Overpriced Homes in Cedar Park and Leander (Austin, Round Rock: 2014, rent)

[brattpowered]

It seems like everyone thinking about selling is holding out for more, while out of town investors are snatching properties up with cash, well over asking values. The growth rate in Austin is chugging along but hasn't suddenly exploded. Housing prices have, though. It's just a very poor time to be a house hunter.

Austin's growth rate: http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/def...istory_pub.pdf

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by riaelise

Are you paying $450K for your to be built home by any chance? I've never lost money on a house either, even now because I bought low. I've never bought at the "peak" of a real estate market. In NYC, I purchased a condo for under 100K which is now unheard of. The same condo is now worth 4-5 times more than that. I will say though, that paying $500K for a home in Leander wouldn't make me feel that comfortable at all. Sorry. I also wouldn't pay that much for a home in Pflugerville and Round Rock either, unless they were acreage lots with custom homes.

I happen to be pretty good friends with someone on the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority board. He also spent 23 years as the City Manager of Round Rock before retiring. According to him, of all the suburban towns in the US, the 3rd fastest growing is Georgetown, TX, the 4th is Round Rock, TX, and number 5 is Cedar Park, TX. Statistics all show that in 25 years, the population of Williamson County will surpass the population of Travis County. So buying a home in Pflugerville, Round Rock, or Leander may not be a bad investment at all.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by sloppymeg

When we moved to TX, I thought I wanted a house with some land. Not much, really. 1-2 acres would be nice.

Then we went and saw some houses in a neighborhood (with neighbors) and larger lots. And realized I didn't want to deal with propane tanks, wells, septic systems. Not to mention the landscaping, fencing, and other expenses that came along with land.

So, not everyone who has $$ to buy land is going to WANT to buy a house with land for various reasons.

I love my lot with no backyard to maintain (pool, patio cover etc).

Im trying to figure out how to make my front yard require no maintenance either.

[SFOtoAustin]

Originally Posted by Austin97

Examples with 10 acres
10 acres, 2400 sq ft, 459K
250 Honeycomb Mesa, Leander, TX 78641 is For Sale - Zillow

9.8 acres 1886 sq ft, 349k (+ 150K to remodel/expand)
100 Terry Ln, Leander, TX 78641 is For Sale - Zillow

10 acres, 149k (350K to build house)
14901 Chaparral, Leander, TX 78641 - Zillow

Examples with around 5 acres
6 acres, 3300 sq ft, 439K
19404 Apple Springs Dr, Leander, TX 78641 | MLS# 1233300 | Redfin

5 acres 3100 sq ft 425K
4050 County Road 279, Leander, TX 78641 | MLS# 7831694 | Redfin

7.6 acres, 4200 sq ft 485K
15106 Honeycomb Ct, Leander, TX 78641 | MLS# 1306498 | Redfin

example in jones town
9.27 acres, 135K (365K to build house, in jonestown not leander - about the same distance from north austin)
18801 Reed Park Rd, Jonestown, TX 78645 is For Sale - Zillow

Interesting listings..
Thanks for the input and these information really lifted my eyebrows..
Anyway, most of people moving to Austin will be looking for buying a new home in a community will not prefer to be in 10 acres. Few might be interested, but its depends on their lifestyle.
Honestly for the value these properties made me think that the builders are making more money by understanding the market conditions.
Only bad part, I can think of these listings, that these are not part schools that are not great. As most of the good schools in LISD either in the cedar park/North West Austin/East of Ronald Regan blvd.

Again, thanks for your valuable effort provided here.

[meowkitty27]

I'm shocked at a few I've seen go for 10 or 20k over asking considering the interior quality was severely lacking. One even seemed to have a structural problem.

[RoadWarrior12]

Originally Posted by SFOtoAustin

Interesting listings..
Thanks for the input and these information really lifted my eyebrows..
Anyway, most of people moving to Austin will be looking for buying a new home in a community will not prefer to be in 10 acres. Few might be interested, but its depends on their lifestyle.
Honestly for the value these properties made me think that the builders are making more money by understanding the market conditions.
Only bad part, I can think of these listings, that these are not part schools that are not great. As most of the good schools in LISD either in the cedar park/North West Austin/East of Ronald Regan blvd.

Again, thanks for your valuable effort provided here.

The school part is incorrect, and is what is driving inflated prices in many parts of the area. The delta between just about all the schools does not justify the price differential, but too many people are shopping on the Internet and trying to quantify everything based on the opinions of others.

[Austin97]

Leander should have houses that are basically the construction cost. The land itself is almost negligible. I live in great hills and the land is only about 150K for .25 acres. I have a 2 acre lake front property off FM 2769 (technically leander) that I would be hard pressed to sell for 150K right now.

Basic construction cost of a tract home is in the $90/sq ft range to $150 for a *really* nicely finished house.

So at 3000 sq ft I would want to only pay about 300K to an absolute max of 450K for a house with all the bells and whistles ($100 hinges, high end appliances, lots of architectural interest).

Ill add that a typical heuristic is the house is 4X the cost of the land.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Austin97

Im trying to figure out how to make my front yard require no maintenance either.

Xeriscaping. Okay, not quite fully no maintenance, you may have to pull out a leafblower once a season.

[NorthAustinMom]

The thing that I'm most surprised about is that there are no restaurants or interesting shops in Cedar Park. I know - I lived there for 8 years and just sold my house in Oct '13. I was really frustrated by the lack of commercial growth and, to us, the lack of planning. Where is the center of Cedar Park? The new Costco? Really? it just seems like a big sprawl to me (and we lived in Los Angeles for years). I just don't understand (or like) the city planning of Cedar Park. Look where they put the City Hall - and everything around it is dead and out of business. I guess that sports grill is trying to make a go of it (Highlights) - good luck to them!

Add to that, the houses are either $200k (for older, not updated) or $400k plus! Where do you go to eat? The arboretum! If you want something besides HEB? The arboretum! (yes, I know a Sprouts is coming). The addition of the Drafthouse is great, but I can't point to much else.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by brattpowered

The growth rate in Austin is chugging along but hasn't suddenly exploded. Housing prices have, though.

Austin's growth rate: http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/def...istory_pub.pdf

Austin has continued to grow, while supply went down, that's what leads to higher prices. Part was the recession slowed development down (lending) while not really affecting Austin's population growth. Part is the anti-growth policies of Austin limiting new supply in the central city.