Are people moving out of the Woodlands due to crime? (Houston: sale, buying a house)

[jphripjah]

I have been looking at possibly buying a house outside Houston and I remember reading that a lot of the buyers in master planned communities well north of the city are people moving out of the Woodlands to get further outside of town.

I think (but i'm not sure) that I remember reading something about crime in the Woodlands and some high schools in the Woodlands having issues with drugs. Can anyone correct me if that is wrong or provide more detail on that if it's right?

Are certain specific villages/areas of the Woodlands now considered much less desirable than they once were?

I actually stopped by Creekside Park last week and was quite impressed with the walkability (my wife hates to drive) and I might want to expand our home search to that area, which is why I'm asking. Thanks.

[utche96]

Originally Posted by jphripjah

I have been looking at possibly buying a house outside Houston and I remember reading that a lot of the buyers in master planned communities well north of the city are people moving out of the Woodlands to get further outside of town.

I think (but i'm not sure) that I remember reading something about crime in the Woodlands and some high schools in the Woodlands having issues with drugs. Can anyone correct me if that is wrong or provide more detail on that if it's right?

Are certain specific villages/areas of the Woodlands now considered much less desirable than they once were?

I actually stopped by Creekside Park last week and was quite impressed with the walkability (my wife hates to drive) and I might want to expand our home search to that area, which is why I'm asking. Thanks.

If people are moving out of the Woodlands, it sure hasn't shown up in the home inventory or sale prices. Creekside is in Harris County which makes it less attractive. Also, the high school in Creekside is not as highly rated. It's actually the only part of the Woodlands that seems to have plenty of HAR listings. Typical price in Cochrans crossing, Panther Creek, and Indian Springs is 200-250 per ft2 which is higher than most of the other subdivisions.

[jphripjah]

Originally Posted by utche96

Creekside is in Harris County which makes it less attractive.

Yes, I heard that too. Why does that make it less attractive? I understand that Harris County is more urban, but is there a concern there would more crime there in Creekside, ore are government services worse, or you have to go downtown for jury duty, or what's the downside of being in a safe part of Harris County like Creekside?

Here in Las Vegas we have an irregular map putting some nice homes in the technically in the "city of Las Vegas" and some in "unincorporated Clark County" but people don't pay much attention to that.

What's the downside of your neighborhood being in the confines of Harris County?

Not knowing the Houston area at all, I thought that maybe because Creekside was in the "back" of Woodlands 20+ minutes drive from I-45 that might make it more isolated from the city and more attractive for those who didn't care about the traffic and commute. But I don't know.

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by jphripjah

I have been looking at possibly buying a house outside Houston and I remember reading that a lot of the buyers in master planned communities well north of the city are people moving out of the Woodlands to get further outside of town.

I think (but i'm not sure) that I remember reading something about crime in the Woodlands and some high schools in the Woodlands having issues with drugs. Can anyone correct me if that is wrong or provide more detail on that if it's right?

Are certain specific villages/areas of the Woodlands now considered much less desirable than they once were?

I actually stopped by last week and was quite impressed with the walkability (my wife hates to drive) and I might want to expand our home search to that area, which is why I'm asking. Thanks.

Crime in The Woodlands? Really? I use to live in The Woodlands. I go there quite often when we're visiting my Mom-in-law. The Woodlands is one of the safest cities in the entire metro.

https://www.niche.com/places-to-live.../crime-safety/

https://crimegrade.org/safest-places...-woodlands-tx/

Maybe you heard wrong. People move TO THE WOODLANDS because of crime in Houston.

[utche96]

Originally Posted by jphripjah

Yes, I heard that too. Why does that make it less attractive?

Well for one the property tax rate is higher in Harris county than Montgomery. Just checking HAR, it looks like Creekside prop tax rate is 2.75% vs 2.03% for Montgomery. That's pretty significant.

And the other big issue is that schools are not as highly rated in Creekside. They are Tomball ISD instead of Conroe ISD. Not a county issue but still.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by utche96

Well for one the property tax rate is higher in Harris county than Montgomery. Just checking HAR, it looks like Creekside prop tax rate is 2.75% vs 2.03% for Montgomery. That's pretty significant.

And the other big issue is that schools are not as highly rated in Creekside. They are Tomball ISD instead of Conroe ISD. Not a county issue but still.

I have to wonder if the property tax issue is in part because the Creekside utility / water district is much newer than the other portions of The Woodlands in Montgomery County. Newer utility districts tend to have higher tax rates than older ones.

[utche96]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

I have to wonder if the property tax issue is in part because the Creekside utility / water district is much newer than the other portions of The Woodlands in Montgomery County. Newer utility districts tend to have higher tax rates than older ones.

Good question. Here are the breakdowns below. Looks you end up paying taxes to both Harris County and then a MUD tax in Creekside.

Creekside tax rate:

2021 Tax Rates
TOMBALL ISD 1.2900 %
HARRIS COUNTY 0.3912 %
HC FLOOD CONTROL DIST 0.0314 %
PORT OF HOUSTON AUTHORITY 0.0099 %
HC HOSPITAL DIST 0.1667 %
HC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 0.0050 %
LONE STAR COLLEGE SYS 0.1078 %
THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIP 0.2231 %
HARRIS-MONTGOMERY CO MUD 386 0.4900 %
HC EMERG SRV DIST 11 0.0333 %
Total Tax Rate 2.7484 %

Panther Creek tax rate:

2021 Tax Rates
MONTGOMERY COUNTY 0.4312 %
MONTGOMERY CO HOSPITAL 0.0588 %
LONE STAR COLLEGE 0.1078 %
CONROE ISD 1.2125 %
THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIP 0.2231 %
WOODLANDS MUD #1 0.0000 %
Total Tax Rate 2.0334 %

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by utche96

Good question. Here are the breakdowns below. Looks you end up paying taxes to both Harris County and then a MUD tax in Creekside.

You will always pay the county tax regardless of MUD status. In this case, the Creekside MUD itself adds almost half a percent that the Panther Creek property doesn't pay (its MUD is zeroed out).

[Houston Area Man]

White collar crime?

Maybe the Sawdust area?

[Mescalero]

Moving out to escape crime? People are moving to the Woodlands to escape Houston crime.

I have to wonder if the property tax issue is in part because the Creekside utility / water district is much newer than the other portions of The Woodlands in Montgomery County. Newer utility districts tend to have higher tax rates than older ones.

I wonder why anyone would move to Creekside after Harvey too. It's not that nice and a lot of the yards are the sort of barren grass patches with baking sun that people in TW avoid.