Highly popular rental areas: Leander, Round rock, Cedar Park?

Question

Hello all,

I am looking at all three areas (or anywhere else if you know of) and wonder if there is one that is more popular than another for renters and reasons? Thank you. I am from California.

Sandra

Aaron Gordy · Answer

@Sandra Jorgensen

That is a tough question but lets let the numbers speak from the last year. There were only 7 duplex lease listings in the last 360 days in cedar park. Round rock had 221 duplex lease listings. There just isn't much duplex product in cedar park. There were 1008 overall lease listings in cedar park. There were 2120 lease listings in round rock. In round rock there were 1783 house lease listings as compared to 892 house lease listings in cedar park. There are leases that occur off the mls but those are the numbers showing up from the mls. Taking it a step further the median days on market for cedar park for houses is 19 days. Round rock is 21 days. Which one is more popular? I think its Round Rock since that is where the majority of lease listings are occurring.

Steve R. · Answer

I would argue that it really depends on a specific neighborhood inside each of these areas. There are some really desirable areas in Leander which could give run for the money to CP / RR neighborhoods. Especially the areas surrounding the Leander station is awaiting to explode. There is a new St Davids Medical center there and plan for a bigger hospital plus ACC campus/ Northline Downtown development and (the most obvious one) access to rail service. With Apple campus coming up and direct train service to Domain, I see this area to be fast developing and has a better chance of higher rental yields moving forward. Schools are pretty good as well. They opened up Glenn High school three years back, new middle school opening up this Fall and relatively new Elementary schools as well. School Ratings are bound to improve in this area too. So I feel that even though RR/CP might have an edge over Leander, I see the gap closing down and Leander edge forward in few years time.

Pflugerville is a good option too. Especially area near tech ridge. Lot of software companies moving in Parmer Innovation center. Austin MLS Soccer team is building a 45 million dollar training center. Looking at the plan of Parmer innovation center they have a really good vision (more like Domain-sque entertainment/ work colocation type development) and companies are leasing up the spaces so fast. Excited to see its development.

Dan Burstain · Answer

Timing is right as positive cash flow has come back to the Austin area in the form of new builds offering interest rate buy downs even for investors.  I personally like the $200K price points with cash flow 30-45 min from downtown Austin to appreciate nicely.  There is also a play for the $400K places near Leander but those places won't cash flow without significant down payment increases.

Shailesh Deshpande · Answer

I see that this is an old thread, but was hoping to get the latest here (dec 2023).

How does the area near northline/ Leander Springs look feom an investment standpoint? Has anything transpired over the last 4 years (obviously the pandemic) that has changed trajectory for Leander and the promised development in general?

My goal: Second investment property, looking for q starter home (3-4 bd, 2 bth) in the 350-400k range that promises good appreciation potential over 5 years and stable rentability. Obviously with current interest rates, breakeven seems far fethched!

I was looking at RR as well, but there are older homes there for my budget there. Leander just seemed more attractive given the promise of new development and train connection etc. Any advice or pointers from the community here?

Also any new construction/builders in the area that are investor friendly?

Thanks in advance!

Naren Chawla · Answer

Is Pfuggerville exploding in terms of capital appreciation?  How does is compare to Leander or Cedar Park?  Will we see more growth in Cedar Park or Leander or other areas?

Danny Webber · Answer

I do not think any are more statistically significant than the other when compared to home price/taxes/insurance in regard to cash flow. Appreciation will differ but base cash flow is still bad for most of these on the market.

If you buy with 25% down and avoid Mud's, Pud's, Hoa's, City taxes and flood plains you have a chance to make some money monthly

Neil Narayan · Answer

@Sandra Jorgensen

I find that the popularity goes Round Rock, Cedar Park (very close but can give you the reasons behind it) and then Leander. The other option you can want to consider is Pflugerville.

Ryan Kelly · Answer

@Sandra Jorgensen All of the communities have pluses and challenges based on your goals. Homes will be generally cheaper as you move east (with some exceptions), so around Rock and Pflugerville will have more affordable options compared with Cedar Park.

What type of property are you hoping to find?

Bryan Noth · Answer

@Sandra Jorgensen that is a tough to answer broadly because within the local municipalities of Round Rock, Leander, Cedar Park you have some areas that are developed and have established neighborhoods and commercial installments (retail, restaurants, etc) and some areas, many in fact, are still developing.  If you follow development and business news all of these areas have potential for growth based on projects in development as well as plans for future growth. North Austin in general has seen the bulk of the new home growth in Austin.   I would agree with @Neil Narayan that Round Rock probably has more interest with regard to rentals than Cedar Park, but it is a close race there and that is purely from my experience.

Costin I. · Answer

@Sandra Jorgensen @Neil Narayan - likely because Cedar Park is pretty much land locked, Round Rock is somewhat "central", good schools, good proximity to major employers, Leander is close to the new Apple campus, and with land availability somewhat cheaper?

Highly popular rental areas: Leander, Round rock, Cedar Park?

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