South of FM`1960 (Willowbrook area)?? (Huntsville: houses, neighborhoods, buying)

[StephM]

Searching the threads here it seems that most say to stay away from south of FM1960. Why is that? Looking at HAR there are a couple houses south of there that we like, but I won't waste my limited time seeing them if the area is bad

[modster]

What subdivisions?

[StephM]

Greenwood Forest...

[modster]

Personally I like Greenwood Forest. The curb appeal is still very nice and the best retail in the area seems to be in that Champion Forest/1960 intersection. There are some very impressive homes there.

The downside with Greenwood, and why the prices are somewhat depressed, is Klein Forest High School has become undesirable to the typical suburban house hunter out there. That has affected Greenwood's property values quite a bit compared to other areas further north.

There is a small "estate section" across from the church and I noticed recently that the largest house in the neighborhood, on the corner of Theall & Champion Forest, is listed for $369,900. I can remember when that area was one of the "it" neighborhoods but now a nearly 8000 sq ft mini-mansion can be bought for under $375,000.

[StephM]

Originally Posted by modster

Personally I like Greenwood Forest. The curb appeal is still very nice and the best retail in the area seems to be in that Champion Forest/1960 intersection. There are some very impressive homes there.

The downside with Greenwood, and why the prices are somewhat depressed, is Klein Forest High School has become undesirable to the typical suburban house hunter out there. That has affected Greenwood's property values quite a bit compared to other areas further north.

There is a small "estate section" across from the church and I noticed recently that the largest house in the neighborhood, on the corner of Theall & Champion Forest, is listed for $369,900. I can remember when that area was one of the "it" neighborhoods but now a nearly 8000 sq ft mini-mansion can be bought for under $375,000.

Thank you! I looked up Klein Forest and wow, those test scores weren't good. I mean, I do think that how well a child does in school is based on how hard their are pushed at home. Do people steer clear because of the....demographics of the school?

Would you say it is a better bet to stay north?

[Mr. Football]

Greenwood Forest has great bones and has always been a great, classic neighborhood. The retail is very good right there in Champions. Unfortunately, it is zoned to a school who's demographics changed rapidly in the 1990's and 2000's.

If that's an issue, you can find a great neighborhood across the street in Huntwick (zoned to Cy-Creek).

[Supermac34]

You have to be careful about Huntwick as well. About half the neighborhood goes to Cy Creek and half goes to Klein Forest. Its about the only neighborhood North of 1960 that goes to Klein Forest.

My opinion is that why put added pressure on yourself if you have to sell yourhome in the future by buying in a neighborhood with undesireable schools.

Stay North of 1960 in that part of Klein or Cy Fair.

[crone]

Before you give up a house you like in Greenwood, go visit Forest. You may be surprised. They run a pretty good shop. Their kids still attend top tier universities just as KHS, Oak and Collins. People out here consider KHS the be all and end all. IMO, when you consider parent income, participation and all the stuff that good schools are made of, Forest is the better school. It was a Newsweek top 1500 high schools in the U.S. In most of our district, football and cheerleading and what kind of car your kid drives has priority over academics. Many of these kids end up at SFA, U of H, or Huntsville, anyway. Your kid can get into Harvard from Forest. Two sections of Huntwick go to Klein. From HAR. enter 77069 and Klein school. Many houses can be had for much less than what they are asking. Less than what was paid 10 or 15 years ago. You can get a good deal from the people who have to relocate. This is a great neighborhood. The school perception thing is working for those of us who intend to leave in a hearse. We just keep showing HCAD this trash talk on the forums, and get our taxes lowered.