Allie Beth Allman CEO: Dallas Luxury Market Remains Strong Despite Uncertainty

By Keith Conlon

Despite a deep freeze in January, a war in the Middle East, rising gas prices, and economic uncertainty, the Dallas residential real estate market remained strong in the first quarter, especially in the luxury sphere.

There are compelling indicators for continued growth in the second quarter.

D-FW led the country in home sales in March with 7,598 transactions, and our own company reported a record $1 billion in sales for Q1, including an unprecedented $500 million in March alone.

So, despite what the headlines may say, buyers remain active, but they want a home that is move-in ready. Here are some other top priorities for buyers, especially in the luxury market:

• Premium neighborhoods
• Great architecture
• Strong schools
• Privacy
• Outdoor spaces
• Neighborhood walkability and proximity to retail and restaurants
• Easy access to connectors and highways

We are seeing more inventory coming onto the market, so buyers are looking for the best deals, but they also want to meet many of those priorities. When houses are well-maintained and well-priced, that’s when you begin to see multiple offers. It may not get to the heated level that we experienced a few years ago, but the great houses will move fast.

The main catalyst for the Dallas real estate market continues to be the robust Dallas-area economy itself. We have the country’s fifth-highest GDP at more than $740 billion. We’re home to more than 20 Fortune 500 companies (the fourth most in the country), and we have clocked the most corporate headquarters relocations in the nation since 2018 — more than 100.

D-FW has also been a leader in job gains over the past five years and is the center of the so-called “Y’all Street” phenomenon, logging the second-most financial services jobs in the country behind New York. And the Dallas metropolitan area is expected to surpass Chicago as the third most populous region in the country by 2030.

Although the pace of migration from other parts of the country has slowed a bit, Dallas-area homebuyers have filled the void in many instances.

Homes continue to sell very well in key neighborhoods, not only in Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow, and Devonshire, but also in Lakewood and other parts of East Dallas, where prices have continued to rise.

And even though lots are limited and pricey in many areas, particularly in the Park Cities, some builders and buyers have secured land elsewhere that ultimately presents good value. In Lake Highlands in Northeast Dallas, for example, multimillion-dollar homes are going up on some of the bigger lots because people want to be within the city loop and near some of the great schools there.

In March, the median sales price of a home in the D-FW area was $395,000, down from its peak of $415,000 in May 2025. But many Dallas luxury buyers continue to reinvest in higher-priced homes in different parts of the city. It is not uncommon now to see custom-built luxury homes or condominiums priced at $1,000 per square foot or more, which a few years ago was thought to be impossible.

So, what’s selling fast? For a single-family detached home in the Park Cities, $3-5 million is kind of the sweet spot. And if it’s on a good street and you don’t have to do a lot to it, people will be jumping on that as fast as they can.

High-rises also continue to offer good homes and investments for buyers who want a “lock-and-leave” residence, especially those with second homes elsewhere, and prices for those vertical spaces have remained stable in most areas of the Metroplex.

Over the past few weeks, sales have slowed in many parts of the country because of continued global and geopolitical uncertainty, inflation worries, higher home prices, and benchmark mortgage rates still above 6%. Still, industry experts forecast existing home sales across the nation will increase from 1.7% to a little over 4% this year. In some areas of Dallas, those numbers are probably going to be higher.

At the end of April, there were more than 32,000 homes listed for sale in the D-FW area, including more than 3,500 between $1 million and $64 million. Based on an analysis of our own company’s numbers for April, I believe Dallas-area home sales will be very positive in the second quarter.

Dallas isn’t necessarily operating in a frenzy. It is operating from a position of strength. Buyers here have more options, and sellers also have to be disciplined.

The luxury real estate market remains very healthy because Dallas continues to offer something that many other markets can’t: real scale, real opportunity, and real long-term value.

Keith Conlon is president and CEO of Allie Beth Allman & Associates, a leading luxury real estate firm in Dallas that has recorded more than $19 billion in sales since 2021.