Real Estate Blog

So, if Central Austin is "the" hot spot for real estate investment, but you can't find something in your price point there, where do you go next? What looks good in comparison to all that downtown energy we talked about last time? Well, savvy real estate investors always follow the tenant base.

Let's say you have a couple of young professionals, newly married, renting near downtown. That's where everything is happening. There's nightlife. There's entertainment. There's excitement. That's the place to be.

And then, life changes. There's a new baby. Suddenly all the priorities change. The nightlife and entertainment get pushed aside in favor of a bigger home in a family-oriented area near good schools. Where does our couple go?

North Austin. Think:

- Balcones and Spicewood with those beautiful old neighborhoods and still close to downtown.

- Cedar Park and Leander with great communities like Buttercup Creek, Horizon Park, Avery Ranch, loaded with amenities, located near brand new medical facilities, convention centers, the commuter rail system into downtown, and lots of shopping.

- Round Rock and Pflugerville, the High Tech Corridor, with major employers (Dell, Samsung, Cisco, AMD, IBM). New and established communities like Wells Branch, Terra Vista, Star Ranch, Falcon Point, Blackhawk, and Forest Creek. Some of them sporting premier golf courses.

And don't forget the draw of the areas around the outlet malls between Round Rock and Georgetown including the ever-popular Ikea. (It is an experience, if you've never been.)

All of these spots, moving from east to west, are going to have very similar price points. Sure, each area has its own nuances, but overall, you're looking at:

- bedroom communities,
- with good school systems,
- good infrastructure,
- and major employers.

These are areas for long-term real estate investments because you have a white-collar, affluent tenant class looking to settle into well-kept neighborhoods.

Lots of these people are going to be looking to rent for the simple reason that they can't afford to buy. They want the amenities and school districts, but they don't have the purchase power.. Renting is a good option for them -- and for you.

Bottom line. If you are an investor targeting a family-oriented tenant base with a long-term "buy and hold" investment strategy or if you don't have enough cash to purchase a property in Central Austin, North Austin is a terrific place to put your money.

If you'd like to look over a major employer map of the area, click here to download or open a PDF.