In today's edition of "you don't say" or "no duh" here is an article on FoxNews about how the over priced houses in Waco are hard to sell. The Waco real estate market is doing good and it seems most houses sell fairly quickly. But to the shock of almost no one in Waco/McLennan county the fact a house was on Fixer Upper does not justify $600,000 or more (especially for the micro houses or mini or whatever they are called).

Those of us in the area know that for those prices you can get a nice house and some land or spend the average price ($215K according to the article) for a nice house with a large yard (about .4 or.5 acres)



https://www.foxnews.com/real-estate/fixer-upper-houses-waco-sell-real-estate-agents

We've had a couple of Fixer-Upper houses in our general neighborhood and it seems like most of them went on the market within a year, or so, after completion. Asking prices have routinely been well above what would normally be expected. Some sold and some didn't. One in particular has been on and off the market (same owner) several times over the past 2 years.

BaylorGuy314 said:

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You cannot get a nice house with a .4ac yard anywhere in Waco for the low- or even mid- 200s unless you want an older home in Waco ISD.

There are still some very nice areas in Waco ISD but, for families, Waco ISD is frequently problematic.

Most new construction in Waco is running in the $140-160/SF range on a 1/3 acre lot. So you are talking $300K for a 2000sf home. Admittedly, most Waco new construction has a much higher degree of "standard" finishout compared to the national builders you see in urban areas.

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Yes you can. Maybe not Waco city limits but Waco area yes.

I know this because I did.

And the home was less than 10 years old when I bought it.

I will admit that many of the homes in my neighborhood are well above the value I bought at but it is still low to mid 200s.

cowboycwr said:

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BaylorGuy314 said:

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You cannot get a nice house with a .4ac yard anywhere in Waco for the low- or even mid- 200s unless you want an older home in Waco ISD.

There are still some very nice areas in Waco ISD but, for families, Waco ISD is frequently problematic.

Most new construction in Waco is running in the $140-160/SF range on a 1/3 acre lot. So you are talking $300K for a 2000sf home. Admittedly, most Waco new construction has a much higher degree of "standard" finishout compared to the national builders you see in urban areas.

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Yes you can. Maybe not Waco city limits but Waco area yes.

I know this because I did.

And the home was less than 10 years old when I bought it.

I will admit that many of the homes in my neighborhood are well above the value I bought at but it is still low to mid 200s.

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You did well then, sir, and I tip my hat to you.

The average sales price in the Waco MSA for July 2019 was $110/SF. However, with more than 1/3 of the homes sold being <$150K price range (meaning that they were likely outdated or homes in less-than-ideal areas), that $/SF is skewed downward. The median $/SF was closer to $115/SF so I have to assume the average in the more desireable parts of town was likely even higher. That would likely mean that you are looking at mid-200s for a 2000sf home in a decent part of town.

Since most of the homes out there are not on 1/3-1/2 acre lots, I would assume the price for homes that are on a larger lot would trend above the average, meaning upper 200s.

BaylorGuy314 said:

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cowboycwr said:

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BaylorGuy314 said:

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You cannot get a nice house with a .4ac yard anywhere in Waco for the low- or even mid- 200s unless you want an older home in Waco ISD.

There are still some very nice areas in Waco ISD but, for families, Waco ISD is frequently problematic.

Most new construction in Waco is running in the $140-160/SF range on a 1/3 acre lot. So you are talking $300K for a 2000sf home. Admittedly, most Waco new construction has a much higher degree of "standard" finishout compared to the national builders you see in urban areas.

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Yes you can. Maybe not Waco city limits but Waco area yes.

I know this because I did.

And the home was less than 10 years old when I bought it.

I will admit that many of the homes in my neighborhood are well above the value I bought at but it is still low to mid 200s.

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You did well then, sir, and I tip my hat to you.

The average sales price in the Waco MSA for July 2019 was $110/SF. However, with more than 1/3 of the homes sold being <$150K price range (meaning that they were likely outdated or homes in less-than-ideal areas), that $/SF is skewed downward. The median $/SF was closer to $115/SF so I have to assume the average in the more desireable parts of town was likely even higher. That would likely mean that you are looking at mid-200s for a 2000sf home in a decent part of town.

Since most of the homes out there are not on 1/3-1/2 acre lots, I would assume the price for homes that are on a larger lot would trend above the average, meaning upper 200s.

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And your assumption would still be wrong.

.75 Acres= $175K slightly older home at 34.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/320-W-Tate-St-Robinson-TX-76706/52075703_zpid/

.27 acres, 12 year old house =$185

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/229-Tampico-Dr-Hewitt-TX-76643/52069617_zpid/

.4 acres sold at $199K (2016) estimate at 235 now

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/412-Oakberry-Dr-Hewitt-TX-76643/68839488_zpid/

So yes the average may be what the article said for JULY only but over the last few years it has not been hard to find a good size lot for a decent value. It has been getting harder as prices have been going up (thanks to a hot market, increased property values by the county, and popularity probably because of Chip and Joanna) and I have seen some homes in my neighborhood go for well above the estimated value but then others that have sat and had prices decreased because of things like age, right on a main street, etc.

The weak spot of the market in the Waco area is the middle-sized, slightly-larger house. ~2000 sq ft homes sell at about 115/sq ft, but 2700-3000 sq ft homes that should be listed at $400000 get listed at $500000 and don't sell. The Magnolia homes are part of it. A lot of them are nicely finished in parts, but the whole house is not redone. So you have to drop $500000, and then turn around and spend $50000 more to update/remodel.