South Lamar

The South Lamar neighborhood of Austin, also know by the locals as SoLa, is bounded to the west by the exclusive Barton Hills area. It has undergone a renaissance in recent years as the street it is named for has sprung new life with a mixture of funky shops, boutiques, coffee shops, lounges, and a wide variety of cool dining options such as a rib shack and pizza parlor.

Homes in this area start at around $175,000 and can go up as high as $1,000,000 for one of the more exclusive family homes. There are plenty of apartment and condominium options and the neighborhood is a mix of ethnic groups, the majority being Caucasian and Hispanic. This is a relatively safe neighborhood for an inner city and has a low crime rate. It's a mix of families, students, and retirees and one can get everything needed to live and play without every leaving the neighborhood. It's easy to get around as major arteries bisect the neighborhood and public transportation with Capitol Metro makes it easy and inexpensive to get to any part of the city. It's served by the Austin Independent School District, and several private school are just minutes away.

Following popular trends, “SoLa” seems to be taking off as a shorthand name for this stretch of Austin. Once a fairly desolate strip of mostly used car lots, South Lamar has evolved into a trendy, eclectic neighborhood with a little bit of everything for everyone.

An influx of local businesses along with fairly steady housing prices have contributed in large part to making this neighborhood the trendy success story it is. A walk down South Lamar will open your eyes to a dizzying world of retail, coffee, and dining options, along with tattoo parlors, boutiques, salons, and funky gift shops.

You’ve got easy access to the rest of Austin from here, but why will you need to go there? You can meet pretty much all your life and entertainment needs without ever setting a foot outside the boundaries of the neighborhood. Residents are a fairly mixed group, predominantly white and Hispanic, and tend to be about average in income and education. Local schools are solid, public transit is plentiful, and housing options are pretty broad, ranging from single-family homes to apartment complexes and everything in between. There are tons of duplexes here, and the neighborhood is populated by a majority of renters. For investors, this is a great neighborhood to buy in due to the consistent demand for housing.

The South Lamar neighborhood is one of those areas in Austin that give south Austin its reputation as a unique, funky and eclectic town. While the South Congress neighborhood reigns number one for its coolness factor, it’s more of a new Austin cool, while South Lamar retains an old Austin cool. One has to be willing to look past the warts to see the charm of this neighborhood. But if you keep an open mind, you’ll find the area has much to offer.

Because it is located a somewhat far south, housing prices in the area remain affordable. Single family homes are not plentiful here, as apartment complexes and condominiums dominate this neighborhood. Its boundaries are Highway 290 (Ben White Boulevard) to the south, W. Oltorf Street to the north, South Lamar Boulevard to the west and the railroad tracks to the east. Homes average in the mid to high $200s, but when exploring the area one will find a mix of older traditional homes, new and modern remodels and run-down homes all within the same block. Area schools include Zilker Elementary, O. Henry Middle School and Austin High School.

South Lamar has quick access to all the major hubs of the city, including downtown, the University of Texas and Lady Bird Lake. However, there is much to be found without traveling outside the neighborhood itself, as Lamar Boulevard is teeming with retail businesses, restaurants and entertainment venues. It is here one finds the Alamo Cinema and Draft House (watch a movie while you eat and drink) as well as the Broken Spoke, an Austin institution where one can learn to two-step and gentlemen still ask the ladies to dance. There are a range of funky retail shops, including some colorful second-hand stores, plenty of bars and authentic Mexican restaurants. Here one finds Matt’s El Rancho, an old-time Tex-Mex restaurant as well as Olivia’s, a favorite with the trendy, foodie set. Basically, one can pretty much find it all in South Lamar.

No place has more of the down to earth Austin culture this far south than South Lamar, where the general vibe is not nearly as overbearing or snobby as those within South Congress. Those who do want to visit SoCo just need to take a short a bus or bike ride northbound, but few residents feel the need to do so since this neighborhood has plenty to offer in a social scene. South Lamar Blvd. has some classic Austin favorites such as the Broken Spoke and Red's Porch and the street has its fair share of daily and nightly activity.

The main borders of the South Lamar neighborhood are of course S. Lamar Blvd., Hwy 71 and Manchaca Rd. S. Lamar and Manchaca contain most of the shops and restaurants in the area, but the streets that lie in between have some hidden gems of their own like the Victory Cafe and Behren's Guitar Studio. The location cannot be beat since this community has direct access to Hwy 71 as well as some top notch greenery with the Grennbelt and Gus Fruh park directly to the west. Living here is also affordable with housing prices being in mid range with rent averaging around $900 and selling prices being a little over or under $180,000. South Lamar has a very trendy social scene, but maintains an old school Austin charm that some communities are gradually losing. Folks both young and old, single or with a family will not want to leave once settling here.