Are home prices really that cheap in TX?

[barkley]

i'm guess that the people who bought our house a few weeks ago are paying at least 70% of their take-home pay for the mortgage, taxes and assessments. and we live in what's still considered an affordable/bargain price area of california

 

[JayCT]

Texas has always seemed to be listed as the lowest for housing prices in the country, and I suppose if you could go anywhere and did not need to worry about finding a job, it would be a good place to go. But I have to wonder how stable the economy is in these areas where the homes are so cheap. Lets face it, the New York area is so expensive because it has the largest amount of jobs and wealth in the country. Similarly, Washington DC has a strong job market.

I remember when I got out of college, one of my firends moved to the Houston area and things were booming. I went down and looked and saw tons of new construction and a lot of jobs, but also saw terrible traffic and crime problems. They could not provide a lot of the services we take for granted in the northeast. A few years later their economy tanked and my friend told me of horror stories of homes in their newer upscale neighborhood being abandoned and left for ruin. a group of neighbors went around and maintained these homes for years just to keep things looking decent.

Anyway, since you looking at wide area, have you considered Connecticut. I do not mean Fairfield County which is very very expensive (becuase of its close proximity to New York City) but say New Haven or Hartford. You could get a pretty nice condo or small home in good areas for $225,000. And you could be less than 2 hours to New York or Boston. Just a suggestion. Jay

 

[ChrisnSteph]

My friends are moving from California to Spring, Texas, and they are trying to convince us to do the same. The cheap housing sure is attractive, but I don't know how how happy I'd be in Texas. I am jealous of my friend though - she's getting way more house for her money than I have here in California. She does have high taxes though. My DH has a good job with good retirement benefits here, so in 25 years we'lll be able to cash out of this state and move just about anywhere (at least that's what I keep telling myself to feel better!)

 

[Jpgirl]

We moved from Ohio to Houston Tx 4 years ago. We sold our 2800 sq.ft house with just under an acre of land for 210,000 and we bought a 2900sq.ft house with a pool on a small lot for 191,000. So housing is cheaper here-love the pool and the bigger house don't care about the land-less to mow. Of course the property taxes will kill ya but there's no state income tax so that's a trade off. I know the NE part of the US is extremely expensive as is CA.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We bought a brand new construction, 2800 sq ft SFH on an oversized lot that looks out into a park for $150k. We are in Ft Worth, TX.

I HOPE that home values go up due to growth. That is the one thing we found when looking for a house is that things just don't appraise quickly here and homes sit on the market a long time. There is new construction around every corner so existing homes don't seem to sell quickly. I fear that we'll be stuck with this house even if a job transfer needs to take us someplace else because it won't go up in value and it won't sell. I've known too many people get stung by that... But we'll cross that bridge if we ever come to it!

In the meantime, we love our jobs, love living here, and love being able to own a large home of our own.

 

[LoraJ]

I can't afford my Jersey City neighborhood anymore. I am so glad that I got in when I did. A unit in the building next door that is identical to mine sold for $100k more than I paid 2 years ago.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We moved from NY to Tx and just rented a house, we almost bought one but we got transferred back here to NY. We are originally from NJ and we are in the process of working on selling 8 acres of property that dh inherited in central NJ, we get half the proceeds. Needless to say we will be moving back to TX and buying a very nice house as soon as all of this works out. We love TX. The people are nice, the weather is nice, the prices are great, so many activities etc. Oh I could go on and on. Maybe you should look for a job in TX. Good luck.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

i'm guess that the people who bought our house a few weeks ago are paying at least 70% of their take-home pay for the mortgage, taxes and assessments. and we live in what's still considered an affordable/bargain price area of california

How can you live on 30% of your take-home pay? I can't even imagine! I would have to be without a car, not send my kids to private school, and I certainly wouldn't be able to eat out or afford my haircare professional!

 

[NewJersey]

I can't afford my Jersey City neighborhood anymore. I am so glad that I got in when I did. A unit in the building next door that is identical to mine sold for $100k more than I paid 2 years ago.

there's tons of new construction for young professionals like myself but I just don't see how anyone can afford it! It's called the "gold coast" according to developers because it's cheaper than NYC and you're literally across the Hudson from the city. You got in just in the nick of time! I saw a studio that I liked for 425,000. A STUDIO!

 

[AC7179]

Yes, homes are cheaper in Texas, but salaries are also way lower.

I'm a teacher, a graduate of a university, and make around 27K per year.

 

[binny]

$275,000 here equals, in some places, a 3300 sq ft house on 1/4 acre


That is an older home though in a good neighbourhood.


Brand new homes youre looking at same size lot same price about 2700 sq ft

 

[lovehoney]

Housing is pretty cheap in Houston but we have all sorts of other expenses. We have property and school taxes. Our sales tax is 8.25 %. We don't have a state income so that is a plus. My electric bill last month was over $300 and that is considered pretty low because I have big trees (my house is a 2000 sq ft one-story ranch style). Our hottest month is August so I can't wait to see how high it will go.

I had to run my air conditioner in February this year, but usually we run it from April until November.

The further away from the city center the more you can get for your $.The commute from the suburbs is very long and you have to drive or take the bus. We do not have a rail system that goes from any of the suburbs to the downtown area.

We choose to live closer in since my husband works downtown. He is about 12 miles from work, and it takes him about 30 minutes to get to work at 7:30 am. It takes longer at 8:00.

Also the public shcools in our area are not very good (low scores) so we are sending our kids to private school.

That being said, we also have a great metropolitan area with tons of museums. We have opera, ballet, musicals, plays, and a great zoo. Going out to eat here is very cheap and VERY ecclectic (sp?). We have every type of food imaginable.

