Hot home prices, health stalemate, Melinda Gates exclusive: Monday's Business Briefing

March 19,  2018 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here](. Follow us on Twitter [@DMNBiz](. (iStock) the big story Fitch labels Dallas as one of the most overheated housing markets in country Dallas-Fort Worth is one of most overvalued home markets in the country, a top Wall Street analyst warns. In it most dire warning yet about the rate of North Texas home price gains, [Fitch Ratings saysÂ]([home prices in the D-FW area are as much as 19 percent overvalued](. "The Dallas housing market has shown the most significant overheating in the last two years and is now 15 percent to 19 percent overvalued," Fitch managing director Grant Bailey said in a new report. "Overvalued markets are more likely to experience a slowdown in price growth, or a price correction." North Texas home prices are now at record levels, shooting by more than 40 percent in the last four years. -[Steve Brown]( Plus: [Find more on D-FW real estate]( (iStock) Health care Blue Cross, Texas Health contract negotiations leave patients anxious again Texas Health is in yet another dispute with the state’s largest health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, over a 15-month contract that is slated to end on March 31. [It’s déjà vu all over again for consumers]( who watched the two companies go through a similar stalemate at the end of 2016. That dispute threatened to leave more than 150,000 in a scramble to find new doctors. But a new deal was signed in the final hour that year. Just over a year later, anxiety is again mounting as the new deadline approaches and consumers rush to prepare. -[Sabriya Rice]( And: [Amazon taps health information expert with Texas connection to lead health tech business]( Plus: [Find more on the health care industry and its impact on North Texas]( SUBSCRIBE NOW [Get unlimited digital access for $2.99 per week]( The Latest - Real estate: [Fort Worth developers]( want to turn quarry into complex with hotels, condos and a Ferris wheel. - Amazon: The [HQ2 pick]( better come soon before more cities have second thoughts. - Autos: U.S. safety regulators say air bags in some Hyundai and Kia vehicles [failed to deploy]( in frontal collisions linked to four deaths. - Real estate: Residents in downtown [Dallas' historic Statler Hotel]( will have to relocate for repairs. - Airlines: [A video]( shows a man, woman and child kicked off of a Southwest flight. - Construction: Firms tied to Florida bridge collapse have numerous [projects in Texas](. Advertisement AT&T; chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson (left) and Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeffrey Bewkes testified before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee in late 2016 on the proposed merger of their companies. (Associated Press) technology Is AT&T a digital underdog? A judge will weigh it vs. Netflix, Amazon this week When Dallas-based AT&T faces off with the Justice Department this week over its planned merger with Time Warner, the fight won’t be about just a business deal. For the company, it will be a fight for its piece of the future The giant telecom, with roots that stretch back to Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone in 1876, finds itself at another pivotal moment in its history. The ground is shifting in its businesses. Growth in the wireless market has slowed, and pricing has been under pressure in a world where smartphones are commonplace. Customers have new ways to watch TV without a cable box or satellite dish. And tech companies born in the digital age are increasingly treading on AT&T’s turf. [Opening arguments in the case will begin Wednesday](. The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks. The outcome of the trial is likely to hinge on which economic experts and which vision of the market the judge believes. -[Melissa Repko]( And: [Why AT&T craves Time Warner]( Also: [AT&T, Time Warner really need each other to take on Netflix, Google and Amazon]( Plus: [Find more on the AT&T-Time Warner merger]( Elsewhere in Texas - Waco: Caterpillar Inc. has told workers at a [parts factory in Waco]( that it will close the facility by the end of 2018, displacing 200 employees. (Wall Street Journal) - San Antonio: A Texas jury returned [a $706 million verdict]( against an affiliate of mortgage lender Quicken Loans for tapping a startup firm's technology for purposes of developing its own. - Austin: The University of Texas system will consider [raising tuition today]( at its eight academic institutions across the state. (Houston Chronicle) - San Antonio: As the Alamodome ramps up for the upcoming Final Four college basketball tournament, it's putting up [a new marquee]( designed to attract attention from Interstate 37. (San Antonio Express-News) Melinda Gates (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) featured columnist: Cheryl hall Dallas' Melinda Gates opens up on why it's important for her to speak up now Reflection and role modeling are where Melinda Gates is these days — realizing that the lessons she’s learned over the years about workplace success and personal fulfillment can impact the world. In the past, she was so reticent about making her personal journey the center of attention that not that many people realize she was born and raised in Dallas — the 1982 valedictorian of Ursuline Academy and onetime captain of its Rangerette drill team who was voted "Best Student" and "Most Likely to Succeed" by her classmates. [She agreed to a rare interview with The News]( in what turned out to be a wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation — as much as we could cram into the 30 minutes allotted to us in her highly scheduled life. And: [If Melinda Gates could bend Donald Trump’s ear for five minutes, here's what she'd say]( Plus: [Find more columns by Cheryl Hall]( Grenadier Homes' Villas houses in the Windsong Ranch development in Prosper have been a hit with older buyers. (David Woo / Staff Photographer) real estate Forget about millennials, D-FW homebuilders are bet on 55-plus crowd North Texas residential communities are gearing up for the coming gray wave of residents with new neighborhoods aimed at the 55-plus crowd.[ These older buyers tend to have higher incomes and are more interested in a new house compared with young, first-time buyers.]( One of Dallas-Fort Worth's biggest residential projects — the 2,000-acre Viridian development in Arlington — just announced plans for a 500-home neighborhood for older buyers. The first homes in the 141-acre Viridian Elements neighborhood will be ready later this year. "There is a tsunami of seniors coming in and we didn't have the right product for them," said Robert Kembel, general manager of Viridian. "We are hoping to start selling these houses in the high $200,000s and low $300,000s. "A lot of these older buyers want to downsize from larger and more expensive homes." -[Steve Brown]( And: [New Arlington neighborhood plans to woo older buyers]( Also: [Millennial buyers are finally making a move into housing]( Plus: [Find more on D-FW real estate]( Follow DFW stocks: [See how top North Texas stocks performed](, as well as the oil and gas markets and major stock exchanges. DFW Top 100 Places to Work 2017: The Dallas Morning News and Workplace Dynamics partner each year to feature the [Top 100 workplaces](, based on ratings by the people who work at them. Advertisement 👋  That's all for today! For up-to-the-minute business news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com/Business](. 💖 Share the love: If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. 📧 Do you have feedback on this newsletter? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to our Business Editor Paul O'Donnell at [podonnell@dallasnews.com](mailto:podonnell@dallasnews.com?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback). STAY CONNECTED WITH US  [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [Tumblr]( [Google]( [Reddit](  [OTHER NEWSLETTERS]( [SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS]( [Unsubscribe](  |  [Manage Preferences](  |  [Privacy Policy](  |  [Contact](  |  [Advertise]( You received this message because you signed up for this Dallas Morning News newsletter or it was forwarded to you. Copyright 2017 - [The Dallas Morning News]( | [508 Young St., Dallas, TX 75202](#)