Why are houses in Houston so inexpensive? (Dallas, San Antonio: apartment, rent)

[Sugarlandbubba]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

No question the pervasive use of illegal workers has kept construction costs down.

I remembered "immigration raids" (at construction sites) were the norm. Now, the catch phrase is "build the wall".

[SanJac]

Houston's housing market continued to break records in March.

“The average price of a home sold in Houston cracked the $400,000 mark for the first time ever last month — breaking the record set just a month earlier. With a continued shortage of available homes priced below $250,000, many local homebuyers have had to shop for higher-priced homes or turn to the rental market, the Houston Association of Realtors said in its monthly report released April 13.”

“Prices in Texas and across the country are rising by double-digits. In the Houston area, home prices rose by 15.9 percent over the year in January, the lowest increase among Texas metro areas tracked by CoreLogic. Prices in Austin rose most (up 32.2 percent), followed by Dallas (up 21.7 percent), Fort Worth (up 21.2 percent) and San Antonio (up 18.9 percent).”

[Wile E. Coyote]

Originally Posted by hereticiam

We are looking in Dallas/Houston and we find homes in Houston to be around 15% less expensive.
Even with a budget of $1-1.2 million we have struggled to find a nice home in North Dallas.
In Houston, we have found quite a few homes in our price range that met all of our requirements.
Houston does have higher property taxes, traffic is worse, more humid and more prone to natural disasters so we haven't bought a home yet.

My co-worker moved to Dallas a few months ago. I'd have to look up the dates. When they moved it was a couple days before that big freeze. The pipes froze at the house they purchased and they had to replace a ton of plants, etc. When they were looking at houses prior to the move I asked her if any of them had storm shelters. Yes, but, they were favoring the house without it. It was only a few weeks and they were huddled in the bathroom due to a tornado. The most recent tornado missed them.

My sister has had to rebuild two houses in Houston from Harvey (in their 70's) -- not fun. When they weren't in Houston they were in the Middle East. She got to live in Colorado a few years (and hubby commuted home on the weekends).

Houston is industrial and it's a swamp (imho). Bugs and alligators, etc. It's barely above sea level.

[SanJac]

Originally Posted by Wile E. Coyote

Houston is industrial and it's a swamp (imho). Bugs and alligators, etc. It's barely above sea level.

You people that make these comments come off as small town hicks.

At least you bothered to state it was your opinion which most other genius posters don’t bother to do. Parts of town are industrial - yes. A swamp? Ha. Alligators? Ha. See my first comment.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by SanJac

Houston's housing market continued to break records in March.

“The average price of a home sold in Houston cracked the $400,000 mark for the first time ever last month — breaking the record set just a month earlier. With a continued shortage of available homes priced below $250,000, many local homebuyers have had to shop for higher-priced homes or turn to the rental market, the Houston Association of Realtors said in its monthly report released April 13.”

“Prices in Texas and across the country are rising by double-digits. In the Houston area, home prices rose by 15.9 percent over the year in January, the lowest increase among Texas metro areas tracked by CoreLogic. Prices in Austin rose most (up 32.2 percent), followed by Dallas (up 21.7 percent), Fort Worth (up 21.2 percent) and San Antonio (up 18.9 percent).”

Yes the housing prices are increasing here like it is anywhere. What they’re asking is why it’s lower than other metros currently

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by hereticiam

We are looking in Dallas/Houston and we find homes in Houston to be around 15% less expensive.
Even with a budget of $1-1.2 million we have struggled to find a nice home in North Dallas.
In Houston, we have found quite a few homes in our price range that met all of our requirements.
Houston does have higher property taxes, traffic is worse, more humid and more prone to natural disasters so we haven't bought a home yet.

We live in North Dallas, Inwood and Royal roughly. A few months ago we were prepping for a 3-4 year move to Houston...................we scoured much of Houston and 'burbs near enough to TMC. In the end we didn't need to move. All that said I think your 15% number per the $1-1.5MM range is about right.


A glaring pain point in North Dallas/Preston Hollow/Bluffview etc. is that many ~$800,000-$1,000,000 homes and lots have been and are being torn down and rebuilt. However, the new rebuilds are $2.25-$4.00MM or more. The yield is nearly all roughly $1MM North Dallas homes are 40/50/60yo ranches which I like but many people don't.

[SanJac]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Yes the housing prices are increasing here like it is anywhere. What they’re asking is why it’s lower than other metros currently

Supply/Demand

Houston also has a lower cost of living than Dallas and Austin.

Implicit in the OP's question is if there is some underlying REASON for lower housing costs. Yes, the reason is Supply/Demand.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Originally Posted by SanJac

You people that make these comments come off as small town hicks.

At least you bothered to state it was your opinion which most other genius posters don’t bother to do. Parts of town are industrial - yes. A swamp? Ha. Alligators? Ha. See my first comment.

Actually I'm not. But, that's as complimentary of the place as I can muster.

[Watchful]

Originally Posted by Sugarlandbubba

I remembered "immigration raids" (at construction sites) were the norm. Now, the catch phrase is "build the wall".

To keep the construction workers here maybe??

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by hereticiam

We were looking in Dallas for a home. Got beaten in every offer we made. In one particular case, someone paid $270K more than us to get a 20-year home.

It's funny to me to hear people talk about homes being 5, 10, 20 years old and that the age dictates the value....like they are cars. This is another reason Houston is so affordable, new developments springing up everywhere. New homes in many parts of the country do not equate to better/quality homes.