Dear SRT,
The old saying is "Buy the worst house in the best neighborhood you can afford, you can change the house but not the neighbors." Greathills and Northwest Hills are the better bet in my opinion. Older houses can be made more energy efficient with a wide variety of products like: new insulation, radiant barrier in the attic, and more energy wise appliances. The location and schools drive buyers to these areas consistantly. They key is deciding what you want and determining which neighborhood best fits your personal needs. Call me if I may be of further help.
Cheers!
Betina

Betina Foreman Realtor
Keller Williams Real Estate
1801 S. MOPAC, Suite 100
Austin, TX 78746
512-771-6318

I am also looking for a house in these two areas. There are some things I learned from the intensive real estate research I have done in the last few months.

1. Don't buy the most expensive house in the neighborhood. In the same neighborhood, the high priced homes have flatter appreciation percentage than the low priced homes. An response earlier mentioned that Great Hills has an average price of mid 400k while AR has an average price of high 200k. I cannot speculate which neigborhood will have a better apprecaition in the long run. But your 300k house will see a slower appreciation rate than the average priced house in AR.

2. You don't have to run faster than everybody. You just need to run faster than your neighbors. Meaning if you can find a good deal in AR, go for it. Your excellent deal in AR is probably better than an average deal in Great Hills. My friend just a brand new house (last spec house from the builder) in Brushy Creek for 310k in Feb while all his neighorbors paid high 300k for similar ones a year earlier.

3. Newer houses are more energy efficient. Utilities savings can be 50-100 dollars a month for the same sized of home. But newer homes are usually bigger. Bigger homes use more energy...

4. Don't forget the property taxes. Great Hils is 2.17 - 2.30 % while AR is 2.5% - 3.0%. One realtor said it was 2.5% while the other said it was 3%. Anyone knows the number?

5. If house newness is important to you, go for AR. But remember, all homes get old after 10-15 years of being lived in.

6. New areas have more homogeneous prices because most of the homes are in similar conditions. Older areas have a wide range in prices because some houses are not updated or properly maintained.

7. Remodeling cost is VERY expensive. It is probably more expensive to remodel than building from scratch.

8. Commute time. Great Hills probably has shorter commute than AR for most people. Time is money.


Good luck!

Have you ever played the game "pass it on," where one person originates a message, whispers it the the person next to them, and it gets passed around a circle of 10 or more people until it makes it back to the source of the original message?
By the time I finished reading all 16 answers to your question, I couldn't determine what the original question was any longer....

Which is a better buy? That could only be determined by evaluating both properties in the context of where they rank against comparable homes that have recently sold in each respective neighborhood. If they are both "average" or both "excellent", then you can just compare the average rate of appreciation between the neighborhoods.

Questions to ask about each property: Has it been updated recently? How much would it cost to update the home to the standard of those in the same price range? How old is (are) the roof, A/C unit (in and out), water heater, fencing, light and plumbing fixtures, appliances,flooring, counters, window treatments, deck, etc?? Even a partial remodel can be costly, and is time and energy consuming for the homeowner.
Is the lot worthy of premium pricing? Is it an energy hog, or is it energy efficient? (Note: New legislature passed by the City of Austin will require efficiency ratings and testing, and mandatory disclosure to prospective buyers at resale in the future.)

So, in answer to which property is the better buy...need more detailed information on each. If the question is intended to be more general, I think that the general consensus is Great Hills, which is based on what one of my peers said below, regarding the fact that more established areas are the more conservative bet, as they have held their value longer and proved their viability.

My advice: get in for as little as you can while the market is soft and rates are still low, and use the rest of your capital to get into any other appreciating asset that you can. See my profile for a description of my services and what that could mean for you and your bottom line.

Regards,
Lee Ann Linder
FEON
Consulting and Brokerage Services
Residential and Commercial

We all must remember the three golden words in real estate: location, location, location. Great Hills and Northwest Hills are closer to downtown and more shopping than Avery Ranch. I have lived in Northwest Hills for 9 years and I can tell you many of these homes are updated and some are absolutely even state of the art. Also these homes typically have much larger lots than AR. These neighborhoods, Northwest Hills and Great Hills) have seen excellent appreciation over the last ten years and I don't see that changing.

The real question is which home speaks to you more? Imagine if your agent came to you and said I am sorry that home has been sold. How would you feel? Which home causes you to feel the most regret or loss?

I think that Avery Ranch is the better investment. Avery Ranch is a master planned community with great schools and amenities. The homes are new and extremely energy efficient. Great Hills is a nice community, but most of the homes need to be updated. You will see greater savings by purchasing the newer home in Avery Ranch. You will not have to remodel and you will see huge savings monthly on utility bills. I would choose Avery Ranch.

