Southlake - Southview, Foxborough or Oak Tree Neighborhoods? (Center, Murchison: for sale, houses)

[sbcpink]

Hi! We are moving to Southlake from Denver. We have zeroed in on three neighborhoods which are in close proximity to the Town Center - Southview, Foxborough and Oak Tree. I would love any thoughts on these neighborhoods. We have two children - ages 6 and 8. Thank you!

[jcamber]

My old boss lives in Foxborough. I've been several times to his house and the neighborhood seems really nice. He mentioned his neighbors were great and overall people were relax and cool -at least in his block. Super close to townsquare and 114. I think the only downside is that the age of the homes there are 10-15 years and older. So some remodeling may be needed.

[loves2read]

without knowing what your price parameters are and your design needs (like do you need two bedrooms on ground floor--do you need/want large lot with trees vs medium lot w/no trees)
can't really suggest one house in one neighborhood over another--
but about the 3 in general this is what I see

Foxborough is a Drees neighborhood--
which I rate as a negative in that it is tract housing on a more expensive level--although this price point raises "tract" housing to new level

with Drees you often see the same type of exterior with some minor variation and the same floorplan inside alternating blocks--it can be repetative/boring--but I have not been through Foxborough in years and the homes in the MLS have some variety even though they mainly have the same style of brick exteriors and high pitched roof lines--which is function of age of construction as much as lack of creativity

Drees has pretty good rep for construction--not lot of foundation failures or other major issues--but some people would rate them behind local "custom" builders--
between Highland/Saunders and Drees there would be disagreement about which one is better/worse--not like Drees and a Maykus or Wright constructed house which involves local developer/builder vs national tract builder--

the Southeview neighborhood flows into the Foxborough one so there is no obvious seperation but think the homes there are maybe smaller sqft on average--
and it was different developer/builders making those homes--hard to say who the developer was because it is just the name of the development and there are too many homes were you can't tell the builder from the TAD data
when I check the TAD.org site on their history it seems that many of the homes there were custom builds because you see more owners vs builders--so there MIGHT be more variation in the floorplans and other constructin details--that can be a positive but some people want weird things and some houses might be TOO individualistic to appeal to the "average" buyer

Southview seems to have more lots WITH native/larger trees than not--which is also a bonus to me--gives you some privacy between homes and just variety in design
the neighborhood streets seem wide enough to park car on each side but kind of narrow to drive through with cars parked on street


I think I can see streetlights on corners in Southview neighborhood
I don't recognize anything like streetlights in Foxborough either--
Because of how Oak Tree is built--there are long blocks--and I can't really see streetlights on corners--so if they are there--there still would be long distances between them...
how dark would it be at night if you wanted to walk your dog or go for run?

There is good bit of open land east of Foxborough--do you know how that is zoned?
The area north of Wildwood bordering 114 is going to be used for expansion or retail/commercial I am sure--so would not want house backing to that but for interior home/lot might not be problem

Foxborough has sidewalks--which I always prefer--and so does Southview

TAD shows Foxborough home values are more expensive than Southview
by far and Oak Tree has only 1 home showing a 600K valuation although on avg the homes' valuations in Oak Tree look higher than Southview--in TAD

partially that is age/construction values--partially it might be the age of the owners if there are significant numbers claiming senior exemption or who have remained in their homes as original buyers--because that tends to slow down the overall valuation of a neighborhood--
sale of homes and sale at higher values has more effect on raising TAD valuations that just TAD adjusting values higher

Foxborough is going to be easier access to 1709
Southview is easier access to 114

think about how you would do your commuting in/out of the neighborhoods
how easy would it be to get out of either one to make a school run or to leave for work or come back in busy traffic like Saturday afternoon

MIGHT be more traffic noise in Southview from 114 simply because114 is elevated and it is being enlarged vs being off 1790 in Foxborough or south of 1709 in Oak Tree

Oak Tree has entrance into development from Carroll but there is no light at that entrance--
you will have to wait to cross traffic if you are coming south from 1709--sometimes that could take a while--same with getting out on to Carroll and going south--
and Oak Tree is more "land-locked" than the other two--
it also has neighborhood streets that are more narrow (to me) than the other two--meaning there is less room to pass if people/cars are parked on street

Oak Tree has 124 homes according to TAD and only 2 in MLS for sale
Foxborough has 69 homes and 6 in MLS I was using
Southview has 77 homes and 3 for sale
so statistically Oak Tree shows greater desireability/stability just using those stats--which is not really fair or smart probably

Oak Tree shares one side of development with the Southlake strip mall where Market Street grocery is--and the surgery center is past that
that was a Murchison development--has Saunders/Highland homes and probably some by Murchison construction--maybe few other local builders
those lots seem smaller--than the other two developments--avg about .4 to .5 acre--

because this development is south of 1709 it is zoned for different elementary school--and it would be possible because of the sidewalks along Carroll--outside the subdivision-- for kids to bike/walk themselves to that elementary school--but Carroll is busy street so would suggest that only for older children
within the subdivision there are no sidewalks-
personally I consider that a drawback--sidewalks make it easier for people to walk in their neighborhood (push strollers) and give smaller kids way to ride their trikes w/o getting in the streets--especially if people are parking cars along the curbs--

There is good bit of variety between homes' exteriors--
fewer homes have natural trees or large trees so there is relative openness in backyards between houses--think there might be less privacy in these backyards vs Foxborough or Southview

[sbcpink]

Jcamber - thank for your thoughts on Foxborough! Loves2read - thank you very much for such a thorough and thoughtful response. We love the trees and the less "tract" look in Southview. Also, the close proximity to be able to walk to the Town Center. Our housing wish list has a second bedroom on the main floor, larger lot with pool, elementary age children in neighborhood and walking or biking distance to Town Center. Our budget is $650K. Any additional neighborhoods you think we should consider? Thanks again!

[lechevarria]

Wow, loves2read, your post is very through! I live in the area and have learned more about it reading your post than driving around! Good luck in your search sbcpink... I relocated to TX 12 years ago with small children and I know finding a good area is important, specially for the little ones!

[loves2read]

the age and lot size probably has more to do with finding house with two bedrooms down

that is design feature not that common in house that has two floors and is more than 7 or so years old

homes went through the 1 story floorplan to 2--with all beds up--then master down and others up for privacy but then people with younger children or aging parents who visited found that split was not very successful in real life

finding the split with 2 beds down and 2+ beds up seems to be what many people, old or young, are looking for if they can find it in their price/size range--
they are really pretty difficult to locate in some neighborhoods that are older--
new construction tends to do it a good bit IF the lot size will allow it

more people apparently like that bedroom arrangement vs 2 living areas on ground floor from what I have seen/read

[connan1]

Hello all,

I've been trying to get some feedback about the desirability of Southridge Lakes but no luck so far. I'm very interested in the fact that homes there seem to be less expensive than in Timarron, and I'm not sure if it has to do with the schools, or any other factor that I'm not aware....

I do like Timarron, but I'm not sure if the delta in price vs other communities north of 1709 is reasonable.

Thanks in advance....

[loves2read]

timarron is tied to golf course--supposed to be "premium" neighborhood which probably has something to do with home prices