Uncovering the BEST Places to Buy a $500,000 Home in Austin, Texas
So, you already know that the Austin area is growing like crazy. Over a hundred people a day are moving to Austin. Why? Because there’s a lot of business growth going on. It’s fun, it’s pretty safe, and it’s relatively affordable.
So, if you’re one of the people moving here because it’s more affordable than San Francisco, Seattle, or New York City, this blog post is for you; we’re looking at the best places to buy a home at $500,000. And we will look at three specific homes on the market so you can see what $500,000 gets you in these areas.
New Construction in Austin
So, if you’re looking to buy a home at $500,000 in the Austin area, new construction is one of the best options. With new construction, you get a new roof, an HVAC water heater, a foundation, and everything else.
New construction comes with a minimum of a one-year warranty from the builder. Many builders will do an extended two-year warranty, but most will do a one-year one. Bumper to bumper, everything in the house other than wear and tear issues. And you get a ten-year structural warranty, meaning the foundation, the roof, and all that stuff, like things that apply to the structural integrity of the house that is insured for ten years after you buy the house.
I want to talk about two specific new construction areas in the Austin area. One is in southeast Austin, and the other is north in Georgetown.
So, the one in southeast Austin is called Easton Park. And this is a massive community. It’s 2,700 acres. It’s only 12 miles from downtown. What I like about it is that they have a good variety of home styles, sizes, and prices, so it’s not cookie-cutter, and there’s a lot of variability regarding what you’re looking for.
They’ve got parks trails, they’ve got food trucks out there, they do live music. Once the whole area is developed, they will have more than 350 acres of park space and a 13.1-mile trail in the community.
The cool thing is there’s a lot of little neighborhoods. Remember I mentioned earlier that there’s a bunch of different style houses and prices and stuff like that within Easton Park, so even though it’s going to be a huge community, each little neighborhood is separated off, and it’s got their parks and their trails, and it’s own little neighborhood vibe.
Even though it’s a huge development, you still get that community sense because there are little communities and pockets where you can get to know your neighbors and see the same people, the parks, and the same people on the trails every day and build relationships with everyone.
Even though this will be a massive community, it’s split up into many different neighborhoods by the time it’s finished. They’ve got trails everywhere; the community is separated into little individual neighborhoods with parks and trails, so you can go to the playground and see the same parents there at 10:00 AM every Monday.
You’ll see the same people walking their dogs on the trails. It allows you to meet people, talk to them, build relationships, and be part of the community rather than just living in this massive neighborhood where you don’t know who anyone is.
The homes they have for sale in Easton Park are between 1400 and 1600 square feet. They have three bedrooms and two baths, ranging from 440 to 490.
The second new construction neighborhood we will talk about is up north. It’s in Georgetown, where so much of the new construction and development is happening. It’s called Lively Ranch, a development by DR Horton.
If you’re unfamiliar with DR Horton, they are an incredibly prolific builder nationwide, especially in Texas and Austin. They’ve got neighborhoods in different pockets within the city, which is rare. Most new construction developments are happening outside the city in Georgetown, Leander, Liberty Hill, and down south in Dripping Springs. But DR Horton has found a way to bind these pockets within the city and build affordable homes and new construction neighborhoods.
The neighborhood that we’re talking about today is north, and it’s in Georgetown. It is about 40 minutes north of downtown Austin, but it’s in a great location in Georgetown. It’s right at the intersection of 29 and Ronald Reagan. These are some of the main thoroughfares among all the new construction that’s going on in Georgetown right now.
The homes that are selling at Lively Ranch right now are between 1500 and 2000 square feet. Most are three bedrooms and two baths; the prices range from 403 to 503. There’s only one home at 403. The next lowest price is 456. So, I figure the actual ranges will be between 450 and 500.
Most DR Horton communities will have a clubhouse, a pool, a playground, and things like that. This neighborhood is no different. It’s got all of those amenities. So again, a lot of the new construction communities are helping you get to know your neighbors, giving you a place to hang out, and making the neighborhood your own, not just being part of this enormous community where you don’t know everyone.
Resale Homes in Austin
Let’s talk about resale. If you’re not excited about new construction or want other options, we will discuss three other great communities with many options in the $500,000 price range. So, we will talk about Leander, Round Rock, and Hutto.
In Leander, as of January 2023, there are 61 homes for sale between $450,000 and $505,000. Most of these are new construction. Remember I mentioned that much of the new construction is happening in Leander, Liberty Hill, and Georgetown. Most of the homes that you’re going to be able to buy in the $500,000 price range in Leander are going to be new construction, but today, we’re going to focus on one specific resale home so you get an idea of what these homes will look like.
I looked through every home in Leander’s market between 450 and 505. I mentioned 61 listings right now, and this home is the best. It’s the most beautiful, the most reasonably priced. This is a good option if you are currently looking for a home in the Austin area. Jump on it.
