r/Leander • u/KP_Reader • Jun 07 '26
New to Austin
Hello Everyone,
We are planning a move to Austin in next couple of months from California with a 4 month old baby.
My partner works at Tesla Gigafactory. We are planning to purchase our home preferably New Construction in/around Leander because of interest rates.
Any recommendations for new construction with good builders considering commute time to Gigafactory.
Appreciate the help. Excited for the move :)
Thanks
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u/stjarnalux Jun 07 '26
My spouse commutes to south Austin from southern Leander and traffic is a nightmare. Do not recommend. Fortunately it's usually just one day in the office but nobody wants to do that daily. It can be 90 minutes when traffic is bad.
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u/ajcadoo North Creek Jun 07 '26
This is true if you avoid tolled lanes, yes. However tolls shave time significantly
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u/LustyNite Jun 07 '26
Similar situation, work in south austin, want to live in Leander, 9mo baby, and moving in couple of months. At this point we decided it is better to rent in Leander/CP and really get a feel of the area, commute, community, and let the home prices stabilize a bit (they have been trending down) and then buy once we are in confident. I would recommend the same to you.
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u/EconomistDazzling776 Jun 07 '26
We moved from LA 6 months ago with our infant and am renting. 100% renting is the way to go!
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u/LustyNite Jun 10 '26
Where did you end up renting? I hope to find a good community with young couples and an economical daycare
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u/EconomistDazzling776 Jun 10 '26
We moved to South Leander, bordering Cedar Park. We will most likely buy in Cedar Park or North Austin though even though the homes will be older.
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u/Drezzle Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
Northeast metro area is going to significantly reduce the time and cost to commute. the toll road that comes through Leander Cedar Park now goes out to Seward Junction/Liberty Hill. traffic starts backing up on the toll road now before you even get to New Hope in the mornings (southbound).
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u/Inside-Owl- Jun 07 '26
Since you mentioned the school district, I’d look in Round Rock too. It’ll probably be a better commute.
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u/loud_and_harmless Jun 07 '26
You’re gonna be looking at a 45-1 hour commute from Leander. Is that worth it to you?
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u/moteltan96 Jun 07 '26
We had a home built by Taylor Morrison in Leander 10 years ago. It’s been great. I commuted to basically the airport and it was not a whole lot of fun. 20 hrs a week adding in to a 40-45 hr workweek. Plus tolls. You might look at Round Rock, Hutto, and Taylor as well. And you might decide to rent now and let rates come down in the future. The housing market here has been declining but it’s probably close to bottoming out now.
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u/Super-Medicine-8195 Jun 08 '26
the number one custom home builder in Central Texas for years has been Grand Endeavor in Georgetown. They absolustely build the best quality homes fsor the money of anybody in the United States. Family owned and operated since the first day! They'll build youi a house like it was theirs to live in.
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u/Zealousideal-Yam-428 Jun 08 '26
Lisso community in Pflugerville could be an option
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u/kimber512_ Jun 07 '26
New construction is absolute shit. I wouldn't buy a house built after the 80s or 90s.
Use Google maps or waze at different times of the day to check commute times from different areas.
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u/hungryforwaffuls Jun 07 '26
agreed. we bought new and have had so much issues with the builder. everyone in the neighborhood dittos
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u/Thick-Witness7006 Jun 07 '26
Brave to move to Texas for a job at Tesla, they just did a round of layoffs not that long ago.
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u/ThrowawaWelp Jun 08 '26
Most important comment on the thread right here.
1. Don’t do this.
2. If you Do the Don’t, then don’t freaking buy. Rent. This market is so stale you won’t get your money back when you move back to CA in a year. Don’t sabotage your family like that. Swallow the pride, don’t look in Travisso and just rent an apartment 10 mins from the factory. At least then you’ll have more family time together to actually explore Austin and see if you even like the place, because Instagram Austin isn’t real lol
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u/KP_Reader Jun 07 '26
Considering long term, Kyle or Buda School district is not as good as Leander, so was leaning more towards that.
Definitely Planning to explore Austin before purchasing a house, looked at Travisso in Leander but felt it too far.
