Dallas Business Journal July 29, 2005

Dallas Homebuilders raise the bar on luxury living

By Karen Lancaster

A man's home is his castle, so they say. And nowhere is this as evident as in the luxury home market, where high-end builders are offering top-of-the-line amenities to meet the needs of their clients who expect the very best. "Quality has never been more important," says Dawn Carmichael, whose local firm Carmichael Consulting advises upscale builders and developers. "The home is one of the biggest investments that consumers make, and savvy buyers are always looking for design elements and materials that are a cut above." Bruce Smith of LandPlan Development agrees. The developer of luxury communities says that the character and location of the land is of utmost importance. His Stonebriar Park community in Frisco is noted for its expanses of neighborhood parks with ponds and fountains. "Then, for each home, our standards are also quite high, using cast-stone accents, high pitched roofs, 100-percent masonry exteriors and mature trees with landscape lighting." he says. "All of this contributes to lasting value in a home and its community.

In an era of cocooning, buyers not only expect abundant spaces for entertaining, but also for indulging hobbies and interests. John Hawkins of Hawkins Welwood Homes offers his clients an authentic wine cellar equipped with humidifier and exacting temperature controls for their finest vintages.

"Our media rooms have evolved to professionally furnished home theaters, with genuine surround-sound and cinema-quality seating," says Hawkins. The builder also routinely builds card rooms and humidors convenient to the bar areas in his homes. Causal living spaces typically extend from cozy commercial-grad kitchens out to backyard cooking facilities and fireplaces built into covered patios, cabanas and gazebos.

Resort-quality pools and spas are found in many of these top-echelon residences. "One of our most-requested amenities is the saltwater pool," says Lonnie Gray, of Lonnie Gray Premier Custom Homes. The builder of million-dollar properties says that the saltwater system manufactures its own chlorine, resulting in clearer water. "Swimmers can avoid the harsh chemical odors, burning eyes and green hair that sometimes comes with chlorine-based pools. And the technology requires minimal maintenance, so there's no need for a pool cleaning service.

Many must-have amenities are not so much about elegance, as they are convenience. Ms. Carmichael says builders are responding by providing additional service areas, such as a closet off the living room designed to store the family Christmas tree and seasonal decor. Mudrooms, too, are popular - not just for the humans in residence, but also for maintaining the family pets.

Custom features are not just for the owners of million-dollar-plus properties. Dennis Pitt, a former V.P. at Huntington Homes, has founded Balmoral Homes Ltd. to fill the gap that exists between production developments and their higher-priced custom counter parts. "We are going to address that niche, providing a superior level of finish-out, combined with production building schedules and economies-of--scale pricing value, offering consumers the best of all world, "he says. The first model home is planned for Denton's Lantana community, with more construction scheduled throughout the Metroplex.

Bigger is not always better, though. A growing market segment is that of low-maintenance luxury town home living. "From young homeowners with a busy lifestyle who just want to lock-and-leave, to empty-nesters who are looking for luxury amenities in a scaled-down, more manageable environment, this is a major force in the marketplace," says Ms. Carmichael. Hawkins-Welwood's North Dallas gated community of Windsor Place is just such a destination, offering homes with stat-of-the-art recreational facilities for its residents.

The lap of luxury has never been so, well - luxurious. And in the world of upscale homes, area builders will continue to raise the bar in meeting the needs of those who expect the very best.