Buy a home in Holly for $280K

The name “Willow Street” evokes some kind of pastoral domestic fantasy (for most of us, anyway)—perhaps of cozy homes and neighbors spending sultry evenings on porches along their leafy street. Willow Street in Austin comes close to matching that description, though we don’t know how often the neighbors are on their porches. That quality, plus its central location in East Austin, quite close to the river and Downtown, make it highly desirable to urban dwellers.

That desirability, of course, has led to a rise in home prices—it’s adjacent to East Cesar Chavez, one of the city’s most expensive neighborhoods if one measures asking prices per square foot—that often causes displacement of longtime residents and small businesses, a change in the neighborhood makeup and character, and other things that can add up to what we tend to call “gentrification.”

In light of all that, this home on Willow Street could be quite the find. While definitely a fixer-upper, the detached condo is far from the kind of teardown one usually finds at its price in the central city.

The one-story home is cozy, with two bedrooms and one bathroom in 865 square feet. Built in 1948, the clapboard house has vaulted ceilings, built-in bookcases, and hard tile and vinyl wood-plank floors, as well as a full separate utility room.

The unit is at the back of a lot with a separate home in front. It has a fenced, private backyard with patio and alley access with parking.

• 2702 Willow Street Unit B [Via Redfin]