Frisco vs southake - Dallas - Texas (TX) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

rosscountry · 04-18-2009, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stamvelala

My husband and I are planning to move to Dallas within 4 months from connecticut.We want to buy a house in frisco or southlake and our price range is 350-450k. We have two young kids. But we are not sure which will be better for us.Please help us.

Thank you in advance.

The posters saying a low end home in southlake for your budget are exagerating.
350-450 can buy you a nice home..

I guess it is all perspective when you can call a 4000 square foot home low end

here was a quick search I did and found homes that are "listed" at sub 500k.

I have family out there and visit often so I get some time to drive around to de-mistify the "southlake myths"

Moderator cut: deleted link to realtor website

yes you can stretch your dollar further in Frisco b/c there is more inventory and Frisco is larger than southlake. But don't get scared off by the "low end" comments that make it sound like you would have to live in a shanty.

common people this is Dallas not New York City or Miami.. in general if the address isn't highland park, turtlecreek, or the ritz carlton a budget of $350-$450k will get you something you could live with. Get out of the clouds and back down to earth.

loves2read · 04-18-2009, 06:47 AM

low-end meaning the bottom of the pricing structure---homes in Southlake under 400K are usually pretty nice--but there is at least one neighborhood which was the cheapest when it was built for a variety of reasons and homes there are still of a lesser-quality...
currently in southlake there are 13 homes under 300K--one of them is a double-wide mobile home that is probably priced for lot value but could be lived in...
in Feb the avg sales price was 600K, in March it was little over 1 MM and in April --so far--1.2MM--so a 350K house is definitely in the shallow end of the selling pool in Southlake--
the avg DOM for March was 160 which is definite change from past few months--in Dec of 09 it was only about 50--so there are many variations in the market currently...Southlake especially is complicated because there are still many new, builder-spec MM homes on the market which can probably be negotiated down significantly in some cases...some builders have had homes go back to the bank...there are 3 homes in foreclosure--one of then in the 300K niche and the other 2 over 600K...

you need to know your market...price alone is not the only qualifier to quality...and just because a house is within your price range does not automatically mean it is one you should buy...many homes in Southlake under 500K are dated and need to have money spent on them

just like in some neighborhoods/towns 400K would be the very top of the housing market...
it is usually considered smart to buy home in the low-end vs the top of the pricing structure but that is not always the case for every situation...

txgolfer130 · 04-18-2009, 07:04 AM

I would say it would depend on where you and your husband are going to be working/commuting to most of the time. Both areas are great for that price point, so it's gonna come down to the other factors.

$DFW8$ · 04-18-2009, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txgolfer130

I would say it would depend on where you and your husband are going to be working/commuting to most of the time. Both areas are great for that price point, so it's gonna come down to the other factors.

As far as commuting goes, you can be from Frisco to downtown Dallas in 30 minutes if leaving before 7 a.m. After that, it would take about 40 minutes.

From Southlake, it would take about 40 minutes...maybe a little more if traffic is really bad or bad weather.

rosscountry · 04-18-2009, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loves2read

low-end meaning the bottom of the pricing structure---homes in Southlake under 400K are usually pretty nice--but there is at least one neighborhood which was the cheapest when it was built for a variety of reasons and homes there are still of a lesser-quality...
currently in southlake there are 13 homes under 300K--one of them is a double-wide mobile home that is probably priced for lot value but could be lived in...
in Feb the avg sales price was 600K, in March it was little over 1 MM and in April --so far--1.2MM--so a 350K house is definitely in the shallow end of the selling pool in Southlake--
the avg DOM for March was 160 which is definite change from past few months--in Dec of 09 it was only about 50--so there are many variations in the market currently...Southlake especially is complicated because there are still many new, builder-spec MM homes on the market which can probably be negotiated down significantly in some cases...some builders have had homes go back to the bank...there are 3 homes in foreclosure--one of then in the 300K niche and the other 2 over 600K...

