I am a new home specialist, and your best areas for new homes approx 20-30 minutes from downtown will be Mesquite, Garland, Forney and Dallas the northern part of HWY 30. You can get a new home under $300.000's there usually. Also builder incentives. Feel free to contact us just click on our photo and info will come up to contact.

There are a couple new home GATED communities about 4 miles from Downtown right off of I-30, the only thing is that the schools are not that great BUT the prices are in the mid to high $200's which would allow for private school! There is also a high $300k community in NE Dallas right off NW HWY which is a little further drive but better schools by far. Should have no problem finding what you need there. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Srp

I hate to put a damper on the hunt, but I find it hard to find a good school district and still be close to downtown, in your price range. Also most communities that will be in that price range new are going to be further out. Land costs prohibit builders from building new in those areas for that price range. I can recommend, Frisco, Allen, McKinney, The Colony but they are not 30 minutes out...more like and hour.

You have many options in the 300K range for North Dallas. I work with many new construction builders in Addison, Carrollton, Plano, Richardson. Also, many builders are offering some excellent incentives right now to purchase, up to 25% in some cases. I've been able to negotiate thousands off sales price for clients looking for new homes, condos, townhomes, and lofts in the North Dallas and Downtown Dallas area. Recently my company was featured in the Wall Street Journal and on Channel 8 News Daybreak with Cynthia Vega discussing the Dallas New Home Market. I would recommend viewing both the article and interview, great insight into the Dallas Real Estate Market as well as the National Real Estate Market as a whole.

Thanks for your responses. My husband and I are looking at 2 options: a home in The Colony (in Lewisville ISD) and one in Richardson (in Plano ISD). I understand that both school districts are very good. (Please let me know if this is incorrect.)

Assuming that the price is the same, which area is better for investment purposes and/or commute into downtown? I have timed both travel times to be about equal. The variable seems to be traffic patterns during rush hour on Highway 75 vs. I-35.

I think both of those would be good choices. Both are going to be about the same as far as appreciation rates.

With respect to builders, is there greater marketability for Portrait Homes vs. Centex, or are they the same?
I have found both pros and cons of both.

richardson location with plano isd offers much easier communte routes into Downtown Dallas. You have access to 75, Tollway and many take Coit into Park Cities and short cut into Downtown Dallas depending on your commute time in the am and pm. Portrait and Centex both are respectable builders in the DFW area. As far as marketability is concerned, it depends on speciifc subdivision you are referring to and also dollar amount you are able to negotiate. In past, I've been able to negotiate some outstanding incentives on both centex and portrait, although much better with centex. Also, depending on subdivision, I offer up to 3% rebate back on home, paid at closing in addition to incentives negotiated which have been anywhere from 5-50K, depending on price point of home. Check out referenced link below for new home report.

Centex has a much broader base than Portrait does in this market, Dallas is their home location and they build many more units a year than Portrait. Construction practices with Centex is very stringent, very few customer complaints.

Centex may be more marketable because of name recognition. They are the middle of the 3 generation (Fox and Jacobs for beginning, Centex for middle and then Citi Homes for high end). All 3 are under the same umbrella.

Portrait has build in DFW mostly townhomes and they did really well. They are venturing into the single family homes now and I think will have as much success.

Have you thought about checking out Murphy? Plano Schools and much easier commute to downtown than Lewisville or The Colony, the other community just east of Plano Castle Hills is a golf master planned community, Lewisville ISD.

Dear S,

Welcome to Texas. I am a Dallas native and lived in NYC for five years and have been back in Dallas for four years now and would like to meet you in person to visit about your specific needs and will be able to relate to you knowing first hand the major differences between Dallas and NYC. I know a few neighborhoods that are off the beaten path that would meet your family's needs.

I look forward to hearing from you. My direct dial is 214.734.4789 or e-mail me johndean@ebby.com

I think you can find the right place. In the 300s I would look at Flower Mound, Grapevine, and Carrollton if you need new. If you can live in a preowned home you might look at Plano or Coppell or the 1st 3 cities. You've been offered lots of help here, but again we're here to assist if you need it. If you want Townhome style home there is new in the 300s closer to downtown, but you may not like the schools as much.

