Help me find the right location! (Austin, McKinney: rent, homes, neighborhood)

[lh09]

Hey Austinites,

Lived here for almost 13 years. Austin (to me) has always been a combo of just DT, UT, and the river - lol. I found everything else to be utterly bland. Anyways, family got bigger lately as we just had a newborn. I need to step out of my zone to get a house. I have always been a city guy and hate suburbs with passion (no offense!). I can spend up to 750K for a new/recent build. Apparently, pandemic has messed up this market pretty good for new buyers. Where do I go from here?

Thanks!

[ashbeeigh]

Mueller. I think that’s the only thing that will keep you in town that it new/recent. You might be able to snag something at 750k, but it will be a fight. If you are comfortable with being further south like south Congress, menchaca, slaughter there may be new builds/recent builds in your budget too. Easton park/good night ranch as well. Those are about the only three I can think of that would be in Austin proper.

[lh09]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

Mueller. I think that’s the only thing that will keep you in town that it new/recent. You might be able to snag something at 750k, but it will be a fight. If you are comfortable with being further south like south Congress, menchaca, slaughter there may be new builds/recent builds in your budget too. Easton park/good night ranch as well. Those are about the only three I can think of that would be in Austin proper.

Appreciate that. Mueller seems to be a hard fight indeed. I'll be keeping an eye for sure.

Meantime, looked into EP. It's surprisingly close while being pretty quiet. I can probably still manage. Any thoughts on its location though? Like proximity to the airport/air quality? There seems to be a Travis county landfill few miles away. Do I need worry about groundwater contamination?

Thanks!

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by lh09

Appreciate that. Mueller seems to be a hard fight indeed. I'll be keeping an eye for sure.

Meantime, looked into EP. It's surprisingly close while being pretty quiet. I can probably still manage. Any thoughts on its location though? Like proximity to the airport/air quality? There seems to be a Travis county landfill few miles away. Do I need worry about groundwater contamination?

Thanks!

I think for me, the biggest concern with Easton Park would be the traffic (getting in/out) and continued resale value because it is Del Valle ISD. It's close to the airport, especially if you just take William Cannon to McKinney Falls Parkway. I know several young families that live there and they seem to like it so far. Whether they'll stay as their kids get to an elementary age, I don't know. Not sure about the air quality. I rent in Mueller, so EP is a bit far from my bubble.

[Austin97]

i would avoid del valle isd especially since you just had a kid. It is only 5 years until they go to school which happens in the blink of an eye.

The areas around mueller have great access to mueller and are less expensive. There are a few in your price range at 1200 square ft

I use the austinhomesearch.com site (abor official site)

If you can give up on the idea of a new build and do a light renovation you will get a lot more options. Just make sure they dont have cast iron pipes that will have to be 100% replaced, or foundation problems due to east austin soil.

On the near east side you can possibly send kids to ut elementary/kealing/lasa - all magnets. Some of mueller tracks to the mccallum chain.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Austin97

i would avoid del valle isd especially since you just had a kid. It is only 5 years until they go to school which happens in the blink of an eye.

The areas around mueller have great access to mueller and are less expensive. There are a few in your price range at 1200 square ft

I use the austinhomesearch.com site (abor official site)

If you can give up on the idea of a new build and do a light renovation you will get a lot more options. Just make sure they dont have cast iron pipes that will have to be 100% replaced, or foundation problems due to east austin soil.

On the near east side you can possibly send kids to ut elementary/kealing/lasa - all magnets. Some of mueller tracks to the mccallum chain.

Don’t rely on the magnet track. There’s an enrollment process and there are a few recent threads about the Kealing magnet to look at. Mueller is getting a middle school and is somehow pulling kids out of Sadler means and Gus Garcia when the major overcrowding issues are much further west in the Anderson and the Murchison area. The middle school has been a selling point for the neighborhood since it opened, but is not exclusive to the Mueller area proper and should be noted to avoid any thoughts that the Mueller neighborhood is a bubble of suburbia in an otherwise somewhat under performing/disadvantaged feeder pattern area. With that said, I’d look in these areas before living in DVISD.

With all that said, if I were able to buy I’d probably buy in Windsor Park, which is immediately north and east of Mueller.