I was reading an article about a new subdivision in South Austin yesterday and was struck by the blatant misrepresentation of the neighborhood. The new subdivision is called Gabardine and is located on Frate Barker Rd. Frate Barker connects Manchaca Rd. and Brodie Ln.
The article states:
“Gabardine is a unique community in the sought-after Shady Hollow neighborhood”.
Uh, no it’s not.
Gabardine, I’ve sold homes in Shady Hollow. I know Shady Hollow. Shady Hollow is a friend of mine. Gabardine, you’re no Shady Hollow.
Shady Hollow is a long established “move up” neighborhood of homes on big lots with mature trees. Gabardine is a small enclave built on what was a 20 or 30 acre treeless meadow on Frate Barker Rd. It bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to Shady Hollow in appearance or otherwise. It shares a zipcode and set of schools. That’s it. Yet, the Gabardine developers have made the decision that it needs to be presented as a part of Shady Hollow.
Gabardine is one of those “new age” subdivisions which is a blend of condo/home, with higher HOA fees but no yard maintenance for your freestanding condo home. The roads are private and owned/maintained by the home owners. There is no pedestrian connectivity between Shady Hollow and Gabardine. The two neighborhoods are completely unconnected in location, design and spirit. An owner at Gabardine will pay no Shady Hollow HOA fees nor have access to any of the Shady Hollow amenities. Gabardine will have its own pool and community amenities which will not be available to Shady Hollow residents.
Yet, in the article, Gabardine lays claim to being part of Shady Hollow. On the Gabardine website, it’s presented at the top of the home page as “a tailored little pocket of Shady Hollow”. And elsewhere on the home page is stated: “At last. You’ve reached the tailored little pocket of Shady Hollow” … “Shady Hollow is one of the most sought after areas of town for many home buyers” … “Gabardine is a different kind of community for the Shady Hollow area” …
So why the vigorous co-opting of the name “Shady Hollow”?
One can only assume it’s a marketing decision to ride the coat tails of an established, well known “brand name” and location. This is common. DR Horton did the same thing with its section of Bauerle Ranch at Shady Hollow, though residents of that neighborhood do in fact have to drive through Shady Hollow.
Often we’ll see a subdivision use this “at” connector, such as Alta Vista at Circle C. Sometimes the neighborhood is in fact placed under the same HOA umbrella as the parent subdivision, yet remains somewhat disconnected geographically. I’ve long thought the Wildflower at Circle C was not really part of Circle C proper, because it’s on the other side of Mopac and the homes were built on smaller lots and, to me, it just doesn’t “feel” like Circle C. But it can at least claim biological/genetic proof that it is. It passes the paternity test, whereas pretenders such as Gabardine do not even come close.
Why does this bug me? Because it confuses the consumer. A home buyer coming from out of state who may have heard of Shady Hollow and be interested in looking at the type of homes and lots offered by Shady Hollow is not at all the type of buyer who would be interested in the product at Gabardine. Gabardine should establish its own identity and market niche. It has a Unique Living Proposition completely unrelated to that which draws a Shady Hollow buyer, so I just don’t get the lame attempt to buddy up with Shady Hollow.
Gabardine, get real. Decide who/what you want to be and sell yourself on your own merits. But don’t insult buyers and Realtors by peppering your home page with the keywords “Shady Hollow” and trying to pretend that a connection exists. We’re not dumb, you know.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Seems like the kind of misleading advertising becomes moot when buyers are using the graphical map-MLS mashups. It was big when the internet unleashed free access to MLS listings to the public, and those map mashups are almost as game changing. Not only because it saves a step (the mapquesting or maps.google-ing an address), but the immediacy of seeing the prices and pictures of homes in the same area is highly underrated. I feel like I can spend 5 minutes clicking around a neighborhood and I already have a decent feel as to neighborhood character and what comps may look like.
Hi Bob,
Yes, the mapping and internet photos have changed the home searching experience for buyers.
But I would argue that it takes more than 5 minutes of map and photo browsing to learn everything one needs to know about a neighborhood and/or home. Yes, you can learn a lot, but I don’t think you can determine enough from that alone to either rule in or rule out a home for further consideration.
The exception would be seeing from a map view that a home backs to a freeway, or shopping center parking lot or something like that.
Thanks for you input.
Steve
This is mind boggling … one of those developments that will probably end up in foreclosure or auction soon.
Their price / sqft is around $150, according to the price sheets, while you can get a home with a true yard at Shady Hollow for around $110-$120/sq.ft.
