Condos up next for D.R. Horton?

Builder to venture into high-rise market with Uptown tower

12:00 AM CST on Thursday, November 10, 2005
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

D.R. Horton – the country's largest homebuilder – is plotting a move into the high-rise residential market.

The Fort Worth-based builder has teamed up with a Bedford developer who plans to construct an Uptown condo tower.

The project is still in the planning stages, but word about it is widespread among real estate brokers. D.R. Horton officials did not return phone calls or e-mails.

Planned for a block at McKinney Avenue and Akard Street, the 21-story project is one of two residential buildings proposed for the site by Centurion American Development Group.

Centurion is designing a building with about 150 units, which D.R. Horton would build out.

"We are just building the shell," said Centurion president Mehrdad Moayedi. Horton will then finish out the condominiums "a floor or two at a time," he said.

"It will be another 30 or 40 days before we have an announcement."

The building site also has room for a second, 10-story condominium plus a free-standing restaurant, Mr. Moayedi said.

Horton builds more than 50,000 homes a year in 23 states. Although most of the company's construction is traditional single-family homes, the builder is increasing its offerings in higher-density housing, including townhomes.

"We have talked to a few builders that have looked at this concept," said Ted Wilson, an industry analyst with Dallas' Residential Strategies Inc. "With the competition in this market, a lot of builders are venturing into new areas."

Mr. Wilson said a company such as Horton could be a formidable competitor in the high-rise condo market.

"You have a Wall Street company acting as a principal in this," he said. "You also have Horton's strength in marketing."

Few traditional builders have entered the booming high-rise residential market, but condominium sales are surpassing single-family home activity in select U.S. locations.

"It doesn't surprise me that the big builders are moving in that direction – especially in markets where condo product has proven to have a lot deeper demand than single-family," said long-time Dallas housing analyst Ron Witten.

"The big builders are eager to maximize their volumes."

Slam the door on tax proposals

Cutting deductions on homes would hurt, not help, U.S. economy

10:30 AM CDT on Friday, October 28, 2005

President Bush's tax reform advisory commission is suggesting that we slash the home mortgage interest deduction and eliminate the home property tax deduction.

Why not raise interest rates to 20 percent and put an extra $6 per gallon tax on gasoline at the same time?

As long as we are going to trash the economy, let's do a complete job of it.

Housing, after all, has been the stalwart segment of the U.S. economy since the 1990s.

For the last two years, all consumers have heard is that the housing market is teetering on the brink of a crash.

Now the federal government wants to shove it over the edge.

In North Texas, the plan to do away with mortgage deductions on loans of more than $350,000 won't have a big impact.

After all, the average house here sells for less than $200,000.

But many East and West Coast markets have seen soaring home appreciation in the last few years. In those states, $350,000 won't buy much.

The real impact here would be the property tax proposal.

In states such as Texas, which have a high property tax burden, a curtailing of the federal tax deduction would penalize homeowners. In fact, it could be the bullet that bursts the home price bubble.

"What would it do to the housing prices if you take away the deduction?" asked Dave Seiders, the chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. "You have to worry about what it would mean to pricing if you took it away."

The idea is especially troubling in an economy where consumer costs for everything from home heating bills to health care are skyrocketing.

The housing market has been the one part of the economy that has shrugged off worry.

Now White House tax planners are aiming at what they see as a fat goose – no matter if it lays golden eggs.

Expect Gables trust

to sell Uptown units

Look for Gables Residential Trust to put some of its Uptown apartment properties on the market.

Early this month, ING Clarion paid $2.8 billion to buy Florida-based Gables, which is Uptown's biggest apartment landlord.

Since then, Gables has put some of its rental properties in Atlanta up for sale. Uptown apartments probably will follow.

Brokers say the rental units will attract great interest from companies that would turn the apartments into condominiums.

Surrounded

by Frisco

Developers are building a 52,000-square-foot shopping center west of Frisco in Denton County.

The Village at Eldorado will be on the southeast corner of Eldorado Parkway and FM423, inside the Little Elm city limits.

"Frisco is on three sides of us," said Jesse Pruitt of CMC Commercial Realty Group. "The growth out there is unbelievable, and they need services desperately."

Blockbuster, Hibernia Bank, Long John Silver and CVS Pharmacy have signed on. Three anchor retail buildings and two smaller office and retail buildings are also planned in the shopping complex. The project will take about six months to build.

Pine Creek hospital

changes hands

Dallas' R.M. Crowe Co. and Roland Bandy Investments have teamed up to purchase the Pine Creek Medical Center, a physician-owned surgical hospital at the northeast corner of Harry Hines Boulevard and Research Row.

The recently erected medical building contains 45,586 square feet on 4.57 acres.

The property is leased for 20 years to a group of doctors specializing in orthopedic and neurological procedures.

Matt Bandy, a principal of Roland Bandy Investments, and Jim Roberts of First Texas Realty Inc. arranged the purchase. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Wrapped up

in marketing

It's hard to miss the sign for Wachovia Corp.'s Texas banking headquarters in Addison.

Work crews have wrapped part of the Spectrum Center building at the Dallas North Tollway and Belt Line Road with a giant Wachovia banner.

The eight-story building is owned by Crescent Real Estate, which OK'd the temporary marketing tool. In case you were wondering, the high-tech sign is transparent and doesn't block views from inside the building.

"It looks great, and we may use this with others of our properties," said Crescent's John Zogg.