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                                                                     EXHIBIT 5.1


                         [CENTEX CORPORATION LETTERHEAD]





                                February 6, 2001


Centex Corporation
2728 North Harwood
Dallas, Texas  75201

Ladies and Gentlemen:

         I am Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of
Centex Corporation, a Nevada corporation (the "Company"), and have acted as
counsel for the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of $250,000,000
aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes due 2011 of the Company (the
"Notes"). The Notes constitute a series of the Company's senior debt securities
registered on a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Commission File No.
333-49966) filed by the Company, 3333 Holding Corporation, Centex Development
Company, L.P., Centex Trust I and Centex Trust II with the Securities and
Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Notes will
be issued under an Indenture, dated as of October 1, 1998 (the "Original
Indenture), between the Company and The Chase Manhattan Bank, as Trustee (the
"Trustee"), as amended and supplemented by Indenture Supplement No. 6, dated as
of February 6, 2001 (the "Supplemental Indenture" and, together with the
Original Indenture, the "Indenture"), between the Company and the Trustee.

         In furnishing this opinion, I or members of my staff have examined and
relied upon copies of the Restated Articles of Incorporation and By-laws of the
Company, as amended to date, the Original Indenture and the Supplemental
Indenture, corporate records of the Company, including minute books of the
Company, certificates of public officials and of representatives of the Company,
statutes and other instruments and documents as I have deemed necessary or
appropriate to form a basis for the opinions hereinafter expressed.

         In connection with this opinion, I have assumed the genuineness of all
signatures on all documents examined by me and the authenticity of all documents
submitted to me as originals and the conformity to the originals of all
documents submitted to me as copies.

         On the basis of the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions,
limitations and qualifications set forth herein, I am of the opinion that:


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         1. The Company is a corporation duly incorporated and validly existing
in good standing under the laws of the State of Nevada.

         2. The Notes have been duly authorized by the Company and, when
authenticated by the Trustee and delivered in accordance with the terms of the
Indenture against payment therefor as provided in the Underwriting Agreement,
dated as of February 1, 2001, between the Company and Salomon Smith Barney Inc.,
Banc of America Securities LLC and UBS Warburg LLC, will be legally valid and
binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in
accordance with their terms, except as the enforceability thereof is subject to
the effect of (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent
conveyance or other laws relating to or affecting creditors' rights generally
and (ii) general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability
is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).

         The opinions set forth above are limited to the laws of the State of
Texas, the State of Nevada and the United States of America. At your request,
this opinion is being furnished to you for filing as Exhibit 5.1 to the
Company's Current Report on Form 8-K.

                                    Very truly yours,

                                    /s/ Raymond G. Smerge

                                    Raymond G. Smerge
                                    Executive Vice President,
                                    Chief Legal Officer and Secretary


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