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Hello~
I've been searching areas where perhaps I might buy a home and noticed that Spring is WAY a lot of house for little money, abnormally so. Can someone tell me why it is so low? I understand about the SE areas, but it seems Spring is close to The Woodlands, Humble, etc and just wondered what threw down the market?
Spring is a huge area and it would highly depend on which area of Spring you are looking at. Some areas are less desirable because of the lower retail area, the "cheapness" of the house, the schools, or the type of people that live there. Not all areas in Spring (think Spring Trails) are inexpensive.
I think I read somewhere that "crime" and "ghetto" hs begun to overrun this area and is moving west to The Woodlands, Kingwood, etc. Anyone out there to confirm/deny this?
I am also beginning to hear that since there has been a major influx of outoftowners relocating for work it has the crime rising in all areas. Living in the country reminds me that once relocated to Houston, I'll have to revert back to my city walk/attitude...lock my car-house-windows Seems so anyway.
It is because it is more or less in BFE more than anything.
Depends upon what part of Spring you are referring to.
East of 45 in areas like Treaschwig and Aldine-Westfield are much more modest tract home subdivisions. This section of Spring was never upscale or anything like that. It was always a starter home area.
West of 45 was where the subdivisions with larger homes were built. In the 70's they were primarily clustered along FM 1960 with a few scattered up on Louetta Road. The area still had a lot of wooded areas and open farmland. Many of the roads were two-lane asphalt with open ditches and there was enough open land to give it a sort of bucolic feel.
The subdivisions featured large homes and if you believed their original marketing you would think they were just this side of Beverly Hills in affluence. I still remember old ads for Huntwick, one of the subdivisions out there, "....Huntwick residents can answer with assurance the question, where do you live?..." That was the sort of tone they tried to set. In reality while the area has and continues to attract upper middle class people, due to being so far out it has always been a bargain on prices per foot.
There were some challenges that have negatively impacted the area though. In the late 70's they built Cypress Station at 45 & 1960, a development featuring lots of garden style apartment complexes. Other complexes popped up along Red Oak, and then all up and down Ella Blvd. Up Stuebner-Airline in front of Wimbledon there was another set that went up, replacing the thick piney woods with parking lots and flashing signs hawking rent specials.
The impact initially was not that bad, but as is almost always the case the apartments declined. The oil bust of the 80's was not particularly kind to the area either. Speculatively built shopping centers along 1960 became largely empty. Many were poorly built and unattractive to begin with & time did little to enhance them. There has always been a sort of up and down ride with the appearance of this centers as they seem to change ownership a lot or something. Fair Housing laws changed to include family status and the formerly all adult complexes now had to accept families and in the areas zoned to Spring ISD this brought in a number of moderate income minorities into the schools. A trend that doesn't seem to be exactly welcomed by the more affluent, predominantly white homeowners in the area. (I'm not making a value judgement here, just telling it like it is) What a lot of people don't know is the situation was further exacerbated by one of the small regional papers in the area. The Editor's wife was terminated by Spring ISD and he went on a campaign to give the district the worst possible press he could. Articles were slanted in the most negative way possible against Spring ISD. Any positive news was buried while negatives would be touted on the front page. This fueled the fire against the district.
A similar demographic shift happened in Klein after the opening of Klein Forest High School on the southern edge of Greenwood Forest. Despite the facility being much newer than Klein High, as well as being in the same district with the same curriculum, etc. The demographic changes were not embraced by many and prices in places zoned to Klein Forest such as Greenwood and Fountainhead reflected Klein Forest's declining popularity among typical suburban buyers.
Areas north of Cypress Creek are still growing strong. It has the ingredients that people move to the suburbs for, (generally). Champions and Huntwick are still very strong, popular areas. In fact, Champions (not to be confused with Champion Forest, Champions Park or any of the other Champions this and that) is the original subdivision out there, started in 1957 when 1960 was a dirt road. Despite the availability of new homes and subdivisions out there teardowns exist a lot in Champions proper and the prices are a lot higher than right across 1960 in Greenwood Forest for example.
Certainly the areas north of the creek like Spring Creek Forest, Memorial Northwest, Champion Forest, Enchanted Oaks, etc are bargain priced, even for Houston. Some of this is because the homes were built in the 70's and have the 8 foot ceilings and more compartmentalized floorplans (formals, separate den, etc.) whereas newer subdivisions like Gleannloch Farms offer the newer designs with the high ceilings and more open floor plans. You will note some price disparity between the older subdivisions and newer in large part b/c of that.
The areas zoned to Spring ISD such as Olde Oaks, Oak Creek Village, Ponderosa and Westador suffer b/c of the reputation of the school district. Same thing for those zoned to Klein Forest, such as Greenwood Forest.
The subdivisions themselves are all quite nice and can go toe to toe with any of the master planned communities, however, the signage clutter and mad array of strip centers is a lot uglier than the MPC and I think that affects the prices in comparison to nearby places like the Woodlands and Kingwood.
