By Kellie Bartlett November 01, 2025

Historic Districts and Designations What They Do and What They Don’t Do

Just being old does not give a building any protection from alteration or restrict what a developer can do with it, but historic districts and designations can. The three levels are:

Local

• This is generally the most restrictive designation and can provide the most protection.
• Historic districts often act somewhat like an HOA whose goal is to preserve the character of the historic area through regulation.
• Specifics vary widely. Don’t assume that what one town does applies elsewhere.

State

• The Texas Historical Commission issues historical markers.
• The commission offers grants and administers state and federal tax credits.

National

• The National Register of Historic Places, part of the National Park Service, recognizes sites nominated by their states as worthy of preservation.
• Some tax credits and grant programs are available for properties on the register.

How can you find out if a property is affected by historic designations?

• Start at city hall, either in person or online. Most municipalities have a map of historic districts in the area.
• Check the Texas Historical Commission’s Texas Historic Sites Atlas at atlas.thc.texas.gov.
• The National Register of Historic Places website has many records, though not all have been digitized yet: nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/database-research.htm

Living in old houses isn’t for everyone and neither is selling them. If your client has a commercial use in mind, there’s even more to know. But the rewards can be as distinctive as the properties themselves.

Robin Phillips has never lived in a new house. The broker-associate at Paragon, REALTORS® said, “I grew up with a family that loved old houses,” remembering how her mother helped their Dallas neighborhood get a historic designation. Her current home is an 1890s Painted Lady Victorian in a historic district in Sherman.

She knows that not everyone shares her perspective, which can make finding buyers for historic properties a challenge. “In the pie chart of buyers out there, it is a small sliver that will actually live in an old house. They’re absolutely charming, but you’ve got to get over some of their quirks.”

Paula McDonald, broker at Beam & Branch Realty, is an old hand at old houses. She and her husband renovated a 100-year-old farmhouse in the ’90s and, since moving back to her hometown of Granbury, have purchased several buildings on the historic square, remodeled them, and started businesses there. “I’ve sold or renovated or helped facilitate one on every side of our square,” she said.

Both agents find that their love of old houses helps them connect with the right kind of buyers. Knowing what will interest their core audience makes their marketing more effective. And it helps them know where to focus their efforts in the first place.

The Love of an Old House Can Be a (Long-Distance) Moving Experience

It can be difficult to find historic homes among regular listings, so old-home enthusiasts often turn to specialty websites. Phillips and McDonald have both had success marketing their listings on sites that allow users to search by home styles like Queen Anne and mid-century modern. “It gets it in front of the right audience,” Phillips said. “You’re spending a little bit of marketing money, but that’s what you do, right?”

Casting a wider net can pay off, Phillips said, because “people who love old houses and want one are not necessarily picking the location; they’re going to pick the house. And if the house is somewhere near where they’re willing to live, then they’ll move to that town for the house.”

McDonald agreed, mentioning a buyer whose dream of having horses and being able to walk to a classic town square brought her from the Metroplex to a historic farm in Granbury. She also helped a couple from California who wanted to move their business to Texas. They fell in love with Granbury’s historic downtown and found out through word-of-mouth among the shop owners there that McDonald was the one to call. “We’re pulling in people from all over,” she said.

The HGTV Effect: Blessing and Curse

The popularity of old-house renovation shows may spur some buyers to look for historic homes. They have “made people think about preservation and the beauty of these old buildings,” McDonald said.

A downside is the shows’ tendency to gloss over difficulties on their way to the big reveal. “HGTV has given everybody the illusion that it’s so much easier because they condense it down into a 30-minute show. Yeah, they show problems, but they don’t really let you know how long that holds up a project,” said McDonald. “You never know what you’re going to find behind a wall, and it’s always going to cost more than you think. There are surprises around every corner.”

