Why Sugarland house prices going up so fast?

[TexasTony]

Originally Posted by SugLandDAd

Money from China.

This is true as well

[Dallas retail updater]

Originally Posted by misterno

I am in the market for a house in Sugarland. I was looking at Zillow.com and there is a historical house value chart in each page of the listing.


For instance look at this one.


44 Grants Lake Cir, Sugar Land, TX 77479 | MLS #20549692 | Zillow?


now look at how fast the price went up


What happened in Sugarland that pushed prices so fast so much?


I live very close to Sugarland I am not seeing anything extraordinary.

How do you differentiate between the listed asking price, the evaluated price in relationship to taxes paid on the property, and the actual price that one can sell the property for?

I imagine there are short term investors willing to bet on Houston experiencing another glitch like 2008 and other investors willing to bet long term. Question is, is this the bottom of the market? The grocery stores have been buying lots of properties because they are prime and not expected to fall any further in price.

I go by the choo-choo method. It takes a long time for a faltering economy to turn the corner, slow down, and arrive at the station. Logic says it should take the same inverse amount of time to get up to speed.

I can't believe people still believe that the Houston economy is a choo-choo with a rocket attached to it.

Good luck with that.

[Dallas retail updater]

Originally Posted by TexasTony

This is true as well

During the mid eighty oil collapse, there were still investors financing skyscrapers in downtown Dallas. The local papers referred to this insanity as the 'crazy Canadian theory.' Long term investment is smart. Investing during a time when prices are high isn't.

I had a friend who bought silver the day before the market for it collapsed and the Hunts were unable to meet the margin call.

[Augiec]

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

For 20 years that's only inflation-adjusted growth. Interesting

That's a good point, once you factor in inflation, that growth curve drops considerably.

[ftbend06]

Originally Posted by NTexas2010

Very well said. All reasons why I point to Sugar Land being a nice place to live 10, 20, 30 years from now and wonder what will come of all the now suburbs in Houston's ETJ. The key word is "control".

Thanks. I would also only add that I would bet increased employment is a reason for rapidly rising prices as well. It used to be more of a bedroom community, albeit a nice one, whereas now there is a lot more commercial activity. Don't know the #s, but I would guess a LOT more people are employed locally there versus 10 years ago. That has been my observation. So while not only a desirable place to live, it's also a place more people work now and live locally versus commuting. That has likely had an impact on prices AND the market in Richmond-Rosenberg because people are commuting there (SL) versus all into Houston. Granted most of it is probably still driven by Houston in terms of jobs.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ftbend06

Thanks. I would also only add that I would bet increased employment is a reason for rapidly rising prices as well. It used to be more of a bedroom community, albeit a nice one, whereas now there is a lot more commercial activity. Don't know the #s, but I would guess a LOT more people are employed locally there versus 10 years ago. That has been my observation. So while not only a desirable place to live, it's also a place more people work now and live locally versus commuting. That has likely had an impact on prices AND the market in Richmond-Rosenberg because people are commuting there (SL) versus all into Houston. Granted most of it is probably still driven by Houston in terms of jobs.

Yes. It should be noted that Sugar Land has had a lot of growth in white-collar professional jobs that pay well. Many folks who are buying homes that work in such jobs have a spouse that is also in a well-paid job, meaning they have high household incomes. So, they have a lot of discretionary money to spend on housing, and are willing to spend it to buy a home in a preferred area with high-reputation schools like Sugar Land. Plus Sugar Land is also a reasonable commute into parts of Houston that also had lots of white-collar job growth (Westchase, TMC, etc.). This is a recipe for rapid price appreciation.

The appreciation should slow down now that high-income job growth has slowed substantially for a couple years - but there's always a lag from job trends to the single family market.