HAVE HOME PRICES IN LINDALE PARK REALLY JUMPED THAT MUCH, THAT FAST? 
“I’d be curious to know what your more knowledgeable readers think about the rising prices in Lindale Park,” a reader writes. “Just today I saw this listing — for north of $400k! Over the past couple of months there have been a number of homes listed, and quickly pending, for around $300k. Most (all?) of these appear to have been flipped.
I bought my (not updated, in need of work, but a not-bad 3-2) house in Lindale Park for around $150k in 2010. There were a number of factors to picking Lindale Park, but the biggest was that we could get a decent-sized house in a close-in neighborhood that seemed to be on the up-and-up without breaking the bank. (The rail was a big reason too.) But when I saw this home — big and updated but right on 610 — for more than $400k . . . my jaw dropped.” [Swamplot inbox] Photo of 511 Kelley St.: HAR
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It seems that answer is yes. There was a nicely done, albeit small one on the “wood” side, (one side of Irvington is referred to as the brick side, and one side the wood side, in reference to the majority of houses being brick or frame), that fetched around $330,00 and another one closer to Cavalcade that did the same thing. Considering what houses in Brooke-Smith are fetching, it isn’t that surprising to see it jump 45 to Lindale Park, where you have the light rail and larger lots, (generally).
That price seems insane to me. It’s big and has been remuddled into 2014 but the 610 is over the backyard fence…that sort of “inside the loop” living should be priced accordingly.
I don’t know if this is part of the equation yet, but I bet it will be soon: Lindale Park is pursuing minimum lot size protections for their entire neighborhood, and if successful it will be one of the neighborhoods with largest lots inside the loop. It is also right on the rail line, which is of value, but has lead to a lot of really high prices for property throughout the northside as people try to figure out what things are worth.
Not just Lindale Park. Down here in the vicinity of Reliant (sorry, N-Er-Gee), a modest 60 yo home, somewhat updated, sold for $325,00 in November 2013. With no changes, and even with the same listing photos, this property is now being offered for $525,000. Surrounding comps would be less than $400k, to my untrained eye, and Zillow and HCAD says ~ $340,000. So maybe this is just a case of seller’s delusions.
speaking of delusions – house on Scotland listed for $750,000 or $150/PSF; it promises nothing would be built on the park land in front of it. Any thoughts?
Lindale Park had good value going into the boom. It has always been a neighborhood of well kept homes and has avoided the decay that has plagued many other neighborhoods in the area. There were well kept homes selling for $250k right before the boom. 2010 was about the bottom of the market. The near northside is a good place for long money. It will not boom the way things are booming west of I-45. But, as pricing climb higher on the west side of town, more people become interested. Once quickly growing areas like Shady Acres, Cottage Grove and First Ward get built out, a lot of interest will turn towards the near northside. Lindale Park will definitely continue to see solid appreciation, but not yet on the scale of GOOF/Greater Heights. 5-10 years out.
I’m alarmed at all of the cash deals occurring in the Houston area. A large number of these homes are being bought by investors (many of whom don’t even live in Houston or TX) and either being rented out for huge sums or flipped for short-term profit. Surely this is having an effect on the rapid escalation of home sales.
that squeaking you hear is the bubble, just wait, it will pop….again
Gisgo, sadly, the listing agent is an owner of that property. It is WAY overpriced, but I imagine that none of us could convince him of that. One would hope that he’d be a little more knowledgeable of prices in the area.
If one were a realtor, and weren’t necessarily looking to move, is there any cost to listing your home at a “make me move” (as seen on zillow) price? Maybe someone will just fall in love or just fall for it more generally.
With respect to the prospect of minimum lot size protections, the Lindale Park neighborhood is a great candidate to be preserved. That being said, one must also consider the highest and best use for the land nearest the light rail–maybe properties abutting Fulton should not be included? By preserving the neighborhood with its current lot size, the adjacent land between 45 and Fulton becomes that much more valuable and therefore higher density development will follow. Perhaps counter intuitively, by setting a minimum lot size for the neighborhood, the resulting development pattern is of greater density. Simple supply and demand I suppose. By taking Lindale Park off the radar of developers for townhouses, the land west of Fulton would seem prime for multi-story apartments, especially next to a desirable neighborhood of appreciating houses.
Awp: lots of agents (or people using agents desperate for a listing) will toss a property up on HAR and use it exactly as you describe. They’re using HAR as the equlivient of the zillow “make me move”.
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There are tons of listing by people who don’t WANT to sell but rather they WOULD sell (huge difference). And since this market is going nuts, people will toss their property up at a crazy price to see if anyone bites.
“And since this market is going nuts, people will toss their property up at a crazy price to see if anyone bites.”
And to me that’s a sign of a market top….especially is there are people who actually bite. The agent that listed that might actually know what he/she is doing and is hoping to sell into the peak of the overinflated bubble.
As if someone could know where the top of the market is. Back in 2002 I didn’t want to buy a smallish bungalow in the Woodlands Heights for ~190k ’cause I thought I might be buying in a peak market and that’s what everyone was saying….. oh well.
Does anyone know what the rental market is like in Lindale Park, particularly in the not-a-million-dollars range? Is there anything left there for $1200 or less? Is it dumb to rent there because the owner is just going to sell it in a year anyway?
I see things suddenly falling off over the last couple weeks in both Lindale Park and BrookeSmith. This one that was over 400k in Lindale Park is no longer listed in MLS and could not sell even after a significant price reduction; it over-priced the area. Several houses that couldn’t sell are now for lease or are simply sitting vacant. I live in Lindale Park, and while it is pretty nice, you are still awakened by gunshots every few months, schools are poor, and there is drug dealing very close by many parts. Same is even more true for BrookeSmith (which also has a transient hotel). Add to that that most homes in Lindale Park and BrookeSmith have poor, antiquated sewer lines, plumbing, electrical, etc. Trust me when I say that homes in neither of these place should fetch more than 25% of HCAD market value; it is simply not justified. Living closer to town is not worth the savings in drive-time if you simply end up having to work overtime or weekends simply to pay the grossly inflated cost of living for Lindale Park.
We have lived in Lindale Park for over ten years and have never had any issues…love the quality of homes, large lots, great neighbors and the continued appreciation of price. It’s definitely the best bang for your buck inside the loop and yes 610 is in the backyard, it’s wonderful, you can jump on 610, I-10, the Hardy and rail for quick access to any point in Houston! We have done significant remodeling to our home and will continue as many of our neighbors. Lindale Park should not be overlooked as a great investment for the East Heights area!