Moving To And Living In Austin

Dog Parks in Austin

Well, I guess you could call us wannabe dog owners.  Where we live now, we just can't have a dog.  But, we love to take the kids out to play with the dogs at the various dog parks around town.  If you're a dog owner or lover, you're sure to find that there are plenty of leash-free areas in beautiful parks around town.  One of our favorites is Bull Creek, which has a lovely river running through it, as well as a small mountain for hiking with lovely views of the hill country.

Here is a link to all the Austin Leash-Free parks:  http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/dogparks.htm

March Quotes

You must give some time to your fellow men.  Even if it's a little thing, do something for others-- something for which you get no pay but the priviledge of doing it.  --Albert Schweitzer

The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value.  --Charles Dudley Warner

Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.  --Khalil Gibran

News, News and More News...How Do You Know the Truth?

In January of this year the Austin American Statesman said that home sales for the month of January were down, when actually the pending sales were up 30%.  This indicated that the market was booming, and it was a great time to sell or buy.  So, just how do you decipher all the info out there?

A client, Stan, came to us 2 1/2 years ago wanting to buy a home in a neighbhorhood where all his friends lived.  It at first appeared to be an investment with a bright future, in a re-gentrifying area with lots of interesting projects going on.  Well, after analyzing the market, using our almost 15 years experience with Austin real estate trends, we recommended that they buy in another neighborhood.

*******Yellow postcard readers start here!*********

Now, 2 1/2 years later the neighborhood that all of Stan's friends were diving into has appreciated from an average cost of $165k to an average cost of $190k.  That's great, right?  Well, the neighborhood that we recommended, that Stan ended up buying in, appreciated from $195k then, to $283k now!  Needless to say, Stan is very happy with his investment.

While we don't have a crystal ball, we certainly use trend analysis to help our clients determine which neighborhoods to invest in.  So, if you're wondering what's hot and what's not, you may want to sit down with us before you take the plunge.  There is a lot of info out there, but it all needs context!

Austin Neighborhoods: Circle C Ranch

Community Name: Circle C Ranch, located just off of South Mopac and Slaughter Lane, which is just 15 minutes from downtown without traffic.  Here is their community website:  www.circlecranch.com.

Community Description and Highlights: Circle C is one of the best areas in town for young families.  This master planned community features a huge olympic sized swimming pool, complete with swimming lessons for kids of all ages, a shaded baby pool, and space for great kids' swimming parties.  Every street is lined with ample sidewalks for kids to play and moms to stroller around the youngsters.  Neighbors are super-friendly here, and if you have kids, they will have plenty of playmates on each block.

Homes range from the low 300's (for a 3000+ square foot home with a large lot and 4 bedrooms built in the late 80's) to the mid 600's (for a brand new 4000+ square foot home with a large lot and 5 bedrooms).

Community Amenities:  There is a great park for biking, soccer, frisbee golf and a huge shaded playscape just outside the entrance to Circle C.  (Circle C Ranch Metropolitan Park: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/parkmaps/downloads/circle_c.pdf). 

Also, within minutes is a big fancy HEB (grocery store) along with several upscale shops and quick eateries.  A huge 24 Hour Fitness, endorsed by Lance Armstrong, is just five minutes away (http://www.24hourfitness.com/db/club_detail.generate_club?p_clb_num=00676&p_return=OFF). 

The Circle C Golf Club not only has great golfing, but has frequent movies in the park in the summer for kids in the community (http://www.thegolfclubatcirclec.com/page/101-2512.htm).

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is also just on the other side of Mopac, and it has tons of kids events that teach about the value of nature (http://www.wildflower.org/).

Oh, and some great news about this area is that it is expanding like crazy.  Developers are planning to build a first-class spa and resort, another golf course, and many more upscale shops in this area.  So, your property values stand to go up and up.