you need to know your market...price alone is not the only qualifier to quality...and just because a house is within your price range does not automatically mean it is one you should buy...many homes in Southlake under 500K are dated and need to have money spent on them

just like in some neighborhoods/towns 400K would be the very top of the housing market...
it is usually considered smart to buy home in the low-end vs the top of the pricing structure but that is not always the case for every situation...

take a look. there are newer homes in southlake that are sub 500k.
get what you need and is nice for you. Low end has a negative tone. Maybe least expesnive would be a better phrase.

example- "Your $2M 6,000 square foot home puts you in the poor (low end) section of highland park. If I were you I would go to Frisco so you could be at the upscale (top end) of the town."

just laughable.

To OP. Please just use this site as a reference and not literally. Please dig deeper than the surface becasue you can miss out on some of DFW's treasures for you and your family if you take what is said here at face value.

loves2read · 04-18-2009, 04:07 PM

it is all relative--and the point is that between Southlake/Colleyville/Frisco/Dallas/Fort Worth/Flower Mound or any town, there are nuances that become apparent the more you learn the area...Southlake and Colleyville have similar demographics but are not that similar to someone who knows the area

a house of 300-400-500-1MM--would all be different and their neighborhoods would be different...
some people might like any and some people might only feel comfortable in one or two...

5stones · 04-20-2009, 10:23 AM

when we looked a year and 1/2 ago the homes in the Sotuhlake in the 350-400k range (about 6 then) ALL looked very nice from the outside...but a couple had MAJOR foundation issues, one was extremely small choppy layout (3000sqft but TINY kichen), a couple we either on busy roads or backed up to 1709 and commercial property. 1 was 395 and perfect... almost put a contract on it, then it rained and we went for our 2nd look.....the yard had a river runing though it.

That's not to say that now with the economy that more aren't out there under 400k but as others have siad in southlake that price will not get you a new home like out in frisco. small ranch or one that needs work etc... it's the nature of the beast.

Also they are now selling home in the Adult commuinty...many of those are priced under 400k so make sure thats not what your looking at.

BUT...the big question is the commute... they are not located close to each other at all.

LQQKOUT · 04-20-2009, 10:52 AM

To OP. Please just use this site as a reference and not literally. Please dig deeper than the surface becasue you can miss out on some of DFW's treasures for you and your family if you take what is said here at face value.[/quote]

I second that, there is many nice areas in the DFW Metro!

Welcome to Texas!

rosscountry · 04-21-2009, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5stones

when we looked a year and 1/2 ago the homes in the Sotuhlake in the 350-400k range (about 6 then) ALL looked very nice from the outside...but a couple had MAJOR foundation issues, one was extremely small choppy layout (3000sqft but TINY kichen), a couple we either on busy roads or backed up to 1709 and commercial property. 1 was 395 and perfect... almost put a contract on it, then it rained and we went for our 2nd look.....the yard had a river runing though it.

That's not to say that now with the economy that more aren't out there under 400k but as others have siad in southlake that price will not get you a new home like out in frisco. small ranch or one that needs work etc... it's the nature of the beast.

Also they are now selling home in the Adult commuinty...many of those are priced under 400k so make sure thats not what your looking at.

BUT...the big question is the commute... they are not located close to each other at all.

----

just the same. A colleague of mine who lives in Frisco whose home was over $450k brand new had 50k in foundation repairs to make when a heavy rain caused his back patio to fall into back yard. He filed a suit and won against his builder.

$450k still gets you a nice place in both towns. foundation issues happen.

loves2read · 04-21-2009, 06:24 AM

foundations issues happen with some builders more than others--and your friend is VERY LUCKY that his suit got him remediation...don't think that is what the usual outcome is...
and the more I think about it...I don't think the patio falling into backyard was technically a foundation issue as much as just faulty construction of the patio...not good practice and the foundation could still be at issue but sometimes patios are not part of the essential foundation structure--city code does not regard that type of concrete work with the same consideration that it does a home's foundation and they are often poured after the fact so to speak...