Phillips warns potential buyers that the picture may not be as rosy off the screen. “I don’t want them to go in unaware,” she said. “In the renovation phase, it requires your weekends and your discretionary dollars and sometimes your other dollars. And if you’re good with that, fantastic. And if you’re handy and can do a lot of the work yourself, fantastic.”

Roles of the Agent: Coach, Connector, Advocate, and Voice of Experience

Historic building transactions can be complex, so agents need to be ready to step up and guide the process. “You’re kind of the coach of the football team,” McDonald said. “You’re calling the plays; you’re trying to get them executed. You have to pivot during the game if things aren’t going the way you want them to. You may even have to change some players, like contractors.”

Connecting clients with contractors who have old-home experience can be the key to getting a project underway, Phillips said. “If you’re doing a true restoration, you really need a craftsman who understands the techniques and the materials.”

In commercial deals, a highly involved agent can help keep everyone on the same page when there’s a difference in perspective between business-owning clients who are under time pressure to get their projects approved and administrators who control that process, said McDonald. “You’ve got to be an advocate for the project, because most of the bureaucrats who are pushing the paper have never owned a business and don’t see delays the same way. For your client, that’s money that’s just burning. They have inventory ordered and they need to get that business open, so you’ve got to keep the ball rolling.” Agents need to know all the players in the process, keep track of the deadlines, and be able to anticipate problems.

“It’s our duty to plan for the good, the bad, and the ugly,” said McDonald. “If you’ve not been involved in a restoration project, and you don’t know how to direct them through the historical committees, the zoning, all of that, you are really doing your people a disservice.” She suggests getting a mentor as a consultant or referring the project out, if necessary.

She also urges agents to make sure clients engage with the potential difficulties from the beginning. “They need to fully understand what they’re getting themselves into,” McDonald said. It’s an adventure that not everyone is prepared to undertake. If a project is not the right fit, it’s better to move on. “I’d rather them not get into something then find themselves out of money and stuck with a mess.”

Even once a restoration is finished, there can be challenges to living in a historic house, as Phillips knows first-hand. The wood siding on her home needs to be repainted every five to seven years, the pier-and-beam construction requires occasional adjustment for settling, and the energy costs can be significant. But for her it’s all worth it. “Last night, my husband and I sat down on our porch swing on our wraparound front porch, and the cool breeze was delightful, and I thought: I feel so sorry for the people that live in new houses.”

Revitalizing Historic Downtowns Takes Old-Fashioned Business Know-How

With so many historic town squares, Texas is full of opportunity for downtown revitalization, says Paula McDonald. Here are her suggestions for agents who want to get in on the trend:

Put Relationships First

“You have to be genuine. People can sniff it out immediately if you’re not!”

• Get to know everyone, especially owners of historic properties and the businesses in them, historical commission board members, and the folks at city hall.
• Become part of the fabric of the community. Having strong social ties supports your business and puts you in a position to support others.
• Love your town for real, not just for real estate. Your connection with the place will make it easier to connect with the people.

Use Common Sense

“You can mess it up. You can take a beautiful building, spend a ton of money, and put the wrong things in it.”

• What is missing in the town?
• Does your project serve a need?
• Are there enough customers to support this business?

Expect the Unexpected

“You don’t know what you’re going to find, so you have to build a budget with some buffer.”

• Give yourself extra time for the feasibility period.
• Add even more time and money to all your estimates.
• Be ready to get creative. Surprises will happen.

Lean on Experience

“If this is an area you’ve never worked in before, you need a mentor who’s done it numerous times, or you need to refer it out.”

• Competency in your scope of practice is a legal and ethical requirement. If you haven’t done a project like this at least three times, partner with someone who has.
• Local knowledge is essential; every city and county has different requirements.

Celebrate Together

“Keep those relationships strong because they’ll be your biggest advocates. What’s good for one business in the historic area is good for all the businesses.”

• Plan a big community event when your project opens.
• Involve the local chamber and tourism department.
• Extend a personal, in-person invitation to other business owners, and thank them.

Kellie Bartlett is assistant editor for Texas REALTORS®.