All of the above are gorgeous subdivisions. Tall pine trees, nice homes, convenient access to a myriad of retail options as well as Willowbrook Mall. The area is fairly affluent, although it is no Memorial, River Oaks, or Museum District, but it is one of the better values for suburban type housing.
Thank you so much for all the info! I was reading posts like this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by cindak We are considering purchasing a property in Spring Hills subdivision off Rayford Road and are inquiring whether there is a current association attached to the properties that define building restrictions. Do you have a contact person name to inquire about yearly dues and other restrictions.
No I do not. I would like to inform you that it is in one of the higher crime areas of Montgomery County. As a law enforcement officer in the area for many years I should know. I would not want to live in the area myself. Don't let anyone kid you.
These are posts I found in here. I still have no clue about all the different areas yet! whew!
Does anyone know about this specific area? Any opinions? Thank you for taking the time. I am in another state and will be traveling to Houston again within a month for only a week so I am trying to narrow my search area to just a few.
Last edited by Hstnbnd; 04-05-2009 at 08:29 PM..
Reason: added the address
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
5,429 posts, read 14,844,510 times
Reputation: 3672
Quote:
Originally Posted by modster
There were some challenges that have negatively impacted the area though. In the late 70's they built Cypress Station at 45 & 1960, a development featuring lots of garden style apartment complexes. Other complexes popped up along Red Oak, and then all up and down Ella Blvd. Up Stuebner-Airline in front of Wimbledon there was another set that went up, replacing the thick piney woods with parking lots and flashing signs hawking rent specials.
The impact initially was not that bad, but as is almost always the case the apartments declined. The oil bust of the 80's was not particularly kind to the area either. Speculatively built shopping centers along 1960 became largely empty. Many were poorly built and unattractive to begin with & time did little to enhance them. There has always been a sort of up and down ride with the appearance of this centers as they seem to change ownership a lot or something. Fair Housing laws changed to include family status and the formerly all adult complexes now had to accept families and in the areas zoned to Spring ISD this brought in a number of moderate income minorities into the schools. A trend that doesn't seem to be exactly welcomed by the more affluent, predominantly white homeowners in the area. (I'm not making a value judgement here, just telling it like it is) What a lot of people don't know is the situation was further exacerbated by one of the small regional papers in the area.
What I heard in another thread is that apartment complexes were overbuilt in 77014, 77090 and 77068 zips of Spring ISD. Especially low-income apartments.
Thank you so much for all the info! I was reading posts like this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by cindak We are considering purchasing a property in Spring Hills subdivision off Rayford Road and are inquiring whether there is a current association attached to the properties that define building restrictions. Do you have a contact person name to inquire about yearly dues and other restrictions.
No I do not. I would like to inform you that it is in one of the higher crime areas of Montgomery County. As a law enforcement officer in the area for many years I should know. I would not want to live in the area myself. Don't let anyone kid you.
These are posts I found in here. I still have no clue about all the different areas yet! whew!
There are many areas down Rayford Road (which is directly across from The Woodlands and not too close to the areas of Spring modster was discussing--pretty darn accurate assessment BTW), not just Spring Hills. Rayford Road is Spring, just for the record.
These other areas include Imperial Oaks, Estate's of Legend's Ranch, Legend's Ranch, Legend's Trace, Legend's Run, Fox Run, Spring Trails, Oak Ridge, Bender's Landing, Forest Village, Creekside Village, a couple of small 'Spring' neighborhoods, and Canyon Lake. None of these neighborhoods are related to each other, despite similar names.
I would avoid those 'Spring' neighborhoods, Fox Run, and Legend's Run. I'm not sure I'd go for Legend's Trace, Creekside Village, and Forest Village. Canyon Lake hasn't been truly developed at all yet. I wouldn't hesitate at all to live in Imperial Oaks, Legend's Ranch, Estate's of Legend's Ranch, Spring Trails, or Benders Landing.
I have to say that while I wouldn't live in certain areas, and there can be some undesirable people living there, I *know* they are not some of the highest crime areas of Montgomery County. In fact, that area is further up I45 in the loop 336 area. All anyone needs to do is look at the police blotters to know that.
I have to say that while I wouldn't live in certain areas, and there can be some undesirable people living there, I *know* they are not some of the highest crime areas of Montgomery County. In fact, that area is further up I45 in the loop 336 area. All anyone needs to do is look at the police blotters to know that.
Well, not knowing the area at ALL, this information is just terrific! My husband and I will probably drive around to many areas, grabbing local newspapers along the way as well..it is one way to check out an area yet it can also be misleading. The "town" I live in is extremely biased and downplays crime as so not to scare away potential home buyers as well as tourists. The newspaper also edits to express opinions to sway politically yet the murmur around the diners and barber shops differ greatly then what is written.
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