Why Is Telfair So Expensive

[vidyabhi]

I am looking to buy a new home at Sugarland, staying as close as possible to highway 59. I read about Telfair from this forum and had a look for myself. This new development looked good but what absolutely confounds me are the prices - does anyone have an idea, what is it that Telfair has, that the prices are marked so much higher compared to new homes by the same builders in other nearby places - there are hardly any homes selling for anything less than 300,000.

Also can anyone suggest me some good areas in Sugarland very close to hwy 59, where I can go looking for homes not older than 2/3 years ?

Any help, advice is very well appreciated.

[Jeebus]

Name some of the other places nearby where you saw similar housing for less. Then we could possibly tell you why.

I can tell you from my initial outlook, that the prices seem on par with other developments around.

[UrbaNerd]

Try Greatwood. The houses are usually just as nice as the ones in Telfair, and there are a lot on the market that are less than 3 yrs old. Furthermore, they are priced about -75k-150k less than brand new ones in Telfair, are further away from 59 (still close access, but far less noise, unless you live in the Manor section), and more heavily forested.

435k in Telfair:

315k in Greatwood: A tad older than you may like, but there are others in this range; I just selected this one since it was built by the same homebuilder as the latter.

[mrfootball]

Looks like any other $300-400k house you'd find in the treeless developments around the city. Greatwood is nicer, overall IMO.

Edited June 17, 2007 by mrfootball

[Jeebus]

Greatwood is nice, as long as you don't mind taking 15-20 minutes to get out of the neighborhood - literally. There are two ways in & two ways out. Even if you happen to live by one of the entrances/exits, you'll still be waiting behind all the other SUV driving soccer moms in the mornings & evenings. I think this is why Telfair is selling for more. You have multiple entry & exit points. You're also closer to the SH6/US59 corridor along with Town Square, among other things.

The only thing I don't like about Telfair is that there are no existing trees like Greatwood. The developer can't help that though, as they were sold the land as cow pasture.

[ProHouston]

I am looking to buy a new home at Sugarland, staying as close as possible to highway 59. I read about Telfair from this forum and had a look for myself. This new development looked good but what absolutely confounds me are the prices - does anyone have an idea, what is it that Telfair has, that the prices are marked so much higher compared to new homes by the same builders in other nearby places - there are hardly any homes selling for anything less than 300,000.

Also can anyone suggest me some good areas in Sugarland very close to hwy 59, where I can go looking for homes not older than 2/3 years ?

Any help, advice is very well appreciated.

Telfair is being built on the last, best parcel in Sugar Land. Just like in every real estate transaction, you're paying for location. There are no other locations left in Sugar Land like Telfair, hence the prices.

[TheNiche]

Telfair is being built on the last, best parcel in Sugar Land. Just like in every real estate transaction, you're paying for location. There are no other locations left in Sugar Land like Telfair, hence the prices.

Yep, that's the simplest and best explanation. One thing I don't like about Telfair, though, is that it is directly in the flight path of Sugar Land Regional Airport.

[dalparadise]

Yep, that's the simplest and best explanation. One thing I don't like about Telfair, though, is that it is directly in the flight path of Sugar Land Regional Airport.

Oh, it's more than that. Telfair is practically right at the threshold of Runway 35. I do touch-and-gos there on weekends, sometimes. I fly in just a few hundred feet above where houses will someday be. My little Piper Cherokee probably won't stir up anyone in the neighborhood, but the line of Hawker and Citation jets that fly in there sure will.

SGR recently renovated and continues to build to attract even more business jet traffic, too. I'm betting residents and the airport will forever be at odds.

Edited June 18, 2007 by dalparadise

[The Great Hizzy!]

Telfair is being built on the last, best parcel in Sugar Land. Just like in every real estate transaction, you're paying for location. There are no other locations left in Sugar Land like Telfair, hence the prices.

Just wait until they annex more land to the southwest heading towards Richmond on US 59.

Telfair does potentially have an ideal location relative to everything in the Sugarland/NE Fortbend County area but it'll take it a while to mature. The lack of trees is an obvious drawback. It's very similar to the affect seen in parts of Round Rock and Frisco.

Edited June 18, 2007 by The Great Hizzy!

