Steiner Ranch community in Cedar Park (San Antonio, Austin: home builders, safe area, to buy) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Torontonian · 11-11-2006, 08:58 AM

Hi

I'm new on this forum. I'm moving to Austin next month. Planning to buy a house few months after. I know that it is not a good time to buy a house but looks like Austin didn't experience this huge real-estate bubble, house prices are still reasonable and what surprises me they are still going up.
I'm looking at Steiner Ranch community (Cedar Park). Is there anybody from that area? I'd like to get all pros/cons of that area and probably to hear what alternative areas I should consider as well.

Some info about us - family of 4, kids are 5 and 8 yrs old, my work is in Arboretum area. Would like to buy a house for not more than 300K. Of course good neighbourhoud and exemplary schools are high priority.

Thanks in advance for those who reply

PS. Moving from Toronto, Canada ;-)

AustinGuy · 11-11-2006, 10:34 AM

Steiner Ranch is a very nice master planned community, but it isn't in Cedar Park. Steiner Ranch is actually part of Austin.

Cedar Park is a small town (now a suburb) north of Austin that has lots of affordable housing.

It will probably be difficult to get a house for under $300k in Steiner, but you shouldn't have a problem finding that pricepoint in Cedar Park.

gigi927 · 11-11-2006, 01:02 PM

I just moved to the part of Austin where Steiner is located. I'm actually about 5 minutes away in an older community called River Place. We looked at tons of houses in Steiner before opting for River Place, and I would agree with AustinGuy that it will be difficult to find a house for under $300K in Steiner. If you look farther north into Cedar Park, there is more affordable housing. Google Twin Creeks, Cypress Creek, Crystal Falls and more. Those are all larger communities with lots of home builders and less expensive housing. Depending on what location you pick, you have a good chance of still being in an exemplary school. These areas are all part of Leander ISD, just as Steiner Ranch is.

Your commute to the Arboretum might actually be a wee bit better going from Cedar Park anyway. I have a neighbor here who moved from Steiner Ranch, and the traffic in and out of there is horrendous because there's only one way in or out. She said it took her 20 minutes just to leave Steiner on some mornings, then she had the whole rest of her commute. Just a thought to consider. Good luck! It's a nice area up here.

Rnelson · 11-12-2006, 11:41 AM

I have sold many homes in steiner and most of my clients love the area. If you have kids it would be hard to find a better community to raise your little ones. Also their are a good amount of homes on the market in steiner so i am sure you could find a great house.

Twinkle Toes · 11-12-2006, 06:50 PM

We checked out Steiner Ranch before moving to the Dominion in San Antonio. We couldn't handle the traffic in Austin and the lack of freeways. Most travel is done on a series of two and four lane roads with no center dividers. Traffic is a nightmare and with no dividers you run the risk of being hit head-on. No thank you! However, I am discovering S.A. has just as much traffic but we do have a freeway system and it is the lesser of two evils.

Lockett The Lender · 12-10-2006, 12:22 AM

Steiner Ranch can be very difficult to get in and out of around 6 O'Clock due to the design of the entrance to this exclusive community. I also had a client take a minor loss on a house there last year because of a decline in the property value.

TanikaW · 12-26-2006, 05:48 PM

I love Steiner Ranch. We have lived her for 1 year and half, we moved in from California. Traffic is not really an issue for me. I just use the other entrance during school hours. I think it use to be an issue in the past before they put the stop light in, but I never have any issues and would not live anywhere else. Steiner Ranch is an excellent choice. Great schools, sense of community, sidewalks, friendly neighbors, new shops coming, lake, hills, trees, etc. My list can go on! My husband and I always joke of how we live in a bubble! Not to mention the fact that in only a year, our home has increased 100K in value!

FromCalitoSteinerRanch · 03-31-2007, 04:32 PM

We love Steiner Ranch. We came from Orange County, California to Round Rock in '03, but came to Steiner in '05. We lost money on a 3000 sq. ft. one story in Round Rock. We are up about 35% in Steiner. But enough about the financial side.

Leander ISD has 3 Exemplary Rated schools, all 3 are in SR. The neighborhood is very nice in terms of what we look for, namely safe area, lots of good kids, lots of moms that stay home, respect for others, nature, private trails, water close by, etc.

One thing I noticed is many talk about SR, without ever having been here. I took the following pictures today just to give an idea.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fromcalitosteinerranch/ (broken link)

new to austin · 04-02-2007, 05:14 PM

My family moved to Austin last summer from the Mid-West. We had our kids in private school there, and just couldn't afford them here in Austin. We chose Steiner Ranch because of the schools. You should know that they are building a new High School, so the kids from Steiner, River Place, and a few other areas will go to the new high school. Our realtor said she thought in the long run being in the area with the new high school would be a better investment. You should look into it. It is going to be more expensive to live in Steiner, but I think it's worth it. Hope this helps!

Oh, as far as the traffic, it's bad everywhere. (all of austin, not just steiner) My husband leaves for work before the rush, so it doesn't bother us too much. And in the summer, it's much better.

FromCalitoSteinerRanch · 04-02-2007, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by new to austin

My family moved to Austin last summer from the Mid-West. We had our kids in private school there, and just couldn't afford them here in Austin. We chose Steiner Ranch because of the schools. You should know that they are building a new High School, so the kids from Steiner, River Place, and a few other areas will go to the new high school. Our realtor said she thought in the long run being in the area with the new high school would be a better investment. You should look into it. It is going to be more expensive to live in Steiner, but I think it's worth it. Hope this helps!

Oh, as far as the traffic, it's bad everywhere. (all of austin, not just steiner) My husband leaves for work before the rush, so it doesn't bother us too much. And in the summer, it's much better.

I forgot to address that myself. I too leave before rush hour. I engage with a time zone about 11 hours ahead of us, so I have to get in early to make my calls! I leave by about 6:50am at the latest, and get to work about 7:20ish, which is IH-35 and Parmer Ln.

This is even taking 2222 to 360 to Mopac to Parmer. I leave by about 4:30PM, and get home around 5:10 to 5:15PM because I can't do 65MPH most of the way. If I can't get out by 4:30, I usually just wait until about 6:30PM and get more work done.