78745 the New 78704? (Austin, McKinney, West: section 8, daycare, home)

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by borgerboy

i live in 78745. my property value is down about 50% from when i bought in 2006. although i like my condo and the close proximity to '04 and downtown i'm not sure if i want to stay here when i retire (a few years to go) mainly because of the lack of "walkability". unless it's a ratty convenience store or a decent taqueria you're after then you're pretty much s.o.l. 7 years ago i had hopes of '45 changing somewhat, but now i don't see much happening. as far as ben white dissecting the neighborhood, i do think the city of austin could do some things to improve the situation. i didn't move here from houston, but if you've seen what that city did to connect the inner city neighborhoods that 59 messed up, you can see that something can be done. improving the intersection of ben white and south congress could be a good start. why people feel the need to turn left against 3 lanes of traffic to get to a friggin' wendy's is hard to understand. also, no one bothers to use the crosswalks to get to the south congress transit center. cops seem to turn a blind eye to all this as well as unturns and speeding. people seem to like to grab a car from a used car lot in the area and see what it will do. not sure if public housing and adult rehab centers has anything to do with it, but there's a lot of that in the area also.

Down 50% since 2006, wow that is hard to believe, must be something specifically local to that development as most of the area is going up.

[Danbo1957]

78745 is butt-ugly, and is full of people who look the same. Life is too short...

[Alex Austin]

Down 50% doesn't jive with any if the numbers for 78745 or area 10s in general. Not sure what part of 45 you are living, but where we are there is a wine/beer bar, coffee shop, and a few restaurants within walking distance. Walkability depends on what else is in your particular neighborhood. If you haven't noticed major changes going on in the area then you may just not have noticed the signs of progress such as increased housing prices, new businesses, new housing developments springing up on every plot of vacant land etc. Not to mention, a younger demographic replacing the long term older blue collar residents.

[borgerboy]

yes the 50% stands. it is a newly built condo unit that has construction issues. phase 2 of the complex sold at auction. so those of us who paid top dollar are lumped in with those that bought at fire sale prices knowing they had major issues. we are suing everyone involved with the construction, but in a state like texas those with the money (builders and developers) seem to be able to delay court proceedings indefinitely. hopefully june 2014 is the drop dead date and we will either have a settlement or jury trial to repair the buildings. we've been asked to not name the building to maintain any possible value, but at this point that sounds like a joke. if anyone on this board has any input or ideas as to what might be going on at the "unnamed modern loft complex" across from hill's cafe i would appreciate any comments. getting a little frustrated.

[Trainwreck20]

That is an issue related to construction, not location, and really isn't an indicator of general property values....

[borgerboy]

trainwreck, you're right. just wanted to put it out there so see of any input. we are "so close to where it should be happening" i'm just hoping for a good settlement and to able to continue to enjoy the so. austin vibe without worry of my property literally collapsing.

[verybadgnome]

Originally Posted by borgerboy

yes the 50% stands. it is a newly built condo unit that has construction issues. phase 2 of the complex sold at auction. so those of us who paid top dollar are lumped in with those that bought at fire sale prices knowing they had major issues. we are suing everyone involved with the construction, but in a state like texas those with the money (builders and developers) seem to be able to delay court proceedings indefinitely. hopefully june 2014 is the drop dead date and we will either have a settlement or jury trial to repair the buildings. we've been asked to not name the building to maintain any possible value, but at this point that sounds like a joke. if anyone on this board has any input or ideas as to what might be going on at the "unnamed modern loft complex" across from hill's cafe i would appreciate any comments. getting a little frustrated.

Yeah that one made the papers if its the one I'm thinking of. Looking at transaction prices over the last two years they range from $126-$167/sq ft. For new construction that is a little low considering the location so I'm thinking the issues were enough to affect demand.

Putting condos south of Ben White was risky 5-10 years ago, but with demand now I could see swaths of 'LoCo' redeveloping.

[borgerboy]

hope you're right. still waiting for that new space port at the old st. elmotel site.

[FrozenCucumber]

LoCo!!

My first thread to hit 6 pages...

[austin-steve]

It depends on what you're talking about, or the definition of what "78704" is exactly.

78704 has become a "brand" zipcode, a geographic destination for tourists and locals alike, and a coveted "close in" central neighborhood location. It's undergoing hyper-development along S Lamar including residential and retail growth replacing older decrepit stock.

78745 does not have "destination" venues nor do any seem to be currently emerging. It doesn't have coveted neighborhoods, though it does have some very nice residential pockets and less expensive alternatives to living in 78704.

78745 is simply becoming 78745. It's dynamics will never mimic 78704 because it was sowed with different seed entirely.

I lived in 78745 in 1987-88 and again in 1996-97. I manage a lot of rental property there. There is cross-over in the renter demographic, with a lot of renters being those who would prefer 78704 but can't afford it. Same with a certain segment of buyers.

A better thread title would have simply been "is the future for 78745 bright?" To that, I would say yes, as values rise, the demographic changes, and retail follows the demographic (income) changes.

Steve