment section.
2. Luka’s Not Selling His Architecturally Significant Dallas Home, Rep Confirms
It’s been 10 full months since the Dallas Mavericks’ blockbuster trade sent Luka Dončić to the L.A. Lakers, and I still wince every time I see news about our Slovenian superstar. (He was “ours,” as the Dallas Morning News headline memorably put it the next morning.) One of the first questions publisher Candy Evans asked, though, was a very CandysDirt one: Would Luka sell his Preston Hollow home?
After repeated checks with MLS data (including one just now), the Dallas County Appraisal District, and brokers around town, the answer in April was a firm no. His longtime business manager confirmed to CandysDirt.com that he was not selling the property. The modernist showplace — built by Dallas architect Hardy McCullah and owned by Dončić since 2020 — remains off the market despite the seismic basketball news and widespread speculation.
That doesn’t mean Dončić has stopped buying real estate. After signing a three-year, $165 million extension with the Lakers, Dončić purchased tennis star Maria Sharapova’s $25 million mansion in Manhattan Beach in September 2025. Once again, the pick reflects his excellent taste: the five-bedroom, nearly 8,000-square-foot residence is a Japanese-inspired modern home defined by concrete walls, soaring glass, and a restrained, minimalist aesthetic, Architectural Digest reported after touring the home when Sharapova first built it.
In L.A. headlines, the news seemed to confirm Luka was there for the long haul, but maybe he knows you can never have too much of a good thing, in this case, gorgeous luxury real estate.
Read more about Luka’s Guernsey Lane home (and if you ever spot a For Sale sign, email us at [email protected]!)
3. Three Significant Highland Park Homes Now Belong to Clay and Lisa Cooley
Shop me first, shop me last, either way, come see Clay. That was the first thing we thought of when we heard secondhand that pieces of the infamous whisical wonder were being sold off on Facebook Marketplace. Now, we were never able to dig up any of these fungi specimens “for porch pickup,” but we do know an architectural salvage company was brought in to handle many of the unique elements of what Dallas collectively calls the mushroom house. A home that was so vehemently hated by Park Cities residents is now being dismantled for a nostalgic audience of architecture fans.
Read more about Karen Eubank’s keen spotting of these three Highland Park homes being sold and the historical significance behind all three.
4. This McKinney Estate With Massive Auto Palace Goes to Auction November 7 — No Reserve
When we first spotlighted this McKinney estate — a Tuscan-inspired luxury home with a 6,200-square-foot car palace designed to display more than 20 vehicles — it was headed to a no-reserve auction scheduled for Nov. 7. As the fourth most-read CandysDirt.com story of 2025, the post captured attention not just for the show-stopping automotive space and resort-style indoor pool, but for what it revealed about how trophy homes move in North Texas.
What many readers don’t realize is that the story didn’t end at the auction block. Instead, the McKinney estate went under contract on Nov. 4, three days before auction day, with an offer reported to be near the $4.4 million asking price.
If we’re being frank, this was never going to be an easy sale. Despite the best efforts of the listing agent, and even a highly-publicized CandysDirt.com party hosted at the property, the home sat on the market for 466 days. In this market, even an auction headline can be preempted by private demand — and this estate’s exotic mix of horsepower and luxury made timing everything.
5. Fort Worth’s Sundance Square Saga Continues
Let me tell you, Joy Donovan’s first draft of this deep dive into the upheaval at Fort Worth’s Sundance Square was a true tea sipper. A billionaire oil tycoon marries his much-younger girlfriend, then hands over control of one of the city’s most beloved districts — and suddenly decades of institutional knowledge and leadership are shown the door. Call Taylor Sheridan. There’s a “Landman” subplot hiding in here.
As editor, I did what editors are supposed to do. I stripped out anything that could even remotely, possibly be read as opinion and made sure any assertion was buttoned up, sourced, and defensible. CandysDirt.com isn’t a gossip site — though Dirt certainly is a double entendre.
Still, Joy was right about the underlying tension. And when Fort Worth observer Robert Bishop laid it all out in the comments, he said what many readers were clearly thinking. Read the story for a clear-eyed look at the turnover reshaping Sundance Square — then scroll straight to the comments to see just how raw the reaction was.
6. This Forest Hills Midcentury Modern Head-Turner Is the Smartest Purchase Ever
Karen always nails it with her Monday Morning Millionaire column, and this home owned and listed by Realtor Michelle Hopson is a fantastic one. P.S. This MCM has a disco ball.
7. Mount Vernon, the Former H.L. Hunt Estate, Is Back on the Market
Another Monday Morning Millionaire, Karen Eubank highlights a real-life replica of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, which sits on 10 acres fronting White Rock Lake.
8. A Look Inside the Southlake Estate That Set Records at a Hong Kong Auction
First listed for $24.5 million in 2022, this Southlake estate on Sunshine Lane would far and away be the most expensive home on the market, especially when the ultra-luxury market took a downturn after the pandemic. In the years following, the home was listed at prices ranging from $17.995 million to $27.5 million, including one go-round by Million Dollar Listing‘s celeb agents Tracy Tutor and Breah Brown of Douglas Elliman in 2023 for $18 million.
Read about the mile-long list of amenities, including a full basketball court in L.A. Lakers colors. (Can you tell I’m not over the Luka thing?)
9. Discover This Hidden Japandi Midcentury Modern Time Capsule in Lake Highlands
If you drove by this Midcentury Modern Japanese-inspired home in Lake Highlands, you’re likely to miss it. That’s by design, of course. The home is set into a heavily treed lot with an exterior covered in old-growth redwood. In a million years, you would never imagine what awaits inside.
Read more about this amazing time capsule of design.
10. Jacque Wynne, Beloved Co-Founder of Cattle Baron’s Ball, Dies at 78
Jacque Wynne was known for her swinging long black hair, gregarious personality, her ability to make everyone feel right at home, be they king or pauper. She co-founded the annual Dallas Cattle Baron’s Ball, which has raised more than $105 million for cancer research since 1974. It takes a special woman to achieve such a feat. Not for the amount of money raised — that is impressive — but for the love she inspired in others.
Happy New Year from the team at CandysDirt.com!