Great Hills or NorthWest Hills of course. These neighborhoods are close in so you have a shorter commute. It is much easier to find a buyer when you are ready to sell. People still want to be close to downtown and the nightlife and universitys. Also its harder to compete when you want to sell if the builder is still working his magic in a neighborhood like Avery Ranch.
Sincerely,
Betina

I really think that Great Hills would be the idea location for you and it really depends on your work location and your lifestyle. It's all about location, location, location intown.

I'd most definitely advise to purchase in the Great Hills area.
At the price you quoted, you are getting a huge bang for your buck.
Great Hills will always be a desirable area!
Avery Ranch is nice, but it is an area that is made up of mid-level national builders with a tract home feel.
Great Hills may be older but the homes were generally built by local home builders and the neighborhood doesn't have the look that every fourth house is the same as the one down the street, plus some have awesome views!
Remodeling an older home in a more desirable area that is more centrally located is always a better bet.
Hence the old saying...Location, Location, Location!

In comparison other than they are both homes comprised of sticks and bricks, it's kind of like comparing na apple and an orange. Great Hills (1980's) to Avery Ranch (2000') are distinctly different locations, constructions and neighborhoods. Each has it's pro's and con's as far as current and potetial future value. My suggestion would be to list out the pro's and con's for each property and compare that to your intention or plan to make your decision. Your agent should be able to help with the market information.

Srt, Most of the complaints come from homeowners looking for repairs and waiting for weeks to get them.
As it is there are many new homes in Avery Ranch, and with New homes come New Repairs. The average buyers mentality associates New Homes with No Problems; which is definitely not the case. In fact it is New Homes = New Problems and when you multiply the number of New Problems by the number of new families out there you can understand why it takes so long for Warranty requests to be fulfilled.

I would always recommend living close to where you work..This is the first question I would ask. Secondly, are schools important to you. If so, then check out one of the many websites available to rate the public schools or private schools nearby. Thirdly, consider the fact that a newer area may also be competing with many new homes still being built. In this buyers market, builders are giving big incentives to drive traffic to their doors. If there is any possibility of you reselling within a few years, then you will be competing with new homes. If your home is unique and desirable, this is not a problem. If you are buying from a volume builder, it could be. Always hire a professional to help you sort out these questions

Linda Welsh, Linda Welsh Auction & Realty Group

Paul Perez: What are the bad things that you hear about the builders at Avery Ranch? Aren't they the usual DR Hortons and Meritages out there like everywhere else in the country?

Thanks

Great Hills of course. It's a great area with a healthy appreciation and steadily rising demand which will fetch a nice return when you're ready to move on. Not to mention the bad things I hear about Avery Ranch and its builders.

Great Hills is better as it is closer to downtown and the domain, the two main districts in Austin. Stay close to the middle of town as it represents a better market and cheaper gas consumption.

Auto gas alone may give you 200-300 a month in fix up money for the 80's house.

I think you would do well in both neighborhoods, but if I had to choose purely from an investment standpoint, I would put my money on Great Hills because it's established, closer in and at approximately 300K you're well below the current average sales price for the neighborhood (currently at 449K vs. 278K for all of Avery Ranch). It's always a good idea to buy at or below the average for any neighborhood. Those are the properties that have historically seen the best appreciation. The highest priced properties also appreciate, but typically not at the same rate. They literally "pull up" the values of lesser priced homes around them.

Of course, other factors to consider are location within each neighborhood (main thoroughfare vs. short street/cul-de-sac. Backing to other homes vs. green area/golf course, etc.), condition of each property, floorplan & features compared to other homes in the neighborhood (in most cases, when a house has too many variations from the neighborhood norm your appreciation & resale suffer).

On a last note, new homes are still being built in Avery Ranch. If you have to sell the property sooner than planned, competing with new construction can really take a bite out of you appreciation.

Wow, half a dozen of one and six of the other. Better buy...that would completely depend on what your needs are...both are great locations. Great Hills established, Avery Ranch growing! Don't think you'd go wrong either way...but once again it would depend on your needs and your goals. If you're looking to live there only a short time (1-5 years), the GreatHills location might be better.

In my opinion, Great Hills would be the better choice. It's a very popular area, and it's a great location!
Great Hills has some great schools (either AISD or RRISD - depending on which section you are in), a great country club (private), and it's close to just about everything with easy access to the major roads.

Of course, I would want to know more about EXACTLY what you want in your home & neighborhood before I could really suggest which one would be better for YOU....but just based on the basic facts....Great Hills is the better choice.

Great Hills. Much better location. I would say with Avery Ranch you are paying for the relative newness of the house. But in 10 years that relative newness is gone while on the other hand in 10 years Great Hills will likely still be a great location.

I would go with Great Hills. I think the neighborhood is better and since its older, most people have greater equity in their homes so the foreclosure hit for the 0 down ARMs will be a lot lower there.