Where is Austin should young empty nesters move? (Spring, Dripping Springs: sales, buy)

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

Yes, so many people are willing to put up with those at this "bargain" price that it's been on the market for four months now. Some people here love to point out problem properties as some kind of proof that something desirable can be had for much less than the norm. If a deal is too good, then it won't sit on the MLS for more than a hot minute and it certainly won't go for the asking price.

Your friend is a lucky person --- but that is an outlier deal due to inside information. And the majority of Avenue A backs up to commercial property, so it's not the most desirable street over there to most.

Now back to the topic at hand of empty nesters looking to spend $550K on a large house with a pool within 20 minutes of the city . . .

His property doesn't back up to any commercial property. His home is completely surrounded by other homes. As for desirableness, I have no doubt that he could sell it tomorrow if he wanted to. Listen, I know that I am not one of those "some people". I have no skin in this game. I don't really care for Central living, so honestly it doesn't matter to me personally.

I point out properties because, short of serious structural problems, there are people who will deal with supposedly problem properties because of the location. There are people who are willing to put up with poor schools and higher crime due to location. You can buy a home in Central Austin for less than 400K and that is not a lie. The house may be the size of a small apartment on a postage stamp sized lot, but hey, what I am saying is true. Of the thirteen or so properties I noticed on the MLS, they all have problems?

So yeah, back to our regularly scheduled program.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by balor123

There's a lot of places for sale ~$300 in Hyde Park indeed! Why aren't there more tear downs there? It's a lovely neighborhood and one which would easily support $600k-$700k 2300-2600sf homes.

Hyde Park is known for its older distinct houses. No, it does not need more faux Tudor/Mediterranean/whatever larger, more expensive homes.

[petro]

Originally Posted by balor123

There's a lot of places for sale ~$300 in Hyde Park indeed! Why aren't there more tear downs there? It's a lovely neighborhood and one which would easily support $600k-$700k 2300-2600sf homes.

You must be looking outside the boundaries of Hyde Park, as I don't see a single house in Hyde Park proper that's under $640k.

Also, what riaelise said.

[mcr38]

Originally Posted by cBach

Leander, Dripping Springs, and Steiner Ranch are NOT within 20 minutes of downtown. Maybe at 5 AM on a Sunday perhaps.

My initial feel for what you want is Westlake Hills, but $500k won't buy you much in that area.

No, Westlake Hills is not for us if we want to spend 550k. And we do not intend on spending more. I recognize these locations (Leander etc...) are not 20 minutes from downtown but how long will it take us on average? I am doing this from NY so I am hoping those of you familiar with the area will help by giving me actual times and pictures of reality of living there as opposed to what a realtor might tell us. When we go down to look at properties we are limited on time. Rather than stating the obvious, give me info that is useful please.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by mcr38

I recognize these locations (Leander etc...) are not 20 minutes from downtown but how long will it take us on average? I am doing this from NY so I am hoping those of you familiar with the area will help by giving me actual times and pictures of reality of living there as opposed to what a realtor might tell us.

I don't know about the other two, but downtown to Dripping Springs and vice versa depends on two things - when, and where in Dripping you wind up. You can be in some of the neighborhoods along 290 E of downtown, and it would be 30-35 rush hour, 20-25 non. If you are all the way into Dripping, 45 rush, 30-35 non.

Hope that helps.

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by balor123

There's a lot of places for sale ~$300 in Hyde Park indeed! Why aren't there more tear downs there? It's a lovely neighborhood and one which would easily support $600k-$700k 2300-2600sf homes.

There are no single family homes for sale in Hyde Park at anywhere near that price point. Hyde Park is a very narrowly defined area, but now a lot of people use a very liberal definition of what constitutes Hyde Park. So perhaps that is where your confusion lies. Additionally, the LHD in Hyde Park strictly limits what an owner can do with about 75% of the homes there. Even if one were to find such a bargain, chances are one could not tear down said structure.

There are plenty of areas to build faux Tuscan McMansion monstrosities. Hyde Park isn't one of them.

[AguaDulce]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

There are no single family homes for sale in Hyde Park at anywhere near that price point. Hyde Park is a very narrowly defined area, but now a lot of people use a very liberal definition of what constitutes Hyde Park. So perhaps that is where your confusion lies. Additionally, the LHD in Hyde Park strictly limits what an owner can do with about 75% of the homes there. Even if one were to find such a bargain, chances are one could not tear down said structure.

There are plenty of areas to build faux Tuscan McMansion monstrosities. Hyde Park isn't one of them.

4416 Speedway, Austin, TX 78751 is For Sale - Zillow

Also there are several others that are just outside of Hyde Park in this price range.

[petro]

Originally Posted by AguaDulce

4416 Speedway, Austin, TX 78751 is For Sale - Zillow

Status is pending, so it doesn't come up in "for sale" results. This house was definitely an amazing value. Probably had multiple offers and sold for above asking.

[AguaDulce]

Originally Posted by petro

Status is pending, so it doesn't come up in "for sale" results. This house was definitely an amazing value. Probably had multiple offers and sold for above asking.

We talked about it earlier on this thread. The suburban posters found everything wrong with it. It wasn't pending when I first posted it, incidentally.

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by riaelise

His property doesn't back up to any commercial property. His home is completely surrounded by other homes. As for desirableness, I have no doubt that he could sell it tomorrow if he wanted to. Listen, I know that I am not one of those "some people". I have no skin in this game. I don't really care for Central living, so honestly it doesn't matter to me personally.

I point out properties because, short of serious structural problems, there are people who will deal with supposedly problem properties because of the location. There are people who are willing to put up with poor schools and higher crime due to location. You can buy a home in Central Austin for less than 400K and that is not a lie. The house may be the size of a small apartment on a postage stamp sized lot, but hey, what I am saying is true. Of the thirteen or so properties I noticed on the MLS, they all have problems?

So yeah, back to our regularly scheduled program.

Like I said, your friend is a lucky outlier due to an inside deal. And without knowing the exact house nor its condition, we will never know how good of a deal it was. Of course he could resell it --- it's Hyde Park. As mentioned, Avenue A is the least desirable street in Hyde Park due to the entire west side backing to commercial property. That your friend is on the east side makes it a more desirable house than those but it doesn't changed the local perceived "hierarchy" in that area. It is what it is.

I see far too many people post supposed bargain listings in hot areas. Most of those listings are pulled from sites like zillow and are not accurate/current. And even if a listing is coming from a site like realtor.com, there is no way to tell how many offers and what the final sold price was. "Bargain" prices can get a lot of attention and often the final sale price is nowhere near the original listing price.