Riverstone Home Prices Increasing (Houston, Sugar Land: waterpark, HOA, hotel)

[Sunny144]

Hi,

I'm new to this site but I've found it very useful thus far. I've been looking at Riverstone in the past few months, specifically the Avalon at Riverstone where only Taylor Morrison is the builder. They've recently increased their home prices by about $20K and I assume it'll only go higher from there. Also, the lot premiums have gone from $3-$25k to now $15k - $40k.

What do you guys think about the future value of these homes? Do you think that at the current prices....starting from $310K (base) and usually averaging $400k for the 60s homes...the homes have potential to increase significantly?

I'm just curious. I wouldn't buy a home as a spec investment but as you all know...it's nice to have a home "in the money" instead of being "underwater".

Also, does anyone know what future plans they have for all that land directly south of University Blvd (across Avalon at Riverstone)? I know it's reserved for single family homes for now...but what about builders? Also, what kind of price range do you think those houses will start off at?

Thanks for all your help.

[Houston321]

Prices are increasing everywhere. Inventory in Houston is at a decade low, making a finished home more valuable.

[a_guerrajr]

everything is going up....
I paid 204K for my house 1 year ago. The same floor plan is now going for 231K. So seems like the market it picking up.
kind of makes me want to resale .. but oh well.

[Sunny144]

Thanks.

Geez that's a bummer...lol, at least for the folks looking to buy now. Actually, the wife and I are looking to build in Sugar Land, near hwy 59 so that's why I'm interested in Riverstone. I've looked at Telfair but those houses are $130/sq. ft and higher. Riverstone seems to be around $115/sq ft? I'm assuming with some decent upgrades, etc.

Anyone else, particularly those currently living in Riverstone? How do you feel about it? What types of families are moving there? Any advice for a first time home buyer looking to stay put for 10+ years (have a lot of family and friends in Sugar Land).

[gilagri]

we live in riverstone and list prices have gone up dramatically. we bought our home in the 370's and now it's starting price is 430's. not 100% sure what kind of incentives are being offered, b/c $60k price increase in less than 1 year is nuts.

but, we like living here. all our neighbors are very friendly. most of them are families with kids (mostly young kids) and a couple retired folks. the neighborhood is very diverse and there is always some HOA sponsored event going on every month (from skeeters games, holiday festival, kite festivales, valentine's party at the hotel, movie nights, etc....) it's great if you have kids and for adults too. and the waterpark is coming next year... so our son will enjoy that for sure.

riverstone is kinda deep in sugar land, so it's not really easy access to the freeway as other neighborhoods such as telfair, which is why you're paying the higher price. but the drive to downtown is 35-40 mins, galleria/med center is 25-30 mins... so not too bad for the burbs. if we had to do it over again, we may have looked harder at telfair (we barely looked), even with the higher price. that extra 5-10 minutes to get to the freeway does make a difference. but we're really happy here.

good luck!

[johnsmith]

I think the telfair is over price, it is not worth. For similar school, I prefer to go to Katy, at least you can find $100/sq ft house, the new home....

[Sunny144]

Katy really isn't an option for us. I do agree that the schools are great but Sugar Land seems like it's a fixed spot for us due to family and friends being there. I guess that's a personal justification to pay a premium to stay in Riverstone.

I also didn't look at Telfair much just because it was too expensive. The prices are going up and I'm not sure how people are affording them. What kind of income do these Sugar Land folks have to afford these $120-$140/sqft houses???

[swopoe]

We are going to look at houses in Riverstone this week. We just accepted an offer on our current Richmond home today. We were considering Telfair, but we agree that it is overpriced there. Also with the expansion of University Blvd, Riverstone and Telfair really aren't that far apart. Anyway, I posted asking about Riverstone vs Telfair on this board a while back. Maybe you can search for that post. I may go back and find it myself.

[Failed Engineer]

Riverstone is going nuts. My parents just closed on a new construction in December and current pricing on their house is about 8-10% higher. It's just crazy!

[Jonathz]

I think folks who are considering buying in Riverstone, should also look at Telfair and New Territory. All three of them are nice master plan community and each one of them has its own trade off. Just drive to visit all of them, then you can make a better judgement that fit your needs. I think the price gap between Riverstone and Telfair is getting smaller because of the builders in Riverstone increasing their price and soon Telfair will built out.