A property in Highland Park, Dallas, has become the most expensive listing in Texas this month. The home at 3636 Stratford Avenue is on the market for $13.5 million, or about $2,000 per square foot. Built in 1989, the main house sits on a third of an acre along with an accessory dwelling unit and a converted three-car garage. A remodel in 2023 saw architect Jerry Coleman and Barringer Custom Homes replace the brick veneer of the second building with cedar shakes.
The current owners, Timothy and Maria Beckett, bought the property in 2021. While the sale price was not disclosed, Dallas County records show they took out a $3 million mortgage to buy it when it was listed for $4.8 million at that time. The listing price now is nearly triple what it was four years ago.
Previously, Stephen Butt and his wife Susan owned the home until 2003. Butt is president of shareholder relations for HEB and great-grandson of its founder.
Listing agent Michelle Wood of Compass RE Texas noted that while the garage has been converted into a basketball court with a striped and varnished floor, it can still accommodate cars or be used for pickleball.
Highland Park often ranks as one of Texas’ priciest areas for real estate listings. Agents report significant differences between markets across Texas cities and neighborhoods as conditions shift toward buyers in some places.
“There are pockets where North Texas is a buyer’s market,” said Jim Fite, CEO of Century 21 Judge Fite. “But there are pockets where it’s still a strong seller’s market,” he said.
In West Texas, sellers have lost their advantage according to Husam Jallad, an El Paso broker: “It is a buyer’s market,” Jallad said. “Certainly in the new builds, there are so many incentives. For God’s sake, builders, they are giving the home away, almost.”
Austin’s largest brokerage reports growing inventory among luxury homes and condos in that city while less expensive homes outside Austin continue to sell more quickly.
Michelle Wood commented on Dallas’ unique position: “The luxury market has remained just as strong for me in 2025. I’ve sold a couple of properties over $20 million and a few in the $15 to $20 million,” Wood said. “The luxury market is less impacted by interest rates because most of these people, if they need to, can pay cash or borrow against liquid assets that they already have.”
Wood also pointed to social factors behind changes in Austin’s high-end housing demand: Many Californians who moved to Austin during the pandemic—especially those from tech—are now leaving.
“Dallas has attracted a lot of Californians and New Yorkers, but not as many from the tech industry,” she said. “It’s just a different type of buyer.”
Of this month’s ten most expensive listings statewide only one—a Dallas home at 4625 Walnut Hill Lane—has seen its price reduced recently from $10.5 million to $9.3 million according to data from Houston Association of Realtors (HAR).
More information about how Austin’s luxury residential sector continues to favor buyers shows that higher-end properties face longer sales times compared with entry-level homes further outside urban centers.
