Why is Houston so cheap? (Dallas, San Antonio: sales, real estate market, apartments)

[moot]

I was absolutely amazed to see a 600 square foot apartment go for 350 dollars in North Houston. I currently live in New York, and the square footage would cost over 1,000 IN THE WORST AREAS of this over-priced city.

The affordability and job growth of Houston are outstanding. So whats the catch to all of this?

Is it because the weather is miserable for 4 months?

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by moot

I was absolutely amazed to see a 600 square foot apartment go for 350 dollars in North Houston. I currently live in New York, and the square footage would cost over 1,000 IN THE WORST AREAS of this over-priced city.

The affordability and job growth of Houston are outstanding. So whats the catch to all of this?

Is it because the weather is miserable for 4 months?

Houston's got one true catch for the renter - there are a lot of crappy apartments and you need to do your homework before moving, especially if you are coming from out of state and can't come down here to take a look yourself. This site can help.

The property taxes are high in much of Texas, and a good portion of those taxes are actually for the schools. Much of the land is undervalued, especially compared to prime real estate in a place like NYC. Also, there are a lot of municipalities with large industrial areas (very common here, mostly in the eastern half of Houston city limits, some surrounding communities and scattered along the coast). Tax revenue from industry eases the burden on residential taxpayers, as opposed to a "bedroom community" where there is very little, if any, commerce or industry of its own to generate revenue.

Texas has NO:

-State or local income taxes
-Taxes on personal non-real property
-State sales taxes on basic staples - as far as I know, if food stamps can buy it, it's exempt from sales tax
-"Use taxes" that are in addition to licensing or registration fees
-Zoning laws and ordinances in Houston. The real estate market is a circus here, because anything can pretty much be put anywhere, but it also makes it easier to establish a business out of your home

That said, Texas is generally business-friendly as well, as indicated by the large concentration of corporate headquarters in Houston as well as Dallas and San Antonio (and elsewhere).

The weather indeed is horrid for about four months, and we are having an unusually rainy year. On the upside, the winters are pretty mild, sometimes wet, very rarely icy or snowy, and in general would be a welcome departure to what you get in NYC. Keeping warm doesn't have to be very expensive, especially in a small apartment.

700 square feet for $509, one bed, one bath, all my lady and I need. I'm not in the trendiest place in town, but I'm not in the ghetto either.

Now is as good a time as any to visit and see what you think of the worst of our weather, and decide if you can put up with that on a regular basis. The traffic is going to be no sweat if you're used to NYC. Take random points in the city and you can find five or six ways to from one to the other. I'm about eight miles outside of downtown (near Reliant Stadium) and I can get to downtown in 20 minutes without bothering with the freeways. There is no substitute for NYC's nightlife anywhere, but people in Houston know how to have fun. Stay in the Inner Loop or or near Uptown if you want to be where the nightlife is - much of Houston outside the loop is pretty suburban and bland, if not suburban and bland and run-down. A poor man's Queens if you will. These areas are typically where the crappy apartments are.

[Mr. Football]

I would say 'horrid'...perhaps 'hormid' is a better word. Anyhow, today was nice. It's pretty nice weather for 8 months with really hot, humid weather for 4 months. Usually sunny...though the past 6 weeks we've seen a huge amount of rainfall.

[jfre81]

Today was excellent.

Any day below 50% humidity here is a gift from God.

There is the element of hurricanes and tropical weather - but NYC does too, even though a lot of people don't think about storms going that far north. And I'll take a Category 5 in Houston sooner than I'd take a Category 3 in NYC. That could be a worse scene than Katrina.

[Wysiwyg]

Originally Posted by jfre81

Houston's got one true catch for the renter - there are a lot of crappy apartments ...

I dont think theres any more crappier apartments than the ones in NYC heck even my doctor there whos clinic is in a brownstone with a doorman is quite pathetic. my garage here in houston is better than their clinic

[Texas Mack]

A decent one bedroom, 650-square foot apartment in Houston will likely run in the mid 500s to low 600s. Anything less than $450 a month is probably in a bad area or the property itself is pretty crappy. Anything $700 month or higher is either in a desirable, close-in area or the property is excellent (or both).

[Trainwreck20]

Houston is cheap due to an consistently expanding economic base, no geographic limits on land (other than the ocean in one direction), and plenty of land that is available.

[Wysiwyg]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

no geographic limits on land

and also highways and alternate routes from EVERY direction. since there is no useable public transportation, no shopping/nightlife/etc central district, location-location-location is less of a factor

also cheap in Houston, is real *cheap* and most likely unsafe.

[EugeneBKLYN]

Since we're on the subject of affordability...

how does Dallas stack up to Houston in terms of cost of living? Is Dallas significantly or marginally more expensive than Houston?

[houguy1087]

Originally Posted by Wysiwyg

and also highways and alternate routes from EVERY direction. since there is no useable public transportation, no shopping/nightlife/etc central district, location-location-location is less of a factor

also cheap in Houston, is real *cheap* and most likely unsafe.

wow, someones never been to Houston. it's ok, with a little help you'll get there one day. just keep clicking your ruby slippers and saying "there's no place like home."

houston is cheap because theres so much land. tons. maybe some of it's not good, but there's lots of it.