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Spring Branch Real Estate


jookyhc

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Needing more home space, I am reluctantly leaving the Heights. My wife teaches in Spring Branch ISD, and my son is already in school there, so we have selected Spring Branch as our new neighborhood. We're taking baby steps in our exodus to the 'burbs.

So. I'm meeting up with a real estate agent in the morning, and we're going to look at houses, and I'd like to know where we can expect street flooding in Spring Branch. We're actually looking pretty far west - generally speaking Gessner and Kempwood area. Does anyone know which roads we'll need to be wary of when the rain starts coming down?

We're not looking at anything in any floodplane, so we're generally not worried about property damage, we're just thinking about how easy it'll be to get home if we get one of those storms like we had in Oct. '03. Any tips on what to look out for, and advice for higher ground alt. routes would be greatly appreciated.

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Not sure what your price range is and needs but this type of townhome is still close in, very close and affords the Spring Branch schools for your kiddo. There is also a bedroom downstairs perfect for your son or daughter.

Here is the info off of www.har.com

--

$429,000

Address: 1218 E Hunters Creek Way

Property Type: Single Family Homes

Status: ACTIVE ON MARKET

Bedrooms: 3 Bedroom(s)

Baths: 2 Full & 1 Half Bath(s)

Garage: 3 CAR Attached

Stories: 3 STORY

Style: Mediterranean

Year Built: 2004

Build Sqft: 2,510

New Constr: Completed but never lived in

Subd: Hunters Creek Villas

Mrkt Area: Spring Branch

City: Houston

Zip Code: 77055

Keymap: PAGE 451X

MLS# / Area: 8717553 / 24-SPRING BRANCH

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ALL

1228 E Hunters Creek Way

This is the last home available by builder in carefully designed community. Hunters Creek Villas offers luxurious patio homes with close to town living. Sumptuous extras are standard amenities in this home. Plasma Television included in family room. Call for appointment or drive by. This home is close to many major freeways and the Galleria. There are great schools nearby the community is in a very desireable area.

Living: 16x18

Dining: 13x12

Kitchen: 12x12

Breakfast: 10x12

1st Bed: 12x19

2nd Bed: 13x12

3rd Bed: 16x23

Utility Room Desc: Utility Rm In House

Prewired for Alarm System

Fireplace: 1 / Gaslog Fireplace

Dishwasher: Yes

Disposal: Yes

Compactor: No

Microwave: Yes

Range: Gas Range

Oven: Electric Oven

BedRooms: Master Bed - 3rd Floor

Heating: Central Electric, Central Gas

Cooling: Central Electric

District: SPRING BRANCH

Elem Sch: Hunters Creek

Middle Sch: Spring Branch

High Sch: Memorial

(INFORMATION SHOULD BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED)

Controlled Subdivision Access

Extr Constrn: Stucco

Private Pool: No

Lot Desc: Clear, Patio Lot

Roof: Tile

Foundation: Slab

--

Good luck,

Scharpe St. Guy

Needing more home space, I am reluctantly leaving the Heights. My wife teaches in Spring Branch ISD, and my son is already in school there, so we have selected Spring Branch as our new neighborhood. We're taking baby steps in our exodus to the 'burbs.

So. I'm meeting up with a real estate agent in the morning, and we're going to look at houses, and I'd like to know where we can expect street flooding in Spring Branch. We're actually looking pretty far west - generally speaking Gessner and Kempwood area. Does anyone know which roads we'll need to be wary of when the rain starts coming down?

We're not looking at anything in any floodplane, so we're generally not worried about property damage, we're just thinking about how easy it'll be to get home if we get one of those storms like we had in Oct. '03. Any tips on what to look out for, and advice for higher ground alt. routes would be greatly appreciated.

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The area you are talking about is not that bad. I have a friend at work that moved in just west of Gessner south of Hamerly. The homes are nice ranches with LARGE yards and much cheaper than the price quoted above.

The trees are all full grown and shade the area very well. I haven't heard of any complaints of flooding from him either.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A coworker of mine also lives in that area and raves about it. He lives in a small area north of 10, west of Gessner, south of Westview, and east of the Belt. That area has some really good prices.

I will say that Gessner floods@10 after almost any good rainstorm due to the ridge just north of 10. In the last 2 months, I can think of maybe three times when Gessner was barely passable from 10 to Westview--plus the Memorial City lights add to the traffic problem.

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You can also go to the products section where you can download teh map panels in PDF. No reason to download the 100 or so panels, just the ones that concern you. These aren't official and they may change by the time they area.

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  • 1 year later...

What is the general consensus of this area. Is it prime location for rebirth. Ive driven up and down Hammerly, Kempwood, and Long Point. The location is ideal to most downtown locations, galleria, energy corridor, and other major employment areas.

