ELIZABETH M. CLAFFEY/DMN

Congress and the Bush administration are headed for a showdown over a federal program that has increased homeownership in Texas but is blamed for eroding lending standards and contributing to foreclosures.
More Foreclosures of Dallas-Fort Worth homes worth more than $1M double

Builders shopping for bargain resort packages

The Hollows at Lake Travis, Austin

The worst housing slump in a generation could prove to be a windfall for some investors. At least that’s what buyers of surplus building company properties are betting. As homebuilding companies dump billions of dollars in excess properties, investors are sorting through everything from excess lots to unfinished buildings in hopes of future profits.

06/30/2008

First apartments in Dallas Arts District going up

JPI

Across from Dallas’ new performing arts center will be a 228-apartment building, seen here in an artist’s rendering.

Developer JPI is building the mid-rise complex on Routh Street across from the new Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. The project, which will open in early 2010, is one of two JPI is building downtown. Rents will average $1,800.
More commercial real estate news

06/26/2008

Construction materials costs go through roof

MILTON HINNANT/DMN

Construction continues at Victory Park in Dallas on buildings, including The House (left).

Soaring global demand and high energy prices have caused construction material prices to explode for both commercial and residential builders. Construction costs have been increasing at more than twice the level of overall consumer prices.
More commercial real estate news

06/25/2008

Blockbuster may face rival offers for Circuit City

Apollo buys Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre
New York-based Apollo Real Estate Advisors has purchased a high-profile North Dallas hotel. On Wednesday, Apollo acquired the 482-room Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre hotel at the Dallas North Tollway and LBJ Freeway.

06/24/2008

Congress on verge of homeowner relief
With sinking home values still dragging down the economy, Congress is poised to pass a huge package of housing legislation.

06/23/2008

Demand for Dallas-Fort Worth office space tumbles
Net office leasing in the area is down more than 50 percent from the same time last year, according to preliminary numbers from Cushman & Wakefield of Texas.

2nd seniors' tower project is canceled

06/19/2008

Deep Ellum may get back on track after DART stations open

LARA SOLT/DMN

At Elm Street and Good-Latimer Expressway, storefronts are vacant … for now.

Deep Ellum's new development and empty buildings represent its future and its past. When DART trains start rolling in, they'll bring change. "Everything revolves around the train coming," said Barry Annino, a longtime real estate broker in the area who's head of the Deep Ellum Foundation. The pending start of DART rail service also could bring big profit for investors who own blocks and blocks of Deep Ellum. Four investment groups own more than 90 properties in Deep Ellum – including many of the largest.

06/18/2008

Eight arrested, three others indicted in North Texas mortgage fraud
Federal agents arrested eight North Texas men Wednesday in connection with an alleged mortgage fraud operation involving at least 11 homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

06/16/2008

Staubach merger with Jones Lang LaSalle may cost $725M
A combination of Dallas-based commercial real estate broker Staubach Co. and Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle is likely to create the country’s second largest commercial property services firm. The merger of the two real estate companies - rumored for more than a year – will cost more than $600 million.

06/13/2008

Developer Hopkins Commercial levels site - at a cost of $1 million
Developer Mike Hopkins moved mountains to do his latest real estate deal.

06/12/2008

More offices, residences going up in Uptown

STEVE BROWN/DMN

Two million square feet of office space and more than 1,200 high-rise residential units are being built in Uptown.

There's no need for road signs to tell visitors they're in Dallas' Uptown district – just look for the construction cranes. Almost a dozen high rises are going up in the neighborhood just north of downtown. That's a higher concentration of construction than anywhere else in North Texas.

Developer planning Hilton hotel at Plano office park
The developer of a successful Plano office park is working on plans for a hotel.

06/10/2008

Lewisville Oks development near planned rail station
Huffines Communities will develop 90-acres at Interstate 35E and State Highway 12. The project is planned to contain 1,726 rental homes surrounding a village green. And 20,000 square feet of retail and office space will be built adjacent to the rail station.

06/09/2008

Dallas-Fort Worth pre-owned home sales drop 12%, prices rise

MICHAEL AINSWORTH/DMN

More than 7,700 pre-owned single-family homes in North Texas were sold last month.

Home sales dropped 12 percent in North Texas last month. Even with the decline, overall prices eked out a 1 percent gain from a year ago. A median priced home sold for $154,000 in May — the highest price since last summer.

Homeowners pack Arlington mortgage workshop
Hundreds of grim-faced homeowners at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure filled Arlington Convention Center on Monday to ask for help.