Buda? (Austin, Spring, Mercedes: houses, established neighborhood, best school)

[jco]

Can anyone tell me anything about Buda? In our price range, we were considering Wells Branch, but are now also considering Buda since it's so close to south Austin. Is there a good and bad area of Buda?

[Derek ATX]

Buda is nice, a growing area, and a fairly simple commute. I would also look into the Dripping Springs area. More commuting options.

[Trainwreck20]

This just came up in another topic . I don't if you have looked out at Ruby Ranch or not, but there are some nice homes out there for the money. Not sure what your price range is....I think median is ~300k with a pretty good range. I am not sure, though.

As for Buda itself, it is still a fairly country town, with some very picturesque areas, and some not so nice areas. I don't know it well enough to point them out, though . I dated a girl from there once some years ago, and there were the develop the hell out of it faction and the don't let anybody else in faction. Don't know if that tension is still there or not.

Just did a quick tax search on the main road (Ruby Ranch Rd - the only one I know there ), and the prices were from the 220s up, with upper 290s to 300 looking like a good median.

[jco]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

This just came up in another topic . I don't if you have looked out at Ruby Ranch or not, but there are some nice homes out there for the money. Not sure what your price range is....I think median is ~300k with a pretty good range. I am not sure, though.

As for Buda itself, it is still a fairly country town, with some very picturesque areas, and some not so nice areas. I don't know it well enough to point them out, though . I dated a girl from there once some years ago, and there were the develop the hell out of it faction and the don't let anybody else in faction. Don't know if that tension is still there or not.

Just did a quick tax search on the main road (Ruby Ranch Rd - the only one I know there ), and the prices were from the 220s up, with upper 290s to 300 looking like a good median.

Thanks for the information. I would like to stay west of the 35 I think, but we only have 180k max to spend. Do you know if homebuilders are still desperate to sell their spec homes? There isn't much for resale.

[achtungpv]

I've lived in Buda and now west of Buda since '02.

You do not want anything east of the town unless you find a semi-historical house by the railroad tracks...but you have to deal with 20+ trains a day. On the west side you can find anything from $170K - $900K. Plenty of well established neighborhoods like Cimmarron Park and Leisurewoods. Plenty of higher end neighborhoods like Ruby Ranch and Elliott Ranch. Plenty of 5-10 acre ranchettes also.

If you have elementary age kids, Elm Grove is the best school but you definitely have to be well west of town. Otherwise, you go to Buda Primary which has a mix of eastside and westside. All Buda kids go to Dahlstrom Middle School and Hays HS.

For your price range, look in the Garlic Creek neighborhood. The houses are by Mercedes (i think). They start at $220K but there's at least 50 unsold spec houses. I'll be willing to bet they'll take whatever you offer at this point. Carrying that much inventory has to be a strain. GC will feed into all the preferred schools and will give you to option of going up I-35 or 1626 to Brodie or Manchaca Rd for getting to South Austin.