Just wanted to mention that you shouldn't let the school DISTRICT scare you, I live in Dallas and have a 14 year old and a 2 year old and neither one of them has had to or will have to attend their home school. There are alternatives in DISD such as transferring to a better school if your childs home school does not meet your standards, as well as academy's like the one my oldest attends and if you have High Schoolers remember Dallas has Townview which was rated #1 public school in the nation. I have many friends who work downtown as does my wife and we have not let schools become an issue as there is always a way around. We love living close to downtown and there are some GREAT neighborhoods here that has everything from excellent dining, to entertainment, to night life and not to mention a 5 minute drive versus an hour to an hour and a half drive! Commuting is not always fun nor is it cheap! Consider Dallas and contact the district about schooling options and you will see there is a solution!

You should look at North Oak Cliff, just 2 minutes south of downtown. Coming from NYC you might find the neighborhood more interesting than North Dallas. It is an artsy area with fab houses and tight knit neighborhoods. There are several historic and conservation districts where the homes are beautiful. It is the prettiest area in Dallas. Depending on what school age you have - Townview High was ranked the #1 high school in the nation and there are brilliant primary options.

Come see me at http://www.cliffdwellings.net and, later, let me take you on a tour! katrina@cliffdwellings.net

All the best,
Katrina

There are many questions which need to be answered. Do you both work just your husband?
You can purchase a home that offers Dart you can be in the well authored in the media school districts such as Plano, AllenYou won't be able to purchase a home for $300K close to downtown DallasContact our office with any further questions, prior to looking you will need to be qualified for a Dallas home mortgage loan, all offers on Dallas home for sale is submitted with a pre-approval letter.NOTE; We do have a Dallas home buyer rebate services that can save you $1000's at closing
972-699-9111
Lynn
911@lynn911.com http://www.lynn911.com

Hello SRP,

I worked for one of the Top 20 builders for years and was always one of their top producers. I know the ins and outs of the industry and am a specialist in that area. I have some questions I'd like to go through with you and suggestions I'd like to make.

To answer your later question about schools, here is some information from Great Schools:
http://www.greatschools.net/schools.page?city=Lewisville&…
http://www.greatschools.net/schools.page?city=Plano&stat…

Thanks for your time.

Have you looked in North Irving? There are new homes North of 635 off MacArthur. Some of this neighborhood is in the Coppell school distric which is great!!

There are many communities with the master up and someone else offered my favorite answer to the school districts anywhere in the country go to http://www.greatschools.com you can compare ours to yours and that will either give you comfort or concern and when you have children either become important. Been there and we are benefitting from it today with the tenth grand on the way in Sept! Whoo hoo the fun begins again. Dart is a good suggestion-it is clean and fast from Plano,(parker road and 75) you can get downtown in less than 30 minutes so the travel time is definately under an hour in most weather! It is even fun to take off to the zoo which is on the route on the weekend. I am a REALTOR and work for RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs click the photo for more.

Go EAST! Forney has great homes in your price range with larger lots. I live off of I-20 and can be in Downtown Dallas in 35 minutes and it is all highway driving. It is quiet, has great schools and more house for the money. Small community and less traffic. There are 4000 SF houses on an acre in that price range in this area.

Depending on what time he goes in to the office the commute could be 45 minutes to an hour but think of the Frisco/Little Elm area. We have a great builder up here that has a plan with dual masters - one up and one down, 4 or 5 bedrooms in total that is well withing your price range.
Michele 469/241-0000 http://www.2MTexas.com

A hidden jewel -- the ENCLAVE AT GROVE HILL is the only NEW GATED COMMUNITY that is INNER CITY. the community is 4 miles to downtown. DAVID WEEKLEY is the home builder and is well known in the Houston and Dallas market. This community can be found at the intersection of LAWNVIEWN @ GROVE HILL; you can build a brand new home or buy and existing home. This is a surprise to a lot of folks - even the Dallas Police stats for 2009 show this community experience's the least amount of crime compare to the rest of the City! Folks call this community THE NEW EAST DALLAS........i hope this helps you out? Most important, do your research. one more thing, i'm not an agent just and person involved in his community