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Just an update from Greenwood Forest...from Greenwood_Insider.
We moved to Greenwood Forest over two years ago and we continue to love it. We purchased our home at the very bottom of the market in mid-2012. We were optimistic, but rather skeptical--we certainly loved the house but, what would the future hold for our investment?
Two years later, our home has increased in value by about 55K! We had an intuitive feeling that this house in this beautiful neighborhood--with nearly 3,500sf, pool, and, stately brick façade--was listed well below its future market value. We would have willingly paid 30K back in 2012. Our intuition has proven correct and our very well informed real estate agent agrees. Houses in Greenwood Forest and adjacent neighborhoods--namely Huntwick, Champion Forest, Oak Creek Village--are going up, particularly those with pools. We have watched houses on our street sell for prices 30K to 45K higher than comparable listings in 2011-12. Moving to older neighborhoods often requires a bit of investment. If you move here, you will most probably need to renovate a kitchen and a bathroom or two...
I firmly believe that the best neighborhood reports come from the people who actually live there now--not ten years ago or 'back in the 1970s'--and certainly not fearful posters from elsewhere who rely on hearsay. The FM1960 neighborhoods have, of course, matured from their early years. Everything changes. And although we used City-Data to attempt to understand the Champions and Klein areas--it was through our own investment in learning about this place and investigating--boots on the ground--that revealed its hidden truths and values.
We were extremely careful when we purchased our home--invested over nine months in a search paired with a fantastic real estate agent who has lived here for 35 years. As she gained our trust, we piled over hundreds houses all over the Champions area and made offers on several that did not go through. We looked in Ponderosa Forest (and loved it...), Old Oaks, Westador, Huntwick (beautiful...), Champion Forest (idyllic...), Spring Creek Village--basically every neighborhood between Spring Cypress and FM1960. In the end, our favorites were--and still are--Greeenwood Forest, Huntwick, and Champion Forest. If we remain in Houston, we will no doubt move between these three neighborhoods. We are the sort of family pegged to live 'in the Inner Loop--the Heights" or somewhere comparable, but we love it here in Champions.
In retrospect, we are extremely happy to have settled in the 'Champions' area rather than The Woodlands. We began our search looking exclusively there. Now that we live here, the Champions area feels 'more real', 'more lived in', and certainly less 'regulated'. And while living within the sprawling boundaries of 'unregulated' Houston offers upsides and pitfalls--the truth is that we would prefer to be in a more organic part of a larger city, rather than a fabricated "enclave" that feels like an amusement park. So, while we can appreciate the allure of the near-perfect world in The Woodlands, we are always far happier to come home to live in Champions.
Closer to home, Greenwood Forest looks much like it did two years ago, and if I personally had to make an assessment, it even looks better. There are far less houses for sale now, and the few that were in foreclosure during 2011-12 have been purchased and upgraded. Two years ago, it seemed like many of the 'lowest priced' houses were the result of estate fire-sale liquidations. In that regard, it is important to note that many of the original residents in these established neighborhoods in the FM1960 corrdior--lifelong homeowners from the 1970s who moved here on day one--were retiring, down-sizing, or regrettably--passing away. In recent years, sales activity in many of these classic, 1970s neighborhoods reveals similar trends. Empty houses with new paint, new carpeting, and kitchen upgrades are being placed on the market by the children of original owners. I suspect that this type of sales activity will continue for the foreseeable future. There is undoubtedly a generational shift occurring along the FM1960 and Cypresswood corridors evidenced in part through quick-sale desires.
Houses in these neighborhoods--Greenwood Forest, Huntwick, Wimbledon, Champion Forest, Ponderosa Forest, Olde Oaks--reveal a social and demographic diversity that typifies Houston, the fourth largest city and most diverse metropolitan area in the United States. Original owners, empty-nesters, young families, married couples, singles, whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, straight, and gay--there is no 'typical' situation here. In this sense, the 1960-Cypresswood area shares more in common with high-end, gentrifying, multicultural Inner Loop neighborhoods than the conservative far-flung 'rural' suburbs. It is a 'suburb' in transition to something far more cosmopolitan--far more complex and interesting. I am proud to be invested in this type of community. That said, if you are looking for homogeneity, this will not be the place for you.
Our HOA recently strengthened its deed restrictions to ensure that our 'neighborhood maintains its beauty and value' far into future. Our HOA board is guided by insightful homeowners who love their homes and neighborhood. Our quiet streets and the Champion Forest Parkway are manicured and gorgeous. It's a suburban oasis which offers remarkable accessibility and affordability--but prices are rising--so catch it while you can!
Last edited by greenwood_insider; 08-12-2014 at 08:37 PM..
We bought in champions forest in 2010 and are looking to possibly sell and move back to the heights. We love the area, the older neighbors and I've found the majority of the folks keep up their yard/exterior of the houses. We have decided on not having kids so moving back closer to work seems better for us
Large houses with extensive moldings and real wood floors that could not be given away for $70 a foot in early 2012 are now selling for 100 a foot in the Strack Corridor.
People who have no need for public schools are ignoring the nay sayers and getting great houses in great communities for good prices.
I've known folks who had brand new homes built encounter break-ins in the exurbs
We've known people with million dollar homes have break ins, and this was in a "safe" suburb. Crime happens everywhere. You can list any neighborhood, city, or burb and find crime.
Everyone should have an alarm and more HOA's should employ patrols. I feel much safer in my home in town than I did in the burbs, because the 24/7 cop is two minutes away and I have the number on speed dial.
