Swanson Market Intelligence

SWANSON MARKET INTELLIGENCE

D A L L A S L U X U R Y R E A L E S T A T E 

Susie Swanson | Global Real Estate Advisor | Compass Dallas

Q3 2026

Summer in Dallas is not for the faint of heart. Neither is this market. The headlines will tell you things have cooled down. And they have at certain price points. But what I see every day in Preston Hollow and the Park Cities, is a different story altogether. Qualified buyers are active. Good homes are moving. And this city keeps proving why people keep choosing it. This is what I am watching this quarter. 

THE MARKET RIGHT NOW

Let me be direct about something. The data you are seeing in the news reflects the broader DFW market, entry level and mid-tier homes that have softened as inventory climbed and affordability tightened. That is a real story, but it is not my clients' story. At the luxury level, homes priced $2.5 million and above, the picture looks quite different. The high end held its ground while the broader market gave back ground, and in the neighborhoods I specialize in, inventory remains tight. When a well-priced, well-presented home comes to market in Preston Hollow or the Park Cities, it does not sit. In fact most homes are quietly selling off the market! A recent sale tells that story well. My listing at 6203 Waggoner Drive in Preston Hollow, listed at $2.6 million, sold at $2.5 million to a builder. It was a 100 by 200 foot lot, and it closed as the highest lot sale in the area. That is not a number that happens by accident. Builder confidence in Preston Hollow is real, and land at that price point reflects exactly where this neighborhood stands.

If you are thinking about selling, whether it is a home or a lot, let's talk. The answer to whether now is the right time depends on your property and your goals. I will give you a straight answer. 

THE buyers who keep coming

For the seventh year in a row, Dallas-Fort Worth ranked first in the country for corporate headquarters relocations. In 2025 alone, 11 companies moved their headquarters here from high-cost markets like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Since 2018, more than 100 headquarters have landed in North Texas. The names are not small. Toyota, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab, Caterpillar. Goldman Sachs alone is building an 800,000-square-foot campus here and is now home to its largest U.S. workforce outside of New York City. These are not companies making a casual bet on Dallas. They are committed. Every one of those moves puts executives and their families in the market for a home. When they arrive here and see what Preston Hollow and Park Cities have to offer, they understand the value immediately. These are exactly the buyers I have spent 40 years finding the perfect home for their family. 

knox street: what is being built

One development spans more than one million square feet. It includes a 140-room Auberge Collection hotel, 47 ultra-luxury condominiums, a 186-unit luxury apartment tower, a half-acre park with direct Katy Trail access, and more than 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurants. The private residences are nearly sold out before the building is even finished. This is the kind of development that reshapes a neighborhood for a generation. Knox Street already had the energy and the walkability. What is being added now raises the entire corridor. For buyers thinking about where Dallas is going, this is part of the answer. Saint Ambroeus, founded in 1936 and located in both Italy and France, opened in New York in 1982 and are bringing their first Texas location to Knox Street in Dallas and expected to open later this year. It will anchor The Lora, the new luxury residential tower taking shape as part of the Knox Street development near the Katy Trail. All-day dining, a beautiful cafe, outdoor patio seating. The kind of place where you linger over a perfect espresso at 10 in the morning and run into half the people you know. I pay attention to openings like this because they tell me something about where a city is headed. Saint Ambroeus is selective. They do not open in just any market. The fact that they chose Dallas, and specifically this neighborhood, is a statement about how the rest of the country sees us right now.

I think they are right! 

from my desk

I have lived in Highland Park and Preston Hollow since 1975. I have seen this market in every condition imaginable. Bull runs, corrections, uncertainty, and recoveries. What has not changed is the character of these neighborhoods and the quality of the people who choose them. Summer is quieter. People are at the lake, at the ranch, traveling. But it is also the season when some of the best conversations happen, away from the noise.

If you want to talk about the market, a property, or what your next move looks like, I am easy to reach and always glad to have that conversation.

Thank you for reading.

I hope your summer is a good one.