HILLWOOD INCREASING MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT
FORT WORTH (Fort Worth Business Press) – Hillwood Properties announced this week plans to build more multifamily properties in North Texas, specifically within the company's 17,000-acre AllianceTexas master-planned development.
The company cited the region's "significant and growing employment base" and "rapidly increasing population" as reasons behind its decision to invest in more multifamily housing.
Hillwood will initially focus on bringing more than 3,000 units over the next ten years to AllianceTexas, which has zoning for more than 5,000 units.
The majority of those will be in the 900-acre Alliance Town Center mixed-use development, which stretches along I-35W from North Tarrant Pkwy. to Golden Triangle Blvd.
NEW RULES FOR HOAS
SAN ANTONIO (San Antonio Express-News) – A number of new state regulations are now in effect that limit some of the powers of homeowner associations (HOAs).
Homeowners living in a neighborhood with an HOA now must be permitted to:
- Display the U.S. or Texas flag, or flags of military branches. Free-standing flagpoles no more than 20 feet tall are also allowed.
- Hang a religious display on the front door. (HOAs can, however, require the display be no larger than 25 square inches.)
- Collect rainwater in barrels and use solar panels, within limits.
In addition, HOAs must go through a judge to foreclose on owners who fall behind on dues, and the HOA must give the owner a payment plan.
HOAs also have to hold open meetings, post a notice of those meetings and adopt record retention policies.
SUPPLY OF DFW HOMES DOWN
DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – At the end of 2011, the number of pre-owned single-family homes on the market in the Metroplex was at the lowest level in a decade.
About 27,000 homes were listed for sale with real estate agents in North Texas, 35 percent less than the record 41,647 listings in 2007 and the lowest number since 2001, according to statistics from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems.
“Since sales have maintained a fairly consistent level, the inventory measure is down under five months, which would normally indicate a very strong sellers’ market,” said Center Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines.
And it's not just existing homes that are down in number. The Dallas Morning News reported that around 3,000 finished vacant new homes are in the DFW area. That's about a fourth as many as in 2007.
