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Old 04-19-2009, 02:07 AM
 
3,853 posts, read 12,867,056 times
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I've noticed on housing tracker that austin is about 50k more expensive in median home prices compared to the other areas:

Austin: 250k
Dallas: 199k
Houston: 189k
San Antonio: 192k

Why is austin so much more expensive compared to the other cities?
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Old 04-19-2009, 07:04 AM
 
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A. Austin is prettier and attracts more out of staters who came here with more money (e.g., California).

B. Not as sprawl (yet), so those cheap suburban sprawl homes haven't brought down the average....YET.


As we get less of A and more of B, I think we may become more in line with Dallas and Houston.
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Old 04-19-2009, 07:36 AM
 
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I think it's sheer size- there is less 'desirable' land in Austin that in Dallas and Houston. I think if you compare the wealthier, more established neighborhoods (Preston, River Oaks, Terrell Hills, Pemberton) we're definitely cheaper.
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Old 04-19-2009, 06:41 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX!!!!
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Supply and demand.
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Old 04-19-2009, 06:52 PM
 
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Quote:
A. Austin is prettier and attracts more out of staters who came here with more money (e.g., California).
This is a huge factor. One of my friends by way of Alabama (who is originally from overseas) chose a lakefront home in Austin as his "retirement castle." He didn't consider any other part of Texas. It was either the Austin area or somewhere far away from Texas (and he could afford practically anywhere, unlike myself).
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Old 04-19-2009, 09:57 PM
 
Location: Greater Seattle, WA Metro Area
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IMO, way prettier than both of them for sure...and a definite "cool" factor drives up the price.
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Old 04-19-2009, 10:23 PM
 
Location: SW Austin & Wimberley
6,333 posts, read 18,056,449 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by killer2021 View Post
I've noticed on housing tracker that austin is about 50k more expensive in median home prices compared to the other areas:

Austin: 250k
Dallas: 199k
Houston: 189k
San Antonio: 192k

Why is austin so much more expensive compared to the other cities?
Those are not correct median prices. Austin is about $189K, San Antonio about $145K.

Nevertheless, Austin is indeed higher for a variety of reasons, but the bottom line is it's simply a more desirable place to live.
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Old 04-19-2009, 11:09 PM
 
Location: Holly Neighborhood, Austin, Texas
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[Austin Steve: That $189k figure for Austin is the one I heard recently too.]

Life is too short to be living any meaningful length of time in a place you consider 2nd rate.

Now if out-of-staters just want to move to Any-Town, Texas and they have no interest in Austin's culture, values and general attitude then maybe it is a good thing if the higher home prices convince them to move to Houston/Dallas/Corpus/SA...........

Myself? I was offered a job here in '98 but did not take it; having only been to SA I thought it would be just like that town. Later went on a 3 week business trip to Austin and got a good enough feel for the town including the not-so-great sections like E. Riverside. I did come to realize that Austin was quite distinct from SA. Part of my decision was from gut instinct, but anyway I have no plans to move back east where it is more expensive than this expensive-for-Texas city.
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Old 04-20-2009, 12:22 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by austin-steve View Post
Those are not correct median prices. Austin is about $189K, San Antonio about $145K.

Nevertheless, Austin is indeed higher for a variety of reasons, but the bottom line is it's simply a more desirable place to live.
Site I quote is from ASKING price you are probably talking about median SALE price.
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Old 04-20-2009, 06:55 AM
 
Location: Holly Neighborhood, Austin, Texas
3,981 posts, read 6,736,789 times
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Also quite a big difference between MEDIAN and AVERAGE too..........
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