SW Austin (78736) - small house size - hold its value? (West: 2014, condo)

[Tim131]

Hi there,

We are looking at a house in SW austin, just between 71 and 290, where the Y is - we like the house and plan to stay 5-7 years - my concern is, its just a little bit too small, while it would be fine for us, I am wondering if it will be hard to off load in a few years time?

I know closer to downtown, sub 1000sq ft homes appreciated greatly, but this is a bit further out - still a good neighborhood and some of the houses are about the same size, but it is on the small size.

Should we worry about the resale value of a 1000-1300sqft home, 3 bed, 2 bath.

I know no one can predict the future, and we plan on staying for a good few years, and if there was a recession when we planned to sell, we could stay there a bit longer.

So I am not asking advice about timing the market - just about the resale value of smaller homes.

We are trying to weigh the pros and cons of two homes we like, the other one is a bit further away, a lot bigger, but backs on to westgate blvd, so worried about resale value because its quite a busy street.

Thanks all

[CarnivalGal]

I think the value of properties in that area are going to keep increasing pretty nicely. There are a lot of 1200 sq. ft. 3 bed, 2 bath homes in that area. I don't think it will affect the appreciation at all.

My mom sold her house in Maple Run (not too far from there) about 12 years ago to move into a condo. It was that size. It's appreciated by about $125K since she sold it.

[CptnRn]

In 2014 I sold my 1981, 1300 sq. ft. 3 bed, 2 bath home, for $239,000. It is in the Westcreek neighborhood, located about 1 mile East of the Y. Last year 2018, it was appraised at $280,000. I expect that small houses will continue to be attractive in Austin because many people can't afford to buy larger.

That Westcreek house is only 8.9 miles from downtown Austin. The neighborhood is newer than most of the houses in the Westgate area and I think it is a more desirable area, better schools, etc.

The main negative point of the area you described inside of the Y is that you will probably have to commute through the Y in order to go into or towards downtown.

[ScoPro]

Well, the little sub-1,000 sq/ft houses in Crestview have been really popular for the past decade and are appraised over $300,000 now, so there is no reason why the larger 1,100-1,300 sq/ft homes in SW Austin won’t go the same way.

[Trainwreck20]

It likely won't do any worse than the larger houses, and probably better - the smaller houses are the least expensive in an area and become paths to home ownership in specific school chains.

[ScoPro]

Yep. The 700 sq/ft 2/1 on Piedmont in Crestview that my brother bought in 1959 for $6,500 is now appraised at $319,000. Lol