The address is 1309 Itzel Bend. It’s gorgeous. There’s nothing else to say about it. I’m going to show you guys the pictures. So this house has five bedrooms and three bathrooms. It’s about 2,700 square feet. The best part is it has two bedrooms on the main floor. It has a primary bedroom and another one good for parents, grandparents, guests, and anyone who wants to have their own space that isn’t comfortable or doesn’t want to go upstairs.
We see this often in some of the newer or newly built homes. Most of them will at least have a primary bedroom on the first floor. Then a lot of them are going to have a secondary guest suite or guest room on the first floor as well because a lot of people have parents or other folks that don’t want to go upstairs or are not comfortable or it’s just going to be easier to stay on the first floor.
This house was built in 2020. It’s 0.16 acres. Many of the folks I talked to from California don’t operate in acres; they use square feet. So what that equates to is about a 7,000-square-foot lot.
This house is in a superb location. It’s across the street from the new Northline station, a new live-work-play development in Leander. It will have a train station that will take you downtown and a few stops in between.
They’re building the Northline. They’ve been building it for about a year. There’s still not much there. So, it will be a few years before this development gets up and running. But when it is, you will be five minutes away.
If you aren’t familiar with The Domain, check out my other blog posts where I talk about The Domain. This is what the Northline is going to look like. It’s going to have shops, restaurants, and apartments. It’s going to be an area where you can live, work, and play, and then you’ll be able to hop on the train and go downtown for dinner, shows, or other things.
So, if you’re looking for a house in Austin around or under $500,000, this house is a winner-winner chicken dinner.
Let’s move on to Round Rock. In Round Rock, there are 63 listings between $450,000 and $505,000. This differs from Leander because very few of these listings are new construction. So, there’s no new construction in Round Rock right now.
This area has already gone through its development phase. There are already established neighborhoods, shops and restaurants, things like that. There are a few pockets here and there where developers have found, like, let’s put a community here. But for the most part, there’s zero new construction in Round Rock.
This is another perfect area to buy a home at or under $500,000. But I want to show you how different the homes are between Leander Hutto and Round Rock. This home we’re looking at is an excellent example of a good home in Round Rock. It’s one of the best homes on the market right now. It’s not brand new, but it represents the area. I want you to know what the homes at $500,000 look like in Round Rock.
The address is 4217 North Summercrest Loop. It has three bedrooms and three baths. It’s 2300 square feet, and it does not have any bedrooms on the main floor. They’re all upstairs. This house was built in the year 2000, which reflects the typical floor plans we would see for homes built in this era.
My house was built in 1998, and it’s the same way. It’s three bedrooms, two and a half baths. All the bedrooms are upstairs. So, if you need a house with the primary on the first floor or maybe two bedrooms on the first floor, you’ll want to look at new construction versus older homes because that floor plan was not happening and not very common up until five years ago.
This house is on 0.194 acres, which is about 8,500 square feet, and it’s also in an excellent location. It’s right at the corner of Whitestone and Sam Bass. These are two of the major roads in Round Rock.
If you take it east, Whitestone will take you to Round Rock proper, where the IKEA is and many shops and restaurants. There’s a huge HEB there. And if you go even further east, it’ll take you to downtown Round Rock. If you take it west, Whitestone will take you directly into Cedar Park.
This neighborhood is tucked away between these two major roads, but you can easily access anywhere else in Austin you want to go.
Okay, and the last neighborhood we’ll talk about is Hutto. Today, there are only 26 listings in Hutto between 450 and 505. They were all built in the last 20 years, but most were built in the previous five years.
Hutto is also going through a considerable development phase, just like Leander. So a lot of the homes here are new construction. There are a lot of shops and restaurants being built. Hutto is in this crazy growth explosion right now, and it’s in a great location because it’s right between Round Rock and Georgetown. So you’ve got the best of both worlds. You have the lower prices of Hutto but easy access to Georgetown and Round Rock and the highways to get anywhere else in the Austin area.
This house is a widespread example of what you’ll be able to find in Hutto in the $500,000 range. The address is 200 Ottaviano Way. I love the name of that street. It sounds so Grand. This house has four bedrooms and three baths. It’s 2,200 square feet, and it’s one story.
It was built in 2021 on a bigger lot. This lot is 0.208 acres, which is about a 9,000-square-foot lot. So this is the biggest lot we’ve seen from the three homes we’ve looked at, and this is the only story we’ve seen. So, it’s just something to keep in mind.
This house is in a great location also. It’s just off 79, which is the main thoroughfare in Hutto. It’s close to the new shops, restaurants, and toll road 130, which will take you right down to the airport, just a straight shot. It’s easy access to Round Rock and Georgetown and all the fun stuff there is to do there.
So, if you came to me and said you were looking for a great house under $500,000, these are the specific areas that I would recommend based on the quality you get for that price and the location and the fun stuff there is to do in these areas. So, if you’re moving to Austin and you have any questions, reach out to me and book a call, and I’ll see you soon.
