Darwin Stephens explains how luxury high-rise condos are replacing single-family teardowns in Dallas’s most prestigious neighborhoods, and buyers moving to the city without the right strategy are paying for it.

Dallas is shifting vertically. Multi-family high-rise developments are emerging across the city, rental prices in luxury towers are breaching $10,000 to $11,000 per month, and established neighborhoods like Preston Hollow are attracting condo developments alongside their signature multi-million dollar estates. For anyone relocating to Dallas in 2026, the market looks nothing like it did even two years ago.

“What I’m seeing already is buyers looking to acquire homes that aren’t quite built out yet,” says Darwin Stephens, founder of Selling DallasTM and a licensed REALTOR® and licensed Mortgage Loan Officer. “We are converting our luxury focus into high-rise luxury developments. Dallas has a space issue, in established neighborhoods, you’re going to have to tear them down and build them back up. There’s not a lot of new plots.”

That constraint is reshaping where and how people buy. Stephens, who recently secured his own office space and will soon to open in Preston Hollow, notes that multi-family establishments and condo developments in that area have reached out to him for listings, a signal that even the most exclusive single-family enclaves are diversifying upward.

For newcomers, the biggest misstep is not choosing the right representation. Stephens says buyers frequently get funneled into a single area without exploring the full market.

“You have to find someone who is fluid in multiple areas,” he explains. “Someone who can secure what you’re looking for without funneling you into one neighborhood. Look for someone who has influence, who is in the know, and who is no stranger to the clients that will be your neighbors.”

His advice to incoming buyers comes down to three actions:

1. Find versatile representation
2. Research up-and-coming areas surrounding established neighborhoods
3. Ask direct questions, including asking your agent about specific areas you’ve researched on your own.

“Your agent’s fiduciary duty is to give you the information necessary so you can make an informed decision,” Stephens says. “Ask them what they think about an area. And don’t forget school districts, very basic, but that’s what gets you to the correct areas.”

Stephens holds both a real estate license and a mortgage loan officer license, a combination most buyers don’t realize is possible. The benefit, he says, is eliminating the friction of coordinating between separate professionals during a transaction.

“Anytime you find someone who has invested the time and capital to pass state and federal exams for an additional license, that should reaffirm your comfort level,” he notes. “These national and state-mandated licensing agencies must vet these individuals, and that’s at each level, national and state. Vetting includes financial stability checks, criminal and background checks, etc.”

His team is also expanding nationally. Stephens is meeting with developers and high-profile realtors in Miami in the near future, and his meta-dology certification, hyper-realistic visualization technology used for pre-construction sales, now serves clients across multiple states, with active projects in Las Vegas.

For relocating buyers, the takeaway is clear: Dallas in 2026 rewards those who do the work before they move, not after.

Darwin Stephens is founder of Selling DallasTM, a Dallas-based luxury real estate brokerage. A licensed REALTOR® and licensed Mortgage Loan Officer with over 25 years of experience across real estate, Fortune 10 leadership, and hospitality, Stephens also holds a meta-dology certification, using hyper-realistic visualization technology to help developers and investors experience properties before they’re built.

Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.

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