The home tour will feature seven homes, allowing visitors to explore some of the city’s most fabulous early 20th century properties. A champagne brunch in Savage Park on Sunday will feature entertainment from a big-band orchestra. For more information about the weekend, visit the Swiss Avenue Historic District website!

We always love working with first-time home buyers, and this cute couple was no exception.  Over the course of several months we showed them dozens of properties, contemplated a few offers, almost made it onto an HGTV show, and finally found the one.

The home that this couple fell in love with couldn’t have been more perfect – it was beautifully updated and charming, in their ideal neighborhood of Lakewood Heights, and had a great floor plan with room to grow into.  We were able to help them snag the home just as it came on the market – and they were able to close on the home just in time for an exciting marriage proposal in their beautiful new backyard.  Congratulations to the happy couple!!

This Sunday, April 29th, the Turtle Creek Association is hosting its 11th Annual Turtle Creek Home Tour from 1-5 pm.

These five private residences will be featured on the tour, followed by an after party:

Click here to purchase tickets for the 11th Annual Turtle Creek Home Tour, and click here to learn more about this prestigious part of town!

The 21st annual tour will feature five homes from the “cozy and unique” neighborhood in East Dallas. It will also include an Art in the Park event at Lindsley Park for the first time. For tickets and more information, visit the Hollywood/Santa Monica Neighborhood website.

The area’s only all-modern home tour will feature five homes, and will again benefit Blue Ribbon award winner Hexter Elementary. For more information about tickets and architect meet and greets, visit the White Rock Home Tour webpage.

The silent and live auctions will benefit students through music programs, improvements to sports fields, and the purchase of classroom and library supplies. For more information about the auction, visit the Stonewall Jackson PTA site.

The tradition of holding a parade the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day started back in 1979, and over the past few decades it has grown from a small community event to a wild celebration that draws spectators from across North Texas – after all, who can resist green beer?

This year, since March 17th falls on a Saturday, the parade will actually be held on St. Patrick’s Day – and I’m guessing the festivities will be even more exuberant as a result, so enjoy!

Click here for details on the parade, here for last year’s survival guide, and here to find out how Mark Cuban saved the Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year.

The “Blooms” festival continues through April 8th, so be sure to take advantage of one of Dallas’ most beautiful places and enjoy an afternoon at the Arboretum!

Even though home prices haven’t increased, it’s a great sign that buyers are getting out there and finding their dream homes.  If you’re ready to start looking for your new home, be sure to contact Haynsworth Realty.

Some experts believe this increase in MIP will slow the recovery of the housing market, while the FHA counters that the fee is necessary to rebuild the FHA’s capital reserves.  Whether or not the higher premium is necessary, there’s no doubt that homebuyers using an FHA loan will feel the pinch.