Austin may have a long-established tradition of vibrant nightlife, a cutting edge music scene, and enough Longhorns to throw the biggest barbecue in Texas, but in its more residential areas, Austin offers new (and often luxurious) communities built with you and the family in mind.

Santa Rita Ranch

One of the Austin area's newest master-planned communities Santa Rita Ranch combines a neighborhood feel with Hill Country style. Kids walk to school (at either the Georgetown or Liberty Hills ISD) here, and skipping rocks in the San Gabriel River is actually a thing people do. Santa Rita offers a family sports complex and sports fields; pools and splash park; a vibrant town center; and a web of hiking, biking, and nature trails from your own backyard.

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Top 5 Austin Neighborhoods - Communities

Austin residents take great pride in the eccentricities of the city, and celebrate the variety of entertainment available to them. Austin is an ideal place for families, especially the ones who are just building their own. Whether you are looking to rent or buy a new home, the communities in south, north and central Austin are your best choices.

The following are the top 5 Austin neighborhoods/communities you may want to check out when looking to buy or rent a place to stay within the area:

Clarksville

The closest community to the central downtown, Clarksville is perfect for those people who wish to enjoy the convenience of being close to the business district yet similar to the feel of a conventional…

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Buying the right home for you takes more than knowing your price range and what area you’d like to live in. It also takes the right agent to help you find a place to make you happy.

Your best bet is to work with a VIP Realty agent. VIP agents have vast expertise in markets, market conditions, trends, and more. Our agents know that more homes are available than are actively advertised. When you work with a VIP agent and tell us what you’re looking for, and where you want to call home, we can help you find homes that are available, but not listed on public sites. This gives you the advantage of access to a deeply knowledgeable resource and improves your odds of getting the home you want most, without worrying about too much competition.

Our agents are…

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Sure, Austin may be “weird.” It may be the capital of cool for the college-aged. But don’t overlook the fact that Austin and its surroundings offer some of the finest master-planned communities for families and those looking to live a little better than the dorm life at UT.

Crystal Falls

In 2014, two Austin communities earned spots on the prestigious John Burns Real Estate Consulting list as the best-selling master-planned communities in America. One is Crystal Falls, a 5,000-acre slice of Hill Country bliss that touts itself as “the last untouched landscape of true Hill Country living in Austin's booming northwest corridor.”  Crystal falls also was named Austin’s top master-planned community of the year, and it’s easy to see why ‒‒ 2,000-pound,…

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So you're ready to buy a house. How exciting! Naturally, the first thing you do is throw yourself into a full-scale house hunt. You spend hours browsing listing after listing on all the popular sites, falling in love with one house after another, and rejecting a few along the way. You may even stop by a few open-house events if they're close enough, just to see what a favorite of yours looks like in person.

When you finally find a house you think will work for you, you contact the real estate agent listed on the ad and set up a time to meet to view the house. When you fall in love with it - with pre-approved financing, of course - you decide you're ready to make an offer. But who is going to be your agent?

Contrary to the belief of some, the…

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When it comes to financing your new home, one of the most important (and often sleep-ruining) decisions you will have to make is whether you should go with a 15-year or a 30-year mortgage. What makes the decision so agonizing is knowing that both forms of mortgage come with significant pros and significant cons. And while only you can make the ultimate decision that makes you comfortable, it pays to know these pros and cons well before you decide. And, hopefully, get some good sleep.

Advantages of a 15-year Mortgage

The most obvious advantage to a 15-year mortgage is that you will pay it off in half the time. And there’s nothing like outright owning the place you live. Another distinct advantage, if you qualify for a 15-year plan, is that interest…

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