The Big Four Home Search Varibles: Price, Location, Size, Condition

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One thing you will notice as you compare houses and communities that are not as close to downtown Austin, when compared to the houses and communities more central to Austin or closer to downtown--you get a lot more for your money the further out you go as well as certain areas such as East Austin, than you do when you are buying in Central Austin and closer in to downtown. This is largely due to the price of dirt--land values. The cost of the land goes up by the block as you get closer and closer to downtown Austin. Literally by the block and by the community. Every few blocks that you are closer to downtown you are paying ten's of thousands more for just the lot itself, so when you look at a price bracket, like $300-400K and you move closer and closer to downtown and central Austin, you will notice two things:

1. The closer you get to downtown, the smaller the house becomes, and/or
2. The more "worn out" the houses will be.

If you pay more, you see the reverse happen in these areas; you get more house or a "nicer house and community".  So, depending upon where you are willing to "spend your trade-offs", in our Austin market you will always have to make a choice between:

-Price
-Location
-Size of home and lot
-Condition of the home and lot

Think of it as being like a balloon. Push on one side and the air goes to the other side. It doesn't matter where you push, the air has to go somewhere. 
These are the four big real estate variables and it is real easy to see what happens to these four variables when you move closer to and further away from downtown. This also happens as you get closer to the lake or a home with views. And you can see the same things happen when you are looking for a home in a prominent school community such as Westlake High in Eanes ISD or the Westwood High School in Round Rock ISD. You have to decide where you want to pay for your trade-offs--size, condition, price or location. 
If you want to learn more about how this works and how this specifically impacts your home search and needs--let's talk. 
Tim Thornton