Just an update from Greenwood Forest...from Greenwood_Insider.
We moved to Greenwood Forest over two years ago and we continue to love it. We purchased our home at the very bottom of the market in mid-2012. We were optimistic, but rather skeptical--we certainly loved the house but, what would the future hold for our investment?
Two years later, our home has increased in value by about 55K! We had an intuitive feeling that this house in this beautiful neighborhood--with nearly 3,500sf, pool, and, stately brick façade--was listed well below its future market value. We would have willingly paid 30K back in 2012. Our intuition has proven correct and our very well informed real estate agent agrees. Houses in Greenwood Forest and adjacent neighborhoods--namely Huntwick, Champion Forest, Oak Creek Village--are going up, particularly those with pools. We have watched houses on our street sell for prices 30K to 45K higher than comparable listings in 2011-12. Moving to older neighborhoods often requires a bit of investment. If you move here, you will most probably need to renovate a kitchen and a bathroom or two...
I firmly believe that the best neighborhood reports come from the people who actually live there now--not ten years ago or 'back in the 1970s'--and certainly not fearful posters from elsewhere who rely on hearsay. The FM1960 neighborhoods have, of course, matured from their early years. Everything changes. And although we used City-Data to attempt to understand the Champions and Klein areas--it was through our own investment in learning about this place and investigating--boots on the ground--that revealed its hidden truths and values.
We were extremely careful when we purchased our home--invested over nine months in a search paired with a fantastic real estate agent who has lived here for 35 years. As she gained our trust, we piled over hundreds houses all over the Champions area and made offers on several that did not go through. We looked in Ponderosa Forest (and loved it...), Old Oaks, Westador, Huntwick (beautiful...), Champion Forest (idyllic...), Spring Creek Village--basically every neighborhood between Spring Cypress and FM1960. In the end, our favorites were--and still are--Greeenwood Forest, Huntwick, and Champion Forest. If we remain in Houston, we will no doubt move between these three neighborhoods. We are the sort of family pegged to live 'in the Inner Loop--the Heights" or somewhere comparable, but we love it here in Champions.
In retrospect, we are extremely happy to have settled in the 'Champions' area rather than The Woodlands. We began our search looking exclusively there. Now that we live here, the Champions area feels 'more real', 'more lived in', and certainly less 'regulated'. And while living within the sprawling boundaries of 'unregulated' Houston offers upsides and pitfalls--the truth is that we would prefer to be in a more organic part of a larger city, rather than a fabricated "enclave" that feels like an amusement park. So, while we can appreciate the allure of the near-perfect world in The Woodlands, we are always far happier to come home to live in Champions.
Closer to home, Greenwood Forest looks much like it did two years ago, and if I personally had to make an assessment, it even looks better. There are far less houses for sale now, and the few that were in foreclosure during 2011-12 have been purchased and upgraded. Two years ago, it seemed like many of the 'lowest priced' houses were the result of estate fire-sale liquidations. In that regard, it is important to note that many of the original residents in these established neighborhoods in the FM1960 corrdior--lifelong homeowners from the 1970s who moved here on day one--were retiring, down-sizing, or regrettably--passing away. In recent years, sales activity in many of these classic, 1970s neighborhoods reveals similar trends. Empty houses with new paint, new carpeting, and kitchen upgrades are being placed on the market by the children of original owners. I suspect that this type of sales activity will continue for the foreseeable future. There is undoubtedly a generational shift occurring along the FM1960 and Cypresswood corridors evidenced in part through quick-sale desires.
Houses in these neighborhoods--Greenwood Forest, Huntwick, Wimbledon, Champion Forest, Ponderosa Forest, Olde Oaks--reveal a social and demographic diversity that typifies Houston, the fourth largest city and most diverse metropolitan area in the United States. Original owners, empty-nesters, young families, married couples, singles, whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, straight, and gay--there is no 'typical' situation here. In this sense, the 1960-Cypresswood area shares more in common with high-end, gentrifying, multicultural Inner Loop neighborhoods than the conservative far-flung 'rural' suburbs. It is a 'suburb' in transition to something far more cosmopolitan--far more complex and interesting. I am proud to be invested in this type of community. That said, if you are looking for homogeneity, this will not be the place for you.
Our HOA recently strengthened its deed restrictions to ensure that our 'neighborhood maintains its beauty and value' far into future. Our HOA board is guided by insightful homeowners who love their homes and neighborhood. Our quiet streets and the Champion Forest Parkway are manicured and gorgeous. It's a suburban oasis which offers remarkable accessibility and affordability--but prices are rising--so catch it while you can!
What a great and thoughtful post. I'm not sure why this area is overlooked so often.
I live in Huntwick, our most recent newsletter had an article about the price increases in this area. It said to just add two 0s to the square footage of your home and you would get the approximate value which would be in line with the $100 per sq ft. If that is the case and I have no reason to doubt looking at HAR, our house has gone up over $100k in the 3+ years we have lived here. We did not expect that kind of increase so it is a nice surprise. We have done some updating, nothing drastic needed, but all we have to do from now on is normal maintenance. We continue to be very happy with our well built house and it is nice to hear others feel the same as us about this area.
GI, I'm glad to hear you like the area and it's coming back.
My last house was in Oak Creek Village, and I was somewhat sad when the area was in decline.
Happy to hear the news.
It's great that your investment is paying off.
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