Why is Everyone Leaving Oak Lawn?

[Cheap]

OK ya'll, what’s the deal. My wife and I were driving through the Oaklawn area, which has some of the best small plot infill housing I have seen. We were mainly north of Oak Lawn and East of Lemmon. It is an excellent looking neighborhood that successfully mixes old and new. Some of the new townhouse designs are simply fascinating. But anyway, it seemed like every other house was either for sale, for rent, or for lease. I have never seen so many red signs stuck on front lawns before.

So what the hell is going on over there? Why is everyone leaving? Any Clue?

[snooch]

Maybe it's the shriveled up job market, although signs seem to be pointing to a small resurgence.

[gc]

Good question. I had no idea there were so many houses/townhomes for sale in the area. The only things I can think would be the economy and crime.

[Cheap]

Oh I forgot to mention. There are still several one and two lot projects under construction as well.

And now that I think of it, about 80% of the properties for sale/lease were all using the same reale estate company. I forgot the name though. Has anyone else seen it? I would like to take a look at some of those prices.

[tamtagon]

As far as I can remember, much of Oaklawn has always been a pretty quick turn over neighborhood. My perception is that many places are overpriced (based on observations from a couple years ago...), so I think many renters move into the nice, convenient area, then find a better value in equally convenient in-town neighborhoods. The developments in Uptown and along Knox are also offering more options.

[psukhu]

People are leaving, but new people are moving in. Talk to the local real estate reps from places like http:\\www.ebby.com and http:\\www.dgriffin.com They track keys stats like "days on market" in addition to regular turnover.

My neighbor moved to Atlanta, but someone bought his townhome within 90 days. Four other townhomes in my complex have changed owners in the last year. Another one just went on the market.