Schools: Kiker Elementary is one of the best in town with great community involvement and great test scores.  Joe Dan Mills is another elementary in the area that is not known to be quite as outstanding as Kiker.  Clayton is a brand new elementary just built and ready for kids this past August, and so far it seems to be a fabulous school from what we have heard from friends and past clients.  Bailey middle school is a decent solid school, as is Bowie High.

Austin Neighborhoods: Pemberton Heights

Community Name: This week AustinHomeBuyerCenter's Tour de Austin features the community known as Pemberton Heights (aka Old Enfield), one of the most prestigious and alluring neighborhoods in Austin.  Located between 15th and 24th streets (also known as Enfield and Windsor respectively), and just east of Mopac (aka Loop 1), this community is one of the oldest in Austin.  This area is MLS area 1b.

Community Description and Highlights: Pemberton is the area of original wealth in Austin.  Most of the politicians and wealthy people in the 1800's lived in Pemberton.  You can find homes of all different architectural styles from Old Tudor style homes to ultra modern.  Homes range in price from less than 2000 square feet for 400k for an older home than needs some work, to 2000 square foot homes that are beautifully restored and redone for 600k or so, all the way up to 4000 square feet plus with lovely views of the city for 1.6 million.  (Make sure to check out the photo album to the right for Pemberton Heights.)

The streets are quiet and tree lined, the homes sit back on their stately lots, and every house has a charm all it's own.  There is just something special about Pemberton.

Community Amenities :  Another great feature of this neighborhood is it's proximity to downtown, to great dining and shopping, and to area parks.  Lamar Blvd is just a few minutes away with it's incredible ecclectic shopping.  Check out the following Austin treasures that are sure to pique your interest:

Fetish is one of the best shoe and fine clothing stores in Austin locted at Lamar and 12th Street.

Emeralds is a special gift shop also on Lamar close to 5th St.  Check out this review of Emerald's.   http://www.austingiftcertificates.com/emeralds.html

Castle Hill Fitness, located in the same center as Fetish, is an excellent gym and spa that will help specialize your fitness regimine to your personal goals and needs.  http://www.castlehillfitness.com/

And of course lets not forget the flagship Whole Foods at Lamar and 5th where you can get anything delicous under the sun, from organic coffees and pastries, to pizza and seafood until 10pm every night.  This is a favorite for all Austinites, no matter where you live in town!  http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/lamar/

Oh, and the Austin Recreation Center is a few minutes away too with all the gym facilities you need, including a pool and kids' programs for soccer, swimming, etc.

Schools: Some of the best in Austin are here.  Bryker Woods Elementary, Casis Elementary, O'Henry Middle and Austin High.

Proximity to downtown: Less than 5 minutes

Proximity to Lake Travis: 30 minutes

Proximity to Major Highways: Mopac is about a minute or two away.

Additional Info: You may find this website intriguing:   http://austin.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.txinfo.com/brykerwoods/News/OWAHD.html.   There is a movement in Austin to preserve historical buildings and homes, and Pemberton is an area where many of these homes can be found.

Click here to view our Photo Album of Pemberton: http://austinhbc.typepad.com/photos/austin_neighborhoods_pemb/

Spring Break in Austin

Not only is the traffic really light during spring break, but the kids have tons of fun things to do if you are working parents like us. 

The Dougherty Arts School is a place that our kids love to go and spend the week doing art projects, making up skits, plays and puppet shows, and working with clay and computers.  They even have after school care at some elementary schools, and very fun and enriching summer day camps.  Here is their website:  http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/dougherty/school.htm.  If your kids are creative or love art, this is definitely the place for them.

The YMCA also has an incredible program for kids who like sports.  They can go all day and play tee-ball, soccer, and other sports, as well as swim in the heated indoor pool.  They really have incredible programs and loving staff.   http://www.austinymca.org/ymcafront.asp?ID=2

A great resource for all Austin Parents is the free magazine Parent Wise.  It has a list of all the summer and spring break activities and camps around town, which we have found very valuable.  Here is a link to their website:   http://www.parentwiseaustin.com/index.shtml

Happy Spring Break!!!!