Realtors: Are well located innerbeltway homes recession proof? (West: renting, neighborhood)

[philopower]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Yep:

Larger lots in Garden Oaks
GOOF essentially Heights-adjacent while Sharpstown not really adjacent to a "cool / hipster" area
OFE never considered a must-avoid
Sharpstown has relatively more deteriorated apartments
Sharpstown saddled with an infamous decayed / low-reputation large shopping mall right in the middle of the area
Much farther distance to next desirable area from GOOF (north of Cypress Creek) compared to Sharpstown (Sugar Land or even Meadows Place)

Sharpstown Section 1 not far at all from a desirable area and is actually very very close to Bellaire. The drive into bellaire proper is less than five minutes. In fact, there are some million dollar mansions in the neighborhood off of bissonnet and hillcroft that are directly adjacent to sharpstown. Bellaire however is not a cool neighborhood, just a rich family friendly hood so not really comparable to the heights. The one thing sharpstown has going for it is location and I'd argue that it's better located than Oak Forest, just by virtue of being closer to the galleria, downtown, medcenter, and sugarland. Also the dining options are far superior in sharpstown than in oak forest by virtue of china town and the mahatma ghandi district. Oak Forest doesn't really have anything going for it dining wise, you'd have to go to the heights to find good food and even then it's overrated hipster garbage.

[Clever nickname here]

Sharpstown is not well located from a real estate value stand point. If you are willing to gamble it has hit bottom and on its way back up and are willing to bet a 15-20 year timeline into that belief then go ahead and buy.

[chris_ut]

Oak Forest has Gatlins, doesn't get much more hipster dining than that. Galleria is only 12 minute drive not exactly far.

[cheryjohns]

$90K in Sharpstown? Do it.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by cheryjohns

$90K in Sharpstown? Do it.

I love your brevity CJ, among other things ! I concur Do it !

[hendersj31]

OP you seem to have figured it out for yourself. I agree Sharpstown is conveniently located and I own a couple near the golf course. Yes, there are folks moving in and fixing up, flippers and new build townhomes. Prices have increased in the last 10 years. I also agree the neighborhood has a long way to go and the recent pullback may slow that down. If you are cool with that then that is all that matters.

[LocalPlanner]

I agree that Sharpstown has a very good regional location, with great access to multiple major employment centers. The main thing that needs to happen for it to start appreciating more rapidly is for one of its elementary schools to obtain a more favored status among educated professionals. This is a major factor propelling appreciation in Oak Forest, along with proximity to The Heights and Downtown and Uptown.

[Failed Engineer]

Sharpstown is just a matter of time. I personally think it has great location. In between Galleria and Sugar Land. Additionally, areas nearby are starting to turn. West of Meyerland has been gradually getting better to the point that it's basically on Sharpstown's doorstep (as mentioned above, schools are pretty much the only thing stopping it from moving into Sharpstown). People seem to be comfortable on that part of the border of Sharpstown the the crime is for the most part restricted to the apartments themselves, which is true.

I've also seen people starting buying in the Fondren SW area which has really great housing stock (which does need to be updated but have very good bones). The Fondren SW area was and still is really iffy but the beginning signs are showing there. That's another border of Sharpstown.

Then there is Chinatown as another border and that's not necessarily a plus or minus, and seems to be a pretty stable area.

I'm not so familiar with the immediately bordering areas of Sharpstown north of 59. I believe there are a lot of low income apartment clusters south of Richmond so that's surely not desirable, but I bet a lot of that crime is self-contained too.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Failed Engineer

Sharpstown is just a matter of time. I personally think it has great location. In between Galleria and Sugar Land. Additionally, areas nearby are starting to turn. West of Meyerland has been gradually getting better to the point that it's basically on Sharpstown's doorstep (as mentioned above, schools are pretty much the only thing stopping it from moving into Sharpstown). People seem to be comfortable on that part of the border of Sharpstown the the crime is for the most part restricted to the apartments themselves, which is true.

I've also seen people starting buying in the Fondren SW area which has really great housing stock (which does need to be updated but have very good bones). The Fondren SW area was and still is really iffy but the beginning signs are showing there. That's another border of Sharpstown.

Then there is Chinatown as another border and that's not necessarily a plus or minus, and seems to be a pretty stable area.

I'm not so familiar with the immediately bordering areas of Sharpstown north of 59. I believe there are a lot of low income apartment clusters south of Richmond so that's surely not desirable, but I bet a lot of that crime is self-contained too.

North of Sharpstown, south of Richmond, is where Gulfton meets Chinatown meets Mahatma Ghandi. The low income immigrant complexes are here and there amongst it all. Plus there's industrial uses. Don't forget the Harwin Discount Strip.

[detachable arm]

Inner beltway means squat. Ever looked around Bissonnet and Woodfair? Old Westwood Mall? Spice Lane? Grew up there as a little tike in the 70s/80s; nowadays it is lined with ratchety hookers in broad daylight. I wouldn't say the local economy is doing very well there.