Housing Prices in San Antonio area (Houston, Spring: best neighborhood, new home, unemployed)

[Stabart47]

All I can speak about is my neighborhood, which is not good overall. I blame the builder's broker who put people, some without jobs or downpayments in these homes. They also sold to flippers and investors... most have foreclosed. When we went to qualify, they told us we "deserved" alot more house b/c of our income. We knew what we were comfortable with and still got burned. We have learned many valuable lessons: We are not buying another house until we are sure it's our forever house, we will never use a builder's financing, and we will be sure to check out the neighborhood more closely. Now we are stuck becoming landlords, something we never planned on. Real estate is gambling, plain and simple. There are no guarantees.

[TexasRedneck]

It's a cycle, unfortunately. Many folks listen to TV/radio shows that convince 'em how smart they are. Been there, done that - got the tshirt in several shades and sizes! Got lucky w/ours in that we were able to force the builder to do a "buy-back" (back in the mid-80's). Otherwise, we'd have been stuck with the place for another 5 years or so. Main thing is, if you can hang on you WILL recover. It's gonna take a while, and if you watch the places around you you'll likely go ape - but if you sit tight, it WILL come back.
Just never, EVER forget what happened, and don't get caught up in it again. We've never again bought a house with less than 20% down, and always planned to be in it a minimum of 5 years. The one we're in now was built with the idea that it was our last one, but Mama is making noises that she'd really like a place with a wrap-around porch....so who knows.

[majormadmax]

Dino1

Might want to read this...

Make Money in 2011 Your Home: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/111307/make-money-in-2011-your-home - broken link)

Cheers! M2

[Stabart47]

Interesting story from Yahoo Finance... what I find even more enlightening are the comments from people after the story. I think things will get much worse when all the shadow inventory of foreclosures flood the market next spring.
Did anyone read the story in the local paper this morning about how Mexicans are coming up to buy the high-end properties in SA? How are they able to afford $1,000,000 homes? What jobs there pay that much?

[jwebtx]

Originally Posted by Stabart47

Interesting story from Yahoo Finance... what I find even more enlightening are the comments from people after the story. I think things will get much worse when all the shadow inventory of foreclosures flood the market next spring.
Did anyone read the story in the local paper this morning about how Mexicans are coming up to buy the high-end properties in SA? How are they able to afford $1,000,000 homes? What jobs there pay that much?

Seriously, what world are you from? Mexicans have always been a large factor in the top of the San Antonio real estate market. The image you may conjure of Mexico is far from reality. There are countless businessmen in the country that can afford relatively cheap homes (compared to Mexico City etc) that offer security and quality public education in places like the Dominion.

Think manufactures, small hotel chain owners, and those fortunate enough to hold exclusive distribution agreements for [insert product here] for all of Mexico. You make that type of money there and you are a target. As such, they often put their families here, Houston, Phoenix, or SoCal.

[Stabart47]

Originally Posted by jwebtx

Seriously, what world are you from? Mexicans have always been a large factor in the top of the San Antonio real estate market. The image you may conjure of Mexico is far from reality. There are countless businessmen in the country that can afford relatively cheap homes (compared to Mexico City etc) that offer security and quality public education in places like the Dominion.

Think manufactures, small hotel chain owners, and those fortunate enough to hold exclusive distribution agreements for [insert product here] for all of Mexico. You make that type of money there and you are a target. As such, they often put their families here, Houston, Phoenix, or SoCal.

I did not "conjure" up anything, nor did I write the story. I was asking an honest question, and frankly, the job examples you give still leave me wondering. As long as they pay their property taxes, I couldn't care less. Again, all I can speak about is what has happened in my neighborhood.

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by Stabart47

I did not "conjure" up anything, nor did I write the story. I was asking an honest question, and frankly, the job examples you give still leave me wondering. As long as they pay their property taxes, I couldn't care less. Again, all I can speak about is what has happened in my neighborhood.

Stabart47,

I hope you're able to escape your situation quickly. There are much better places out there than San Antonio...much better. You should consider a move to a better city if your job/financial position allows.

[majormadmax]

I would not take any advice from someone who hasn't lived here for quite a while; especially someone whose opinions have been negated by numerous posters who do live in the city!

But the facts speak for themselves, if SA was such a bad place to live then why is it growing so fast? People are flocking here from other places, and there has to be a reason. Sure, a select few may not have found it to be to their liking; but to act as if it is a horrible place to live is ridiculous. There will always be statistical outliers, but as mathematical logic has shown they are often indicative of measurement error, meaning they are usually discarded. So while the majority of answers follow a set pattern, the one as represented within the circle on this graph is the one usually ignored...



There is usually an explanation for such erratic measurements, most likely an erroneous source or a lack of knowledge on the subject. I think both may apply in certain cases.

Just something to keep in mind as you compile information on this great city...

Cheers! M2

[Stabart47]

Originally Posted by firstclassflyer

Stabart47,

I hope you're able to escape your situation quickly. There are much better places out there than San Antonio...much better. You should consider a move to a better city if your job/financial position allows.

Thanks... as a matter of fact, we are thinking of doing the commuter marriage thing until this house can be rented or sold. Hubby has VERY good job here, but my heart is in Colorado Springs. Lived there 3 times and miss it very much. There's no comparison... it's clean, modern, and safe.

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by Stabart47

Thanks... as a matter of fact, we are thinking of doing the commuter marriage thing until this house can be rented or sold. Hubby has VERY good job here, but my heart is in Colorado Springs. Lived there 3 times and miss it very much. There's no comparison... it's clean, modern, and safe.

Good for you! Be happy. I agree that life in "The Springs" is of much better quality than in San Antonio. Enjoy.