A version of this question comes up almost every time I’m working with someone new to the Highland Lakes: they’ve had lunch downtown, maybe walked out to the water at Lakeside Park, and they want to know if the town holds up once you’re not just visiting for the day. Marble Falls is the town […]
Living in Sunrise Beach Village, TX: Life in Lake LBJ’s Oldest No-Short-Term-Rental Town
I get asked about Sunrise Beach Village more than almost anywhere else on Lake LBJ, usually by people who’ve already ruled out Horseshoe Bay on price and want to know if there’s anywhere left on this lake that still feels like an actual small town instead of a subdivision with a lake view bolted on. […]
Living in Sherwood Shores, TX: Lake LBJ Access from a 1962 Ranch Subdivision
I get a version of the same conversation a few times a year with buyers who’ve spent a weekend out on Lake LBJ and don’t want to go home. They’ve usually already priced out Horseshoe Bay, or they’ve looked at the newer construction further down the shoreline and balked at what it costs to get […]
Living in Bee Cave, TX: Hill Country Views with a Real Town Center
I’ve sold homes in Bee Cave for years now, and the question I get most from buyers isn’t about the schools or the commute. It’s “wait, is this actually a separate town, or is it just part of Austin?” Fair question. Bee Cave is its own incorporated city in Travis County, with its own city […]
Living in Buda, TX: Small-Town Main Street With an Easy Run Up I-35
I’ve written contracts on houses in Buda where the sellers had lived there since before the H-E-B on Main Street existed, and I’ve helped young families close on new construction in subdivisions that were cattle pasture five years ago. Both of those are Buda right now, and honestly that’s the thing people ask me about […]
Living in Kyle, TX: Small-Town Roots and Big Growth South of Austin
I’ve sold homes on both sides of I-35 in Kyle for long enough now that I can tell you which streets pond up after a hard rain and which Plum Creek cul-de-sacs get shade in the afternoon before I ever pull an address. Kyle comes up in a lot of buyer conversations these days, usually […]
Living in Meadowlakes, TX: A Gated Golf Community on Lake Marble Falls
I get some version of this question every few months from buyers looking around the Highland Lakes: they’ve toured Horseshoe Bay, priced out Marble Falls proper, and someone mentioned a small gated neighborhood on Lake Marble Falls called Meadowlakes that they can’t find much about online. It’s a fair reaction. Meadowlakes doesn’t get the attention […]
Living in Horseshoe Bay, TX: Resort Life on Lake LBJ
I get a version of the same question every time someone drives out to Horseshoe Bay for the first time: is this actually a real town, or is it just a resort with a zip code? It’s a fair question, because the golf and the yacht club are what get people out here in the […]
Living in Cottonwood Shores, TX: A Small River Town Between Two Lakes
I get some version of the same question a few times a year from buyers who’ve just driven through Cottonwood Shores for the first time: is this town actually on the lake, or is it just close to it? It’s a fair question, and it’s one people get wrong more often than you’d think, usually […]
Living in Burnet, TX: County Seat Life Near the Highland Lakes
A good chunk of the calls I get about Burnet start from the same wrong assumption: people hear “Highland Lakes” and picture a town with docks and a shoreline, the same way Kingsland or Horseshoe Bay work. Burnet isn’t that. It sits back from the water, and once buyers understand why, it usually becomes the […]
Living in Pflugerville, TX: A Local Broker’s Guide to the Suburb North of Austin
I’ve sold houses on both sides of Pflugerville, the older streets near downtown and the newer sections off Pecan and Weiss, and I still get buyers who ask me to spell it for them. It’s a German name, and the town has German roots that go back to the 1850s, but what strikes people once […]
Living in Lago Vista, TX: Life on the Lake Travis Peninsula
I’ve shown property in Lago Vista in every season of the year, and the question I get asked in the truck on the way out there is almost always the same one: is this too far? People hear “lake town on a peninsula” and picture something remote, then they drive out RM 1431 for the […]
Living in Jonestown, TX: Life on the Quiet North Shore of Lake Travis
I get calls from buyers who found Jonestown on a map and want to know why it’s not on their radar sooner. Usually it’s the same story: they’ve been looking in Lakeway or Cedar Park, prices there make them wince, and then somebody mentions there’s a whole other lake town on the north shore of […]
Living in Driftwood, TX: Ranch Land, Wineries, and Hill Country Space Southwest of Austin
I’ve had buyers stand on a piece of land in Driftwood and ask me if the survey is wrong, because they can’t believe how much space is actually included. It isn’t wrong. That’s just Driftwood. If your reference point for Hays County is a standard subdivision lot, this part of the county resets your expectations, […]
Living in Manor, TX: A Farming Town Turned Growth Corridor East of Austin
I’ve written offers in Manor for buyers who got outbid three times in Mueller and finally found a house they could actually afford here. I’ve also sat across the table from sellers who bought a lot here five years ago for what felt like a gamble and watched their subdivision fill in around them. Manor […]
Living in Kingsland, TX: Life at the Confluence of Two Rivers on Lake LBJ
I get a version of the same phone call a few times a year: someone who fell in love with the Highland Lakes on a weekend trip, priced out Horseshoe Bay or Marble Falls, and asked whether there’s anywhere left out here that still feels like the lake country their grandparents talked about. My answer […]
Living in Highland Haven, TX: A Quiet Lake LBJ Community Near Marble Falls
I’ve shown property in Highland Haven a handful of times over the years, and every single time the buyer’s reaction on the drive in has been some version of “wait, this is it?” That’s not a knock. It’s the whole point of the place. Highland Haven is one of the smallest, quietest towns I work […]
Living in Granite Shoals, TX: Life on the Quiet Side of Lake LBJ
I get calls every few months from buyers who’ve driven through Granite Shoals on their way to Marble Falls, seen the lake glinting through the trees off FM 1431, and asked me why nobody talks about this place. Fair question. It sits right next to Marble Falls and Horseshoe Bay, two towns that get all […]
