This is an area that is desirable for a number of reasons.  First, there is a lot of land available and it is relatively affordable.  New homes over the next several years are likely going to be priced from the low $200,000s to around $500,000.  Second, schools are good.  The western part of the Round Rock ISD and the Leander ISD offer good schools and schools in Liberty Hill are even better.  Third, drive time to major employers will be good.  The area is served by tool roads into Round Rock and Austin and one is being extended to the Liberty Hill area.  In addition, there is a new commuter rail line running from Leander into Austin.  With golf, parks and Lake Travis close by, there is also a lot of recreation in the area.

The largest development so far in the area is Crystal Falls in Leander.  Crystal Falls will have as many as 10,000 homes when fully developed and the amenities are nice.  As other large master-planned communities in the north and northwest parts of the Austin area like Steiner Ranch and Avery Ranch are close to being built out, the area should see a surge of Crystal Falls new homes selling over the next few years.

Other subdivisions will see significant growth as well.  Regarding home sites being developed,   there are over 5,600 in Santa Rita, almost 3,700 in Crystal Falls, almost 1,000 at the Ranch at Brushy Creek, over 800 in Stoenwall Ranch and almost 700 in Northwoods at Avery Ranch.  Builders in the area include Taylor Morrison, Pulte, Streetman Homes and Grand Haven Homes.

Despite the real estate market in many cities being slow, the Austin area continues to grow.  People are moving to the area for jobs, for the weather, for the music scene and various other reasons.

Location: Round Rock, TX

Price range: Starting in the $180,000′s

Builder: Ryland Homes

# of floor plans: 27

Beds: 3 – 5

Baths: 2 – 4 1/2

Garages: 2 – 3

Community highlights: pools, tennis, walking trails

Community description: This is a master planned community with3 different price ranges of homes in the area, all by Ryland Homes. The names are Sterling Ridge, Fairway Heights and the Teravista original brand name.

Nearby amenities: golf course

Address: 4204 Grand Vista
Round Rock, TX 78665

Phone #: 512-388-1245

See also:

Highpointe
Austin New Homes

While the common perception is that remodeling a home is less costly than simply upgrading to a new one, many find the opposite to be true. Or, in most worst case scenarios, making a move to a new home may result in breaking even where your finances are concerned. When it comes to stress and your time, on the other hand, moving to a new home is often the best option. After all, remodeling a home can take months or even years to complete depending upon what you are doing to the home. Furthermore, whether you are doing the remodeling yourself or hiring someone else to do the job, the remodeling process can be quite stressful. Not only do you have to deal with living in a home that is in shambles, but you also have to deal with the stress of waiting on workers and on the materials you need.

Of course, there are times when buying a new home is not the better option. For example, in order to break even or to come out ahead financially, you generally should have lived in the first home for at least 5 years. If you have only lived in a home for a couple of years, you are unlikely to have built up the equity that is needed to move to a new home without taking a loss. Similarly, if you have special ties to a particular neighborhood or if there is something special about your current home, you may be reluctant to move. In this case, the sentimental value of your current home may outweigh the savings you are likely to enjoy by simply moving to a new home. Likewise, some Central Austin homes for sale garner a higher price because of the “charm” associated with older homes, and in these instances you must learn to do a partial or selective remodel if one at all, else face devaluing your home and losing costs associated with the remodel.

Before you decide if it is better to remodel or to move, there are several things you should take into consideration. First, you might be able to avoid either option by simply decluttering your home, refurbishing certain parts of your home or repurposing certain rooms. Clearly, all three of these options would be less costly than buying a new home or completing a full remodel of your home. Furthermore, when considering the costs associated with remodeling, keep all of the following in mind:

• The cost of construction
• The cost of financing
• The added costs of having a larger home, including higher utility costs, property taxes and
  homeowner’s insurance

When it comes to figuring the costs of moving to a new home, all of the following should be considered:

• Real estate commission costs
• The costs of a new mortgage
• The increased costs of utility bills, homeowner’s insurance and property taxes if moving to a
  larger home
• The cost of purchasing new window treatments, furniture and other items if necessary

Clearly, you should also consider your financial situation when deciding which is right for you. For most, purchasing a new home is an easier option because you are absolutely clear on what costs are involved, whereas there are many unknown variables and unexpected costs associated with a remodel.

