DFW Home Prices keep going UP! (Dallas, Plano: sales, apartments, mortgage)

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by whj3773

imo homes here are getting way to expensive, we have to remember that this is Texas, little to no scenery, no mountains, no beach, bad weather for half the year, an abundance of land. there should be a big discount in real estate here vs other more desirable areas of the country.

i think once you loose that discount, Texas seems MUCH less appealing.

Actually, if you bought in the Bay Area at almost any time since early 2008, your housing would have appreciated MORE to now than if you bought at the same time in DFW.

(For most of this year, SF has been below Dallas, but we're talking a 2.9% increase in DFW since February compared to 1.35% in SF and surrounds). Dallas has a LONG way to go to close any gap with SF. More on that below. But worrying that DFW is somehow going to start getting remotely close to SF or LA in housing costs is ridiculous.

Originally Posted by 4Movingeast

Also, mountains (Big Bend) and beaches (Port A, South Padre, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Rockport, etc), scenery (fields of bluebonnets in the spring, beautiful old neighborhoods in many cities and towns throughout the state, Caprock Canyons, Palo Duro Canyon, many vistas in the TX Hill Country, I could go on but I'll stop there).

Texas overall has some very pretty scenery, obviously. However, compared to CA, it's not even close. I will stand by that statement and have a tough time seeing how anyone who's visited both places could disagree with it. I visited Yosemite in May (for the first time ever), I've driven for over an hour through a random US highway through the coastal redwoods that, had I mounted a dashcam, could've been a National Geographic film. There is SO much that is breathtaking in CA that it's ridiculous. But...

As you and TC80 kinda note, it gets back to "how much is 'better scenery' worth"? Using the CNN cost comparison tool, SF housing shows up as costing 303% more (quadruple!) compared to Dallas and 224% more than Ft. Worth (I'm not sure exactly how the tool breaks out the cities and suburbs. Other cost calculators kick out similar results. San Jose housing is 2.5 to 3 times equivalent in DFW.

I'm on record numerous times saying that I far prefer the Bay Area and the Pacific NW to DFW in general, but apparently so do a lot of people and they're willing to pay through the nose for that (also geographical differences [flat, easily developed land compared to ridgelines and bays and whatnot getting in the way] and a zillion other things contribute to differences in housing costs).

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

It's more about the economy than the scenery. We are creating jobs at a faster pace than most of the country in a lower tax environment. I'd rather have a great job here where I can live in a lovely home and send kids to great schools, with plenty leftover to travel the world.

Over the last 12 months, CA has created 405,600 jobs, TX has created 205,900. CA does not have double the population of TX.

Since February 2010, TX has increased jobs by a total of 19.0%, CA has increased them by 17.6%. (Nationally they've increased by 12.3%).

That's jobs. In other areas TX compares more favorably to CA. For example, TX GDP has increased 5.2% prior 12 months, while CA GDP has only increased 2.8%, and TX GDP since 2009 has grown at 4.7% annualized compared to only 2.0% for CA. TX median income has increased slightly since 2007, CA's has dropped. All this and lots of other data can be found here:
http://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_ca...765e/texas.pdf
http://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_ca...california.pdf

Of course, as I pointed out, home prices in SF have increased at a faster pace than in DFW since February 2010, or in fact for most times since the housing bubble burst in 2007-2008.

I guess my point is that people will often post about how home prices here are increasing because of the awesome TX economy, but home prices often don't quite track economic growth and price increases here are still lower than in many other cities (DFW increases are lower than in the majority tracked by Case-Schiller over the last 1 or 3 or 5 years).

DFW is inexpensive for a metro area its size, it has a strong and diverse economy and that attracts many people. It's not a scenic destination compared to some other places, and doesn't have the rich history of many northeastern or midwest cities because it's more recently developed (I know, duh). Assuming it hits other personal preferences at least "enough", there is something to be said (as TC80 notes) for living here and using excess funds to visit other destinations.