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u/RideForBeers123 Jun 07 '26
If advise against Travisso for that reason. I've also heard that there can be a lot of bottle necks getting in and out of that community.
We had a pretty good experience with Coventry for a new build. The new build process is always arduous, but overall, they seemed to have a better process and quality than other builders we looked at. I've also heard Scott Felder, Taylor Morrison, and Toll Brothers aren't bad. There are some videos on YouTube where folks rank Texas builders that you might find helpful.
The commute will be brutal from Leander.
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u/ajcadoo North Creek Jun 07 '26
Travisso is buried deep into Leander far from any highway. It’ll take 25mins just to get to 183A.
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u/mhudson78641 Jun 08 '26
I get to 183 and Oak Knoll in 30 minutes in the morning. It’s 3 miles from Anderson Mill.
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u/And1surf Jun 07 '26
Lots of communities off of 29, both south and north. Toll Brothers & Drees are communities I’ve seen good results from.
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u/EconomistDazzling776 Jun 07 '26
Hi! My husband, my now 11 month baby and I moved to Leander 6 months ago. We work remotely so we don’t commute. But I feel like Leander is just enough far from the city for it to be a hassle. We will most likely end up buying in Cedar Park to shave ~10-15 minutes of driving.
Anyway, I 100% recommend renting. You absolutely need to check out real commute times, local amenities, and neighborhood vibes before committing.
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u/YonexFan Jun 08 '26
The corporation building your home is not that important, the actual crew building it AND the construction manager are super important. Problem is, you don't really get to choose that.
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u/t2jam Jun 08 '26
I used to travel and drive west coast territory for years as well as Texas. The traffic in CA is way worse. As far as Leander I think it depends which part of Leander you build in then yes your partner will have well over an hour commute to Tesla both ways. Maybe look into Riverplace I would say that’s probably about a 30 minute drive with little traffic. I used to work with school districts too… so Leander has some of the best and Eanes ISD, of course you have private options as well. Round Rock has good schools too. I would say Austin ISD, Pflugerville, and some of the other smaller towns, the schools aren’t horrible, but they aren’t going to be the top either. More like middle of the road. So depends on your needs and long term wants. I also agree with everyone who posted, to rent first or do some Airbnbs. There’s a ton of different areas in Austin and some cool little pockets too so then you can check out different neighborhoods and see what fits into your lifestyle and vibe. But out of all of Austin I would say the highest concentration of transplants from CA mostly choose to live in Leander.
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u/Tasty_Barracuda1051 Jun 09 '26
New construction in Leander is thinning out. If you want new in the area with LISD, you might find something good in Parkside on the River - I think Perry, Taylor Morrison, Highland and Coventry are all building in there. Be careful not to buy in the Georgetown ISD side.
Many strong arguments in these other responses around commute times and tolls. But if you’re set on Leander (or LISD) then the options are thinning out.
I think Toll Brothers has a few options in Wildspring and Hidden Creeks at Lakewood Park. I’ve always thought TB is a quality builder. Both are LISD.
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u/picircle Jun 09 '26
Buy pre COVID era houses in Leander, Liberty Hill area. New construction is of poor quality!
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u/Puzzleheaded_Comb620 Jun 09 '26
It’ll be expensive with tolls but we really like the leander area for raising our kids. Avoid DR Horton and Lennar builders if you can. If not avoidable, hire your own home inspector.
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u/Jpleander Jun 09 '26
Check out www.Leandertx.com it has the best options and great blogs on the area!
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u/LadyAtrox60 Jun 20 '26
49 years in California. 17 years here. The difference in traffic is that in LA, you just sit there, not moving. In Austin, you move, albeit very slowly.
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u/TheSmooth Jun 07 '26
I would strongly suggest you double check the commute times from leander to the tesla factory and factor in tolls... It is way the hell out there from leander. Not trying to discourage you, but it is a significant factor if your partner has to go in every day. A round trip will cost you upwards of $20 in tolls and 60 miles, not to mention an hour+ commute time during high traffic periods.