Recommended area to buy a house (Austin, West: sale, real estate market, apartments)

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by Billionaire

Thanks for your info!!!

About 15 minutes drive would be ideal.

Which area of 78702 should I stay away from?

I looked at Brentwood and Crestview online. They seem pretty nice and fit my budget...

We own several rental properties in Brentwood/Crestview. Love the area. You'll need to be vigilant though in your search and ready to pull the offer trigger. It's a hot area and properties are snapped up right away with multiple offers.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by Billionaire

Thanks.

How safe is Mueller? And which area should I stay away?

Another consideration I forgot to mention is resale value. I don't expect huge gain from the property but at least it can hold its value.

I heard 78704 is not worth to buy. Someone told me properties in 78704 is totally overpriced. Do you think so?

Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Mueller is extremely safe. There is no unsafe area in Mueller.

I think 78704 is an extremely attractive area, located in close proximity to the CBD, in between two major transit corridors and next to some of the most dynamic and desirable areas of Austin. The one downside to 78704 is that it is across the River and the bridges can be a pain to cross at times.

Otherwise, there is almost no downside to 78704, I would not expect prices to ever come significantly down in anywhere in this zip code. The price of admission to this highly desirable zip code is extremely steep though. 350 is basically the cost of a lot, and not even a good one.

[ppp38]

Originally Posted by JT-3

I disagree on nearly every point, there are some good values flipped or not. Maybe there are more single women living in Crestview for some reason, but UH and WP are filled with couples/young families out and about. 78723 has plenty going for it, as recommended by Komeht. The area is changing fast, a theater is being built and the Thinkery (for kids) just opened too. Both just a few miles away.

OP, I would get a Realtor and start looking at homes in person to get some ideas. My girlfriend and I were in your shoes a while back and the process took longer than anticipated. We didn't like the homes in Crestview, they were either too pricey, needed too much work, or too small.

Mueller is being developed no doubt but thats only part of the zip code. Also UH/ WP has a lot of rowdy original owners- I didn't see many couples or young families out and about the many times that I went to visit. I did see a lot iquestionable looking people sitting out on their porches, a lot of security bars on windows and ADT signs on lawns. Also, it still is one of the highest crime zipcodes in the city. With 230K- Id say take a look at UH/WP since its in budget, but with 350K- I say- you can do better.

Furthermore, the City has approved building 5 more affordable housing projects in the zipcode. So while houses are being flipped, it will continue to attract a poorer caliber of people.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by ppp38

Mueller is being developed no doubt but thats only part of the zip code. Also UH/ WP has a lot of rowdy original owners- I didn't see many couples or young families out and about the many times that I went to visit. I did see a lot iquestionable looking people sitting out on their porches, a lot of security bars on windows and ADT signs on lawns. Also, it still is one of the highest crime zipcodes in the city. With 230K- Id say take a look at UH/WP since its in budget, but with 350K- I say- you can do better.

Furthermore, the City has approved building 5 more affordable housing projects in the zipcode. So while houses are being flipped, it will continue to attract a poorer caliber of people.

For 350 what area, close to downtown is a better bet? WP has about as much upside potential as there exists in Austin - it gets a sextuple whammy boost by:

1. East Austin no longer being stigmatized
2. No longer being that neighborhood next to the Airport
3. Benefitting from being a central located neighborhood <5 miles from CBD.
4. Benefitting from having increased connections through Mueller via Berkman.
5. A short walk or bike ride to everything going on in Mueller.
6. And next to the redevelopment of 51st Street coming soon.

It has homes built on large lots, has a beautiful canopy of trees and homes built in the 50's which lend themselves well to modern tastes for open spaces. They houses are disproportionately small in relation to the lot which makes these homes prime opportunities for redevelopment in a city that severely limits home sizes based on lot sizes via the McMansion - which is why every day another renovation begins over there.

While WP is no longer a "well kept secret" in Austin - it's feels ready to go from a formerly but gentrifying neighborhood to one of Austin's hot neighborhoods.

And sure, there are a lot of hold-overs from a time when WP was a depressed working class neighborhood in the shadow of the airport - but that is rapidly changing - especially south of Briarcliff and a few houses east of Cameron.

Honestly - if there's another place with more upside than Windsor Park with a price point of admission of 350 - I'd like to know about it.

[Tralfaz]

78736 was quite nice when I lived there, and the $100k discount on a home pays for a lot of gas for the 12mi commute. Plus, that area has decent bus coverage to downtown.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by ppp38

Mueller is being developed no doubt but thats only part of the zip code. Also UH/ WP has a lot of rowdy original owners- I didn't see many couples or young families out and about the many times that I went to visit. I did see a lot iquestionable looking people sitting out on their porches, a lot of security bars on windows and ADT signs on lawns. Also, it still is one of the highest crime zipcodes in the city. With 230K- Id say take a look at UH/WP since its in budget, but with 350K- I say- you can do better.

