Young Buyers Getting Pushed out of Dallas Home ownership (Garland: apartments, rent)

[Made_it_To_the_Metroplex]

IMO, this is a function of 1) the ultra-hot real estate market in general, which makes it a seller's market and 2) the apparent conscious choice of many young professionals to rent vs buy. Just think about all the apartment buildings currently under construction or announced. That's just where the market is right now, IMO.

[Made_it_To_the_Metroplex]

Originally Posted by biafra4life

I totally agree with this article. New construction under $150K is pretty much non existent in the metroplex at this point, unless you want some REALLY far flung exurb like Anna or Celina.

But the bigger issue is that even pre owned homes under $150K are scarce. Have any of you tried to get a home under $150K??? Most of those homes are getting snapped up by East Coast/West Coast/Asian investors who can pay all cash. How on earth are young home buyers supposed to compete with that? Fact is, they cant. And this is not about young folks feeling "entitled" or any other generational war put down. Aiming for a first time home costing under $150K is a reasonable goal. The DFW area used to be the place to achieve that. Not any more. And I don't think it's a development that is good for the long term health of the area. Not everyone is equity rich from east coast/west coast areas.

A lot of this can also be attributed to so many companies relocating to or expanding in this area, bringing new buyers into the market. It's a just plain hot market!

[aggie972]

Originally Posted by biafra4life

Clearly someone who has not had to shop in the sub $200K range...sigh...
As someone who has bought a home that cost under $200K let me educate you on just how silly your statement is.
First off, there's a good chance that in today's market, half of those homes you pulled up are already snapped up, just not updated in MLS. Homes are going in 4 days in Wylie where I live, so I can only imagine how hot the market is in more desirable Plano and Richardson, and forget Frisco/Allen/McKinney.
As for the rest of the homes...if they are on the market longer than a week it's because of all the flaws you mentioned earlier, located on a busy road/needs tons of work etc.

This is what the new homebuyer is up against. Incredible demand for sub $200K homes, and then on top of that, the cash rich investors who offer the seller a much better package than anything the typical young first timer can afford.
It saddens me to think that if I was buying my home today instead of 2 years ago, there is a pretty good chance I wouldn't be able to get anything in my price range. If you want the DFW area to become a place where half the populace is renting apartments well into their thirties and forties (just like NY) then this is a good development. If you liked the old DFW where a home was achievable then it's depressing as hell.

One thing for folk down here to think about. People will put up with incredibly high rent/mortgages in NY/LA because those are internationally famous, world class cities. Does DFW command the same premium? I would say not. If a young educated couple looking to put down roots and raise a family is considering Dallas, would OKC/Tulsa/Nashville/North Carolina not be more favorable? I would say yes. Dallas at present is ok. Offers lots of jobs and a relatively low cost of living. Subtract the low cost of living (tied mainly to cost of housing) and DFW loses a lot of its attraction to people looking to get ahead.

This is a depressing post. It's looking like the things that made Dallas a good value for the middle class are eroding. It's like how everyone talked about how great a value Brooklyn was, then suddenly everyone wanted to move there, then the prices shot way up and the good value buys went away.

[bencronin04]

Originally Posted by Made_it_To_the_Metroplex

IMO, this is a function of 1) the ultra-hot real estate market in general, which makes it a seller's market and 2) the apparent conscious choice of many young professionals to rent vs buy. Just think about all the apartment buildings currently under construction or announced. That's just where the market is right now, IMO.

If 2 were true, then wouldn't that leave houses for sale more open in the market?

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by aggie972

This is a depressing post. It's looking like the things that made Dallas a good value for the middle class are eroding. It's like how everyone talked about how great a value Brooklyn was, then suddenly everyone wanted to move there, then the prices shot way up and the good value buys went away.

Yup, that's my fear...that people like me will be gentrified out of our own neighborhoods by rapidly rising property taxes.

[aznkobee]

Originally Posted by biafra4life

Clearly someone who has not had to shop in the sub $200K range...sigh...
As someone who has bought a home that cost under $200K let me educate you on just how silly your statement is.
First off, there's a good chance that in today's market, half of those homes you pulled up are already snapped up, just not updated in MLS. Homes are going in 4 days in Wylie where I live, so I can only imagine how hot the market is in more desirable Plano and Richardson, and forget Frisco/Allen/McKinney.
As for the rest of the homes...if they are on the market longer than a week it's because of all the flaws you mentioned earlier, located on a busy road/needs tons of work etc.

This is what the new homebuyer is up against. Incredible demand for sub $200K homes, and then on top of that, the cash rich investors who offer the seller a much better package than anything the typical young first timer can afford.
It saddens me to think that if I was buying my home today instead of 2 years ago, there is a pretty good chance I wouldn't be able to get anything in my price range. If you want the DFW area to become a place where half the populace is renting apartments well into their thirties and forties (just like NY) then this is a good development. If you liked the old DFW where a home was achievable then it's depressing as hell.

One thing for folk down here to think about. People will put up with incredibly high rent/mortgages in NY/LA because those are internationally famous, world class cities. Does DFW command the same premium? I would say not. If a young educated couple looking to put down roots and raise a family is considering Dallas, would OKC/Tulsa/Nashville/North Carolina not be more favorable? I would say yes. Dallas at present is ok. Offers lots of jobs and a relatively low cost of living. Subtract the low cost of living (tied mainly to cost of housing) and DFW loses a lot of its attraction to people looking to get ahead.

Yup! Its not just the under 200k houses that are like that. Any house that aren't priced ridiculously outrageous get snatched up quick. I remember going down the list of all the houses in the neighborhood we desire and the within our budget. The good ones were always gone since day 1, the others our realtor would say "No, you can't buy that one" either due to busy street, power lines, 2nd floor masters etc... the ones left were the ones where we say NO! the second we walk in. The house that we just bought was our own agent's listing but still end up with a bidding war against 10 offers after day 1 and had to pay 10% above listing price with all cash. Makes you wanna shoot yourself

[Made_it_To_the_Metroplex]

Originally Posted by bencronin04

If 2 were true, then wouldn't that leave houses for sale more open in the market?

I think that other buyers swoop in on those properties (investors, people who can pay cash on the spot, etc). But they wouldn't be developing all the new apartments if there wasn't a vigorous market for them.

[whj3773]

The market for existing homes in a relatively safe neighborhood and relatively good school district under 200K is extremely competitive. I know from experience.

At least rents here are not skyrocketing......yet.

[lpepping]

Rents are already jumping up too.

[whj3773]

well i will say a big reason people move here is the affordability. Dallas has all the big city amenities but it isnt exactly a paradise when it comes to weather and natural beauty. I would imagine if home prices and rents keep going up that at some point there would be a realization that it just isnt worth it to people.