I guess what I'm trying to say is "find a place you want to live and make it work to your best advantage."

 

[Caradana]

I was @ a party last night at Hudson Tea - the relatively new condo complex on 16th + Washington in Hoboken. A friend bought a two-bedroom on the first floor and converted his second bedroom to a pool room ... it's very cool ... until I realized that he has no parking. He pays $300/month to PARK HIS CAR, which I can understand for Manhattan, but this is NEW JERSEY. As I was playing my embarrassingly bad game of pool, I looked out his windows towards Chelsea and noticed a big pile of dirt between him and the water, out on the pier ... found out that the complex next to Hudson Tea is building a BEACH VOLLEYBALL court out on the pier. Hello? No parking, but beach volleyball ... I love it. Incidentally, this is the birthplace of Sinatra, and Sinatra is probably rolling in his grave over Hoboken prices.

 

[NewJersey]

I was @ a party last night at Hudson Tea - the relatively new condo complex on 16th + Washington in Hoboken. A friend bought a two-bedroom on the first floor and converted his second bedroom to a pool room ... it's very cool ... until I realized that he has no parking. He pays $300/month to PARK HIS CAR, which I can understand for Manhattan, but this is NEW JERSEY. As I was playing my embarrassingly bad game of pool, I looked out his windows towards Chelsea and noticed a big pile of dirt between him and the water, out on the pier ... found out that the complex next to Hudson Tea is building a BEACH VOLLEYBALL court out on the pier. Hello? No parking, but beach volleyball ... I love it. Incidentally, this is the birthplace of Sinatra, and Sinatra is probably rolling in his grave over Hoboken prices.

I actually checked that out and the parking baffled me as well. I remember the realtor mentioning the idea of a beach volleyball court. At first I thought "oh that's different." But 2 seconds later I realized....okay so they're putting a beach volleyball court in, but no parking? Yeah, let me come home from work and play some volleyball the 4 months out of a year you can actually play..right..next please!

 

[JayCT]

I reread my post and thought it was too negative. I did find the people in Texas to be very friendly. We had a great time and Houston is a wonderful city. Great people, lots of great shopping. Also loved the food. The real barbeque is to die for! I did check out Toll Brothers Texas homes and thought it was odd that there was a real big difference in prices between different developments. Some homes were $400,000 but the same home in a different development was $600,000 or more. Not sure why that is but it has to the location. Anyway, it is interesting how cheap the other homes were. Good luck. Jay

 

[NewJersey]

Jay - I checked out prices in CT but on a few sites they weren't much cheaper, or just as expensive as what I've found. Also, it'd be too much of a commute into NYC for my job. Thanks for the idea though! As for TX, I could never live there for a few reasons: too far from family, too hot in the summer, and the political climate is not attractive to me in the least bit. No offense to anyone living there now, just my opinion.

 

[Missamoncus]

The political climate? I assume you mean the reputation Texas has of being ultra-conservative, right wing? Well, SHHHHH! don't tell anybody, but a trip to Austin will disavow you of that notion! There are many liberals in Texas, they just don't let us on the news because some old guy with a Texas drawl going on and on about 'Family Values' fits more closely the national stereotype of a Texan. I live in a little village ( no , really. there was a vote against incorporation and everything ) called Wimberley about 40 miles out of Austin in the Texas Hill Country. On any given weekend, you can drive through the area on country roads, smell the patchouli, and stop at the home studios of potters, artists, soapmakers, farmers and our beautiful local flower farm. Long hair, dew rags ,granny skirts and beads abound. My oldest daughter says that Wimberley is where , "wilted flower children go". I am being facetious,but , really. There are many liberals in all areas of Texas who are very politically active and share the same environmental and social concerns as thier liberal bretheren around the country. Now to keep this post 'sort of ' on topic- we have six acres on the Blanco river and a one bedroom 2-bath cabin (1500sq ft) for 158k . Can't beat it with a stick- but the house needs a lot of work and wouldn't be everybodies cup of tea.

Melissa

 

[Simba's Mom]

Well, I'm afraid that way down here in very south Texas, we are mostly stuffy, ultraconservatives-with guns, too! Yes, our housing prices are very reasonable. Two years ago, we sold our 3100 sq.ft. home with loads of "bells and whistles", a pool, in a golf course community, for $190,000. Then we turned around and bought an 1850 sq.ft. 3/2/2 in the same neighborhood for $120000. When we moved here from Massachusetts, housing prices here were so much cheaper! But house insurance here is 3 times what we paid in MA (maybe just in this part of Texas) and property taxes were what I consider high ($5000) for that house we sold.

 

[mom2rb]

Well I just closed on my "dream House" today. It is 24 years old, completely redone, two story, 3165 square feet with a pool. It is in a great neighborhood. The biggest problem right now is everyone moving here from out-of-state. They see our houses as cheap and just pay the asking price. I paid $245,000 for mine which was fair. Another house in the same neighborhood ( same size, same features ) went for $265,000. They kept getting offers from locals in the $240,000s but a family from Florida paid full price. I welcome people from everywhere but I don't think their Realtors are doing their jobs.

Oh and another liberal from Texas here. I don't get picked on too much.

 

[tikilyn]

Another south Texan here. We paid 89,700.00 for our 1851sq ft. two story home. It's ok. I call it my starter home (dh says he's staying put). Our Taxes are 2800.00 a year and our insurance is only 661.00 a year and flood insurance is 240.00 a year. Our lot size is 150 x 50ft (not a big lot, but it's ok).