Dilworth

Remember when Dilworth was still an up-and-coming neighborhood? Neither do we. It now has some of the priciest real estate in town, and the location cannot be beat. In fact, plenty of people are being priced out of the neighborhood (see Sedgefield). Prices were up in 2007, although that’s likely due to a lot of new construction near the new Lowe’s (i.e., builders buying small houses, razing them, building McMansions, and putting them back on the market at a much higher price). When we talked with him in February, though, Realtor Ed Baesel, former president of the Dilworth Community Development Association, said “there’s a huge amount of inventory” on hand, especially between $500,000 and $800,000.

PROS Location, hip factor. As commute times to the ’burbs increase exponentially, Baesel is seeing more folks from Ballantyne and parts north at his open houses. Also, except for some teardowns in the southern reaches, the neighborhood is built out; what you see is what you get.

CONS “Buyers have no sense of urgency, because nothing they look at is selling,” Baesel says. Prices have yet to dip, but they likely will as inventory piles up. Also, the 1 percent penalty for a jumbo loan (anything over $417,000) may be stopping buyers as rates increase and loans become tougher to come by. Still, Baesel and others think that Dilworth is nowhere near its price ceiling.

VERDICT Dilworth is still one of the hippest neighborhoods in town. Look for the market here to begin rising again in the latter half of the year, once buyers work through some inventory and sellers adjust their prices from those set at the peak of the market.

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