$200,000 - $250,000 homes around Dallas? (Plano, Carrollton: countertops, big home, neighborhoods)

[Chimover]

I am considering a move to the Dallas area sometime this year. My budget is somewhere in the $200-$250,000 range. I am looking for a home with some yard and a pool. I have seen MLS listings in that price range that look like beautiful McMansions, but I don't know whether the neighborhoods explain the low price for the big homes. What kind of neighborhood or home do you think $200-$250,000 can buy in or near Dallas? Thanks much!

[Grainraiser]

Your question is to broad. In the city itself a $200,000-$250,000 will get you less than 1,700sqft in a nice area. It will get you a larger home on a post stamp size lot in the northern burbs. It will have you a even larger house on a post stamp size lot in the southern/southeastern burbs. There are tradeoffs and you would have to decide what things are most important to you.

[getmeoutofhere]

$250K will buy a very, very nice house in the Dallas area. It kind of depends on where you will work and want to live, but you can easily buy a lot of house for that much money.

[jcaughron]

I'd check northeast Carrollton. You're close enough to Plano for all the amenities, close to major highways, but don't really pay what you'd pay in Plano. I don't really know where you would be working, that obviously would come into play.

[FarNorthDallas]

As is true with most areas, the further out you go, the cheaper and newer the houses.

[loves2read]

getmeoutofhere--let's take back one of those VERY's---
it is all about perspective

one 250K house in one area might be pretty nice and one in different area might not be so nice...

this person needs to 1) figure out where he is working since that will be pretty important info for where to move, 2) tell us if school/isd is important factor or if there will be home-schooling, private school or no school, 3) what areas/subdivisions are the houses in that caught his attention---

there is no real info/comparison possible without more specific information...

[getmeoutofhere]

Originally Posted by loves2read

getmeoutofhere--let's take back one of those VERY's---
it is all about perspective

As compared to everywhere else in the USA, outside of very rural areas, $250K probably goes about as far here in the D/FW area as it can.

I base it on that, and because if the OP is looking for a $250K house here, I think it's probably a fair assessment they aren't going from a $650K house elsewhere.

So, given that he/she is looking at $250K houses here, that would probably be their price range from wherever they are coming from, and it's a good bet that $250K goes a lot further here than there.

So there.

[EinsteinsGhost]

$200K-250K can buy you a lot of house (2000-2800 sq ft) in some very good locations around Dallas. But, you must first narrow down the area you want to be in, number of bedrooms/bath etc, before you find yourself inundated with a list of really nice homes.

[turnbun]

Where will you be working, and how long are you willing to commute? That will help answer your question more specifically. There are plenty of great areas where you can purchase a nice home for $250,000.

[Chimover]

I appreciate all of the comments. I didn't provide more information, because at the moment I don't have much more. I am considering the move to Dallas not for a specific job yet, but because I'm interested in living there. The schools aren't too important to me, I don't have kids. I want to live in a nice neighborhood, but I don't need a huge house with 5 bedrooms. Part of the reason Dallas interests me is the good home values and lower cost of living compared to where I currently live, but not being intimately familiar with the area, when I see large, attractive 2-story homes online that are going for $250,000, complete with granite countertops, inground pools and whirlpools, and crown molding, I don't know what "the catch" is.