September 2007



Lucy Billingsley

As the daughter of Trammel Crow it is no surprise the Lucy has real estate in her vanes. Today Lucy gave an overview of the residential real estate market and the impact of the sub prime mortgage on the available inventory in Dallas and Fort Worth. In a nut shell, residential real estate is facing some serious problems.

The one bright spot is in condo sales. The Central Business District (CBD) of downtown Dallas is experiencing a huge rise in interest and growth. She spoke at length about her real estate interest in the 1 Art Condo projects she has built and the leasing and sales efforts and more importantly the type of clientele.

She also discussed the impact of the Trinity River Project and way this huge development is crucial to the overall success of the revitalization effort of downtown Dallas.



Danielle DeMartino

Today Danielle DeMartino with the Federal Reserve in Dallas gave a detailed overview of the recent crisis in the sub-prime market. Use historical and current economic data she provided a very vivid and compelling account of how the sub prime market evolved over the past 5 years and many of the factors that lead to the current situation.

Needless to say her information was enlightening and frightening. The net result…the affects of this sub prime market fiasco have yet to be felt and may get worse in the future as ARMs begin to reset next year. The problem is much bigger in scope than most people image and the affect on home prices across the nation is beginning to manifest itself now. Net, net…if you need a mortgage, put down 20%, have great documentation and forget about a jumbo arm.