Valley Ranch vs Coppell vs Flower Mound (Dallas, Austin: houses, buying)

[KrisM]

Hi, we are moving from Austin and thinking of Valley Ranch, Coppell or Flowermound. Have three kids in junior high - elementary schools. what are would have best schools and retain the house value? Any guidance would be appreciated.

[Rakin]

All 3 retain value well. VR is not as much of a family community as Coppell & FM. Coppell prices are higher and it can be difficult to find much below about $350k where FM has a much larger selection of homes in the $250-400k price range.

FM & Coppell both have outstanding schools as does VR. IF I had to choose for myself and I would choose Coppell 1 and FM 2. Schools and a great location are strong reasons why Coppell's prices are higher and the demand for homes there is always strong.

Probably 70% of the people who start out looking in Coppell end up in FM. FM which is twice as big as Coppell, wouldn't exist (almost) if all those people could have found a home in Coppell.

There are trade-offs to all 3 areas, you would be wise to find a good RE agent who knows the area and can discuss all 3 with knowledge.

[Squirl]

Coppell.
Also look at Grapevine. There's also a very nice addition in Euless thats in excellent GISD schools. zip code 76039.

[new2aus]

Originally Posted by KrisM

Hi, we are moving from Austin and thinking of Valley Ranch, Coppell or Flowermound. Have three kids in junior high - elementary schools. what are would have best schools and retain the house value? Any guidance would be appreciated.

We moved to Coppell from Austin (Steiner Ranch) in 2008. Prior to Austin we lived in Valley Ranch for 6 years. Not sure of your budget or housing requirements, but I'd also put Coppell first, Flower Mound second and Valley Ranch third.

I think the schools, location, proximity to major highways and limited land (it's pretty much built out) should help keep retain Coppell house values. The city also has some great family friendly ammenities like the Acquatic Center, Andy Brown Park and a local YMCA.

[adixyz]

Budget, age of the house and commute time to your work are the deciding factor in your choices. Flower Mound has 2 High schools - Flower Mound HS and Marcus HS. Both are exemplary and are on a block schedule. Coppell has 2 HS - Coppell HS and New Tech High (exemplary) . Coppell HS might not have got the exemplary status due to a few students but personally I rate Coppell High school as equally good. Coppell HS also offer IB program. Flower Mound High School had more National merit scholars last year than any of these schools.
Both Coppell and Flower Mound are centrally located but Coppell has more location advantage and access to highways (approx 10 mins over Flower Mound in terms of 1 way commute, depending on where you live). Flower Mound offers newer houses and lower property taxes.

[loves2read]

OP--you don't mention a work location--
the area around 121/114 is going to be work zone for construction for the next 5 or so years--some parts of it will be a real hassle for getting through to go into Dallas or merge witht George Bush--
Coppell is on the SE side of that and relatively uneffected...
Flower Mound because of its location and getting out will be more involved...
Valley Ranch is in Irving and also fairly removed from the construction work


will PM a MLS site that has good organization/info so you can check your price point if you are considering buying home...

[KrisM]

Thanks. My husband works in Irving and i will mostly be working from home. A friend mentioned some concerns about industrialization in the Flower Mound area, does that effect the housing market negatively.

Also, not many people recommended Valley Ranch. what are the negatives of that area.

thanks for all your help

[Rakin]

It's not the negatives of VR as it is the positives of Coppell & FM being more family friendly.

FM is not industrialized, that occurs in the flight path of DFW airport where they would not allow houses anyway, just like the west side of Coppell. If you've never been up that way you should make a trip to see the housing. Check out Wellington, Bridlewood & Lantana.

[Boxcar Overkill]

I'm really glad I found this thread. I may be moving back to the States soon, and would have a job off Stimmens fwy, just south of Love field. Like a lot of people, I want (a) good, safe schools for my kids, (b) to keep my commute down, and (c) be relatively near restaurants, shopping, etc., which I define as a +/1 10 minute drive.

It sounds like Coppell will pretty much do that for me, or maybe Grapevine. In general, from Coppell to Love field shouldn't be more than a 20 minute commute, should it? And can I get into Coppell at <$350,000?

I am also considering the more northern suburbs, like Castle Hills, but I sure don't want to drive 40 minutes each way if I don't have to.

[loves2read]

from Coppell to Love Field will be more than a 20 minute commute depending on your work schedule and where you actually start from--but 30 min either way is probably doable--
the further awar from the freeway you live, the longer it will take...

the one factor people don't usually mention about Coppell which sets it apart from most of the Metroplex is that the city enforces a signage rule that prohibits tall, large signs--
so when you drive in Coppell, you immediately notice the absense of all the billboards and business signs that crowd/block line of sight along the more-developed areas...

it opens the vistas so to speak and to me makes for a much more plesant drive--BUT it also does make it a little more difficult to locate a business you might be looking for...

PS--these threee areas have a very different feel when you are driving around them--partly because even though they are fairly close in miles, there are some differences in their topography and the ages of construction
to me Valley Ranch feels much more open--there is more elevation in the ground flow with hills and valleys, fewer native trees, and a more urban feel because of the types of construction in the area--Valley Ranch is close to Las Colinas developments
and it is also close to Coppell and it is hard to tell boundaries because they flow into one another

Flower Mound because it is across 121 and borders Grapevine Lake in part is more diffirentiated from them and more suburban because there is much less corporate development there--even if there is retail/commercial development
Flower Mound has more of a "country" feel to it--to me--just from what I have seen driving through and I think on the northern part still has quite a bit of undeveloped land--which could be both +/- depending on how it is developed...

You might also consider parts of Grapevine--which really has not been discussed
Grapevine has an historial downtown that gets quite a bit of tourist attention, it has either the Grapevine Colleyville ISD for majority of its homes or Southlake Carroll ISD for small minority of homes--it has homes in variety of price ranges--most of which were tract home developments but some by custom builders
Grapevine has had a higher profile in past few years than before==has made decided effort to market itself as tourist destination as well as desireable area for homeowners so market prices have held stead/increased--
the city is trying to build up commercial/retail tax base to offset burden to homeowners but that also means traffic and other problems with growth have come to Grapevine...