(I'm using "Dallas" and "DFW" interchangeably, along with "SF" and "Bay Area". In all cases I'm talking about the total metro areas)

[4Movingeast]

"Texas overall has some very pretty scenery, obviously. However, compared to CA, it's not even close. I will stand by that statement and have a tough time seeing how anyone who's visited both places could disagree with it." - Synch


I don't disagree at all! I just think some posters paint TX as being a hellhole devoid of anything beautiful and it's simply not the case. We have been all over the Pacific NW and have visited the Bay area many times and yes- for a FW girl it was definitely awe inspiring. I was just trying to introduce the fact that TX is a big state with many different landscapes.

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by 4Movingeast

"Texas overall has some very pretty scenery, obviously. However, compared to CA, it's not even close. I will stand by that statement and have a tough time seeing how anyone who's visited both places could disagree with it." - Synch


I don't disagree at all! I just think some posters paint TX as being a hellhole devoid of anything beautiful and it's simply not the case. We have been all over the Pacific NW and have visited the Bay area many times and yes- for a FW girl it was definitely awe inspiring. I was just trying to introduce the fact that TX is a big state with many different landscapes.

Yeah, I can probably be guilty of that at times, and there are some days I say "it's so bloody AWFUL here". My friends in Hill Country note that all of TX ain't flat barren nothing, partially covered with Generica. Only Frisco*.

*- I'm KIDDING, Frisco denizens!

[serger]

Originally Posted by 4Movingeast

We are all entitled to our opinions, but I get so tired of comments like this. If scenery is so important to you, go find a job in a more desirable location and live there.

Also, *lose.

Also, mountains (Big Bend) and beaches (Port A, South Padre, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Rockport, etc), scenery (fields of bluebonnets in the spring, beautiful old neighborhoods in many cities and towns throughout the state, Caprock Canyons, Palo Duro Canyon, many vistas in the TX Hill Country, I could go on but I'll stop there).

Big Bend is absolutely terrific. Also, it is 9 hours drive give or take from dallas metro...

Beaches, Galveston, seriously?

Palo Duro is nice, still 6 hours.

Hill Country is good, and relatively close.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

It's more about the economy than the scenery. We are creating jobs at a faster pace than most of the country in a lower tax environment. I'd rather have a great job here where I can live in a lovely home and send kids to great schools, with plenty leftover to travel the world.

Everyone's different; my husband and I would be willing to take a pay cut and pay a bit more for housing just to get out of DFW. We're still feeling that out right now. Hopefully within a year, there'll be a "For Sale" sign out front chez BigDGeek.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Everyone's different; my husband and I would be willing to take a pay cut and pay a bit more for housing just to get out of DFW. We're still feeling that out right now. Hopefully within a year, there'll be a "For Sale" sign out front chez BigDGeek.

HUSBAND?!?! Congrats, BigDGeek!!

[Aceraceae]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

HUSBAND?!?! Congrats, BigDGeek!!

I wondered if husband was a typo, lol.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

HUSBAND?!?! Congrats, BigDGeek!!

Yeah I was like huh? What did I miss?

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

HUSBAND?!?! Congrats, BigDGeek!!

Originally Posted by Aceraceae

I wondered if husband was a typo, lol.

Originally Posted by biafra4life

Yeah I was like huh? What did I miss?

Thanks y'all. Happened a few months ago.

[happycrow]

Originally Posted by Johnhw2

If rising prices and associated higher property taxes of say 2,5% bother you, sell your house at the higher price and buy a smaller or lower value one to make this affordable. The only reason to dislike higher prices is because you over bought your comfort zone or have never been in a market of declining prices.

Rising equity in homes is a first world problem most would like to have.

Uhhh.... I'm sure that works for wealthy people in the "I use my passport frequently" club, but the world looks very different nearer the median income. I'm an Irving boy in a 3/2 ranch built in '63. There's just about nowhere lower to go. If I sell this house my choices are a) rent an apartment somewhere b) buy a ruined 2/1 and put in six months' work to make it liveable, c) move into a trailer park.