considering move to Texas from S. California (Houston, Baytown: apartments, foreclosed)

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by ellabella65

Those size homes in our neighborhood go for between 350-500K.
Ellabella65

So is the media telling people there you can get a $350K-$500K house for $100K or under here? Is it urban legends circulating? I am just trying to figure out why the unrealistic requests from that area.

[crbcrbrgv]

You could swing 100k for a house in the Townewest neighborhood just north of Sugar Land. It has a bad reputation, but is rather quiet. Also, it feeds into good schools, which should keep property values at least even.

[Malvie]

Originally Posted by cheryjohns

So is the media telling people there you can get a $350K-$500K house for $100K or under here? Is it urban legends circulating? I am just trying to figure out why the unrealistic requests from that area.

I agree, I'm interested in why this view from California is that everything is SO MUCH CHEAPER here. Why, they're GIVING it away in Texas.

No, not really; it's about half. I used several of the comparison websites, and I'd need to make roughly 63% more to live in Los Angeles vs. Houston, with housing being around 150%. So, if a house costs $150,000 in Houston, you could realistically expect to pay $234,000 for a comparable house in Los Angeles.

That said, you have to do true apples to apples comparisons, and that's difficult. Every foot closer to the ocean in LA = more expensive, whereas Houston varies all up and down the scale.

Plus, the relative size of the cities comes into play. As big and spread out as Houston is, LA (metro) is bigger by a lot (especially if you include Riverside and "the Inland Empire", which you'd do if you were going to add, say, Baytown and Galveston to Houston).

Put another way: That $150,000 house in north Katy would be the equivalent of a house in Riverside---much further from the downtown area and the "glam" area than Katy is from Houston's downtown and "glam" (?) area (say River Oaks vs. Beverly Hills).

So, can you afford more in Houston than in LA? Sure! Can you buy a Beverly Hills style mansion in Houston for $150,000? No. You'll still pay in the millions---just FEWER millions than LA.

[EasilyAmused]

There're some great deals in Malibu right now, a steal. At least that's what the TV is telling us Texans

[Malvie]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

There're some great deals in Malibu right now, a steal. At least that's what the TV is telling us Texans

Only Charlie Sheen's house.

[ellabella65]

Originally Posted by cheryjohns

So is the media telling people there you can get a $350K-$500K house for $100K or under here? Is it urban legends circulating? I am just trying to figure out why the unrealistic requests from that area.

My friend just moved to Cinco Ranch. She paid 220 for her house.
My girl friend visited and said the same house would be worth a million dollars where I live.
Another friend moved to a great neighborhood in Allen last year and bought what we would consider a mansion there for 300K.

I am not asking for all of my amenities or to live in the city.
I am just wondering if there are any places, anywhere that people could suggest.

Sorry if it seems offensive to some, just trying to survive in this economy and we like Texas
thanks,

ellabella65

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by ellabella65

My friend just moved to Cinco Ranch. She paid 220 for her house.
My girl friend visited and said the same house would be worth a million dollars where I live.
Another friend moved to a great neighborhood in Allen last year and bought what we would consider a mansion there for 300K.

I am not asking for all of my amenities or to live in the city.
I am just wondering if there are any places, anywhere that people could suggest.

Sorry if it seems offensive to some, just trying to survive in this economy and we like Texas
thanks,

ellabella65

We are glad you like it - but expectations have to realistic. $220K in Cinco? Very doable. Yes, our $300K homes look fantastic for what you would get for the same money in California. A small ranch house in upper Katy will run about $135K minimum - a $100K house is going to need appliances, paint, carpet, maybe counters, and a lot of work otherwise. That same house in other parts of the city will run more. As a matter of fact, that $220K house in Cinco would more than double in price if it were plopped into the Energy Corridor.

[josh u]

I found that SL and Houston's houses are 1/4 the price of SF/SJ/LA/Orange County for a similar house & neighborhood. So, a 300k home in an above average city with desirable schools like SL would be $1.0M-$1.4M in an above-average place like Irvine or Cupertino, CA.

However, property taxes and insurance are higher in TX %-wise and homes tend to need repairs/maintenance more often due to climate, so the cost-of-housing isn't simply 1/4

[josh u]

Originally Posted by Malvie

I used several of the comparison websites, and I'd need to make roughly 63% more to live in Los Angeles vs. Houston, with housing being around 150%. So, if a house costs $150,000 in Houston, you could realistically expect to pay $234,000 for a comparable house in Los Angeles.

A $150k home in Houston won't be $234k in LA. Not even in crummy areas of LA. It'd be more like $350-425k for a mediocre but not terrible area (not close to the beach, not very good schools, etc)

[Malvie]

Originally Posted by josh u

A $150k home in Houston won't be $234k in LA. Not even in crummy areas of LA. It'd be more like $350-425k for a mediocre but not terrible area (not close to the beach, not very good schools, etc)

Apples to apples comparison. You won't find a $150,000 house in (anything close to a nice area in) HOUSTON, you have to go way out in the far burbs. If you're trying to buy a $150,000 house "inside the loop" here, you're looking in the ghetto (or in a neighborhood that is "up and coming", but the house was built in the 1920's or 1930's and hasn't been updated since, so needs another $100,000--$200,000 to make it livable).

So, no, you won't find a $250,000 house in Echo Park or Silverlake...but you also won't find a $150,000 house in West University Place or the Heights, either.