Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

General Overview

Population centre: 1.2 million
Population greater metro area: 6.5 million
State population: 25.1 million

City demographics:
Racial composition of the city was 56.6% White, 23.2% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian, 2.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 15.9% from some other race, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos (of any race) make up 43.1% of the total population; Mexican Americans make up 38.5% of the population.

Dallas’ population has historically been predominantly white, but its population has diversified as it has grown in size and importance over the 20th century to the point that non-Hispanic whites now represent less than one-third of the city’s population. In addition, recent data showed that 26.5% of Dallas’ population and 17% of residents in the Metroplex as a whole were foreign-born.

Dallas is a major destination for Mexican immigrants, both legally and illegally. The southwestern and southeastern portions of the city, particularly Oak Cliff and Pleasant Grove, are chiefly inhabited by black and Hispanic residents, while the southern portion of the city is predominantly black. The West and East sides of the city are predominately Hispanic. North Dallas, on the other hand, is mostly white, though many enclaves of predominantly black and Hispanic residents exist. In addition, Dallas and its suburbs are home to a large number of Asian residents—Koreans, Taiwanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Indians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, Nepalese, and Arabs all have large presences in the area, particularly in the suburbs of Garland, Richardson, Plano, Carrollton, Irving, Frisco, Flower Mound, and Allen.

Counties:
Dallas, Collin, Denton, Rockwall, Kaufman

Brief overview of city:
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area is the fourth largest in the United States. Divided between Collin, Dallas, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties, the city had a 2010 population of approximately 1.2 million, according to the United States Census Bureau. The city is the largest economic center of the 12-county Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area that according to the March 2010 U.S. Census Bureau release, had a population of roughly 6.5 million as of July 2009. The metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States.

Dallas was founded in 1841 and formally incorporated as a city in February 1856. The city’s economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, computer technology, energy, and transportation, home to several Fortune 500 companies. Located in North Texas and a major city in the American South, Dallas is the core of the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States that lacks any navigable link to the sea. The city’s prominence arose from its historical importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries, and its position along numerous railroad lines. Dallas developed a strong industrial and financial sector, and a major inland port, due largely to the presence of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, one of the largest and busiest airports in the world.

Brief overview of state:
Texas is the second-largest U.S. state by both area and population. The name, a corruption of the Caddo “Tejas” (“friends” or “allies”) was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in East Texas. Located in the South Central United States, Texas is bordered by Mexico to the south, New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km²), and a growing population of 25.1 million residents.

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and sixth largest United States metropolitan areas, respectively. Other major cities include El Paso and Austin—the state capital. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify Texas as an independent republic and as a reminder of the state’s struggle for independence from Mexico. The “Lone Star” can be found on the Texas State Flag and on the Texas State Seal.

Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, Texas contains diverse landscapes that resemble both the American South and Southwest. Although Texas is popularly associated with the Southwestern deserts, less than 10% of the land area is desert. Most of the population centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests, and the coastline. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, and finally the desert and mountains of the Big Bend.

The term “six flags over Texas” came from the several nations that had ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas. France held a short-lived colony in Texas. Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845 it joined the United States as the 28th state. The state’s annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state, Texas declared its secession from the United States in early 1861, joining the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. After the war and its restoration to the Union, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation.

One Texas industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle. Due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The state’s economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated an economic boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy and high tech industry in the mid-20th century. As of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the state leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace, and biomedical sciences. It leads the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product.

Average annual income per capita: $40,147
Average annual income per family:  $42,670

Current unemployment rate: 8.1%

Economy background:
In its beginnings, Dallas relied on farming, neighboring Fort Worth’s Stockyards, and its prime location on Native American trade routes to sustain itself. Dallas’ key to growth came in 1873 with the building of multiple rail lines through the city. As Dallas grew and technology developed, cotton became its boon and by 1900 Dallas was the largest inland cotton market in the world, becoming a leader in cotton gin machinery manufacturing. By the early 1900s Dallas was a hub for economic activity all over the southwestern United States and was selected in 1914 as the seat of the Eleventh Federal Reserve District. By 1925 Texas churned out more than ⅓ of the nation’s cotton crop, with 31% of Texas cotton produced within a 100-mile (161 km) radius of Dallas. In the 1930s petroleum was discovered east of Dallas near Kilgore, Texas. Dallas’ proximity to the discovery put it immediately at the center of the nation’s petroleum market. Petroleum discoveries in the Permian Basin, the Panhandle, the Gulf Coast, and Oklahoma in the following years further solidified Dallas’ position as the hub of the market.

The end of World War II left Dallas seeded with a nexus of communications, engineering, and production talent by companies such as Collins Radio Corporation. Decades later, the telecommunications and information revolutions still drive a large portion of the local economy. The city is sometimes referred to as the heart of “Silicon Prairie” because of a high concentration of telecommunications companies in the region, the epicenter of which lies along the Telecom Corridor located mostly in Richardson, a northern suburb of Dallas. The Corridor is home to more than 5,700 companies including Texas Instruments (headquartered in Dallas), Nortel Networks, Alcatel Lucent, AT&T, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Nokia, Rockwell Collins, Cisco Systems, Sprint and Verizon Communications.

