Sticker Shock (Houston, Sugar Land, San Diego: real estate, apartments, insurance)

[Inside Man]

I am in sticker shock after seeing how low the housing prices are in Cypress!

[Bike4Life]

Yes! I am shocked, too! It IS that cheap compared to Socal.

[Mr. Football]

Relatively speaking, you can get a lot of house for the money the Houston suburbs. Especially in areas where they're still building. Cy-Fair ISD is one of the fastest growing school districts in the nation, every year. This particular part of town has been booming for 15 years with no signs of stopping.

[Inside Man]

I am also surprised by the low rents for spacious 1 bedroom apartments with a washer and dryer in unit in nice areas like Sugar Land.

I am thinking of moving to Houston in two years, but I don't know anyone in the area. I'm trying to decide between Houston, San Diego, New York City (commuting from Connecticut or NJ), and Philadelphia (all same pay, except for Philly, which is slightly less).

[Bike4Life]

Yep, cost-of-living is cheaper relative to compensation in and around Houston. You can buy one of Mr. Football's McMansions. However, I prefer to live in a modest home in the city.

[Mr. Football]

Well good for you Biker! Somebody give Biker a medal. I think he wants some recognition.

Living in the city is fine if you don't mind the violent crime, bad streets, bad air, pollution, crummy service, horrid schools and lack of green spaces.

But hey, the nightlife rocks and its great if you're single, post-college, young professional couple w/no kids, no kids, no kids etc.

Having moved from Midtown, I always get a chuckle when city folks, especially coming from a city like Houston (built on excess), judgingly lecture about "McMansions" - especially when its apparent they don't know what the operative definition is. There are certainly more cases of "McMansions" in the city than there are the burbs, as the lots in the burbs are generally much larger than those in the city and specifically drawn out for such homes.

[Inside Man]

What's wrong with the McMansions? Suburban sprawl?

[tstone]

You're gonna be in sticker shock once you get your property tax bill every year, too. Figure roughly 3% of the ''sticker price'' every year.

You'll also understand why the prices are the way they are if you spend 4 hours on highway 290, going to & from work every day.

Same with the homeowner insurance bill if you live by the coast. These rates are just not letting up. However Cypress should be relatively reasonable for now.

[EasilyAmused]

The reason its cheap is because it's far from downtown. Commuting is horrible from the region. The closer you getting to the economic center of a region, the more expensive it gets.

BUT, the taxes out there are way more than in town.

PS- The lots are getting smaller and smaller in the burbs. I couldn't believe when I saw they were putting those Woodlands Creekside homes on 9,000 sf lots for 400,000. That's almost ITB pricing.

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by Inside Man

I am in sticker shock after seeing how low the housing prices are in Cypress!

Be careful about that sticker shock--it leads some people to overpay for properties, leading to even greater chances of investment loss.

Keep in mind, too, that there are some downsides to the low real estate prices in the Houston 'burbs: price appreciation above the rate of inflation is often nil; selling a house can be difficult because there are so many other properties on the market; generally speaking, cheap house=long commute