[Subdude]

Greatwood is nice, as long as you don't mind taking 15-20 minutes to get out of the neighborhood - literally. There are two ways in & two ways out. Even if you happen to live by one of the entrances/exits, you'll still be waiting behind all the other SUV driving soccer moms in the mornings & evenings. I think this is why Telfair is selling for more. You have multiple entry & exit points.

Friends who used to live there said exactly the same thing, that it was awful getting in and out, expecially in the mornings. Too bad these developments never try grid plans.

[Vertigo58]

Simple, to keep out the riff raff crowd.

[vidyabhi]

Guys, thanks so much for replying - I can see now why Telfair is more expensive. Actually my budget is around 260/270, which is the maximum that I can afford - at the same time I want something as close as possible to hwy 59 and the house shouldn't be more than, say 3 years old. I guess, with my budget, Telfair is out of question - is there a chance I can look elsewhere to satisfy my requirements ( Greatwood ofcourse, as you guys pointed out, is a place I need to go and look at ) - any other suggestions?

thanks

[blocked writer]

Guys, thanks so much for replying - I can see now why Telfair is more expensive. Actually my budget is around 260/270, which is the maximum that I can afford - at the same time I want something as close as possible to hwy 59 and the house shouldn't be more than, say 3 years old. I guess, with my budget, Telfair is out of question - is there a chance I can look elsewhere to satisfy my requirements ( Greatwood ofcourse, as you guys pointed out, is a place I need to go and look at ) - any other suggestions?

thanks

I'm pretty sure that anything that is less than 3 years old is going to be deep down in Greatwood, making 59 access an issue.

[Pumapayam]

Try Greatwood.

Greatwood is nice, but you really have to go out of your way and be patient with trafiic for at least the near term until they finish the 59 expansion project.

[Jeebus]

Guys, thanks so much for replying - I can see now why Telfair is more expensive. Actually my budget is around 260/270, which is the maximum that I can afford - at the same time I want something as close as possible to hwy 59 and the house shouldn't be more than, say 3 years old. I guess, with my budget, Telfair is out of question - is there a chance I can look elsewhere to satisfy my requirements ( Greatwood ofcourse, as you guys pointed out, is a place I need to go and look at ) - any other suggestions?

thanks

Try Glen Laurel off of Airport, east of SH6 . They're all less than 3 for under 300k. Try Village of Oak Lake off of Airport, west of SH6. They're all 10 to 15, but again under 300k. That will put you close to the "Shug". Glen Laurel is actually inside the SL city limits. Village of Oak Lake is not, but supposedly part of a future annexation plan.

Anything north of that begins to become hit or miss.

Oh, try the subdivision off of First Colony Blvd, behind the Lowes shopping center off of US59. I think its called Lakes of First Colony. Those are less than 10 & under 300k I think.

[aapchad]

We recently bought in Telfair and found that the prices were actually more competitive than buying an older SL home, say 8-15 years old, and then having to rehab it. We looked all over SL and kept running into owners who wanted pricing that was too high given the condition of the homes. For example, we found several really nice homes in the Commonwealth area that were about 300k. However, the kitchens needed complete overhauls, the bathrooms were equally uninspiring, so we'd estimate 30k to renovate. For that price and minus the hassle, we bought a Trendmaker home on a 12000 sq foot lot, with 3000 sq feet, for right at 332k. We kicked in a further 15k for some extras and we were done.

We were told that some of the builders really did a poor job of bidding their lots when Newland put them on the market, so they overpaid for their lots and now try to pass that screw up onto the buyers. Trendmaker apparently got it right from the start and virtually all of their lots are gone and homes built.

The key to the area is the location and how eventually (probably a year), there will be a direct connection to HW90 & HW6. We work in the Galleria area and it takes about 20-25 minutes to reach our offices. We're thrilled with that. We've seen the full area plan and its going to be a great great place to live with walking to restaurants, pavillons, shopping, etc.

Obviously, there is a wide range of prices in the development, but there is going to be a new section opening in a few months that will have homes in the 275-500s.

[amdave]

Telfair is no more expensive than Riverstone, another new development in SL/MC.

The best place to live in Sugar Land is Sweetwater/Avalon - beautiful area.

[sjetexas]

Finding a home in Sugar Land that is both under 260k and less than 3 years old is going to be a frustrating experience. I tried it last year, and gave that idea up pretty quick. Your only option will be Greatwood (freaking BFE, IMO...and technically not even Sugar Land yet (not FBISD if you have kids)) or maybe the Glen Laurel area. We finally decided on getting an older house (early 90s) in First Colony. I've done the new construction thing before I got my current home, and it does not compare to being in a great location in a slightly older home.