Is it a safe bet to buy a home in this area? As of now, I see a few pockets of revitalization, but Im just not sure I can pinpoint a specific area.

Ive found a home that has potential, nice quite cul-de-sac street, and has great curb appeal.

Any thoughts on this area is appreciated.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The older neighborhoods closer to Beltway 8 are good, but Long Point headed toward Beltway 8 is kind of run down. The area near that Spring Branch hospital has gotten very poor. Then again, there are lots of poor pocket areas closer to 610 as well. I'd say if you go closer to Beltway, it's nicer on the far northern most part of Spring Branch, and if you go toward 610, it's better the closer you are to I-10. Anything along Westview is going to be nice.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I drove through the areas of Shadow Bend and Royal Oaks (the OLD Royal Oaks in Spring Branch, not the new subdivision over by Kirkwood/Westheimer) today and I just LOVED Royal Oaks. I also liked Spring Lea, which is the neighborhood just behind the grain elevator-cum-storage unit off of Lumpkin Road. Hubby and I are looking. It's a neat, neat area. Royal Oaks looks IDENTICAL (and in fact, some of the homes are) to Memorial Plaza and Rustling Oaks, but the lots are larger in R.O. and the trees are enormous pines instead of oaks. I felt like I was in a different city! It was definitely worth checking out. The demographics are interesting, but I think that is mostly due to low-rent apartments along the north and east side of the area. It is SBISD, and both Shadow Bend and Westwood Elementaries have "Acceptable" ratings. It would be nice to see that improve over the next few years.

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  • 5 weeks later...

My Dad used to have a townhome near Spring Woods High. Some of the homes around there aren't bad, but he had his place broke into a couple of times and his car stolen once. I think it gets a little better when you get more north torwards Clay Road, around Northbrook High School.

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  • 2 months later...
http://home.houston.rr.com/ecarlson/crimestats/4F10.html

Check out the crime maps to see what's going on. Click on the ballons to see what happened where. I lived in Spring Branch 20 years ago, was thinking about moving back but Ijust see too much riff raff roaming around. love the old houses and trees though.

Must rival (neck to neck) with Gulfton/Sharpstown area.

Big question for anyone! Does anyone know what the original idea was for the birth of Spring Branch way back when????

I worked with a much older friend that told me he and his new wife bought a home circa 1962 when the area was in it's prime. There is only one thing I can think of that brought it to it's knees.

Low rent apartments right/wrong???

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I think that you have to be careful as to how you read this map. The link that was provided related to one section of the crime beat. Look at this map for 2006 Top 35 Street Blocks (reported by incident).

Based on what this person has on his website, I think that his data / map is generally reliable to review in comparison across the city. Houston Crime Maps and Statistics

Fact is that crime happens everywhere - urban / suburban / rural (of course, the maps above only cover incidents in the City of Houston). This is something that we all deal with as we are a highly mobile city - going from job center to home to restaurant to visiting family. It comes down to being cautious and smart to avoid being victimized.

Separately, I think that Spring Branch has a high upside based on the value of the neighborhoods, location and the exciting projects occurring at Memorial City and CityCentre Houston (old T&C Mall). I grew up in this area and my wife and I have family there still. I plan to personally explore investment possibilities in this area because I think this market is undervalued.

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  • 3 months later...
Must rival (neck to neck) with Gulfton/Sharpstown area.

Big question for anyone! Does anyone know what the original idea was for the birth of Spring Branch way back when????

I worked with a much older friend that told me he and his new wife bought a home circa 1962 when the area was in it's prime. There is only one thing I can think of that brought it to it's knees.

Low rent apartments right/wrong???

RIGHT!!!

The great thing though is the apartments are coming down and no new ones are going up.

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RIGHT!!!

The great thing though is the apartments are coming down and no new ones are going up.

Thank you! for agreeing that is....

I recall one of my last visits to the area was a few years ago and I was driving down Gessner I think and it was like living hell. It did look just like Gulfton area. I turned around asap as I and my car stood out like sore thumb. The majority of mega-complex apts seemed at least 35 years old and in serious decay. Almost everywhere I looked there was BIG grafitti not small but big and layer upon layer. Even cops werent to be seen. Packing an AK-47 is order of the day it seemed.

Destroying those apts is a great start. Sadly though the tenants only move elsewhere and as the saying goes trouble follows. I wish all and everyone in Spring Branch for a real great bounce back. I know its tough. :wacko:

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I recall one of my last visits to the area was a few years ago and I was driving down Gessner I think and it was like living hell. It did look just like Gulfton area. I turned around asap as I and my car stood out like sore thumb. The majority of mega-complex apts seemed at least 35 years old and in serious decay. Almost everywhere I looked there was BIG grafitti not small but big and layer upon layer. Even cops werent to be seen. Packing an AK-47 is order of the day it seemed.