In the 1980s Dallas was a real estate hotbed, with the increasing metropolitan population bringing with it a demand for new housing and office space. Several of Downtown Dallas’ largest buildings are the fruit of this boom, but over-speculation and the savings and loan crisis prevented any further additions to Dallas’ skyline. Between the late 1980s and the early 2000s, central Dallas went through a slow period of growth and has only recently recovered. Since 2000, the real estate market in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has been relatively resilient. However, Dallas is among the largest cities in the U.S. where rent declined significantly. Whereas the national decline in rent is approximately 4%, Dallas rent declined an average of 8% in early 2010.

Texas Instruments, a major manufacturer, employs 10,400 people at its corporate headquarters and chip plants in Dallas. Defense and aircraft manufacturing dominates the economy of nearby Fort Worth.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has one of the largest concentrations of corporate headquarters for publicly traded companies in the United States. The city of Dallas has 12 Fortune 500 companies and the DFW region as a whole has 20. In 2007-08, Comerica Bank and AT&T located their headquarters in Dallas. Irving is home to four Fortune 500 companies of its own, including ExxonMobil, the most profitable company in the world and the second largest by revenue for 2008,[93] Kimberly-Clark, Fluor (engineering), and Commercial Metals. Additional companies headquartered in the Metroplex include Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, RadioShack, Neiman Marcus, 7-Eleven, Brinker International, AMS Pictures, id Software, ENSCO Offshore Drilling, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Chuck E. Cheese’s, Zales and Fossil. Corporate headquarters in the northern suburb of Plano include HP Enterprise Services, Frito Lay, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and JCPenney.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest breast cancer organization was founded and is headquartered in Dallas.

In addition to its large number of businesses, Dallas has more shopping centers per capita than any other city in the United States and is also home to the second shopping center ever built in the United States, Highland Park Village, which opened in 1931. Dallas is home of the two other major malls in North Texas, the Dallas Galleria and NorthPark Center, which is the 2nd largest mall in Texas. Both malls feature high-end stores and are major tourist draws for the region.

The city itself is home to 15 billionaires, placing it 9th worldwide among cities with the most billionaires. The ranking does not take into account the 8 billionaires who live in the neighboring city of Fort Worth.

Dallas is currently the third most popular destination for business travel in the United States, and the Dallas Convention Center is one of the largest and busiest convention centers in the country, at over 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m²), and the world’s single-largest column-free exhibit hall.

Public transportation:
From airport – Catch the Monday to Saturday Trinity Railway Express to downtown Union Station ($2.25).  The airport stop is actually in a parking lot; shuttle bus will take you direct to the terminal.  On Sundays when there is no train, take a shuttle; Yellow Checker Shuttle and SuperShuttle run shuttles from DFW to downtown for around $18.  Taxi to central will cost between $40 to $50.

Around the city – DART (www.dart.org) operates buses and an extensive light rail system that connects Union Station and other stops downtown with outlying areas. Day passes ($4.50) are available from the store at the Akard Station (1401 Pacific Ave; 7.30 – 5.30pm Mon-Fri).  Travel uptown from down on the free McKinney Ave trolley, which runs daily from the corner of Ross Ave and St Paul St, near the Dallas Museum of Art, up McKinney Ave to Hall St.

Property Analysis

 

Median house price: $128,200
Zillow home value index: $89,200
Trulia home value index: $80, 620

Background/Summary: (provided direct from Trulia)

The median sales price for homes in Dallas TX for Feb 11 to Apr 11 was $80,620. This represents a decline of 1.1%, or $871, compared to the prior quarter and an increase of 0.8% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have appreciated 19.4% over the last 5 years in Dallas. The average listing price for Dallas homes for sale on Trulia was $471,217 for the week ending May 11, which represents an increase of 0.7%, or $3,478, compared to the prior week and an increase of 1%, or $4,891, compared to the week ending Apr 20. Average price per square foot for Dallas TX was $69, an increase of 3% compared to the same period last year. Popular neighborhoods in Dallas include Preston Hollow, Oak Lawn, North Dallas, Far North Dallas, Lakewood, and Lake Highlands.

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In Dallas the housing market has been as uncomfortable as Texas weather. Gains in home values produced by the federal credit didn’t have any lasting power. Home sales turned sluggish after the expiration and homeowners became increasing concerned over the economy.  A rising supply of foreclosed homes hitting the market coupled with short sales is also taking their toll as the Dallas-Forth Worth area experienced record foreclosures. A back-log of inventory and more mortgage holders walking away from homes in the New Year will have an enormous impact on the market even with comparatively high employment levels. 

Consumers who drive the Dallas market are waiting for better economic signs before taking a leap to make a purchase in to make a purchase in most cases, which will act to keep the market sluggish and add to the time it will take the market to heal. Dallas is forecast to see sluggish home sales in 2011 on 3.4% average housing deflation.

Dallas suburb report:
Refer to spreadsheet Dallas suburb report

Dallas homes and real estate data:

	Dallas	National
Owners:	43.2%	66.3%
Renters:	56.8%	33.7%
Median Home Size (Sq. Ft.):	1,446	– –
Avg. Year Built:	1962	– –
Single-Family Homes:	73.3%	– –
Condos:	13.7%	– –
Property Tax:	$4,583	$3,025

Dallas People Data:

	Dallas	National
Median Household Income:	$37,628	$44,512
Single Males:	19.3%	14.6%
Single Females:	15.1%	12.5%
Median Age:	32	36
Homes With Kids:	28.5%	31.4%
Average Household Size:	2.58	2.589
Average Commute Time (Min):	28.105	26.376

 

Sources:
Wikipedia, Lonely Planet, Zillow, Trulia, US Market Outlook, First National, Re/Max, Propertywire