pricey places
This affluent Austin neighborhood declared the most expensive in Texas
A new study identifying the most expensive neighborhoods across the country comes with a big surprise — an Austin neighborhood at tops the list for all of Texas.
Barton Creek has been named the most expensive neighborhood in the state by ConstructionCoverage.com. The affluent Austin neighborhood boasts a median home value of $1,046,600 — currently at its peak. Home values in the neighborhood jumped 5.1 percent in just one year, 6.3 percent in the last five, and 3.1 percent over the last decade, the study adds.
This isn't the first time Barton Creek has made headlines for its high prices. In late 2018, it became Austin's first neighborhood to cross the million-dollar mark for median home price, according to Trulia.
Meanwhile, the median home price in the U.S. is $226,700, according to the Zillow Home Price Index, which Construction Coverage used to compare more than 7,000 neighborhoods across the country.
In addition to revealing the most expensive neighborhood in each state, the study also highlighted other pricey Texas areas, and Barton Creek isn't the only local spot on the list. Eleven other Austin neighborhoods are among the 30 most expensive neighborhoods in Texas, according to the study.
Bryker Woods is the third most expensive neighborhood in the state, with a median home value of $954,700, and Old West Austin ranks eighth, with a median home value of $677,300. South River City and Zilker are Nos. 10 and 11, with home values of $605,600 and $602,300, respectively.
Not far behind are Bouldin Creek ($590,100), Rosedale ($542,200), Allandale ($518,500), Hyde Park ($503,500), Hancock ($496,300), Mueller ($496,000), and East Cesar Chavez ($494,800).
The second most expensive neighborhood in Texas is Afton Oaks. Located in Houston's ritzy River Oaks area, it boasts a median home value of $1,024,600. Fort Worth neighborhood Mira Vista comes in fourth at $893,400; San Antonio's The Dominion ranks sixth at $708,400; and North Dallas is seventh at $685,200.
Compass real estate broker Grigor Licul told Construction Coverage that the most coveted neighborhoods have more to offer than nice homes. Buyers also buy into a place with "good infrastructure, school districts, and transportation," among other things, he said.
As a result, “developers follow the demand and develop a higher end product within these neighborhoods, further stratifying the market," Licul said. "It is a reinforcing loop which causes the neighborhoods with a higher price baseline to maintain their pricing advantage [and] remain more resilient to potential downturns.”