Partners in Building picked up at auction a development near Mansfield Dam in the northwest Austin area.  With much infrastructure and permitting already in place, the 121 acre site is almost ready for Partners in Building to begin construction of new homes.

Homes to be built will be customizable by buyers and prices will start in the high $400,000 range.  Landscaping is being done at the entrance, which is off RR 620 North, and a custom gate will be put in as well.

This development is in a great area.  The development is served by Lake Travis ISD schools, which are excellent.  The elementary, middle and high schools serving the development are all within 5-15 minutes.   Not far northeast on 620 is major shopping with an HEB grocery store, Target, Super Walmart and more just 10 minutes away.

Being so close to Lake Travis and Lake Austin, recreational opportunities abound.  Being close to Mansfield Dam, a public boat ramp into Lake Travis is just minutes away.  The lake offers boating, water skiing, wakeboarding, swimming, fishing and even scuba diving.  A boat ramp for Lake Austin is available at the end of Quinlan Park Rd and the trip 22 miles down the lake to Austin is amazing.

In the other direction are the cities of Lakeway and Bee Cave.  Retail, restaurants, medical offices and more are all up and down 620.  In Bee Cave, the Hill Country Galleria Mall offers major shopping and the Shops at the Galleria offer another 500,000 square feet of retail.  This is all just 10-15 minutes from the new 121 acre community.

In addition, the Lakeway Regional Medical Center is under construction in Lakeway.  The medical center will contain a hospital with a Level III Trauma Center, floors for pediatrics, women’s health, surgery and more.  In addition, there will be medical office space, a hotel, restaurants and much more at the medical center.

Access from the 121 acres to north, central and downtown Austin is good and drive time isn’t terribly bad in the absence of bad weather.  Some of the one-acre home sites will also offer very nice Hill Country views.  Overall, this looks like it will turn in to a very nice community.

See Also:
Texas Mortgage Credit Program
New Homes in Austin

A subdivision called Headwaters at Barton Creek in Dripping Springs sold not long ago as well.  Headwaters is next to Sunset Canyon around 20 minutes west of downtown Austin.  Headwaters will have around 1000 homes and quite a bit of green space.

The most recent sale was Sweetwater, a development just west of Bee Cave across from Bee Creek Road out Highway 71.  Sweetwater was originally planned for around 1000 homes and parts of the infrastructure is already in.  The developer lost the property to bankruptcy and Wheelock Street Capital LLC, a real estate investment group out of Greenwich, CT and Boston, MA.  This group is said to have very deep pockets.

With these large land acquisitions having happened, there isn’t much left that can be developed quickly in the area west of Austin.  The Peacock Ranch, which sits next to Sweetwater is available, but it still needs entitlements, access from Hwy 71, which does not exist at this time, and an extension of an LCRA water pipe 3 miles down Hamilton Pool Road.  The RGK Ranch, which also sits by Sweetwater off Hwy 71 may or may not be available.

More developable land is in the Dripping Springs area, north of Austin, between Pflugerville and Manor and southeast of Austin.  However, these are areas of gently rolling farm and ranch land.  The really attractive land is west in the Hill Country and there isn’t much available.

What this means is that as Austin continues to recover and adds jobs, there will most likely be a lot shortage in 2011 and 2012.  Combine this with builders having cut back tremendously on new homes, there could be a shortage of new homes.  This could lead to increased prices for new homes because of demand and also a higher price for resale homes as many buyers may choose to go in that direction rather than waiting for a new home to be built.

