At home in Bell County

Growth continues in the Killeen and Temple areas

Contributed photos

Mike Linnemann of Linnemann Realty in Killeen said Bell County is one of the top three growing counties in Texas.

“It is an attractive place to live and is drawing investors domestically and internationally,” he said.

The county is surrounded by natural hill country beauty and is abundant with lakes that offer a wide range of water sports activities. For the land lover, there are camping, hike and bike trails, parks and picnic areas.

The cost of living remains low and a family can still buy a three-bedroom home in Killeen for under $130,000, despite the 16.6 percent price increase seen in the past year. County-wide the price of homes has gone up 1.9 percent, on average, he said.

“It’s a seller’s market,” Linnemann said. “Active listings are down because homes are selling in a month.”

Evidence of this growth can be seen driving south on Stan Schlueter Loop in Killeen heading towards SH 195 where new subdivisions seem to be popping up overnight. Rows and rows of rooftops stretch for miles to accommodate the number of people who have discovered Texas and are moving in from all points across the U.S.

And the growth is not even close to slowing down. Linnemann said 500,000 people are moving to Texas every year with most settling in the Triangle area.

“The Triangle is Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Austin. Bell County is in the middle and we get the spillover,” he said. “More and more people are moving here and working in Austin.”

Clifton Franco, director of the Fort Hood Realtors’ Association said the growth in the Killeen area can be attributed to the cost of living, and its central location to major metropolitan areas like Austin, Georgetown and Round Rock.

“We are so close to the military base, a diverse group of people are relocating here,” said Franco. “We are poised to have a big influx of people coming in and they need homes. Fortunately, we have some large builders in the area that continue to develop in areas south of I-14.”

“Everything is going south,” said Linnemann.“There is a lot of builder interest in the Chaparral and Stagecoach areas.”

Much of that growth in south Killeen is going towards the Georgetown area, along SH 195 towards Florence, Franco said.

“South of Clear Creek there is a brand new subdivision putting in houses. Splawn Ranch and DR Horton are still building on SH 195 towards Florence and Georgetown, Franco said. “All the growth is there. There is a lot of land to develop.”

Linnemann said an additional 2,000 to 3,000 homes are platted for the future growth in Killeen.

“People are buying homes as fast as we can build them,” Franco said.
In addition to new subdivisions, Linnemann said new upscale duplexes are “red hot and already sold out.”

Prices for duplexes range from the $200K to $215 K, setting the bar for that market, Franco added. “It’s surprising how we can push those values and easily sell them. That shows how strong our market is and the investment value for multifamily properties,” he said.

Despite the visual density of homes being built, Linnemann said the area is not in danger of becoming saturated “in the foreseeable future. There is still a lot of vacant land to develop.”

People moving into the area are choosing these locations, added Franco, because they don’t want to be “right inside of Killeen.” They want to live just outside of town.

Nolanville is another area that is expanding, Franco said. “A lot of investors are purchasing properties for rental or resale. We don’t have a bunch of stagnant, deteriorating properties. And it’s not just new homes, but pre-existing homes.”

Unlike Georgetown or Round Rock, where the cost of living has increased significantly over the last couple of years, Franco said Killeen has stayed consistent.

“Cities are expensive now,” Linnemann said. “Expansion of vacant land will drive property values up. Home values statewide have increased by 5 percent. A little inflation in market increase is necessary for a healthy market.”

A little further north up I-35, Ryan Waldron, president of the Temple Area Builders Association said there are still a lot of areas to expand for development in West Temple and Belton. “We are the third most affected area for growth in the U.S.,” he said. “The value is there for Temple to continue to grow.”

One thousand people a day are moving to Texas, he said, with 420 people moving into Bell County on a monthly basis.

“That’s an average over a six-year period,” he said. “It is hard to specify one reason for all the growth.”

In 2017, more than 600 single family permits were awarded to developers. “It was a strong start,” he said.
Waldron said driving factors for the population increase include the cost of living, amenities, parks, schools, access to freeways, Scott & White Medical Center, and new manufacturing jobs which equates to job opportunities. Temple is also a central location accessible to Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Round Rock and Georgetown.
And a boom in housing development means there are more jobs for skilled and unskilled labor in the housing industry.

“The cities of Temple and Belton are great places to live,” Waldron said. “More and more people who move here will stay here.”

As Temple continues to grow, so will the housing prices. Waldron said they will rise 1 to 4 percent through 2018, partially due to tariffs being placed on some home construction materials. For now, prices on new homes range from $130,000 for a starter home up to the millions for executive homes.

With the current low interest rates on home mortgages, however, Waldron said it’s still a great time for people to buy new homes.“The interest rate will be going up, so if they buy now they will save money and get a better value based on current interest rates.”