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Old 12-06-2012, 05:57 PM
 
30 posts, read 75,682 times
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Sorry if it is such an obvious thing...my knowledge of Austin neighborhoods is quite limited.

But why is 78746 zip code so freakin expensive? Living there would imply shortest commute time to work. But lo, homes there are way out of range!
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Old 12-06-2012, 06:15 PM
 
Location: Volcano
12,969 posts, read 28,443,557 times
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It's called supply & demand. Demand is high so prices are high.
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Old 12-06-2012, 06:46 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,269 posts, read 35,642,308 times
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That is Rollingwood/Westlake area, among others. Big lots, good schools, some are lakefront., etc.....
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Old 12-06-2012, 06:55 PM
 
Location: Austin
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They are the highest rated school district in the area. That's called M-O-N-E-Y...
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Old 12-06-2012, 07:38 PM
 
30 posts, read 75,682 times
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Originally Posted by FalconheadWest View Post
They are the highest rated school district in the area. That's called M-O-N-E-Y...
Well, I understand the presence of highly rated schools. This trend is quite uniform across the nation, neighborhoods within good school boundaries tend to hold up well - the proverbial "location, location, location".

I live in a highly rated schools boundary here in Portland, OR and no way are the homes so overpriced as in 78746. Some of the homes do carry a million$ tab on it, but there are plenty to be had in the 400-600K in a decent price/sqft range. In additio, we have something called "Urban Growth Boundary" - the exact opposite of urban sprawl and this keeps residential land availability extremely limited.

In anticipation of our near term move to Austin, I have been doing lots of home research online and city in general as well. It almost seems to me that Austin is way more hyped up than what it is worth. Definitely, housing seems to be nearing bubble proportion :-( and there seems to be too much of a premium attached to schools! I can't believe this is Texas, where land, sun and guns are abundant enough.
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Old 12-06-2012, 08:03 PM
 
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It's not just schools. Proximity to downtown plays a large part of it. There are other areas with good schools that are much cheaper, but you won't be close to downtown.
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Old 12-06-2012, 08:21 PM
 
2,633 posts, read 6,400,267 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SS_PDX View Post
Well, I understand the presence of highly rated schools. This trend is quite uniform across the nation, neighborhoods within good school boundaries tend to hold up well - the proverbial "location, location, location".

I live in a highly rated schools boundary here in Portland, OR and no way are the homes so overpriced as in 78746. Some of the homes do carry a million$ tab on it, but there are plenty to be had in the 400-600K in a decent price/sqft range. In additio, we have something called "Urban Growth Boundary" - the exact opposite of urban sprawl and this keeps residential land availability extremely limited.

In anticipation of our near term move to Austin, I have been doing lots of home research online and city in general as well. It almost seems to me that Austin is way more hyped up than what it is worth. Definitely, housing seems to be nearing bubble proportion :-( and there seems to be too much of a premium attached to schools! I can't believe this is Texas, where land, sun and guns are abundant enough.
You're making a wild assumption without even seeing the area you're actually looking at. A quick drive through would tell you that zip code is the closest thing to "old money" Austin has.

The premium is for Westlake. Not the schools. Comparable schools are available everywhere.

And land may be abundant, but roads are not.
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Old 12-06-2012, 08:23 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
719 posts, read 2,666,792 times
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although it may not look like it, residential development in that area is quite restricted at this point. it is the most desirable zip code in a metro area with a lot of wealth, and more wealthy people move here every day. it just boils down to supply and demand
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Old 12-06-2012, 09:28 PM
 
Location: Not Moving
970 posts, read 1,873,355 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SS_PDX View Post
Sorry if it is such an obvious thing...my knowledge of Austin neighborhoods is quite limited.

But why is 78746 zip code so freakin expensive? Living there would imply shortest commute time to work. But lo, homes there are way out of range!
Why are homes in Pemberton Heights SO expensive?! Why are homes in Tarrytown So expensive.....shall we go down the line?
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Old 12-07-2012, 07:01 AM
 
Location: Central Texas
13,714 posts, read 31,180,231 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SS_PDX View Post
Well, I understand the presence of highly rated schools. This trend is quite uniform across the nation, neighborhoods within good school boundaries tend to hold up well - the proverbial "location, location, location".

I live in a highly rated schools boundary here in Portland, OR and no way are the homes so overpriced as in 78746. Some of the homes do carry a million$ tab on it, but there are plenty to be had in the 400-600K in a decent price/sqft range. In additio, we have something called "Urban Growth Boundary" - the exact opposite of urban sprawl and this keeps residential land availability extremely limited.

In anticipation of our near term move to Austin, I have been doing lots of home research online and city in general as well. It almost seems to me that Austin is way more hyped up than what it is worth. Definitely, housing seems to be nearing bubble proportion :-( and there seems to be too much of a premium attached to schools! I can't believe this is Texas, where land, sun and guns are abundant enough.
Realtors might know better than me, but I do not believe home prices in the Austin area are anywhere near bubble levels.

78746 has ALWAYS been more expensive. Premium location, excellent schools, and social status. The lakefront stuff is multi-million, and I think it helps make the area "premium."

Remember too that Austin's population growth rate is double to triple that of Portland. Austin grew 20.4% from 2000-2010, and 39% from 1990-2000. Portland grew strongly, but still much less. Austin has higher per capita income than Portland and a lower cost of living. There is lots of money in this city.
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