Wes Peoples, founder and president of residential construction corporation Wes Peoples Homes, has a saying: Drive until you can afford it.
Rising home prices are driving young adults with children out of Austin and into outlying cities, such as Hutto and Pflugerville, where they can afford housing that fits their family’s needs, he said.
“It’s counter-intuitive, in my opinion,” Peoples said. “We’re forcing people out, [and] the traffic problems are going to get worse.”
Balcones Village/Spicewood resident Jim Hoe estimated property values have quadrupled since he moved into his home more than 30 years ago.
After Westwood High School was built nearby on Mellow Meadow Drive in the early 1980s, it established a reputation as a quality public school, increasing the demand for housing among residents with school-age children, Hoe said.
Now, he said, there are fewer schoolchildren in neighboring houses than there were 30 years ago.
“Part of that may have to do with property values,” he said.
According to data from the Austin Board of Realtors, the average home price in 78750, which is where the Balcones Village/Spicewood neighborhood is located, was $404,260 in 2015—28.5 percent higher than in 2011.
Homes prices in 78758 and 78727 in North Austin have risen 45 percent or more since 2011, according to ABoR data.
Affordability stalls sales
“For homebuyers who can afford to purchase a home in Austin, that northwest area is one of the most desirable areas,” said Brandy Guthrie, 2015 president-elect for ABoR. Guthrie said Northwest Austin’s popularity is based on its infrastructure—homebuyers become part of established neighborhoods with access to major highways, shopping, hospitals and other amenities. But affordability is a challenge throughout the city, not just in Northwest Austin, Guthrie said. “A strong majority of [home] sales are taking place outside the [Austin] city limits,” she said. Guthrie said seven out of every 10 houses sold each month in the metropolitan area are sold in outlying cities, such as Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Buda and Kyle. Hoe said he sees more and more Austin residents relocating to Round Rock and Georgetown, where utility rates are more reasonable and people can afford larger homes on bigger lots. A young family working to afford their first or second home probably cannot afford to spend $400,000-$500,000 to live in his neighborhood, he said. According to data from Round Rock ISD—which has schools in Northwest Austin and Round Rock—more than 1,260 homes were constructed in the district in 2015, and about 1,180 home sales were completed. The largest number of RRISD’s home sales in 2015—15 percent—took place in Paloma Lake in Round Rock, a Wes Peoples Homes development where home prices start in the $200,000s, according to the data. The second-largest number of home sales—150—occurred in Northwoods at Avery Ranch, a David Weekley Homes development just outside of Cedar Park. No new home construction occurred in the areas that feed into Jollyville, Laurel Mountain, Pond Springs and Spicewood elementary schools, all of which are located in Northwest Austin, the data show. Total enrollment in RRISD is 47,645 for the 2015-16 school year. The district expects enrollment to surpass 48,000 by this fall and 50,000 by fall 2022.
