Star Ranch Hutto - Have things changed? (Austin, Round Rock: for sale, houses)

[Odyssey13]

Hello again to all you wonderful people!

So we made our trip to Austin to check things out... we were impressed with Star Ranch (among other places)

After searching the forum, I saw a lot of posts (most recent: Feb 2012) referring to how inexpensive Hutto is, and how the homes don't appreciate well, resales are difficult, etc as opposed to Round Rock or Pflugerville.

When I searched the MLS 5 minutes ago, I found only 6 homes for sale in Star Ranch, and they range from $184k (new to-be-built) to $275k. Most were in the mid $200's. I think that is pretty comparable to Round Rock prices, and higher than Pflugerville. (Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm no expert...)

One of the things I look at is how many homes are for sale. A low number indicates to me that it is a good area, if it were going downhill, more people would be selling, right? I don't know the total number of homes in Star Ranch, just that it is a 1000 acre community... so I'm assuming 6 is a low number.

I'm curious if things have changed in the past several months, or if the references to Hutto don't include Star Ranch?

I'd appreciate any feedback on the neighborhood from those who live there or spend time there!

Thanks!

[centralaustinite]

are you counting on appreciation? or just looking for a place to live? Anything as far out as Hutto will not see much appreciation for years because buyers can just go further down the road and buy brand new. But that doesn't mean that it isn't a good place to live if it meets your other needs

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by Odyssey13

Hello again to all you wonderful people!

So we made our trip to Austin to check things out... we were impressed with Star Ranch (among other places)

After searching the forum, I saw a lot of posts (most recent: Feb 2012) referring to how inexpensive Hutto is, and how the homes don't appreciate well, resales are difficult, etc as opposed to Round Rock or Pflugerville.

When I searched the MLS 5 minutes ago, I found only 6 homes for sale in Star Ranch, and they range from $184k (new to-be-built) to $275k. Most were in the mid $200's. I think that is pretty comparable to Round Rock prices, and higher than Pflugerville. (Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm no expert...)

One of the things I look at is how many homes are for sale. A low number indicates to me that it is a good area, if it were going downhill, more people would be selling, right? I don't know the total number of homes in Star Ranch, just that it is a 1000 acre community... so I'm assuming 6 is a low number.

I'm curious if things have changed in the past several months, or if the references to Hutto don't include Star Ranch?

I'd appreciate any feedback on the neighborhood from those who live there or spend time there!

Thanks!

I live around the Gattis School Road area, where Star Ranch is located. Centralaustinite is right. You will not see much appreciation in any suburb, regardless of neighborhood. There is far too much land and competition. Actually, Texas really isn't about the appreciation, unless you were one of the lucky natives who owned prior to 2000. If there are things about the neighborhood that caught your attention, then it's worth a consideration. However, I also want to add that the number of "homes for sale" is not a good barometer for a neighborhood. At any given time, Steiner Ranch and Forest Creek (both excellent neighborhoods) have over 80 homes for sale, sometimes even over 100. That doesn't mean that the neighborhoods are going downhill.

Also, the high home prices are due to the fact that they are new construction. New construction always inflates its prices, and you end up overpaying. Once you overpay, you're forced to have to deal with that inflated price for the next 30 years. This isn't a knock against Star Ranch. It's definitely one of the more affordable golf course communities, and is in a growing area, but I'd suggest that you look up things such as schools, taxes (it is in an ETJ I believe), and the like before buying.

[Odyssey13]

Appreciation alone is not a big factor. The posts I had read seemed to single Hutto out as the area that did not appreciate/resell well, while surrounding suburbs were better. I was just trying to figure out why, or if there were any red flags I should be seeing, but I couldn't find any - and the prices seemed right in line with everything else, so I wonered if there had been a recent "boom" there.

We are still very interested in Star Ranch, its in a very convenient location for us, and looked really nice.

Thanks!

[robino2001]

I'm looking at Star Ranch out my back yard as I type this from my Forest Creek house on the RR side of the fence. I cannot speak of the Star Ranch section south of Gattis School (the Pflugerville side), but I can only think of one built home for sale north of Gattis School (the Hutto side). The realtors can (and likely will) correct me, but I'd assume the other homes listed may be spec homes the builders have in motion.

If I had to guess, Star Ranch (the north part) is only 35-40% built out with the roads in place and is likely only 20% built out if you include the land without the roads developed into it yet - and it's been this way for a long time. If I had to guess, only 15-20 houses have been built in Star Ranch since we looked at lots in there 2 years ago, and I believe the two builders there then have both pulled out and are replaced by 2 (maybe 3) new builders.

I lump Star Ranch and Paloma Lake together... nice houses, the area has tons of potential, but the neighborhood growth had/has become really stagnant. I think Paloma Lake is finally building out at a better rate now and I'm sure having the school in place helps. The Star Ranch builders promised an elementary school in the neighborhood in addition to an HEB (Plus) - neither of which is anywhere near coming to fruition as of now. Conversely, the new (and last) sections of Forest Creek are building out at an insane rate (guessing 10-15 houses per month) and they're selling pretty well as well.

[Odyssey13]

We looked at Paloma Lake as well... but I honestly don't remember it. We literally were out driving around neighborhoods and looking at model homes 6-7 hours a day for 6 days straight, flew home, and now can't remember half of what I saw. The neighborhoods that stood out were Oaklands (in Round Rock), Crystal Falls (in Leander), Star Ranch, and Berry Creek... and of those, I think Star Ranch is the most convenient location for us.