Houston has some of the highest rent increases in the nation. (Austin: theater, place to live)

[GTRdad]

Originally Posted by Oildog

I know some too who got tired of the Katy to downtown or Med center commute. So they ponied up and bought a townhouse in the loop.

Yep. Some even got tired of other stuff not just the commute. I have a friend, a russian couple and they just wanted to leave their retired roughneck neighbors who thinks foreigners are doing something illegal to be able to afford more than someone who grew up and been working hard in the US. LOL they moved to the Royal oaks area (townhouse i think)

[ComeAtMe]

Originally Posted by Oildog

I know some too who got tired of the Katy to downtown or Med center commute. So they ponied up and bought a townhouse in the loop.

I did the same, got tired of a Tomball -> Downtown commute real quick and bought 18 months ago.

Now my parents are actually thinking about selling their custom house out in Tomball that they have spent the last decade making uniquely their own and doing the same. (Up until this last year they swore up and down that it would be the last house in their lifetime. Had spent to much time/money/effort getting it the way they wanted to ever start over etc).

Think the knowledge of me being in the office within 10 minutes of walking out my front door when in the same amount of time they have hardly even begun their treks into work wore on them haha.

Only thing holding them back is the outdoor space which they love out in the burbs with their huge patio, outdoor kitchen, pool, hot tub, big screen mounted to the wall and coolers of beer haha.

[pooker]

Originally Posted by Weatherguy

Can you supply the data you relied on for your first sentence? Not saying you're wrong (I don't know), but it would help in the discussion for us to see the data.

I am a transplant, so I guess I can be considered part of the reason rent is so high. I don't have any numbers, but I am an engineer for an operating company, and when I did my internships and full hire, I noticed that the majority of the graduates were from places like Purdue, MIT, Georgia Tech, Florida A&M, University of Tulsa, etc. Sure, there were people from UofH and from Rice, but they seemed to be a minority. Then again, maybe it is different for other companies.

[Dopo]

Where's all the people that were celebrating "Houston's amazing economic growth"
Tasted good on the way, now that we have digested it, we are gonna start seeing what comes out of this

[sksainath]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Where's all the people that were celebrating "Houston's amazing economic growth"
Tasted good on the way, now that we have digested it, we are gonna start seeing what comes out of this

I cant digest the traffic on I10 from Katy anymore but started taking the new Metro Line 285. IMO as long as the amenities go hand in hand with the growth, we all will be happy (some prolly more than others). Rent has definitely gone up and we decided to buy a house near Cinco. My wife who is from LA feared that it might be too sparsely populated and might result in us driving to Sugarland or Houston for everything. But gladly with the growth, La Centerra has expanded with World of Beer, two nice Italian restaurants, movie nights on the green space...Also more foot traffic around Cinco/Westheimer has made us not miss the city (although we just have to drive to Gray Street for some hookah).

[TheMoreYouKnow]

This is great news for people who were wise enough to invest heavily in Houston area rental properties. My total rental income after expenses has gone from a couple hundred dollars a month (if I was lucky) in 2008 when I purchased my last unit to over $3400 a month so far in 2013. The tenants seem a lot better and willing to take care of the properties than I saw years ago and people in general seem to appreciate a nice, well taken care of location to live while getting transitioned to the city. It's also really nice being able to choose your tenants instead of them choosing you.

[14Bricks]

Originally Posted by TheMoreYouKnow

This is great news for people who were wise enough to invest heavily in Houston area rental properties. My total rental income after expenses has gone from a couple hundred dollars a month (if I was lucky) in 2008 when I purchased my last unit to over $3400 a month so far in 2013. The tenants seem a lot better and willing to take care of the properties than I saw years ago and people in general seem to appreciate a nice, well taken care of location to live while getting transitioned to the city. It's also really nice being able to choose your tenants instead of them choosing you.

Yeah I was thinking that the other day, people who own rental properties must be loving this.

[sksainath]

Originally Posted by TheMoreYouKnow

This is great news for people who were wise enough to invest heavily in Houston area rental properties. My total rental income after expenses has gone from a couple hundred dollars a month (if I was lucky) in 2008 when I purchased my last unit to over $3400 a month so far in 2013. The tenants seem a lot better and willing to take care of the properties than I saw years ago and people in general seem to appreciate a nice, well taken care of location to live while getting transitioned to the city. It's also really nice being able to choose your tenants instead of them choosing you.

That is very very true. I sold my condo in the SF bay area and wanted to invest in another house. I was encouraged to buy in Phx since it was on an upswing. I saw the houses and the quality of tenants there in Phx over two visits to see my parents. I decided to buy near Westpark/Mason and upset some family friends who were real estate agents. I regret nothing and pocket $600 every month. Any appreciation over time is an added bonus. The folks renting the place have the house cleaner than my own home. The quality of tenants is good in the area. Hope the trend continues and its exciting seeing the transformation of the city.

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Originally Posted by 14Bricks

Yeah I was thinking that the other day, people who own rental properties must be loving this.

It's better than I ever dreamed or planned, I wish I had invested even more and bought a few more properties. I also wish I had purchased a few larger properties, if I had something larger than a 3/3 home to offer people I could be making a whole lot more money.

[GTRdad]

So we like renters and apartment dwellers now?! cool