Western Oaks’ Green Space is Attracting Buyers
Western Oaks, a little-known neighborhood tucked away in the southwest corner of Austin, is drawing a wave of home buyers, attracted by green space and well built houses ripe for updating.
Western Oaks sits in the corner of MoPac and William Cannon, only 10-15 minutes from downtown. Built in late 70s and 80s, this gem of a subdivision possesses its own ambiance and personality.
Greenbelts run through the tract and the subdivision features a recreation center consisting of swimming pool, tennis courts, playgrounds, and walking trails. This neighborhood harkens back to an old Austin suburban idea of ranch homes on larger lots.
J W Smith built 300+ homes in this area bordered by William Cannon, Brush Country, Convict Hill and Beckett Road. Smith’s home were four side brick and were energy efficient at the time, as most were installed with double pane windows.
These well built homes are structurally solid, as evidenced by my conversations with contractors and inspectors.
What most of these homes lack is updating. The kitchen counter tops are laminate, there are more walls and less open space as preferred by today’s standards and baths are small.
BUT these homes offer great opportunity IF you can find one.
Homes in J W Smith’s Western Oaks have usually gone under contract in 1-2 days this year. A week or 10 days is a long time. But the lot sizes compared to Legend Oaks or Circle C are immense. The difference is usually about 12,000 square feet.
This is an older subdivision where I would recommend a homeowner consider buying and putting a little money into a kitchen or bath upgrade. Don’t go overboard because the Austin market has yet to push these resale prices beyond $150 per square foot.
Still, higher prices are coming for this section of Western Oaks, bolstered by an increased number of buyers and new stores in the area. One is the new Whole Foods grocery scheduled for summer 2012 opening. It’s located adjacent to Western Oaks just across Brush Country Road.
As we approach Earth Day on April 22, we are reminded of the need to protect our natural environment. Western Oaks does a great job of that.
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