Man, would you make for a good fiction writer.

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Man, would you make for a good fiction writer.

I agree with Jeebus.

Can you be more specific about where you drove on Gessner?

I would imagine certain neighborhoods / sections would not share your viewpoint. For example, the section between Hammerly and Clay, which is right in the center of North Gessner in Spring Branch has seen quite a bit of value maintained over the years as well as new value appreciation from recent developments (commercial, residential). Likewise, if you take Hammerly east past Gessner, you will find many homes that have good valuations. These neighborhoods collectively reference themselves as Spring Shadows, but they are in the Spring Branch area.

Lastly, with MetroNational's multi-billion dollar project looming on the southside of the freeway from Gessner and newer high-end commercial and residential development drifting west from the Memorial Villages on the northside of the freeway, there is great upside in the area. As I understand, MetroNational has been cobbling large land tracts in this area for years at below market values so that it can make the proper massive redevelopment once the Katy Freeway expansion is completed. Think of all of the people who work in Downtown, the Galleria, Westchase, Greenway Plaza, the Energy Corridor, but they live 20-25+ miles further west in Katy. Memorial is too expensive, but just to the north of there is a great school district (of which Memorial and Stratford are a part) with lots of land to be redeveloped as well as still existing quality neighborhoods... and, hey, best of all, you just shaved 30-45 minutes off of your commute each way!

How does the Rolling Stones song go? "Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiime ... is on my side. Yes, it is."

But go ahead and perpetuate the myth as it makes the land cheaper for those of us buyers out there. Thanks!

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  • 2 weeks later...

i'm guessing the apartments on pitner are still there. i used to live there. saw my first shooting at the basketball court at hollibrook elementary. that strip between hollister and clay was more hood 30 years ago than some of the areas in SW Houston are now...

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  • 2 months later...

Anything bad happened in Frostwood (the subdivision)? I thought it's a nice and safe neighbourhood. Would appreciate if you may share more details.

I know a lot of Frostwood residents are jumping ship because of crime. Spring Branch neighborhoods south of 10 are still very strong. We sold our home in 4 days at full asking price with 3 backup offers.
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Anything bad happened in Frostwood (the subdivision)? I thought it's a nice and safe neighbourhood. Would appreciate if you may share more details.

+

Frostwood homes sell within a week and over 500k. SO if people are jumping ship, others are boarding as fast as they can. Crime maps don't show anything other than stolen cars off the street. Lots of stuff along the freeway, but that's all over Houston.

PS- I just looked at the crime maps again. There is nothing going on in Frostwood except stolen cars and DUIs down Gessner. Stolen cars happen all over town, and if you are going to leave your car on a dark, neighborhood street overnight, its going to get broken into at some point.

ALso, when we were looking at Memorial homes, hubby wouldn't even consider anything around Gessner. Bunker Hill East or Beltway to the west to Kirkwood was the boundry.ANd always north of the bayou and south of I-10.

Edited by KatieDidIt
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I have a family member that lives near I-10 and Wirt, and the area has seen real change over the last few years. Once you get closer to Wirt and Hammerly, the area definitely has a different feel, mostly due to the large/older apartment complexes. I've driven the area at all hours of the day, and not once have I felt unsafe. Before deciding on Oak Forest, my wife and I seriously looked at a couple lots in the Wirt/Hammerly area, but ultimately decided we didn't want to build. Not too familiar with the Western portion of SB.

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  • 3 months later...

tried to search but didnt see anything...we are trying to move out of the east end to a place with better schools. A friend said the schools are really good in the area, but I didnt see anything to support on har. Is this a nice neighborhood, or ghetto? I love the mods over there, but also notice prices are a little low...what gives?

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Depends on where you are. That area is "more Houston than Houston" so to say.

You can be drving through a rather poor and beat-up section of crappy apartments and pawn shops and then two blocks later you're looking at $800,000 homes. For this reason there are a lot of little gated streets and cul-de-sacs, which makes the area seem a little bit segregated to me.

A lot of people don't like this but if you are willing to live next to something a little less desirable, you might find a bargain, especially considering that there is a lot of redevelopment going on similar to what's happening in Meyerland and Oak Forest.

Generally speaking , the closer to I-10 you are, the nicer the houses and businesses and Westview is somewhat nicer than Long Point. The further west you go, the area also deteriorates a little bit, especially between Campbell and Gessner, which somewhat corresponds to the dividing line between Memorial and Spring Woods high schools.

Edited by cottonmather0
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