Crestview City by DR Horton (Austin, Cedar Park: for sale, rentals, HOA)

[rdthompson]

First post here...

Does anyone have any insight on the Crestview City Homes/Townhomes project on N. Lamar by DR Horton? I'd really appreciate any and all feedback that isn't from an agent or seller trying to push that property, and it seems that's all I can find at this point!

We are recently married and looking to buy our first starter home together. Our original plan was to stick with a mid-century home in Crestview/Brentwood, etc., but the low inventory, bidding wars, and overall lack of desirable options in those 'hoods has us expanding our horizons.

Though my dad is a former custom home builder and might cringe at the thought of buying something built by DR Horton mega builder (I kind of cringe too), these houses/townhomes in the Crestview City project are appealing for a few reasons:

1. Location- same conveniences as being in actual Crestview, sort of
2. Price- more sq. footage for the same or better price as an older, remodel needed house
3. New- high ceilings, real master suites, 2 car garage... etc. I can pick finishes and have hardwooods throughout, etc.

What do ya'll think? Will it still feel like Cedar Park, just in the city? Resale/appreciation good or bad?

I would love and appreciate any tips! Thank you all in advance.

[10scoachrick]

Just in round numbers, I can't see any reason for them to appreciate from the very high prices they were showing last summer(before anyone moved in, I believe). That is some nasty traffic to get in/out of there, also. I guess the location is convenient to some things, just not the things we are interested in. Train access is key to the value of the location, I reckon.

I think it's a cute idea...just can't come to terms with nearly $300/ft(again, the value would be in the proximity to the train station and other destinations nearby...varies by individual, of course).

[tom331]

If you really consider to purchase a property at Brendwood area, these condo and single family homes built by DR Horton could be a better choice. The interial is very nice, even though I am not sure about the exterial of the single family houses. Comparing to other DR Horton properties, the properties at this location is pricy. However, it is very convinient to town, shoppings and the restaurants. I was thinking about this location, but I think the price is little bit high for me.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by rdthompson

First post here...

Does anyone have any insight on the Crestview City Homes/Townhomes project on N. Lamar by DR Horton? I'd really appreciate any and all feedback that isn't from an agent or seller trying to push that property, and it seems that's all I can find at this point!

We are recently married and looking to buy our first starter home together. Our original plan was to stick with a mid-century home in Crestview/Brentwood, etc., but the low inventory, bidding wars, and overall lack of desirable options in those 'hoods has us expanding our horizons.

Though my dad is a former custom home builder and might cringe at the thought of buying something built by DR Horton mega builder (I kind of cringe too), these houses/townhomes in the Crestview City project are appealing for a few reasons:

1. Location- same conveniences as being in actual Crestview, sort of
2. Price- more sq. footage for the same or better price as an older, remodel needed house
3. New- high ceilings, real master suites, 2 car garage... etc. I can pick finishes and have hardwooods throughout, etc.

What do ya'll think? Will it still feel like Cedar Park, just in the city? Resale/appreciation good or bad?

I would love and appreciate any tips! Thank you all in advance.

I think they are really promising. I doubt you will regret it. Being close to the train means you are directly connected to downtown. Plus all the shops that will go into the station etc.

Crestview needs to turn over the old residents. As that happens I think the area will be fantastic.

You need to really love walkability. I live in great hills on a greenbelt and feed into some of the best schools in austin. We are at about $160-200/sq ft about 60-80% of the crestview area.

[capcat]

^ It needs to turn over the old residents? Wow. Thumbs down to that attitude.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by capcat

^ It needs to turn over the old residents? Wow. Thumbs down to that attitude.

umm people get old and die. Thats how every neighborhood goes.

Old people tend not to renovate their houses, dont have kids and simply dont have the energy of families moving in.

[atxsnail]

Wife and I purchased (or signed and put an earnest payment down for) a single family property in Phase 2 after a lengthy search in the Crestview/Brentwood/Allandale areas for existing homes. I was pretty set on the area I wanted to consider, so that did limit our options a bit. We felt most of the homes for sale in these areas are smaller and in need of renovation. Newly renovated houses were fairly expensive and still didn't have everything we wanted.

We definitely gave up some of our wants like a nice backyard with shade trees, but we got everything else we wanted for our first home: 3/2.5, centrally located for our lifestyle, transit-friendly but with a 2 car garage, restaurants nearby, etc.

I'm convinced this area in particular is a new hotspot with lots of restaurants, retail, density on the way and would be convenient to either light rail alignment (lamar or highland) if one ever gets started.

We are pretty much done with the design upgrades and we're looking at about $240/sf which doesn't strike me as unreasonable for the area. I'd suggest you make sure you're cool with the future construction plans for the area and the HOA rules before jumping in.

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by Austin97

umm people get old and die. Thats how every neighborhood goes.

Old people tend not to renovate their houses, dont have kids and simply dont have the energy of families moving in.

Really? Stereotype much? I'm an "old person" and I ran a marathon last weekend. What did you do? Our central Austin home is beautifully rennovated as are the rentals own in Crestview/Brentwood.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

Really? Stereotype much? I'm an "old person" and I ran a marathon last weekend. What did you do? Our central Austin home is beautifully rennovated as are the rentals own in Crestview/Brentwood.

thats a great anecdote. But it flies in the face of reality for a majority of older people. You dont see very many "middle age folks homes."

Im not sure why you would take it personally, we are all going to get old, slow down and die.

[rdthompson]

Thanks to all of you for your replies. It's nice to get positive feedback-- I was starting to get a little worried about being able to live in the area we wanted, and have all of the stuff we wanted (master suite, etc.) within our price range. This little project seemed like it could do all of it, but I was thinking maybe it was too good to be true. We will look into it more seriously and I'll be sure to update.

Atxsnail, did you guys go for the single family or townhome option? Both are possibilities for us, with single family obviously being more appealing, townhome more affordable. Would you mind telling me what kind of upgrades you went for? I want ZERO carpet. Of course.

And by the way, I asked for my dad's (the former high end custom home builder) brutally honest opinion of DR Horton and he actually said he approves.