The condominiums themselves are a series of 2 to 3 bedroom single story homes with all maintenance taken care of. They allow personalization of each unit for things such as countertops, cabinets, floors and some of the fixtures. There are also 2-car attached garages for some of the units, along with cathedral ceilings.

See also:

Rough Hollow
Highland Estates
Home Builders in Austin, TX

At the top of the list is Houston, which is the leading the country in home permits. Austin is at #4 on the list, followed by Dallas and San Antonio. How big a deal are these cities? Both Houston and Austin are at a rate that’s 3 times the national average, while Dallas and San Antonio are at twice the national average.

Of course other cities in the state have been cited for honors as well. Two cities, El Paso and Odessa, have shown the largest increase in permits since 2006, with El Paso more than 4 times the national average.

The only bad news for the Texas housing market is that home prices haven’t gone up, going down about 2% over the past year. But compared to the rest of the country, Texas is doing quite well thank you.

See also

Village of Sage Meadows
Las Cruces Neighborhood at Sharyland Plantation

With good Leander ISD schools, major employers close by and being located near major transportation, Crystal Falls has a bright future.  Residents can get into Round Rock or Austin quickly by taking 1431 to 183A.  Also close to Lake Travis, lake recreation is also fairly close to Crystal Falls.

The biggest thing that has happened in Crystal Falls recently was the acquisition of 1200 lots by home builder Taylor Morrison.  Taylor Morrison had a large presence in Steiner Ranch, a similar community a bit closer to Austin.  This purchase was a huge investment so Taylor Morrison must be pretty high on Austin’s future.

Knowing Taylor Morrison’s success in Steiner Ranch, the developer of Crystal Falls saw a good fit.  Taylor Morrison will build 4 new communities within the 440 acres the company purchased.  There will be different products at different price points in each community.  Prices in the various new communities are expected to be from around $200,000 to $400,000.

As Steiner Ranch sells out, many Austin home buyers looking for a nice master-planned community in an area with good schools will probably turn to Crystal Falls.  That could happen over the next several years.  Home sales in Steiner Ranch have been brisk this year with 231 homes sold year-to-date and 44 currently under contract.

In Crystal Falls this year, 52 homes have sold in the MLS and 12 are under contract.  Not all homes sold will be in the MLS so I do not have true numbers for the number of sales this year.  My understanding is that around 1400 homes have been sold in Crystal Falls since it was first developed in the 1990s.

Similar to Steiner Ranch, amenities in Crystal Falls are nice.  There is a golf course, there are a number of community swimming pools and swim centers.  There are a number of parks and playgrounds for the kids.  Crystal Falls also has sports fields, tennis courts and volleyball courts.  In addition, there are picnic areas, a fishing pond and a disc golf course.

Click to learn more about Crystal Falls homes and to see homes for sale.

Rough Hollow is a master-planned community on Lake Travis.  Amenities include a marina, restaurant, pool, covered pavilion, hike and bike trails and a fitness center.

I, as most of the 300 or so Austin REALTORS present did, walked through all of the homes.  None had been finished, but all could give people a decent idea of layout and a few gave people a glimpse of some design features and finish-out.

There was to be a drawing for various door prizes at the end of the event.  While waiting for the drawing, I talked with a number of agents.  Everyone wanted to know everyone else’s favorite homes.  A few were not far enough along to have a really great idea of what they would look like so some were probably discounted.

The consensus among people I talked with was that the Jenkins Custom Homes and the Master’s Touch Custom Homes properties were favorites.  One guy liked the Triton Custom homes home because it had a contemporary look and feel to it.

I think the developer, Haythem Dawlett, was smart to have people out during what looks like the mid-point of construction for most of the Parade homes.  It gave us enough of a look to make us curious to see the finished products.

The 2010 Austin Parade of Homes will be held on the last three weekends of October so get out to Lakeway and check it out.