Austin Area TW Chapter (all gens welcome, even T4Rs; heck, just make it a Toyota and we're good)

Howdy Austin crowd! Relocating to the area from Katy. Wondering if anyone has Austin info to share! We’ve visited a few times, but that’s different than living.

Not sure the layout too well, but wife will be working in Cedar Park, I’m working in Pflugerville....what’s the best happy middle ground if you will. Prefer neither of us to have a horrible drive. Thanks for any info!

 

it does seem like it’ll kinda settle down here after the initial burst, especially if the bubble pops. I wanted to buy property and build, but land is just so prohibitively expensive out there right now that it’s just not worth it. Buying the places we’re trying to is a happy enough middle ground.

 

I’ve also only visited for a bit, but I do recall Round Rock being a nice area and it’s about midway between Cedar Park and Pflugerville.

 

CP and Pville aren't far from each other, you'd be ok at either or in between.

 

I'd say RR is dead smack middle. Maybe even Hutto. But yea overall PVILLE to CP is maybe 30 min. MAX.

 

Hutto is full.. pick round rock



actually Taylor may be a spot tonlook little further put from cedar Park than Hutto or round rock. But housing may be a bit cheaper Hutto has gone insane with growth . But it is a nice little town.

 

Sorry brother. Glad you're on the mending side of things.

 

I love Hutto but you're exactly correct. Hutto is booming and has no plans on stopping anytime soon. Taylor would be perfect as it's only 5-10 minutes out of Hutto and a lot more cost effective. Also has your true needs in town. Few fast food spots, grocery stores. I see that town picking up somewhat in the next decade or so.

 

Dumb question, what's a TW Express Item? lol[/QUOTE]


In short (Tacomaworld Express) is when you become a shipping service for something too expensive to use typical shipping service.

 

I've been hearing about this from lots of clients in Lakeway, Dripping, Bee Cave, etc. - builders breaking contracts with folks that already put deposits down on lots and saying they're just going to build spec homes - you get what you get so just be grateful. If you don't like it, that's okay - we have 200 people on the waiting list that would love to take what we give them...

Spending $700K to $1MM+ and not having a say in what you get is just mind boggling to me...

 

Can confirm. Been in Hutto since ~2013 and it's a very different feeling area than it was back then!

 

In the "professional" opinion of my TW peeps......would y'all recommend riding the wave out a little?? As of right now, wife and I are on the fence about making a hasty purchase, moving in the next 3 weeks and all. Leaning toward renting for a bit before making a life decision.

The realtor we have has sent us both purchase and lease options.....will be up next wknd to check some places out. Thanks again!


EDIT:
If y'all know of any duplex, apt for rent, shoot me a message!

 

Define “a little”...you thinking in terms of years, or months?

 

Been there since 2006 an I miss not seeing 130 from my front yard

 

Correct. Frankly, this area isn't worth that kind of money, IMO. I spent 2.5 hours yesterday, running some errands between 3:45p and 6:15p, and didn't get more than 12-15 miles from our house in the Leander/Cedar Park area. Most of that 2.5 hours was spent stuck in traffic. that. Austin was good, but hasn't been for awhile now.

No one on this board can answer that question, but it gets asked often. Combine the lack of housing stock, (buy/rent), head buyers from Kalifornia fleeing their state with cash in hand, and skyrocketing raw material costs, caused by wildfires and beetles in Canada, and the indications are that it's not going to cool for awhile. OTOH, and without injecting politics, just stating facts, the current resident in the WH isn't as biz friendly as the last guy, and I suspect national growth will start to taper in the short term, even with the recovery from COVID coming. So yeah, no one knows.

Here are a couple of anecdotes for your to mull over:

I have a niece that lives here in town, down around Buda. Her and her husband sold their house early last year, in an effort to be more ready to move if/when a house in a nearby 'hood popped up for sale. The place is called Leisurewoods, and while the homes are older, they are on bigger lots, yada, yada... Well, flash forward to now, they are in a rental that is for sale, and the time any house in the neighborhood they like comes up, it's waaaaay overpriced, and goes even quicker. They've abandoned the idea of moving in there, but their bids have been rejected on other properties, despite asking for no conditions and $40-60K over list price. I won't ask if she wishes she hadn't sold their house last year.

Two houses in our neighborhood came up for sale in April. The first was listed at $925K, and sold in 3 days, probably above ask, certainly not less. It was a cash buy, as the sign says SOLD, not Contract Pending. The second house was $1.225M, and also sold within a week, most assuredly for over ask. I am so looking forward to the Williamson Country Appraisal District continuing to tax me to the moon... NOT!

If I was you, I'd stay in Katy.

 

FYI - it ain't just California. We have a few people moving to Austin from the DC/Northern Virginia area, and one because Raleigh NC was getting too expensive.

We're cheaper than Raleigh?

 

We're building a lot of communities out in Dripping springs right now, might be worth a look.

 

I’m waiting to ride out the wave, but everyone has a different situation. The conversations I’ve had with realtors turned me off big time. I grew up in residential home building, my father and uncles are all builders. None of us have seen a market like Austin’s ever before. It’s very difficult to shop around when houses all have offers above listing but they won’t tell you what they are. Builders breaking contracts/increasing prices and schedules due to material shortages. Silent auctions. I was at one housing community that only accepts first time home buyers, no investors, must be pre approved and then you line up with 2 dozen other buyers and auction off 2 houses, it was madness, I left during the first auction.

For me, I’m young and stacking checks. No rush to buy and intimidated by the commitment. I’m going to rent until it settles down or until I can afford a ranch outside of Austin (dreaming).

 

If you have kids, school districts come into play.

A friend in Roundrock, his neighbors moved to Dallas. They listed their 3000 sq ft 4 bedroom home for $485K. It went for $140K over the asking price—cash buyer from Seattle. People moving into the area, not enough selling. Covid. We were planning on selling last year, but with Covid, the available market dwindled as the last thing you want is people coming into your home. Nope, let's wait this out.

Meanwhile, we have many companies expanding or relocating. Those people are moving into the area wanting homes.

I think it would be wise to wait three months. Vaccines are rolling out; people feel more comfortable, so you will see more houses become available. I really don't feel this is a bubble (just a tiny one) as we have more people moving into the area. Location, location, location.

Oh, my son commented, "how does it feel to have a Million dollar home?" Insane.

 

Wise man.