If Texas is soo great, why is it so cheap? (Houston: mortgage, environment)

[eptex]

Originally Posted by killer2021

high crime.

Really? We are in El Paso and in 18 years I have had one break in into one of our vehicles outside. I don't live in a million dollar neighborhood, just nice folks around us.

I think there is just a lot of land in Texas. Hey psssst, let's keept it that way

When it comes to jobs, there are a lot of jobs in the DFW area. If anybody can not find a job there, they got issues

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by newportbeachsmostwanted

Here's a question for you Texans:
If Texas is so great then why is it so cheap?

Is it economical? Is it a bad rep? Is it a high housing supply?...

I'm probably wrong because I'm not really into things like this, but my theory is because the whole state has so many options (????)...Three cities with a one million plus population, and two major BIG TIME cities. Yet, those three other cities.. ..have the audacity to expect me to cough up a $3000 rent for a closet apartment that has an amazing view of a brick wall. I'm not that far out of my mind; moreover, no city is worth that much.

No thank you. I'll take the state with the most beautiful sunsets in the world. Yes sir, Texas. Where God rested on the seventh day.

[lonestar2007]

Cheap???? Just exactly what is cheap? I've been looking, but it sounds as if you've done better than me. How bout giving me some heads up on this cheap property?

[montevista1]

tons of land extreme property taxes

[Na16v]

I moved from the North East to the Houston area last June. I love the low cost of living and the weather. It's amazing how affordable housing is.

[i_catch_tree_bass]

A little over half those that have responded have actually been helpful, the rest are spreading info they know nothing about...

Crime rates in a given city or area overall are similar to any other place you'd find in the country with a similar population.

Most jobs pay less here than other places, but that's because cost living and salary rates go hand in hand. A company knows what it has to pay someone to "lure" them somewhere or to provide a reasonable living where that job is based. Otherwise, the employee will leave and the company will be out the time and effort it spent training, moving, etc. that employee.

No work in Texas? That's a joke.

I'd be hard pressed to call Texas a less desirable place to live. Population growth strongly suggests otherwise.

The primary reason Texas remains "cheap" is, just as many before me have said, availability of land. This sole factor drives down the price for virtually everything else.

For a quick primer on supply and demand when it comes to real estate, check prices for land in the Hill Country (as referenced by a previous post) as opposed to acreage in rural west Texas or in the Panhandle.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by lonestar2007

Cheap???? Just exactly what is cheap? I've been looking, but it sounds as if you've done better than me. How bout giving me some heads up on this cheap property?

I agree. I can't find anything nice that is cheap either. I just read a post on the General U.S. forum and was abosolutely amazed that in ND, a guy paid $67,000 for a house and 17 acres. Now that's cheap.

No, I don't want to live in snow country. I also checked out property in southwest VA, and it's quite a bit less than the part of Texas where I live (plain old Central Texas) and definitely oodles less than the Hill Country of TX where I would consider living. The property taxes are nearly nothing and in Texas, they're going through the roof.

I would love 17 acres alone for $67,000 and forget the house.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by lonestar2007

Cheap???? Just exactly what is cheap? I've been looking, but it sounds as if you've done better than me. How bout giving me some heads up on this cheap property?

No kidding. We have land in Colorado that we can't GIVE AWAY! Yet any land around this state comes w/ a price tag. It may be "cheap" compared to land/dirt in downtown LA or NYC but it is not "cheap" by any stretch. Besides, that word "cheap" is not the correct term to use. It should be "reasonable" as the other word means something entirely different. And rent in any commercial/retail area is HIGH DOLLAR. At least in areas that one would want to open up a business and be visible to a large customer base.

Whoever has a problem finding a job in this state will have a hard time in ANY state. We can't find enough GOOD people that are worth hiring. My dad is semi-retired and has done a few p/t jobs in his area (otr truck driver) and every company that he has run into is BEGGING for people. There are jobs out there the person wanting them just needs to be qualified and in some cases they can't even pass a simple drug test or they just flat out don't want to work. This is why one reason so many companies now hire people that they are already familiar with. It could be someone that works for one of their customers or vendors/suppliers and they already know the person is a go-getter and they like their personality. Companies are tired of hiring washups or people that just want a paycheck.

High crime? Sure. Go ahead and believe that one. I feel safer in the worst parts of Dallas than I do in many places in California or Florida.

[irwin]

Texas is cheaper for several reasons but I think two of the biggest are:

1.) Residential Tax Rates: The property taxes in Texas are some of the highest in the country. This has a negative affect on real estate because many people can't afford to pay the yearly tax bills on the property they would buy in another state. This decreases demand and there ya go.

2.) Land: There is more land in Texas and almost all of it is owned in private hands. The zoning laws in the state are extremely lax and thus you get sprawling, low density places where housing is cheap. Of course, those cheap houses come with other costs (commute, drive everywhere, environmental problems, boredom, etc) but many people in Texas seem to be willing to make those trade offs. Main reason is that some of the costs (namely the environmental ones) are not priced into the costs that the individual feels, at least not in the short term.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by Scholar

Texans are too smart to let people needlessly jack up prices and take advantage of them. If you don't believe me, just watch a town where the county appraisal district goes crazy raising rates. People will raise the roof!

They've gone nuts where I live and no one raised the roof that I know. I did go to the appraiser's office and ask questions, and lo and behold, I checked the rates for the homes in my area and my taxes are actually less than some of the smaller homes and of course, much less than the larger. Shhh! Don't tell. I'm a transplant, and don't want them taking advantage of me either.