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.
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.”
