Resources & Research

If you’re looking for property in Austin and the surrounding communities, the web has a wealth of resources you can use to research different areas. If you want to talk to someone about where to start and what to prioritize, please give me (Alison) a call at (512) 585-4758 or drop me a note via the on-line contact form.

To search for homes in Central Texas, start with FindRealAustin.com’s FABULOUS Home Search Tool.

The Austin Police Department has a Crime Viewer for searching for crimes in and around an area or address. It can be a little clunky to navigate this service at first, but the information is worth the effort.

GreatSchools has detailed information on schools all over the country. For schools in the Austin Area, take a look at the school links on the REAL Links page. If you find a property you like using FindRealAustin.com’s FABULOUS Home Search Tool, you can drill down into the folder tabs and under “Tools” you will find similar information, also provided by GreatSchools.

Google has driven a street cam down streets in many metropolitan areas. Search for an address (or street) on Google Maps, and zoom all the way in. If you’re lucky, the birds eye view will change to a horizontal street view which lets you “drive” down the street!

Neighborhood profiles (basic demographic information) can be found on Sperling’s Best Places. For a more user-friendly report by zip code, try this link on Sperling’s site (I can’t seem to find it just by navigating within Sperling’s site, but found this by Googling “neighborhood profiles”). If you find a property you like using FindRealAustin.com’s FABULOUS Home Search Tool, you can drill down into the folder tabs and under “Tools” you will find similar information, also provided by Sperling’s Best Places.

Detailed demographic information at the county level can be found on the U.S. Census Bureau’s State and County QuickFacts Map for Texas.

Trails.com is not kidding when they claim to be “your guide to the outdoors”. This site has fantastic information on trails all over the country, including topographic maps.

All sorts of information can be extracted from a county’s Central Appraisal District. These are the governmental entities that maintain property tax records. The taxing districts in Central Texas are: