Highland Park -Pflugerville vs. Avery Ranch - Cedar Park (Austin: lease, month to)

[ConnerFamily]

My family is moving to the Austin area. We are really having a difficult time narrowing our search for homes down. I really love the rear entry homes made by D.R. Horton homes that are in Highland Park, Pflugerville, TX. However, I’ve heard mixed reviews about Pflugerville, TX. Can anyone shed any light on the Highland Park subdivision in Pflugerville, TX. In addition, we are considering a neighborhood in Cedar Park, TX named Avery Ranch. I have never been to the areas so I am basing my opinion off of advice from a Realtor and the pictures online. Needless to say, I’m getting nowhere and cannot narrow it down.

Help!

Thanks.

[woodinvilleguy]

I live in Avery Ranch and we love it. It has tons of amenities and good schools. It also feels closer in than Pflugerville. I'd suggest renting first to make sure you like the area. Housing is a pretty wide range in Avery from the 180s-500s depending on size of house, lot, ...

Feel free to DM me for more info if you'd like. Do you have a job here yet? What is your budget?

[xcountrymover]

We liked that style of home, too, when we moved here last year. Highland Ranch is next to a busy road, though, so we drove through it, and decided not to pursue a home there. Like most places, there are good parts to Pflugerville, and not so good parts.

A lot of where you live depends on where your office is located. We heard positive things about Cedar Park, but the commute wasn't a good one for my husband, so we chose Round Rock.

Good luck!!

[ConnerFamily]

Thanks for the information. I will be working in Austin at Camp Mabry. I heard the commute will be long but I also heard about the commuter train.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by ConnerFamily

[font=Arial]Can anyone shed any light on the Highland Park subdivision in Pflugerville, TX. In addition, we are considering a neighborhood in Cedar Park, TX named Avery Ranch.

Help!

Thanks.

Another happy Avery Ranch resident here, proudly located in Williamson County, AUSTIN, TX. It's a big community(~4000 homes when finished) so I guess part of it could reach Cedar Park. It feels like you can get anywhere fairly easily(no commute for us, thank you) with 183 to the west, I35 east, Toll 45 and 620 to the south and Whitestone to the north.

[woodinvilleguy]

To get to airport from Avery ranch, it takes me 30 minutes not in traffic. pretty easy shot. If you can play with you schedule early or later you'll miss most of traffic.

[patton2003]

You can get more home for the money in Pflugerville verses Avery Ranch, but there are down sides to Pflugerville...especially the quality of water there. You will definitely need a water softener anywhere in Pflugerville but not necessarily in Avery Ranch.

Avery Ranch also has more higher end homes than Pflugerville. Falcon Pointe is a very nice neighborhood in Pflugerville that has comparable homes to Avery Ranch. Don't know for sure, but taxes are probably less in Pfl.

[Austinitegirl]

Ok - waaaay too much Avery Ranch representation, so I gotta balance it out. I live in Pflugerville near Falcon Pointe/Blackhawke - very nice area within walking distance of new schools. It's also right near the new toll roads, although all the neighborhoods are on a quieter road: Kelly Lane. There's a golf course, man-made lake, and several neighborhoods to choose from - to accommodate almost every price range. We're getting a new huge shopping center on the southwest corner of the big 45/130 toll road intersection. It's going to include all kinds of fun stuff like a Super Target.

I commute to UT every day - it's about 30 minutes on the toll road in light traffic, 45 in heavy traffic. I pass Camp Mabry every day, so your commute in light traffic will probably be about 20-25 minutes, 30-45 in heavy traffic.

I would NOT go for Highland Park. My husband and I looked at those houses several times. Honestly - they're overpriced for what you get. You can get a LOT more house in Pflugerville (in one of the neighborhoods I mentioned above) for the same price as the DR Horton homes. FYI - if you really do like those houses - there's another neighborhood of them in Round Rock off of Gattis School Road (I think it's called Turtle Creek) and another one in Cedar Park. But still the same problem - the house isn't much for what you pay and (in my humble opinion) they just look a little "cheap."

My husband and I looked at Avery Ranch when we were house shopping - they were out of our price range. They may advertise that they have houses for $150K, but I was never shown a house for under $200K when I visited. Then again, with the current shape of the economy, you may find a steal of a deal in Avery Ranch these days.

Good luck!

[rridgeback]

Just FYI, the commuter rail won't have a stop anywhere near Camp Mabry. There will be a stop near Avery Ranch - about 3 miles or so. But it's unlikely to take you anywhere you'll want to go very often. The realtor seems to be steering you to new neighborhoods. For the sake of your investment and quality of life, I'd encourage you to look at well-established neighborhoods that don't have home builders still building and developers in control of the HOA. If you provide a price range I'm sure you'll get some good suggestions.

[mpp798]

We are so glad we didn't buy when we first moved here. We would have ended up in an area that would not have met our needs. I suggest you rent a house and look at various neighborhoods. We rented a 3 bedroom 2 bath house with a 9 month lease for $995 a month and then went to month to month until we found what we were looking for. We explored many different areas of Austin. I think the market is softening here too. We bought in June and asking prices in our subdivision are quite a bit less than what we paid. Good luck. Austin is a great city.