Why is Houston housing so reasonable? (Baytown, The Woodlands: insurance, houses, neighborhood)

[Dixiedude]

We intend to relocate from Central Virginia to the Woodlands in the next
year or two. Excluding the $500,000-plus homes (although the same
principle applies), why are homes so reasonably priced?
We have examined comparable residential properties in our market (which
nationally is not the "high priced spread") with homes in the Woodlands. A 3-4 bedroom abode with comparable features/neighborhood ambiance here costs
$350-400K. A "matching" property in the Woodlands goes for $225-250K (and may have a swimming pool to boot).
Assuming building materials and "suburban" land costs are the same or similar,
is it that Houston area homes are built by undocumenteds for a much lower
hourly wage?
Of course, the annual property taxes are double what we pay in this
suburban community where every student has a school-furnished laptop,
SAT scores are high, etc. Yes, I know. No state income tax. Granted,
but as retirees, we don't pay much in the way of VA taxes any way.
The tax issue digresses. The 64-dollar question is: "why the favorable pricing status of the Woodlands vs. suburban Central VA?"

[Bike4Life]

It all broils down to having more NON-demanding-$25-an-hour-unions-just-to-screw-a-bolt in the South. The higher the wage a city has commands comes with higher prices of houses. Plus, we have a lousy Metrorail that will be replaced someday for a bullet train.

[lukeache]

Price of land in Texas is very low compared to Virginia. There is just too much land in Texas that is available and undeveloped. In addition, property taxes are very high. Also, It is much cheaper to build in Texas than in Virginia and Texas has a more lax urban planning policy. It is kind of weird how in Texas, they turn woods into subdivisions

[JuggerNoggin]

Home prices in Houston are really not significantly lower than the rest of the country. The housing data is skewed because it looks at Houston Metro, which includes areas like Baytown, Alvin, Brazosport, and the Woodlands.

The Woodlands area is 45 MILES north of Downtown Houston. Alvin and Brazosport are 40-60 miles away.

Come inside the Loop, and suddenly the housing is not as affordable and is comparable to other cities.

Go 45 miles outside of most major cities and you will find much more reasonable housing prices. How far away from the city is that $400K house in VA?

Also, we have lots of land, cheap labor, and ridiculous property taxes, which adds significantly to the monthly house payment.

[TootsieWootsie]

Lots of land being annexed by the city of Houston is the reason. Lots of land with nothing on it.
Don't forget: If your house is hit by a hurricane, it might be called an "act of God" there and...well...your loss totally. Watch your insurance package.

[davidt1]

Most people for some reasons just can't think far ahead. They see only the cost of buying, but not the cost of owning. I only go there because of family obligation.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by lukeache

It is kind of weird how in Texas, they turn woods into subdivisions

This is not unique to Texas, although the lack of zoning is unique to Houston. The other large cities have zoning in the sense that you would find it in any other large city in the US.

[springlady]

It's cheaper to build a house in Houston than it is in a lot of places. Our climate is such that houses don't require a lot of insulation, for one thing. There are lots of people looking for work, hundreds of contracting companies, cheap land, building supplies are cheap and readily available, and there's lots of competition for the housing dollar so prices stay low. I live just inside the county line near the Woodlands and there are new subdivisions popping up like mushrooms all around me.

So there's no deep dark subversive reason why houses are cheaper here - it just doesn't cost as much to build a house down here as it does in some other parts of the country.

Schools are good, jobs are plentiful...and if we just didn't have summer and 90% humidity 9 months out of the year Houston would be just about perfect.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by springlady

It's cheaper to build a house in Houston than it is in a lot of places. Our climate is such that houses don't require a lot of insulation, for one thing.

We were dubbed the A/C capital of the world -- we don't need a lot of insulation???

[springlady]

I'm sorry, I should have said insulation against the cold. Winterizing. Double pane windows, weight bearing roofs for snow, that kind of thing.

I've heard it was cheaper to build for warm climates than cold climates because the codes are stricter in cold climates...

That's not saying ours shouldn't be a little stricter, judging by all the happy plumbers when we have a rare hard freeze and the pipes break!

It seems like down here builders get by with little insulation in a lot of these houses. Maybe some stuff in the attics but not much in the walls.