Their HOA is $155/month, Shady Hollow is around $30-$40, for the exact same amenities.
The best of course is this line from the website “Within 3 miles of Gabardine you can grab your Starbucks, head to HEB and knock out all of your grocery shopping …”
What convenience! Where else in Austin can you get a restaurant, HEB or Starbucks that’s closer than 3 miles?
> Their HOA is $155/month, Shady Hollow is around $30-$40, for the exact same amenities.
Hi Jim,
Yeah, we pay $90/mo. to have our yard mowed every two weeks. I’ve never understood the “lock and leave” sales pitch, whereby one pays a really high monthly HOA and receives services/benefits that wuold cost less than the HOA fee if contracted for your regular home.
Plus, I don’t ever want to be part owner in what is technically a parking lot shaped like a street.
Steve
Anyone who is looking at property from out of state wouldn’t be stupid enough to come look at property sight unseen, not in the age of the internet. Modern real estate websites have all of the acreage information, and photos will show what kind of landscaping/trees, etc. This is all that should matter.
Someone from out of state isn’t going to go “Oh, THAT Shady Hollow in far southwest Austin!” It’s not like it’s dinner table conversation in Peoria or Overland Park. I doubt you’ll even find many people in North Austin who’ve heard of Shady Hollow.
This is much ado about nothing – look at any large city and you’ll find that the ‘name’ of an existing neighborhood ends up stretching beyond the original borders. I’ve lived in “North Beacon Hill” (but the old Beacon Hill has much nicer houses and was never suffering by inadvertent association), and “Park Slope” is now 40 blocks longer than it was in the 1980′s. Big deal.
People judge housing based on a number of factors, and a generic name (very, very generic) name like Shady Hollow pretty much belongs to nobody. The quality of construction, schools, age of the housing, HOA fees and other factors are what matters.
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for your comment.
In fact we do hear from buyers who already have zeroed in on “brand name” subdivisions in Austin such as Steiner Ranch, Circle C, Avery Ranch, Belterra and Shady Hollow, to name a few.
The Gabardine scenario outlined in the article would be like a Kia dealer going in, not next door, but down the street from a Volvo dealer, then using the search term “Volvo” in all their advertisments, claiming to be the newest “Volvo” car lot in town. We would think that improper because the products are entirely different. Gabardine is claiming to be a Volvo and it’s not.
In terms of “areas”, and certain shorthand names that get used over time to include extensions of homogenous and similar adjecent areas, your point has merit. For example, Travis Heights is now generally considered to be the square bounded by the river to the north, S. Congress and IH35 to the west and east, and Oltorf on the South. This even though there are any number of subdivision names contained in that area. The name Travis Heights really defines a section of town and, with it, a certain identity and lifestyle. It works in that instance because there is no notable difference between the look and feel of the areas contained in “Travis Heights”.
Yet, Sherwood Forest, just south of Oltorf is not and will never be called Travis Heights. Those are 60s and 70s houses, mostly ramblers, and even though they are a stones throw away, they are not Travis Heights homes.
And Gabardine is not Shady Hollow. Not even close.
Steve
I live in Gabardine. It is lovely and you DO get yard maintenence. The style is very different from the large sprawling Shady Hollow homes with large lawns and that is why we chose it. These days Shady Hollow is generally known as an area of town, not a neighborhood. When describing, perhaps they could have used the term Shady Hollow area or community, but, any decent buyer does their research and knows what they are getting. As you say, “We’re not dumb, you know.”
Hi Lynny,
I drove past Gaberdine yesterday in fact, when I was in Olympic Heights, and it’s nice to see Gaberdine coming along and slowly getting built out. The houses are cute. It’s not a product type that I generally recommend to buyers, but for certain market demographics, it’s a good fit. I hope you enjoy the home and location.
Steve
I’m looking to buy my first home. Having grown up in the South Austin area, I would love to live in Shady Hollow “proper” (even with all of that nasty rush hour traffic), but as a single guy making only $70,000 / year, that’s just not realistic for me right now, even if I have tons of future earning “potential” as a young lawyer. Garbardine seems nice enough. Definitely nicer than an apartment. And really, what better options do I have in Southwest Austin on my salary? It’s not exactly the most affordable part of town.
Hi Zak,
You have a point. I still don’t like these hybrid house-condo housing products. I think a buyer would be better off purchasing a smaller floorplan in Olympic Heights in the $160Ks.
You’re income will qualify you for a $2,000/mo payment, and you can buy something for much less than that, even one of the older Shady Hollow homes in the low $200s.
Thanks for posting your comment.
Steve