Houston Housing Crash When Oil Is Gone (Dallas, Midland: rental, buying a house)

[phil77]

I live (rent) and work in Houston. I am thinking about buying a residential property here to live in. However, I am concerned about the long term prosperity of the housing market here considering Houston's HUGE dependence on the oil and gas industry. I would say 60- 80% of USA's oil and gas related jobs are based here in Houston. Once oil and gas is gone where is everybody going to work? renewable energy jobs will not replace even 5% of the current amount of oil and gas jobs.

In 10-20 years time when people in oil and gas lose their jobs, they will leave Houston in their thousands.THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN

Housing prices will drop like you would not believe. Just look at what happened is Detroit when the auto industry went bad. I have heard of houses being bought for $150,000 ten years ago that are now being sold for ~ $40,000. Houston will suffer in the same way but on a much LARGER scale. Houston has 5 million people compared to Detroits 1 million (last time I checked)

Buying a house is a 30 + year thing. Oil will almost certainly be gone in 30 years. Over the next 10 years or so things will be fine, housing will be cheap here and people will be loving it here. But when oil goes, home owners are going to $lose big time.

Am I the only person that can see this? I am never buying a house here unless someone can convince me that I dont know what I am talking about.

Thanks

[EasilyAmused]

There is Oil, plenty of it. Its just getting to it will be the trick. Where are you getting all your facts anyway?

The housing market might go stale if the economy is bad, and this isn't the time to be a flipper. But if you actually buy IN Houston, within the Beltway, you will be ok. Don;t forget about the medical and techo grip Houston has on things as well.

[Lakewooder]

I agree with EA - just be sure to buy inside the loop. I was in Houston in the oil bust of the 1980s and I currently work at an oil and gas consulting firm (over 20 years) in Dallas. I've also sold RE and still have my broker's license and over a dozen rental properties. So I think I speak with some authority on this subject.

[arbucle]

I live in Friendswood and i dont think NASA or any of the hundreds of chemical factories are going anywhere. why dont you think any of these green jobs that will be created will not belocated here?Thousands of engineers live here.

[DJboutit]

Midland Tx is a great example of this when all the oil companies left the pop of the city droped about 8,000 to 12,000 now there is really no reason to live out there any more.

[tstone]

Run for cover, the sky is falling!!!

If oil is truly "gone" in 30 years, life as we know it all over the country and world will change. It won't just affect Houston.

Sorry to say, but oil isn't going anywhere except up and up in price.

[kpoeppel]

According to an article in The Economist, Houston continued to add energy jobs, even during the Oil Bust of the 1990's.

[chris_ut]

Thanks Nostradamus for letting us know FOR SURE what is going to happen in 30 years.

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by kpoeppel

According to an article in The Economist, Houston continued to add energy jobs, even during the Oil Bust of the 1990's.

The bust was in the 80's. Houston lost population (about 60,000) during that time. Gained them all back in a year though.

Houston was basically the only place in Texas where you could find a job in the early 2000's, too.

[southeasttexas]

Don't buy into the hysteria and lies about "oil is dissapearing". The Exxon-Mobil CEO said last week there is plenty of oil, for generations to come. This lie is as preposterous as the Global Warming hysteria. In 50 years, people will look back and wonder how could the public back in 2008 could have been so gullible to fall for all the extream media hype. Grow a brain!