Where Even the Middle Class Can't Afford to Live Any More (Austin: middle-class, 2013)

[scm53]

Austin's future?

[blueskies85]

I'm a little confused by that chart. It says the median income for Austin is $59,433 and at that income the max house price is $251,000. That seems way too high. I thought the rule of thumb was keep it within 3x your annual income. With 10% down I could see stretching it to around 200k but not 250k. I recently bought a house and I wouldn't feel comfortable with those numbers. And I don't even have kids...my most expensive dependent is a dog.

You can still find some 250k houses in central austin with decent schools, but they look really small and need work. At 200k you're pushing it even with bad schools. I think middle-class families are probably buying in suburban austin or outside of the city limits altogether.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by blueskies85

I'm a little confused by that chart. It says the median income for Austin is $59,433 and at that income the max house price is $251,000. That seems way too high. I thought the rule of thumb was keep it within 3x your annual income. With 10% down I could see stretching it to around 200k but not 250k.

Chart presumes 20% down, 31% of pre-tax income for housing.

[ppp38]

Originally Posted by blueskies85

I'm a little confused by that chart. It says the median income for Austin is $59,433 and at that income the max house price is $251,000. That seems way too high. I thought the rule of thumb was keep it within 3x your annual income. With 10% down I could see stretching it to around 200k but not 250k. I recently bought a house and I wouldn't feel comfortable with those numbers. And I don't even have kids...my most expensive dependent is a dog.

You can still find some 250k houses in central austin with decent schools, but they look really small and need work. At 200k you're pushing it even with bad schools. I think middle-class families are probably buying in suburban austin or outside of the city limits altogether.

Where are these houses?

[EzPeterson]

Originally Posted by ppp38

Where are these houses?

North Loop
East Teens

[scm53]

Originally Posted by EzPeterson

North Loop
East Teens

This is the only current North Loop SFR listing on Zillow, under $250K. 1/1, 500 sq. ft.

Anything under $250K E of 35 is a 2/1, under 1,000 sq. ft., tracking to horrible schools.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by scm53

This is the only current North Loop SFR listing on Zillow, under $250K. 1/1, 500 sq. ft.

Anything under $250K E of 35 is a 2/1, under 1,000 sq. ft., tracking to horrible schools.

Wow...our last two houses were significantly wider than that entire lot! That's some serious 'charm' going on...@ $300/sq ft !

[787]

Originally Posted by ppp38

Where are these houses?

Everywhere. 78748 for starters. You can still buy in 78749 for that, albeit smaller.
option #2 ---> Buy a condo, just about anywhere is Austin, for that matter.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by 787

Everywhere. 78748 for starters. You can still buy in 78749 for that, albeit smaller.
option #2 ---> Buy a condo, just about anywhere is Austin, for that matter.

If you will go back and read, the question was "Where are those $250K houses with good schools in central Austin?" No one thinks of 78748 or 78749 as central Austin, nor do they think of a condo as a house.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Wow...our last two houses were significantly wider than that entire lot! That's some serious 'charm' going on...@ $300/sq ft !

The value is in the dirt. The structure is irrelevant.