Joanna England
Joanna England is the former long-time executive editor and a founding editor at CandysDirt.com.
Kerry Paradise Slaughter of Prudential Texas Properties started the “Slaughterhouse” Halloween bash seven years ago with just a grill and some weenies. This year, the event is bigger, scarier, and benefits a great cause. Find out more about this ghoulishly good time on BubbleLife Media’s Lake Highlands page.
I think this might be our first home on CandysDirt.com from Ridgewood Park, an East Dallas neighborhood just south of Lovers Lane and east of Abrams Road. It’s not too far south of Northwest Highway in a little alcove tucked away from too much traffic. In a word: Love. This house, 6515 Ridgemont Drive marketed…
I spoke to MetroTex Association of Realtors MLS Director Cathy Faulkner yesterday about “Z sales” coming to an end. In the luxury market, “Z sales” gave lofty sales prices a sense of anonymity.
I won’t bore you with the technical details of what a “Z sale” is exactly. Check out this site for a primer on the practice. The gist is this: sellers who were gun shy about disclosing what they paid for a home listed on MLS put a “Z” instead of a big number followed by a lot of zeroes.
Dallas Realtor Jeff Duffey says the death of the practice “will never affect approximately 99% of the real estate market areas throughout North Texas.” However, he estimates roughly 20 percent of the sales in high-end neighborhoods such as the Park Cities, Preston Hollow, and Turtle Creek are “Z sales.”
I doubt a piece of cardboard and a stake is going to turn off a prospective buyer, but would you want to risk it?
Apparently yes, at least for some people. I’ve passed several homes on my rounds through Dallas’ many upscale neighborhoods with not only a “For Sale” sign in the front yards, but large signs extolling their picks for public office.
Our hot summer days are waning, so the collective gasps uttered by North Texas homeowners opening their utility bills are quieting, too. But don’t forget — heat costs money, too, and having an efficient home will keep your bills predictable year round. Of course, going green isn’t always about saving green, but that’s definitely part…
