The lure of Terrell Hills

For years, many builders and homeowners in Terrell Hills have been tearing down old houses and building the latest in McMansions.

Though that has slowed down somewhat, the neighborhood in central San Antonio is still attracting homeowners, provided they can afford the oversized lots and high-end houses.

“Terrell Hills is an upscale neighborhood,” said Deborah Myers, owner of Deborah Myers Real Estate. “A lot of the old ranch-style homes have been bulldozed and mansions have been built.”

She said the average home costs about $200 per square foot. And with oversized lots — most are over 1/3-acre — many of the homes are in the 4,000- to 6,000-square-foot range.

Terrell Hills is more than its own neighborhood. It's actually its own city, and has about 1,900 homes.

“Our house is only about five years old, so that's one thing I like,” said Brooke Rogers, a real estate agent with the Phyllis Browning Co. who has lived in Terrell Hills about two years. “But you also get the benefit of older homes and mature trees.”

Not all of the homes are brand new. Some of the biggest mansions were built 30-40 years ago. Most of them have been remodeled extensively on the inside, though.

“I think if anything, homeowners are remodeling where they are living now,” rather than tearing down houses all together, said Corie Boldt, a real estate agent with Rubiola Mortgage & Realty Co.

Some might say the teardowns got a bit out of control.

“The city did pass some building restrictions which I think was a good thing in terms of keeping new construction at the right size and keeping the look and the feel of the neighborhood,” Rogers said.

When executives from AT&T moved to Dallas, a number of them left homes in Terrell Hills for sale, which has boosted the number on the market.

“When they left we had a large inventory, so as a result buyers have been quite selective in the properties they're looking at,” Myers said.

That's not to say there is a large inventory. It's about 50 homes, or around an eight-month inventory, Boldt said.

And prices haven't been hurt in the neighborhood. Actually, it's quite the opposite.

So far this year, 52 homes have sold in Terrell Heights at a median price of $465,000, according to the San Antonio Board of Realtors. That's compared with 42 homes sold at a median price of $361,525 during the same time in 2008.

Most of Terrell Hills is in the Alamo Heights Independent School District. And as one of the city's most highly regarded districts, the neighborhood is a hit for families, which also keeps the home prices stable, Myers said.

“All the kids grow up together and all the parents are really involved,” she said.

But because the prices in Terrell Hills are higher, most of the homeowners aren't first-time owners, and are “more seasoned buyers,” Myers said.

As its own city, Terrell Hills also has its own fire and police departments devoted solely to its residents.

“I feel really safe and I think that's one of the biggest selling points,” Rogers said.

If you can't afford a Terrell Hills mansion, though, part of the neighborhood actually is in the Northeast Independent School District, and homes there tend to be a bit more affordable.

Terrell Heights is also an adjacent neighborhood where homes tend to be smaller and prices tend to be lower.

The median sales price for the 20 homes sold in Terrell Heights so far this year has been $192,600.

“That's an interesting neighborhood, those are smaller homes that average about 1,500 square feet,” Myers said. “It's just a really nice, quaint neighborhood that's more for a starter family and maybe the first-time buyer.”

And as if the neighborhood needed any more stimulation, all the growth at Fort Sam Houston, particularly the medical growth, is right in Terrell Hills' backyard.

“We butt up to Harry Wurzbach, so I think all of the medical stuff moving into Fort Sam is going to be wonderful for the area,” Rogers said

By Creighton A. Welch - Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/The_lure_of_Terrell_Hills.html