When would you say Austin became too expensive for the average person? (West: for sale, apartments)

[CarnivalGal]

Again, downtown and certain parts of the city ARE expensive - just like EVERY OTHER CITY. Yes, if I want to live in 04 or Tarrytown, it's going to be pricey. But that doesn't mean there are not perfectly nice homes in Austin. You can get a 3-4 BR house in Maple Run for under $200K. You can get a 3BR home in Mesa Park or Gracywoods.

But to say the whole city is unattainable for the average Joe is just ignorant. It IS attainable for the average person - that's why everyone is moving here.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

The house I used to live in off of Duval/MoPac is appraised at 170k currently. Fairly quick to downtown, but I worked on the outskirts, so not the issue. I bought it in maybe 1995 (I forget the year exactly) for just under 100k.

Anyway, when I bought that house, downtown Austin was STILL unaffordable to the average bloke - yes, the houses were cheaper, but income was lower. Rent, OTOH, was much lower historically until pretty recently.

appraisal and market prices are in no way related.

[Trainwreck20]

appraisal and market prices are in no way related.

They are related, just not the same. I have been through the numbers with a friend who is married to a realtor and they own several rental properties in that area. We just recently talked about how I should have kept that house and rented it out when I got married, instead of selling it. The price in that neighborhood would likely be greater than 170k, but not by much, based on comps. Rent, however, would currently be between 1,500 and 1,800 for similar houses. Since my note on the house was around 1,000 and I was paying 200 ahead each month, I would be just about paid off....if only I had know the future rental values .

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

He's right though. Average median household income is $50,000 in Austin.


Going by the standard recommendation of buying a house for 2.5x your annual income, you're buying a $125k house. LOL yeah right.

Uh, You take avg median income, let's go with $50K (it's higher in Austin proper), divide by 12 = $4,166. Divide that by 3 and you get $1,388, which is the amount of payment a home buyer can qualify for, which, for most, will get them into a median value $200K home in Austin, assuming they have at least 10% downpayment.

But, to answer the initial question, you have to know the history of the Austin real estate market and its cycles. Everything cratered 1986. Picked back up 1992ish, and rolled up through the dot com bust in 2000. Then we have 9/11 in 2001. At that point, it peaked then fell/flattened until pickup again in 2006/2007, then fell/flattened again until 2012. Now we're in another upswing which will probably last another 3 to 5 years, maybe longer.

It started to become less affordable to slackers in 1993 and was officially unaffordable to slackers by 1999. The slacker subculture of Austin cannot thrive today as it once did. They need actual real jobs instead of the 3 per week pizza delivery driver shifts that was enough in 1987.

As for the "average person", what you really mean to say is the "average income". Austin remains more affordable than many other parts of the country by all standard metrics. But central Austin is not included in that.

Steve

[Trainwreck20]

My slackership ended when they raised tuition from $4/hour and I couldn't rent for half of a $320 a month 2/2 apartment off of Far West - that was the late 80s, I think .

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by mm57553

Again, downtown and certain parts of the city ARE expensive - just like EVERY OTHER CITY. Yes, if I want to live in 04 or Tarrytown, it's going to be pricey. But that doesn't mean there are not perfectly nice homes in Austin. You can get a 3-4 BR house in Maple Run for under $200K. You can get a 3BR home in Mesa Park or Gracywoods.

But to say the whole city is unattainable for the average Joe is just ignorant. It IS attainable for the average person - that's why everyone is moving here.

Certain parts?

How about all of central Austin - all of it.

Yeah, you can buy a tract home on a far off periphery neighborhood, require 2 or 3 cars because everything you want is a car trip away.

200K in Austin is a joke. It doesn't even buy a decent run-down anywhere near the core and the best you can get is a snout nosed track home in an area that could be anywhere USA.

I have a few friends who are looking. None of them can find anything remotely affordable in areas that they are looking and when they do there are 10 offers on the table on day 1. And no, they aren't looking in 04 or 03 - they're looking in zip codes that not too long ago were red-lined by the banks. 300K shacks, 400K fixer-uppers. 500K postage stamp sized bungalows at best.

200K - forget it, can't be done.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by Komeht

Certain parts?

How about all of central Austin - all of it.

Yeah, you can buy a tract home on a far off periphery neighborhood, require 2 or 3 cars because everything you want is a car trip away.

200K in Austin is a joke. It doesn't even buy a decent run-down anywhere near the core and the best you can get is a snout nosed track home in an area that could be anywhere USA.

I have a few friends who are looking. None of them can find anything remotely affordable in areas that they are looking and when they do there are 10 offers on the table on day 1. And no, they aren't looking in 04 or 03 - they're looking in zip codes that not too long ago were red-lined by the banks. 300K shacks, 400K fixer-uppers. 500K postage stamp sized bungalows at best.

200K - forget it, can't be done.

OK, I'll amend my answer. Central Austin is expensive - just the the central part of ALL major cities. Fact is that Austin is still more affordable than most of the country.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Komeht

Certain parts?

How about all of central Austin - all of it.

Yeah, you can buy a tract home on a far off periphery neighborhood, require 2 or 3 cars because everything you want is a car trip away.

200K in Austin is a joke. It doesn't even buy a decent run-down anywhere near the core and the best you can get is a snout nosed track home in an area that could be anywhere USA.

I have a few friends who are looking. None of them can find anything remotely affordable in areas that they are looking and when they do there are 10 offers on the table on day 1. And no, they aren't looking in 04 or 03 - they're looking in zip codes that not too long ago were red-lined by the banks. 300K shacks, 400K fixer-uppers. 500K postage stamp sized bungalows at best.

200K - forget it, can't be done.

>>And no, they aren't looking in 04 or 03 - they're looking in zip codes that not too long ago were red-lined by the banks. 300K shacks, 400K fixer-uppers. 500K postage stamp sized bungalows at best.

For instance? 500k will get you way more than a postage stamp as close in as 2222.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by Melissa78703

Oooooh! What a classic example of Too Much House way out in the middle of (????).

Love the estimated monthly house payment price of $800 and some change. That's about how much it would cost someone, per month, to commute into the city.

I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. 1. Zip code 78729 is in North Austin. Since when has North Austin evolved into "????". That isn't terribly far. You're also assuming that many people work downtown. There are many people who work north, such as my husband, who works in the Riata complex. Apple employees also work north. 2. That's too much house for you, but for a family with children, that house is just about right. For me personally, who doesn't care to live in small spaces, it would be too small. 3. as for commuting to downtown Austin (one part of the city) from North Austin (another part of the same city), it is definitely not a big deal. Heck, I live in (?????) and it takes me about forty minutes from door to door. No big deal, I came from New York where at least 70% of the population commutes. The cost of my commute? $64/mo, plus gas money from my home in ???? to the rail station. I can live with that.

[orngkat]

There are parts of EVERY city that have areas that most people can't afford.

We moved to Austin from San Antonio in 1983 and even then were surprised that rentals were around 20% more here than in SA. We bought our current central Austin home for $135K in 1999 which was doable on our median income. In 14 years, it has tripled in value or at least the land it sits on has. When we bought here in 1999, this felt like an unpretentious, middle class neighborhood where many people stayed for a long time. Just in the past few years, things are changing quickly with people/investors tearing down cottages and putting up mega houses or remodeling extensively wherever they find an opportunity. We joke that we should just save our money rather than fix things up as the next owner will just knock it down. Unless their is a cataclysmic economic shift, I don't see anyone but those who can afford it living in Austin proper. I would say becoming too expensive is an ongoing process though it seems to be speeding up.