new construction -- where to focus on (Austin, Round Rock: real estate market, new house)

[meded]

My family is considering relocating from Massachusetts to Austin later this year, and I was hoping for advice on where to search for a new house. We have two young children -- a 3 year old and 1 year old, so we want somewhere with lots of families so we'll have an opportunity to meet other young families. We're also looking for:
-- great elementary schools
-- new construction
-- no more than 30 minutes to downtown (but both of us will be working from home so we don't need to commute at rush hour or travel to Austin on a daily basis)
-- hilly area/nice views
-- desirable area so we'll be ok for resale
-- close to amenities like stores, restaurants, pediatrician's offices
We're hoping for a home in the 3000-4000 sq foot range for around $600K.

What communities would you recommend as we start our search?
Thanks!

[Trainwreck20]

New construction - to me, that means built within the last 10 years, give or take. Is that what you are looking for? Or something shorter? Or are you looking to actually build a new home?

The first area that jumps to my mind is Circle C (on the SW side of town), but views are not that great. On the NW side, you can look at River Place or Steiner Ranch. I am sure there are others, but you can search this forum to find lots of info on those areas (esp. Steiner...hot topic lately ). You will need to check to see if a house with views will meet your price requirements.

[gigi927]

If you're looking to build new, that would rule out River Place, but you could still consider Steiner Ranch. You're looking at 30-35 minutes to downtown during nonpeak hours, which sounds like it shouldn't be an issue for you.

On the new construction front i'd also look at some of the communities down in Dripping Springs, like Belterra or Highpointe, maybe? not sure what level of view you are looking for. The NW part of town has bigger hills and, IMO, a bit more "view factor". I think of SW part of town as having more rolling hills and a lot more oak trees. So it's whatever you value more.

[azahir]

I won't suggest Circle C now. Most of the residents in this sub division works in either AMD or Freescale(Biggest employers in the area) and both these companies are expected to go for a big layoff anytime from now. So there is good chance that Home price will crash in Circle C. Well this is just a general opinion based on AMD performance in the last 1 year (Stock price came down from 42 to 13 within 10 months). And honestly I believe that the Circle C is little hyped up and this happen it will crash.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070409/advanced_micro_devices_outlook.html?.v=7 (broken link)

[pvaustin]

Originally Posted by gigi927

If you're looking to build new, that would rule out River Place, but you could still consider Steiner Ranch. You're looking at 30-35 minutes to downtown during nonpeak hours, which sounds like it shouldn't be an issue for you.

On the new construction front i'd also look at some of the communities down in Dripping Springs, like Belterra or Highpointe, maybe? not sure what level of view you are looking for. The NW part of town has bigger hills and, IMO, a bit more "view factor". I think of SW part of town as having more rolling hills and a lot more oak trees. So it's whatever you value more.

gigi...dont they have some new construction going on in RP ? I saw a builder name (David weekley..maybe) at the beginning section of RP. Is that different or are they sold out?

[gigi927]

They have just a couple of lots left (literally 1 or 2) and then a couple of specs that have been on the market forever. But that's about it. Not a lot of choice!

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by meded

My family is considering relocating from Massachusetts to Austin later this year, and I was hoping for advice on where to search for a new house. We have two young children -- a 3 year old and 1 year old, so we want somewhere with lots of families so we'll have an opportunity to meet other young families. We're also looking for:
-- great elementary schools
-- new construction
-- no more than 30 minutes to downtown (but both of us will be working from home so we don't need to commute at rush hour or travel to Austin on a daily basis)
-- hilly area/nice views
-- desirable area so we'll be ok for resale
-- close to amenities like stores, restaurants, pediatrician's offices
We're hoping for a home in the 3000-4000 sq foot range for around $600K.

What communities would you recommend as we start our search?
Thanks!

I would say the dominion at great hills is probably the best area for you based on your criteria. For whatever reason everyone loves steiner, but it is too far out. Great hills is a community right by the arboretum and parts of it are in the RR school district (like the dominion). Great hills is about 15 minutes from downtown and about 10 minutes from the domain.

Dominion homes are in your price range, many of them back up to the green belt and most people are families with young children. The elementary school is laurel mountain.

I think the lots are possibly mostly gone, but most of the houses were built in 2001.

[TheHarvester]

I'm gonna be a dittohead and say that everyone has given you good advice so far. Northwest and Southwest both give you 30 minute drives at non-commute times to downtown while providing many housing opportunities at "affordable" prices (way cheaper than central west or close to downtown.)

Names of towns, some of which have already been mentioned:

Northwest:
Cedar Park
Leander (new freeway makes the drive a breeze at off-hours)
Liberty Hill
West side of Round Rock (unincorporated areas between Leander and RR)
Parts of NW Austin in the city limits (mostly near Parmer Lane)

Southwest:
Dripping Springs
Western fringes of Buda, Manchaca and Kyle
Oak Hill
Developments within south and southwest Austin city

Your ability to work from home provides you with a great advantage over those who have to endure driving in our increasingly unbearable traffic. I've been gradually weening myself off of using my car because it's gotten rather unpleasant to drive in Austin most of the time. But it's a beautiful place otherwise. Make sure you get a real estate agent who FEELS your needs rather than a gung-ho salesperson who wants to shove you into whatever makes life easy for THEM. You're the one paying, you get to choose. In boom towns you're more likely to be taken for a ride by the unscrupulous profiteer. But ultimately you still have the power. Having said that, if you find a house you really want then JUMP on it because this market is HOT HOT HOT! Don't play around with numbers and contingencies or someone else will buy it and you'll be back to square one.

[austin-steve]

I won't suggest Circle C now. Most of the residents in this sub division works in either AMD or Freescale(Biggest employers in the area) and both these companies are expected to go for a big layoff anytime from now. So there is good chance that Home price will crash in Circle C.

This is utterly false. Circle C is not going to crash. It's one of the most stable and strong real estate markets in Austin at present. There is a wide range of people living there who work in many different sectors of the Austin job market.
Steve

[pvaustin]

Originally Posted by neil_95051

I won't suggest Circle C now. Most of the residents in this sub division works in either AMD or Freescale(Biggest employers in the area) and both these companies are expected to go for a big layoff anytime from now. So there is good chance that Home price will crash in Circle C. Well this is just a general opinion based on AMD performance in the last 1 year (Stock price came down from 42 to 13 within 10 months). And honestly I believe that the Circle C is little hyped up and this happen it will crash.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070409/advanced_micro_devices_outlook.html?.v=7 (broken link)

WHOA...where did you hear that with Freescale..??