Hays County becoming a $1 million real estate hot spot

Country lifestyle, lower costs make region appealing to high-end buyers
By M.B. Taboada
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Homeowners wanting a bigger slice of life — and home — are increasingly seeing Hays County as the place to get it.

Million-dollar home listings have reached an all-time high in the county just southwest of Travis, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.

From June of last year through mid-June of this year, at least 41 new and existing homes have been listed for $1 million or more, the board says. That's more than a 156 percent increase from the 16 listings from June 2005 to June 2006. And just 10 years ago, there were no properties valued at $1 million or more being listed in the county.

As of mid-June, there are 19 active Hays County listings on the market for $1 million or more. And most are custom-built homes on just a few acres in gated communities.

What accounts for the sudden uptick in big-dollar home sales?

"There's some romance associated with living in the rural setting," said David Pruitt, broker/owner of David M. Pruitt, Realtors.

Also, there's more land available; it's less expensive than building in Austin; the area has scenic views of rolling hills; and buyers pay less in taxes than in neighboring Travis County.

"What you can get out there for a million is pretty incredible," said Tony Fetchel of Keller Williams Realty who is listing a nearly $1.2 million home in Wimberley on Skyline Ridge Lookout. "Not everyone wants to live on the lake, nor can they afford to live on the lake. In Hays County, you get more acreage for your buck."

The 2,785-square-foot Wimberley house that Fetchel is listing is on nearly 12 acres. It has three bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms with panoramic views of the Hill Country. People buying the homes "want a good-sized lot, and they don't want a production builder," Fetchel said.

Buyers also are trying to escape the whirlwind of city life.

Hays County "has a small-town America atmosphere," said Mark Mayhew, a real estate agent who's selling a $1.3 million home in San Marcos. "They can buy the acreage home sites or ranchettes for less than million and the . . . commute is manageable for those people. They can get more of what's on their wish list by exploring the market here than their immediate market."

In general, the value of homes in Hays County has steadily increased. For example, the median home value in the Dripping Springs area is $328,000.

"It's been more of a steady buildup," said Mark Sprague of Residential Strategies, which tracks the home market. "A lot of people are buying small ranches and building their dream houses out there. If you go up in a helicopter, it's very apparent."

The 374-acre Star D Ranch in Dripping Springs boasts a 12,000-square-foot house. Forestar Real Estate Group, a division of Temple-Inland Inc., bought the ranch and home early this year for $12 million and is developing the property, renamed Arrowhead Ranch, into a master-planned community.

Most of the higher-end homes in Hays County are in the Wimberley or Dripping Springs area, real estate agents say. Still, there are a few homes in San Marcos listed at $1 million or more.

"San Marcos can offer the small-town feel and has easy access to Austin and San Antonio," said Brenda Damron, real estate agent for Randall Morris & Associates. "This allows our citizens to attend concerts, the theater or enjoy dinner in 'the city' and be home at a reasonable hour."

In the past few years, Rienzi Custom Homes builder Clayton Johnson has built high-end homes almost exclusively in Hays County. "Other than being close to home, I think the most attractive thing for me in Hays County is it's an expansion area," Johnson said. "It's a place where the value of real estate is still reasonable. I think the clients I have dealt with historically have wanted a Hill Country setting but not all the way into the Hill Country. It's close enough to Austin where they can have an easy commute."

Johnson's last few clients have been from California or the East Coast. It's a pattern being noticed by other real estate agents, as the Austin market remains healthy while other parts of the country continue to see a decline.

"A big part of the country's real estate market is in a recession," said Janice Hurst, a Realtor for Amelia Bullock Realtors.

"The families moving here have a lot of equity." Steve Mallett, real estate agent with Stanberry & Associates Realtors, said national media attention touting Austin as a solid real estate market and a hip place to live is drawing in others to the area from out of state.

"People are coming to see what it's all about," Mallett said, noting that just four years ago, he moved from California. "Then they head out to the Hill Country . . . where it gets really pretty and where they fall in love."

Pruitt caught the Hays County real estate fever five years ago and moved his family from Southwest Austin onto 5 acres in Dripping Springs, backing up to Barton Creek. His home has five bedrooms and five full and two half-bathrooms. It's an ideal way to raise his children, who fish in the creek, roam around the acreage and hunt for arrowheads, he says.

"It's hard to put a price on something like that," Pruitt said. "It's a different way of life."

His clients are looking for that same country living.

"It seems in the last five to 10 years . . . everyone's dream is to have a nice luxury home on some acreage," Pruitt said. "The acreage looks anywhere from 2 to 20 acres. . . . It's not a gentleman's ranch, but they want room to roam."

Resales have not appreciated as much, but the values of homes being built have gone up "dramatically," Pruitt said. Most of Pruitt's high-end buyers are from outside Texas, largely from California, though he has recently had some buyers from New York and New Jersey.

"Those are the ones driving the market for luxury homes," he said.

Raw land in Hays County is going for between $12,000 and $20,000 an acre, which still looks inexpensive in comparison with Austin. However, land in developed neighborhoods in Hays can easily go for $50,000 and $90,000 an acre, which is comparable to West Austin or West Lake Hills, Pruitt says.

Steve Chapman was a longtime resident of Austin but moved his family to a 23-acre homestead in Hays County in September.

"We were just trying to get out of town," Chapman said. "We've always been into the outdoors, and I was looking for a good deal." Chapman says his commute into Austin takes about the same amount of time he spent dealing with traffic from South Brodie Lane.

mtaboada@statesman.com; 912-2942