[pganju]

I second that. My husband and I just bought a house early 9o's in a good location. We felt that the location was more important than how new the house was. Next week we start renovations, I would rather put in what I want. I actually felt that the older homes seemed to be built better than the newer ones.

[icon7]

My wife and I are sitting back at looking how Telfair come up. At the same time, we are looking for anything decent that pops up in the Avalon/Sweetwater Area too. I convinced her to wait a year if necessary, so that we can really be sure if we want to live in Sugar Land. We are also considering The Woodlands, West U, and Bellaire. we are leaning towards Sugar Land and the Woodlands because they are more conservative areas and are really good places to raise a family. Too many flakes and fruits in West U.

[donnieyen]

Telfair is over-priced. Stay away!!.....the more people stay out of Telfair, the better the traffic will be for me when i continue to drive to work everyday....

[LongMeadowFarms]

Location may be the reason why Telfair is so high, but at what price?

My home in Long Meadow Farms is a Village Builder plan that is also offered in Telfair. Village's current price sheet for my home in LMF is $296,900. In Telfair, the same exact plan is $380,900. Both homes are identical, same GE Profile appliances, same Acme brick, same everything. The plan in LMF is on larger lots too.

Is location really worth $84,000 at 6%+ over 30 years? Nope. That amount of money will pay for a heck of a lot of tolls on the Westpark and pay for the gas needed to drive on it!

[sifuwong]

With the current real estate market, it is going to be a long time before Telfair starts really selling. Already way over priced, it will get worse for the builders.

[westguy76]

My wife and I are sitting back at looking how Telfair come up. At the same time, we are looking for anything decent that pops up in the Avalon/Sweetwater Area too. I convinced her to wait a year if necessary, so that we can really be sure if we want to live in Sugar Land. We are also considering The Woodlands, West U, and Bellaire. we are leaning towards Sugar Land and the Woodlands because they are more conservative areas and are really good places to raise a family. Too many flakes and fruits in West U.

If these are your qualifications and you are considering these areas why not consider the Cinco ranch area? just curious?

[KatieDidIt]

My wife and I are sitting back at looking how Telfair come up. At the same time, we are looking for anything decent that pops up in the Avalon/Sweetwater Area too. I convinced her to wait a year if necessary, so that we can really be sure if we want to live in Sugar Land. We are also considering The Woodlands, West U, and Bellaire. we are leaning towards Sugar Land and the Woodlands because they are more conservative areas and are really good places to raise a family. Too many flakes and fruits in West U.

Look at the taxes and the pro-rated association fees of the Woodlands before you leap. The schools are very average, yet far more socially safe than the Houston norm. As to the conservation issue, yes its religious but I found most of our neighbors to be liberals from New England and California.

[Jeebus]

With the current real estate market, it is going to be a long time before Telfair starts really selling. Already way over priced, it will get worse for the builders.

You say that, but my wife and I drove through and looked at homes in Telfair Sunday. I can tell you that there seems to be no shortage of buyers just based on the number of homes under construction.

[energyman2005]

It looks like they've started clearing land on the south side of 59 (across the highway from Telfair). Is this another phase of Telfair, or another project altogether? Aren't they supposed to be building a park just south of UH-Sugar Land as well?

Also, it looks like 59 is a week or two away from being completed out to the river. This should alleviate some evening rush hour traffic.

[eduag]

It is another phase of Telfair.... I think 59 is going to take more like 10 months to finish??

Hwy 6 at Hwy 90 should be done in October

[Pumapayam]

It is another phase of Telfair.... I think 59 is going to take more like 10 months to finish??

Hwy 6 at Hwy 90 should be done in October

Can we merge this with the original Telfair article?

[energyman2005]

They are nearly finished with the highway out until just before the Brazos River (i.e. just past University exit).

Currently the road reduces to two lanes at Highway 6; it looks like the lane reduction will now occur about 2 miles further down. This should allow the Telfair and New Territory people to get off the freeway without much of a problem. It will definitely reduce evening commutes.

But you are correct in that the rest of the construction job (i.e. from University to Grand Parkway) is still a year away from completion. The construction of the 10-lane bridge over the Brazos River will take forever to complete.