House hunting and getting frustrated! (Dallas, Plano: new home, neighborhoods, construction)

[dfwtx]

The search for the perfect home seems endless! Anyone else going through this?
We looked at Frisco, Plano West, Plano East, Coppell and Irving !!! WHEW!!
Frisco : too much commute
Plano West: Kind of OK, but still a long commute
Plano East: Again a long long commute
Coppell: Kind of oldish looking, not any new homes in our budget
Irving: Good new homes, but not a very popular builder, plus maybe a flood zone
Want to add any comments??

[stargazer]

Just wanted to know where work is? That way we can give you the names of other areas to look in.

[noname]

Amen. We are in the same boat -- looking at the same areas. Same issues.

[Spree]

I'm wondering if your timing is off? It seems that in the spring months many more houses will go on the market getting ready for a summer move. Sometimes this time of year there might not be much available. Hopefully in a couple of more months there will be more on the market for you to choose from.

good luck! ~ B

[noname]

Gulfdriver,

Maybe timing is the issue -- but some of it is, I believe, the nature of the Dallas market. "Executive" housing options seem to be (and these are generalizations with exceptions):

$300,000 -- early 1990s home, new construction on fringes, or pre-WWII home in dicey area

$400,000-500,000 -- mid-to-late 1990s construction in desirable areas (Southlake, Colleyville, Coppell, parts of Flower Mound)

$600,000 -- newer construction (1-3 years old) in desirable areas

$700,000 -- entry level for older (pre-WWII) home in nice area (HP/UP), or brand new homes in desirable areas

The housing market in Dallas is excellent for people looking for a brick 4-bedroom 3000 square foot "plain" home in a good school district -- it's relatively cheap. But, if you don't want cheesy early 1990s mass-built neighborhoods and you don't want to border a ghetto or commute one hour each way, there aren't a lot of great options near Las Colinas.

That's my frustration talking!

[dfwtx]

What does a person with a budget of 280K and under do?? Work is in Irving, so commute from Plano or Frisco is going to be long.
Maybe we'll take a break of a few days and start over!!

[noname]

I'd look at Flower Mound for a $250-280 budget. It's not a great commute to Irving (30-45 minutes at peak times), but there are some reasonable homes. Coppell is pretty lousy at that price point.

We've increased our budget by about 50% since we started looking... the average home price statistics for Dallas are a little misleading.

[dfwtx]

Flower Mound doesn't appeal to either of us, plus don't want Lewisville ISD, no matter how good the area school may be.
Schools that we would like are either Plano ISD, Frisco ISD or Coppell ISD.
Right now deadlocked between a 10 year old house in Plano (with excellent schools) or a new home in Valley Ranch (with Coppell ISD). With Irving we'd be stretching our original budget from 225K to about 280K ! But then would be cutting down the commute. Lots of pros and cons to weigh!

[noname]

Why the disdain for Lewisville schools? Their average SAT scores are only 50 points off Plano ISD -- despite a broader socioeconomic mix. Just curious.

[dfwtx]

Just don't have any friend's kids going to that ISD....and from all the posts here, it didn't seem too popular. Maybe i'm wrong.