Is DFW becoming less affordable? (Dallas, Arlington: new house, safe neighborhood, to buy)

[lepoisson]

Originally Posted by EDS_

First off you can't compare overall cost of living looking at the prices of a few things. Secondly, I don't know where you are coming up with your rent numbers. My son lives in the Medical District Dallas in large 2 bedroom that is $1,275 - it sports granite, two fairly large bedrooms, newish AC, new appliances, 24x7 security, sweet pool, gates etc.

I pulled these numbers from a well known and accurate COL comparator. The only weakness is the numbers haven't been refreshed since the end of March '16. They will be updated through the end of June in a few weeks.

Income required to live at roughly the same quality of life as if one made $50,000 in Dallas:

St. Louis Mo. - $48,288.................~3.5% less than Dallas
KC Mo. - $49,429........................~1.1% less than Dallas (I know you don't like it but that is just reality)
Champaign-Urbana Ill. - $50,156...~0.3% more expensive than Dallas
Chicago Ill. - $60,270...................~20% more expensive
Peoria Ill. - $51,297.....................~2.5% more expensive
Denver Co. - $56,691..................~13% more expensive
Lincoln NE. - $47,355..................~5.2% less expensive
OKC OK. - $46,266......................~7.4% less expensive

The takeaway is there is no metro of any size in the Midwest that is even 20% less expensive, I didn't see one even 10% less, than DFW let alone 50% less expensive.

This is a really good calculator. No idea where they get their data, but I've found most of their numbers to be spot on. It's right on the money when comparing KC and Dallas housing. Housing in Dallas is 52% more expensive, which accurately reflects my own personal experience. So I would need at least an extra $4500 per year in Dallas to have the same apartment I'd have in Kansas City or other parts of the Midwest.

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Most everything in DFW is the same price as it was in KC. EXCEPT for housing which is usually the most expensive factor in cost of living.

My $650 apartment in Kansas City was safe, but old and dated. For $650 in DFW, you'll probably end up in a body bag or with all of your belongings stolen.

[Julio July]

Originally Posted by jacobr

When I moved to Plano from NY in 2013 I really could feel the difference in cost of living. In early 2014 I bought a 3500 Sq ft house in West Plano for little under $400,000 and I could really feel how much every dollar could stretch in Dallas VS NY, not to mention I changed my job and took an offer here that ended up paying me more than what I made in NY (minus the state tax) so yes, I really could feel the lower cost of living.

Fast forward in 2016 I can see the price of housing in my community and across the metropolis go up. The property tax too have gone up by a few hundred dollars but I still think Dallas is an affordable city. On the other hand one of my cousin moved in from outer Detroit to Coppell and got a brand new home for a little under $500,000. O'coz from his view Dallas in very costly to live compared to the small town he was living in Detroit so basically what I feel is -

1) Affordability in Dallas very much boils down to the state/city you are moving from
2) How much you spend on your home
3) The kind of job you are into and the pay associated with it. I am in IT and my wife is a CPA. Both of us combined make good money and have been able to maintain similar household income (infact we make more here) that we made in NY.
4) Toll prices are increasing in DFW but nowhere compared to $15 that we used to pay when crossing the Whitestone Bridge
5) Property taxes are up but again nowhere compared to what my In laws pay in Westchester County in NY

So yeah Dallas is getting costlier but still affordable for many..

I mean you absolutely no harm when I point this out, but of course DFW is "still affordable" to you; you moved here from Westchester County, NY!!!!!

It's those of us who are middle class, native Texans/Southerners and lower Midwesterners who are rapidly getting priced out of DFW, and the huge and rapid influx of people to DFW from much more expensive parts of the country like NY, Chicago, and particularly California is the reason why.

There is a thread on here right now on the front page of the Dallas Forum where a woman who is a school teacher and has a combined household income of $100,000 is struggling to find a decent home to buy that's not 30+ years old, not in the middle of the hood, or not darn near in Oklahoma. Her story has become typical in DFW these days, and I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous (especially considering this is Texas we're talking about here), and when things get that bad that quickly, then something has to give.

