Relocating to Dallas from AZ. New Member... (San Antonio, Plano: car insurance, home builders)

[PunjabiM3]

Good morning to fellow forum members. I just registered on this site in hopes of obtaining input from those that are familiar with the area. A bit of background: I grew up in the midwest (Omaha, NE), lived in the Seattle area for 7+ yrs (which I love), and then moved to Tucson, AZ almost 5 years ago. I am not a fan of Tucson at all, so our family has mutually decided on moving to Dallas this March.

I am a dentist and am already working at a group practice in TX. I have been doing so for the past several years and have been flying back and forth from AZ to TX on almost a weekly basis. This is due to having my own office in AZ, but we are wrapping things up out here in the coming months. Our main reason for choosing Dallas is that we like a bigger city, more culture (we are East Indian), more seasons than AZ in terms of weather, and does not get as cold as living further North. We visited the DFW area in August and very much enjoyed our stay. We found people to be very friendly and the North suburbs reminded me of where I grew up in Omaha, NE. It just felt very home like to both my wife and I.

We are flying into Dallas tomorrow for 6 nights to get more of a feel for the areas we are considering building a home: Colleyville, Grapevine, Frisco, Flower Mound. One of the most crucial things to us is location. We prefer an area that is a bit more centrally located than an area that is towards one corner of the metro. We would like to be not too far from DFW airport as I will still be flying quite a bit for business matters at least for several years. Schools are also very important to us as we have an almost 3-yr old and are hoping to have another little one soon. We also prefer areas that have an upscale feel, good number of amenities, good roads, etc. My wife and I very much like the North Scottsdale area of Phoenix, so I am wondering if perhaps one of the areas we are considering offers something similar.

One of the other important questions we have has to do with home builders. We have never built a "custom" home nor do I know if our budget really allows for it in the first place. When we visited in August, we looked at some model homes by Toll Brothers, KHov, Ashton Woods, etc. They all seemed very nice to us, but I really have no clue as to how quality these homes are. Our budget is MAX $750k, and we need something that is approx 4500+ sq ft and has a 4-car garage. Any recommendations between these national builders and also on perhaps a local builder that can offer something similar that meets our criteria/price range? Finally, what is the market looking like out there now? It seems home prices have been on the up and up, but are these prices truly justified or is it a bubble? I know that is a loaded question, but I am concerned that home prices are perhaps already too high out there, especially given the fall of oil prices. I have read that Texas may be headed into a recession due to oil, but am wondering if perhaps locals have a better idea of what is specifically going on in the DFW area. Hope to get some replies. Thanks!

[Backliteyes]

I'm not a realtor so digest the following accordingly. I don't think the housing prices in DFW will be effected too much by oil prices. A lot of the housing demand here is based on people moving here for jobs in other industries. State Farm just built a large complex (for ~8k people) that will drive up home prices in Plano, Richardson, Allen, etc. Toyota is moving HQ (~4k people) to Plano. Those are just two big examples of the main economic drivers here not being oil.

Can't help you too much on your other questions - I grew up in Tucson, AZ, then lived in San Antonio for 4 years before moving to Dallas, so I understand why you're drawn to a larger metro. I think for 750k you'll be able to find just about anything you need in whatever area you like. Get a good realtor that is knowledgeable about current new builds and builder quality.

Welcome and good luck!

[stephwin]

Where is your group practice located?

You might want to add Coppell ISD to your list too. I think there might be some new construction in your price range.

Personally I would take Frisco off your list if you have a need to travel frequently. I live in Frisco and love it, but I wouldn't want to make the drive to the airport from here very often.

[ChristieP]

Add Southlake to the list and take Grapevine off. The simple reason is that Grapevine has very little new construction, and Southlake has plenty of it in your price range.

Coppell is nice and has excellent schools, just be aware that their taxes are some of the highest in Dallas County, and you will also pay more for home and car insurance because of being in Dallas County.

[nothermom]

If you decide to look at Southlake, take a look at Westlake and Trophy Club also. Nice areas to build.

[ChristieP]

$750k likely isn't enough for Westlake....

[carroll4628]

Flower Mound - areas are very wooded and relatively "hilly" for Dallas, good schools, you'll definitely find something in your price range.

[synchronicity]

I'd agree to add Southlake to your list (excellent school metrics, near DFW airport). Not quite as "central" as you'd want in a perfect world as it's west of the airport, but the only place that's more "central" AND close to DFW airport AND has excellent schools is Coppell. Colleyville and Grapevine and Coppell and Flower Mound are also all excellent choices. We had a similar search area for slightly different reasons, and would've been very happy in Colleyville or Grapevine but happened to luck into an excellent house in Southlake (we were looking at "older" homes, however). Having said that, our location is superb for shopping (not "recreational" shopping, although Southlake Town Square is great for that, but everyday grocery shopping and Home Depot/Lowes type of stuff).

I don't understand having Frisco in there. It's not close to DFW airport (drive on 121 notwithstanding), it's pretty far north in the metro so not really "central", and school metrics, although quite good, are below all the other places mentioned. Frisco gets "knocked" a bit on this forum, but it's not because there's anything wrong with it but rather because (as here) it often gets included in a discussion where it doesn't really make sense.

For new construction at 750K max, you should have lots of potential options (although if ChristieP says no to Grapevine, I trust her judgment). I'd guess that in Southlake you may have to get awfully close to that max to get what you want, as everything new seems bigger/more expensive (which is the way of the world everywhere these days).

I'd agree that Westlake is going to be out of your price range.

Good luck with your move!