Furthermore, the City has approved building 5 more affordable housing projects in the zipcode. So while houses are being flipped, it will continue to attract a poorer caliber of people.

I never knew having ADT signs present signified anything. Most people, regardless of income, own burglar alarms around here...it'd be foolish not to even if you live in a low crime area. If anything, it's a peace of mind. We own a burglar alarm and a sign is on our lawn.

Also, many of those "rowdy original owners" who you assume are "questionable" are in fact hard working people who happen to be of a working class/lower middle classed background. Many of these people are longtime Austin homesteaders when the home prices were less than $100K. My grandmother-in-law and her husband raised six kids in a home in University Hills and everyone knew their neighbors. It was pretty tightknit. Now I understand fully why gentifiers are held with such scorn because they often times view the local neighbors as peasants who need to get the heck out. One such "young couple" moved next door to my grandmother's home in UH and they said NOT ONE WORD to her or any of the other neighbors. Perhaps because they too thought their neighbors were going to rob them and were of "poorer caliber".

[Billionaire]

Thanks everyone. Your info has been extremely helpful. I think I will definitely tell my agent to put 78723 on my list. I have been Mueller several times, love the farmer's market on sunday, very crowded which is my family like it very much.

Should I concern the affordable housing program there? What ppp38 mentioned could be true...attracts low income...

Thanks again.

[A-Tex]

A huge issue with WP/HP is the school track. OP, if you have kids then that is something you have to thoroughly investigate.

[ppp38]

Originally Posted by Komeht

For 350 what area, close to downtown is a better bet? WP has about as much upside potential as there exists in Austin - it gets a sextuple whammy boost by:

1. East Austin no longer being stigmatized
2. No longer being that neighborhood next to the Airport
3. Benefitting from being a central located neighborhood <5 miles from CBD.
4. Benefitting from having increased connections through Mueller via Berkman.
5. A short walk or bike ride to everything going on in Mueller.
6. And next to the redevelopment of 51st Street coming soon.

It has homes built on large lots, has a beautiful canopy of trees and homes built in the 50's which lend themselves well to modern tastes for open spaces. They houses are disproportionately small in relation to the lot which makes these homes prime opportunities for redevelopment in a city that severely limits home sizes based on lot sizes via the McMansion - which is why every day another renovation begins over there.

While WP is no longer a "well kept secret" in Austin - it's feels ready to go from a formerly but gentrifying neighborhood to one of Austin's hot neighborhoods.

And sure, there are a lot of hold-overs from a time when WP was a depressed working class neighborhood in the shadow of the airport - but that is rapidly changing - especially south of Briarcliff and a few houses east of Cameron.

Honestly - if there's another place with more upside than Windsor Park with a price point of admission of 350 - I'd like to know about it.

Komeht, as I said earlier I almost bought a house in University Hills. You can find a number of houses there for under 200K and flip it yourself (which is what I almost did) Or you can buy an already flipped house for around 230K (which is also a solid buy) All I'm saying is that with 350K you can afford to live in a better area- if you buy a house out there now for 350K- you are buying extremely high and the house is already near max appreciation.

Most of these houses have been built in the mid 60's and on .25 acre lots, the houses really aren't the small when compared to the lots. Also, The vast majority of houses in UH are 2.5 miles away from Mueller, which isn't what most would call a short walk. Additionally and this is a big one University Hills is actually 7-8 miles away from downtown (not under 5 like you pretend). Windsor Park is about a mile closer in at 6-7 miles away from downtown.. As a reference, my old place on Slaughter Lane was 8-9 miles away from downtown.

It certainly isn't a hot neighborhood right now as the available homes for sale in UH/WP have been on the market for 50+ days which is above average for Austin. Will that change? Its possible- but I think that the school district being so lousy and the fact that UH/WP is in a separate voting district than Mueller/Cherrywood/78702 will serve as a deterrent.

[JT-3]

I will agree about the 350k point and maybe about the schools, but not the others. As the area improves I believe the schools will too. University Hills is actually 6 miles to downtown via Springdale or Manor, a straight shot no turns. WP even closer. Those homes you keep mentioning were either overpriced or not prepped well, spring is around the corner and they will sell one way or another.

This article sums it up fairly well for UH and even WP, almost 2 years old but same positive points are being made.

Hidden Neighborhood: Northeast Austin's University Hills a hidden gem

Riaelise, well, well, said.