[TheOverdog]

household income of $100,000 is struggling to find a decent home to buy that's not 30+ years old, not in the middle of the hood, or not darn near in Oklahoma. Her story has become typical in DFW these days, and I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous

LOL. That someone can get a single family home that's proximal to the 4th largest metro in the US and in a great school district that's not 50+ years old is the magic of DFW.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Mentallect

I mean you absolutely no harm when I point this out, but of course DFW is "still affordable" to you; you moved here from Westchester County, NY!!!!!

It's those of us who are middle class, native Texans/Southerners and lower Midwesterners who are rapidly getting priced out of DFW, and the huge and rapid influx of people to DFW from much more expensive parts of the country like NY, Chicago, and particularly California is the reason why.

There is a thread on here right now on the front page of the Dallas Forum where a woman who is a school teacher and has a combined household income of $100,000 is struggling to find a decent home to buy that's not 30+ years old, not in the middle of the hood, or not darn near in Oklahoma. Her story has become typical in DFW these days, and I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous (especially considering this is Texas we're talking about here), and when things get that bad that quickly, then something has to give.

The problem is almost certainly nothing will give in the sense you mean it. Real incomes and the business climate are too high/good here for RE to remain as undervalued as it was. I'd not waste another moment hoping the DFW RE prices slide versus other big metros. It's a fair point that in escalating RE price environments those in from the working poor to the lower half of the middle class face a lot of pressure.

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

LOL. That someone can get a single family home that's proximal to the 4th largest metro in the US that's not 50+ years old is the magic of DFW.

Yeah, that. "OMG, this house is 30 or more years old!!". Well, gee, for almost any metro remotely close to the size of DFW, "30+ years old" that's anywhere near the "city center(s)" is a rare find. Our house (and all the ones near it) up North were 40-50 years old, and nobody batted an eye about that (and I can assure you our neighborhood was certainly not "the hood"). AND we were over 30 miles from "downtown".

Our current house is 25 years old, and from the sound of some people posting here, you'd think it was about to collapse next week.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by EDS_

The problem is almost certainly nothing will give in the sense you mean it. Real incomes and the business climate are too high/good here for RE to remain as undervalued as it was. I'd not waste another moment hoping the DFW RE prices slide versus other big metros. It's a fair point that in escalating RE price environments those in from the working poor to the lower half of the middle class face a lot of pressure.

On this we agree. The days of cheap new builds in DFW are gone. Finished.

Either the teacher will move to Anna or Melissa and drive 1-1.5 hours to work, or she and hubby will find an existing older, smaller home closer to work and make do. Plenty of young couples in my neighborhood have done just that. More people will have to make that same compromise as time goes on unless they want to spend 1-3 hours per day commuting.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by synchronicity

Yeah, that. "OMG, this house is 30 or more years old!!". Well, gee, for almost any metro remotely close to the size of DFW, "30+ years old" that's anywhere near the "city center(s)" is a rare find. Our house (and all the ones near it) up North were 40-50 years old, and nobody batted an eye about that (and I can assure you our neighborhood was certainly not "the hood"). AND we were over 30 miles from "downtown".

Our current house is 25 years old, and from the sound of some people posting here, you'd think it was about to collapse next week.

Mine's 59 years old.

Maybe I need to get more FIRE INSURANCE!

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

This is a really good calculator. No idea where they get their data, but I've found most of their numbers to be spot on. It's right on the money when comparing KC and Dallas housing. Housing in Dallas is 52% more expensive, which accurately reflects my own personal experience. So I would need at least an extra $4500 per year in Dallas to have the same apartment I'd have in Kansas City or other parts of the Midwest.

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Most everything in DFW is the same price as it was in KC. EXCEPT for housing which is usually the most expensive factor in cost of living.

My $650 apartment in Kansas City was safe, but old and dated. For $650 in DFW, you'll probably end up in a body bag or with all of your belongings stolen.

Most all of the calculators that are any good get their data from the same place - C2ER/COLI. Although a couple of run their own data collections through universities and volunteers all or in part.

The point is KC nor any other midwestern metro sports a COL 50% of DFW or anything close.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Mine's 59 years old.

Maybe I need to get more FIRE INSURANCE!

Mine's 52yo........maybe I should wear at hardhat.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Mine's 52yo........maybe I should wear at hardhat.

Don't forget a respirator because of the asbestos and lead paint dust.