New Construction in Austin

[Laurie Wang]

Hi BP community. My partner and I are looking into new construction neighborhoods in Austin, TX for single family homes to buy and hold as rental properties. We're investing out of state and find new construction attractive due to the low maintenance required, home warranties, and the likelihood that we could manage the property ourselves (vs. paying a prop management company). It also seems that we may be able to get better deals from working with builders' lenders, but I haven't verified this yet. The main con of new construction seems to be that appreciation may be slower, especially in the first few years as other new properties come online next door.  

Does anyone have experience with this? What are the advantages and disadvantages? 

What developments and/or builders would you recommend? I'm primarily looking at new communities in Lakeway and the North Austin suburbs (e.g., Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Leander) due to the good schools and not-too-bad commutes to downtown.

Thanks!