Leander, best investment? (Austin, Round Rock, Spring: for sale, jumbo loan, new home)

[kjkw]

We live in Cedar Park and are looking for a different house. We need a large one story with 4beds plus an office and game room. After looking for a while we have expanded our search north of 1431. Our schools have better ratings so that is making the decision tough. I like the Crystal Falls area but there is so much development going on along Ronald Reagan that I'm not sure what the best investment would be. We are mainly concerned about that in case we were to have to move for work. Our budget could go up to about 650.
Would especially love feedback from people who actually live in the areas I mentioned.

Specifically I would like a house that backs to green space and is in a neighborhood with lots of kids.

[Komeht]

Best investment? No, not by a long shot. Central Austin remains your highest real return potential. For maximum gain, something relatively central that hasn't quite yet tipped (harder and harder to find). The areas that you're looking in - marginal returns at best with huge downside potential.

[kjkw]

What would you suggest for more central that meets my requirements?

[austin-steve]

Do you mean "investment" in your lifestyle? Or economic return?

Steve

[TexasHorseLady]

Subdivisions that are new along Ronald Reagan are still building out so you need to plan to be there for quite some time or you will be in competition with new builds when you sell. That's something to consider from the investment standpoint and since you seem to think there's a possibility of you being transferred for work, an important one.

[mark311]

From what you've written above, if you really think that you might need to move for work within the next few years then I would stay in Cedar Park. I would also stay below $450K if possible as homes over that amount are going to be a bit more difficult to sell in the suburbs.

There are still a lot of neighborhoods that fit what you're looking for in Cedar Park that feed into Cedar Park Middle School/Cedar Park High School and Henry Middle School/Vista Ridge High School. I would focus on homes that meet your requirements in areas that feed into those schools.

You are much less likely to take a big hit on homes that are closer to Austin that also feed into better schools if the market goes South. You could still take a hit since homes have increased in value so much over the past few year here, but the hit you would take up in Leander would be much greater. If you're considering buying a brand new home then the loss would most likely be even larger if you need to move for work soon.

[Bp25]

If your budget is 650k, you should not look at the suburbs at all. Look at northwest Austin, near the 360 and 2222 area. Jester is in AISD but good school feeder (Hill, Murchison, Anderson) or on the other side of 2222 that feeds to Vandergrift. Homes are older but updated. These areas are your best bet for hill country views and backing to real green space such as Balcones preserve. You may not get a media room with a one story though - media room trend started around 2005 and is already diminishing with advent of large screen TVs.

[riaelise]

There are plenty of homes over $450k in the suburbs that sell with no real issue. Many factors are taken into account as to which homes move and which homes don't. There are some homes that are under contract within a week in my neighborhood..some sit. But there isn't a buyer shortage because there are many who like big lots and older, non-master planned developments. People somehow didn't get the memo to price their homes below $450k and we sure as heck won't if and when we sell. Not when there's homes selling for over $500k. I'd like to say from an investment standpoint that we're doing just fine even though we paid more than $400k. I can't even afford the same sized house here now.

Not everyone who moves to the suburbs, or lives in the suburbs, has a small budget. Many people want more land, or a bigger house, or both, or maybe they just appreciate the landscape (not every development has postage stamp sized lots and no trees). Just look at Georgetown - where ranches and acreage homes are over regularly over $500k. Or Breakaway Park in Cedar Park, where homes are over a million. Or the Reserve at OBE or Tonkawa Springs in Round Rock, where the homes start at $550k and go up and are rarely for sale. And good luck trying to find cheap acreage in the city limits these days.

I don't care about return on investment..I'm already reaping the returns as my family loves this place and I'm going nowhere until retirement age forces us to sell.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by riaelise

There are plenty of homes over $450k in the suburbs that sell with no real issue. Many factors are taken into account as to which homes move and which homes don't. There are some homes that are under contract within a week in my neighborhood..some sit.

I don't care about return on investment..I'm already reaping the returns as my family loves this place and I'm going nowhere until retirement age forces us to sell.

So that all makes sense in your situation. However, the OP is worried that their employers might want them to move and there is nothing that says the housing market couldn't take a dive in the next year or so. Being forced to sell a $650k home in Leander in a down market would be much worse than trying to sell a $450k house closer in. Both would result in significant losses (in addition to realtors' fees), but I think the loss would be greater in the more expensive home further out especially if it's priced for a jumbo loan.

[Antny12]

Minus the usual austin homers.. considering your situation and what you posted I think both areas would be a great fit. I personally love both areas my self and I struggle to decide which is better. We live near crystal falls and absolutely love it. Any average joe can tell you there is no bad buy out here in Leander/cedar park considering the explosive growth housing prices are continuing to go up as will your return down the road. Most people don't buy a house to leave a few years later BTW. And not everyone cares about living in downtown or as close to downtown as possible.

Pros*

Good schools
Explosive growth (retail/commercial)
Family friendly
housing is much more affordable then living in Austin
Tons to do... cedar park center (Texas stars hockey, spurs basketball, concerts), lakeline mall, the Alamo, movies, the domain is 15 minutes up the road, pinballz up the road, IFLY/Mainevent right up the road, round rock outlet mall/bass pro/IKEA down the road, lake Travis is not far, downtown georgrown for festivals.. I could go on.
Austin is not that far away. I drive into it daily people vastly over exaggerate how far Leander really is.
Easy access to toll road 183A
Metro station
Austin community college campus/future st.davids hospital

Anyways back to the two areas- both are fantastic. Rouse typically gets better remarks then Leander high but honestly both are quality schools with a wider range of demographics then many of the other LISD schools who constantly get praised. If it's me I would say do to the Ronald Regan transmission lines that will be going through that area and the fact that the area will be built out after crystal falls if that matters. You won't have problems with resale ask any realtor knowledge in the Leander market.