Crystal Falls - Cedar Park, Texas

Sunday we did some house-hunting in the Grand Mesa neighborhood of Crystal Falls. There is a long list of great builders here but this day we zoomed in on the Perry Homes.

First, a little information about Crystal Falls & Cedar Park. Cedar Park used to be considered "way out in the boonies". Not so anymore. With the new tollway 183A, you can shoot straight up 183 from North Austin and be at the Crystal Falls entrance in 10 minutes. AND, this year the Capital Metro Rail is on schedule to provide customers with service between Leander and Downtown Austin. These sleek new trains will take you to work in comfort and style, providing you with high-back seats, bicycle and overhead racks, and Wi-Fi connections. The estimated travel time from Leander to Downtown Austin is approximately just 50 minutes! The entire area is booming with new shopping, theatres, restaurants, schools, on and on.....
Aside from all this, the main attraction to Crystal Falls is the panoromic views and hill country terrain. This is a Master Planned community with 4 neighborhoods and more under development. The "Grand Mesa" neighborhood is so far the grandest. The home sites here range from 1-7 acres and homes are set on hills, ridges, golf course, and within secluded canyons. Lots range from $60's to $200's and homes from $300's to over a million. If you like wide-open spaces, incredible views, and unique streetscape, come to Crystal Falls.

The Perry Homes: We started out in their beautifully furnished and decorated one-story model home. The kitchen with its HUGE granite countertop island was a hit for my client. We then checked out the other 3 homes that are available in their current inventory. Two houses on Goodnight Trail and one on Lajitas. All three homes have had MAJOR price reductions. The largest of the three is on Goodnight Trail and is 5,756 sq. feet. The price was just reduced from $749,900 down to $699,900. For the finish out and square footage in this home, this price is incredible. The home is also on a golf course homesite with Hill Country views. The 2nd home is on Goodnight Trail across the street, and is 5,352 sq. feet, reduced from $649,000 to $599,900. This one has a beautiful 1.25 acre yard and a detached FOUR-car garage. The 3rd house is on Lajitas, 5,219 sq. feet reduced from $739,900 to $699,900 - total luxury here, inside and out! Must SEE.

These are just 3 homes within the Grand Mesa at Crystal Falls community. Checking the listings today for the entire community which includes Grand Mesa, The Fairways, The Highlands, The Boulders, and The Woods, there are 69 homes for sale. They range in price from $155,000 in The Woods up to $985,000 in Grand Mesa. Looking for a Texas-sized home? Currently, the largest home for sale in Grand Mesa is $5,756 Sq. Feet, built in 2007, 1.5 acres, listed for $699,900.

I love showing homes in this beautiful hill country community! Yoo-hoo - calling all clients looking for large homes on estate-sized lots.........

Pioneer Crossing Austin, Texas

Last week I found a great house for 3 clients that were looking to lease. If you are looking to live in Northeast Austin, Pioneer Crossing is a great community to check out. Pioneer Crossing is off Dessau Road, just south of Parmer (Parmer east of I35). The major employment in this area is Dell, Samsung, Applied Materials, and the Walnut Creek Business Park. The home that these clients leased was built in 2006 and looked like a brand spankin new home, with a nice private backyard. It also had a cute front porch and 2,282 sq. feet (2 story). What a find at $1295 per month - and on a cul-de-sac to boot! I was pretty impressed with the neighborhood and amenity centers so I searched the Multiple Listing Service to see what else is going on in there. Here's the scoop as of today:

For sale: There are 34 listings that range in price from $155,700K to $249,900K. The square footage is from 1,360 to 3,300 and they were all built between 2004 and 2007. Of the newest ones (9 of them built in 2007), the largest is a Morrison Home with 2,877 Sq. ft for $249,900. and is ready to move into! It also backs to a greenbelt. This is really a plus because so many of these communities have the homes right on top of each other (fish-bowl living - not for me!) And the interest rates are perfect now, our mortgage update today said 15 year loans were under 5 percent! Another good one is a Newmark Home just being completed - it is a Bungalow style and there are only 6 of this style remaining in Pioneer Crossing. Priced at $167,990 for 1,360 Sq. Ft.

On the older side - if you consider 2004 old, a 2,757 sq. ft. resale is selling for $164,800. It's listed as being "for sale" but also appears to be available for lease.

For Lease: There are just 12 homes available today for lease and range in monthly rent from $1,050. per month for 1,775 sq. ft to $1,850 for 2,900 sq. ft.
This lease for $1,850 is actually the same address that I mentioned above for sale (the Morrison Home for $249,900. on the greenbelt).

Whether you are looking to lease or buy, Pioneer Crossing is worth checking out. Did I mention - I'm available to help you?!

PS - My hotsheet for the day tells me there were 119 new listings put on the market in Austin today. There were 126 price changes, 66 homes SOLD, and 105 homes PENDING.

The music of Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

This entry doesn't really have anything to do with Austin, Texas, other than the fact that I watched the movie in Austin Texas last night. The movie is titled "Once" and the actor/actress musicians are Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Both the movie and the music are AWESOME - listen to these 2 clips, then rent the movie. You'll then want to track down every other song written and performed by Glen & Marketa. There are many other clips on YouTube.