Neighborhood Spotlight: The Peninsula
Neighborhood Spotlight: The Peninsula
Living here is like having a lake house—and it’s only 10 minutes from downtown Dallas.
Attention outdoorsy types: if you lived here, you’d be home. And home would be a year-round vacation spot. People who buy in The Peninsula brag that it’s like having a lake house—and it’s only 10 minutes from downtown Dallas.
Established: 1927, as vacation and lake cottages for folks in faraway Dallas.
Location: East side of White Rock Lake, bordered by Lawther Drive, Mockingbird Lane, Lake Highlands Drive, and Buckner Boulevard.
Population: 280 homes
Home styles: Cottages, ranches, a few Mediterraneans, and a growing influx of newly built midcentury-modern homes. Look for houses by local architects such as Cliff Welch, Gary Cunningham, and Case Study Homes’ Doug Hildinger.
Average home price: $250,000 for a small cottage; $500,000-plus nets you a larger interior home with a lake view. Homes with front or backyard views of the lake or park are more expensive.
Lot value: Prices vary; a 50-by-130 can sell for $200,000 to $250,000 depending on lake proximity.
Average home size: 800 square feet to 4,500 square feet. Most houses are in the 1,400- to 2,000-square-foot range.
Average lot size: 60-by-135, though some are 60-by-200. There are also some half-acre lots that owners have put together.
Why The Peninsula?
Because people love what restaurateur Jeannie Terilli and musician Erykah Badu have known for years—life in The Peninsula is like living in a perpetual vacation zone. Many of the homes are architecturally significant and nestled on the banks of White Rock Lake.
Who Lives There: Agents say there is a quiet influx of Park Cities and Lakewood empty-nesters happening, but the area still has plenty of families. The strong neighborhood association tamps down crime, and many residents work out of their homes, watching each other’s properties.
A word of warning: Getting into the neighborhood can be tough. Agents keep a list of interested buyers, but people generally stay put. “The area has held its value,” says Janice Parson, an Ellen Terry Realtors agent “It’s Dallas’ best-kept secret, with an almost cult-like following.”
Phil Hobson, Prudential Texas Properties, H Group Dallas
www.hgroupdallas.com
(214) 659-3624