DFW home prices.....are these for real? (Plano, McKinney: real estate market, low crime)

[Tyryztoll]

My wife and I love to watch House Hunters, and we also like to surf the net looking at home prices across the nation. In particular, we are amazed by the homes we see in Texas. We were looking at the Allen/McKinney area recently and couldn't believe the beautiful, spacious homes that are listed for as little as $150,000. Are these actually quality homes, or are they lipstick on pigs? We saw a few that made us want to list our current place and get down there STAT! I know.......Texans are probably more than sick of northerners filling up their state.......but when you have a growing family and see something like this it really gets you to thinking...

[galore]

What's a quality home in your point of view? The $150k homes are usually code minimum but still nice.

Yes, there are very nice homes for $150k in the metroplex, compared to (much) more expensive real estate markets.

Problem is that you have to compare those homes with what else is available here and a $150k home will mean you are in a sea of $150k homes, next to a sea of much nicer $200k homes, next to a sea of much nicer $250k homes, next to a sea of.....

The metroplex is a HUGE conglomerate of suburbs with HUGE subdivisions with homes grouped in classes of different price points where homes within one class tend to look alike. This doesn't really come across on TV but be aware that a $150k home here is nothing special so if you don't mind lack of individualism, go for it!

[jennifw]

I would add to galore's post and say that the homes in the $150k range are probably at the bottom of the list for overall homes in the DFW area. The metroplex is also very large and the less expensive homes are usually pretty far out. That is one thing to take into consideration. You might save on your home, but spend all of your time in the car going to work.

[TrueDat]

And you might have trouble selling it if you decide to move. Many potential buyers are going to say why opt for an older $150,000 look-alike tract house when you can get a newer $150,000 look-alike tract house in a newer subdivision in an ever-expanding Metroplex with no mountains/ocean to hem in development?

And don't forget property taxes are high here and that takes some of the glow off that cheap price.

[CREW747]

For the average person,a $150,000 collin county home is considered nice.Coming from states where everything is ridiculously expensive,this area is like a breath of fresh air to many.We have relatives that moved here after visting us and purchased a house in the Quail Run subdivision of Mc kinney for about $150,000. They are elated.

We live in Prosper right next to Mc Kinney.Northern collin county is one if the best places to live right now.What you see on tv does not due the area justice.Allen,Plano ,Frisco,Prosper,Mc kinney and Fairview have some gorgeous neighborhoods.While each area differs in certain aspects,they are all very similar.The best way to describe West Mc kinney and the other areas mentioned is kept.Eveything is newer down here and coming from the northeast we loved how clean and neat the streets and subdivisions are.All areas mentioned offer great schools,very low crime and access to every retail and amentity you can imagine.We moved here from Greenwich,Ct (job transfer) and could not be happier.Most if not all the houses for $150,000 that you see on tv are located in great areas of McKinney.

Do a search online in the 75070 and 75071 zip codes with a $160,000 max.Also check out 75035 in Frisco with the same max price.Virtually all the houses you see will be in nice subdivisions in good areas. Moderator cut: Realtor.com is a good site to search on...

[GreyDay]

Originally Posted by galore

What's a quality home in your point of view? The $150k homes are usually code minimum but still nice.

Yes, there are very nice homes for $150k in the metroplex, compared to (much) more expensive real estate markets.

Problem is that you have to compare those homes with what else is available here and a $150k home will mean you are in a sea of $150k homes, next to a sea of much nicer $200k homes, next to a sea of much nicer $250k homes, next to a sea of.....

The metroplex is a HUGE conglomerate of suburbs with HUGE subdivisions with homes grouped in classes of different price points where homes within one class tend to look alike. This doesn't really come across on TV but be aware that a $150k home here is nothing special so if you don't mind lack of individualism, go for it!

Agreed.

There is no such thing as bang for buck. A house costs only what the market will bear. Yes, you can get a big house for 150k, but so can anyone else with 150k. Also, the homes are not generally in the more desireable parts of town (remember the location part of real estate?). And as mentioned at resale time, your home that was purchased like a car, instead of a home, with all the value in the house, not the land, is a rapidly depreciating asset. Most looking at the 150k houses want new, so you'll likely now see much appreciation if the can go across the street to a newer, shinier development.

[Tyryztoll]

Thanks all who have replied so far. If we did move there, our price range would be up to $200,000. I was going to post an example of the homes that are blowing our doors off, but I'm pretty sure that's not allowed on CD......anyway, this one was in McKinney.....on a golf course......4 BR, 2 1/2 bath, nearly 3,000 sq. ft.......and had these towering windows & ceilings.......double tierd granite counters in the kitchen, incredible bathroom with jacuzzi tub....it wasn't a new home, but it sure looked like it inside. A house like this would probably be at least $300,000 where I live, probably more, and it's listed for $185,000. Wow.

[MckinneyOwnr]

Originally Posted by Northman

My wife and I love to watch House Hunters, and we also like to surf the net looking at home prices across the nation. In particular, we are amazed by the homes we see in Texas. We were looking at the Allen/McKinney area recently and couldn't believe the beautiful, spacious homes that are listed for as little as $150,000. Are these actually quality homes, or are they lipstick on pigs? We saw a few that made us want to list our current place and get down there STAT! I know.......Texans are probably more than sick of northerners filling up their state.......but when you have a growing family and see something like this it really gets you to thinking...

Yes, what you've seen is true. I live in McKinney after moving from FL. In FL, in 2007, an 1800 sqft house I was looking at buying went for $280k. Here, I got a house literally twice the size for $250k.

The homes you see for $150k will be about 2000-2500 sq ft, although some better deals can be found out there. Here's one just down the street from me,

Moderator cut: only realtor.com can be cited

Texas has more bang for the buck when it comes to home prices than any other place I've ever lived. The downside of that is though, that home prices do not appreciate like you may be used to. Slow, steady growth is usually the name of the game around here, so keep that in mind if you plan on moving frequently.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by GreyDay

Agreed.

There is no such thing as bang for buck. A house costs only what the market will bear. Yes, you can get a big house for 150k, but so can anyone else with 150k. Also, the homes are not generally in the more desireable parts of town (remember the location part of real estate?). And as mentioned at resale time, your home that was purchased like a car, instead of a home, with all the value in the house, not the land, is a rapidly depreciating asset. Most looking at the 150k houses want new, so you'll likely now see much appreciation if the can go across the street to a newer, shinier development.

This a sad, but very true condition of the real estate market in DFW burbs.

To the OP, take what GD said here and consider it above everything else you have read in this thread so far. There is no such thing as bang for the buck, no free lunch, you get what you pay for, blah blah blah.

Oh and be sure to pay close attention to the property taxes.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr

Yes, what you've seen is true. I live in McKinney after moving from FL. In FL, in 2007, an 1800 sqft house I was looking at buying went for $280k. Here, I got a house literally twice the size for $250k.

The homes you see for $150k will be about 2000-2500 sq ft, although some better deals can be found out there. Here's one just down the street from me,

2413 Orchid Dr, Mc Kinney, TX 75070 - Zillow

Texas has more bang for the buck when it comes to home prices than any other place I've ever lived. The downside of that is though, that home prices do not appreciate like you may be used to. Slow, steady growth is usually the name of the game around here, so keep that in mind if you plan on moving frequently.

The OP also needs to keep in mind that McKinney is far from almost everything and would stink, commute-wise, to most areas of DFW. There's also the 75 expansion to contend with in the coming years; it's going to be a real mess up there.