Neighborhood Spotlight: Oak Forest and Garden Oaks

Oak Forest and Garden Oaks sit just north of the Heights, inside the 610 loop, and people around here have shortened the whole area to GOOF. It's really three pieces — Garden Oaks, Oak Forest, and the Plazas, which take in Candlelight Plaza and Shepherd Park Plaza. The boundaries run roughly from West 43rd Street on the north down to the Heights, with North Shepherd on the east and Ella on the west. The housing is mostly original 1940s and 1950s bungalows, ranch homes, and split levels, mixed in with renovated properties and new contemporary builds.

Prices cover a lot of ground. The average sale price was around $543,000 last month, up about 13% from a year ago, and homes have been selling in roughly 41 days. Listings have run from the high $200s up to about $2.5 million, and townhomes generally sit between about $320,000 and $509,000. T.C. Jester Park is the main outdoor draw — playground, dog park, community pool, a 21-hole disc golf course, and a bike trail that connects to the White Oak Bayou Trail. The Oak Forest Shopping Center has a Kroger and a library, and 610, I-10, and 45 are all close, with downtown and Uptown each within about ten miles.

I hold the Certified Negotiation Expert designation, and in an area with this much variation the negotiation usually comes down to which comparable sales you can defend. A 1950s ranch and a brand-new build can sit on the same block here, and the price per square foot swings accordingly. If you want to know what's listed in Oak Forest or Garden Oaks right now, or what your home there would bring, call or text me at 281-818-8177.