Perry bought in 2001, and sold in 2007 during the last year of the housing boom, when the building market in Texas was at it's highest.
Shocking that the property actually appreciated in value and he made a profit? Nope.
Perry never developed his property and eventually sold it.
The Chronicle hates Perry and was trying their best to make the story into some sort of scandal. They even described selling property 7 years after you bought it as a “flip”.