Fayette County (Memphis, Collierville, Hickory Withe: real estate, how much, homes)

[memphis2]

It is amazing how much Fayette County has grown in the past 2-3 years. Although Shelby County has always been threatened by surrounding areas, particularly DeSoto County, the upper income houesholds have largely stayed put.

Now, with the quality of real estate being developed on the western edge of the county such as in Hickory Wythe and Piperton, Shelby County will likely lose a sizeable number of the upper income earners that it had managed to hold on to.

In addition, if a high school near Oakland is ever constructed, I predict that Fayette County will become the location of choice for even the middle class and the population would easily climb over 100K.

Unless I relocate for my job, I will never move out of Memphis, but sadly I see more and more doing so.

[tlccherry]

The new 385 exit will help speed the move to Fayette.

[tennreb]

Hopefully, Fayette County will remain large estate homes and preserve the natural beauty of the land. The only thing really keeping it that way is the lack of a quality public education. Only people that can afford to send their kids to private schools can live there. If schools are improved, then developers will take over and construct large amounts of tract housing and nondescript strip malls. The value of those estate homes will drop, and the area will be another Cordova. Personally, I wouldn't invest in a home in the Northern part of the county (Hickory Withe) because the Wolfchase crap is going to eventually creep that way and take over. I think the area east of Grey's Creek and Collierville has a much better future.

[memphis2]

I just looked up some bulilding statistics on the US Census website. Even though Fayette County has no public schools, the construction occurring for its size is phenomenal. As of July 2007, 464 building permits have been issued with a dollar value of over 94 milliion. What is more shocking is that the total number of permits are up over 2006, while Shelby and DeSoto Counties have fallen considerably (probably over 30%). In June 2007, Oakland issued more bulding permits than Southaven, Olive Branch, or Collierville, and of course all those cities are 10 times larger.

Anohter interesting fact is the value of a home being constructed in Fayette County is about 2 times that of DeSoto County.

Regarding the area east of Collierville, that area will remain more upscale than the northwestern part of the county, however there is currently still no sewer service in Piperton and once service is established, the number of building permits will gradually increase. It won't obviously be an Oakland and will benefit from bordering upscale Collierville, but it will still be more dense.

[tlccherry]

Walmart is also eyeing the Oakland area. And you know what happens when Walmart moves in.

[memphis2]

Walmart is also eyeing the Oakland area. And you know what happens when Walmart moves in.>>

I think Wal-Mart is doing more than eyeing the area, there is already a Supercenter on 64 under construction.

[midsouthmom]

Here are some of the positives as I see them:
Fayette County is mostly a rural county with farmland and horses, with towns large and small. Some of the smaller towns are delightfully quaint, such as La Grange or Williston, and there is a lot of history here. The county seat of Somerville has a town square, common in earlier times. There are also housing developments of varying price ranges here and there. One can live out in the country, or closer in. It is a nice place to retire, with the amenities of a big city within an hour's drive in the next county. Taxes are low. There are small businesses, too, in a few towns. Oakland has Walmart and Ace Hardware and fast food, but generally speaking it is still a small town. Fayette County is a bedroom community for Memphis, so there is a busy time for commuters, but it is nothing like "rush hour" in many places.