The city needs professional help with lakefront property

The answer to "How much?" is not known yet. Determining that number is not an easy formula for Rowlett or for Dallas. For the time being, let's just say some informed individuals are working on that number. For the rest of us, let's say it is "free." The word "free" should pique our spirited interest and prod us into further discussion.

Let's get the disclaimer out early. What follows is a gross understatement of the complexity of all the details. There is a myriad of questions to be answered before anything resembling a successful acquisition of the land and the final disposition can be accomplished.

Foreclosures, generally high in North Texas

Big Dallas seemed to be knocking on little Lavon’s door. Thousands of lots were laid out and hundreds of houses built, as developers tried to meet what seemed to be an insatiable appetite for inexpensive single-family homes. Land values soared, the population hit 2,500, and by November, the city was finally flush enough to afford a full-time police department.

But that was when the knocking stopped. Banks were no longer giving mortgages to anyone who could fog a mirror. “For sale” signs went up and stayed up. Weeds, not houses, sprouted on the scraped-earth plots.

Expect credit woes to hit real estate investments

"The investment sales market is likely to finish at $2.8 billion in 2007, compared to the all-time record of $3.6 billion recorded in 2006," said Steve Harriss, assistant director of research services in C&W's Dallas office. "Liquidity in the debt market diminished in 2007 due to the subprime turbulence.

"Investment sales slowed during the second half of 2007, with many sellers looking towards the first quarter of 2008 to begin marketing their properties."

Sales of Dallas-Fort Worth homes fell 16% in January

Pre-owned home sales in North Texas fell 16 percent in January compared with a year earlier, according to preliminary statistics released Thursday by the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems and Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center.

While adding to a long run of declines, last month's drop in sales was less than the almost 23 percent decrease in December.

Commercial real estate lending close to a standstill

Dr. Linneman also gave his perspective on the economy during his presentation Monday to Dallas' Real Estate Council, a trade association made up of more than 1,400 commercial real estate professionals.

Despite Wall Street gyrations and talk of recession, Dr. Linneman is predicting that the worst of the economic decline won't hit the country until after the presidential election.

Real Estate Venture With Sealy

Principal Financial Group Inc. (PFG) unit Principal Real Estate Investors said it will act on behalf of the California State Teachers' Retirement System in a new joint venture with Sealy & Co. Inc., a Dallas real estate investment firm.

The venture's current equity commitments total about $200 million. It will acquire and develop a portfolio of industrial properties, mostly to be held for long-term income and appreciation.