Austin to Raleigh? (how much, house prices, buying)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Good to know! Yea it's been crazy here in Austin with home values since everyone and their dog (literally) are moving here in droves.
My first house I bought here 8 years ago just about doubled in value by the time I sold it 2.5 years ago. The house I'm currently in (within 5 miles of downtown) has gone up 40% in 2.5 years.
A lot of the suburban neighborhoods here are mostly just seeing prices keeping up with overall inflation over the long haul, at least at the mid and high end. The smaller/cheaper end of the market has more demand than supply and has outpaced inflation.
Some areas, however, have become more desirable than they once were, and have seen price jumps. For instance, downtown Raleigh was once a ghost town after business hours. Boylan Heights and Oakwood neighborhoods had cheap rentals for college students and the like. Downtown, like many urban areas, became popular again and these neighborhoods were revitalized. Now we are seeing huge gentrification of many of the historically black neighborhoods east of downtown Raleigh.
Another example is downtown Cary. It was a very modest southern downtown, barely more than a train stop. For decades, the only reason I’d visit was to pay a water bill, get a haircut, or get my car inspected. The town has spent a lot of effort to turn it into a proper town center. Those efforts continue, but it’s becoming a much more popular place to live, where you can walk to breweries, bars, restaurants, a library, arts center, park, etc. Prices have shot up. Small homes and being razed and replaced with condos or much larger homes.
School assignment changes and new freeways are some other things that can move the needle.
I think that you will find "Raleigh - Inside the Beltline" pricing very expensive, due to demand exceeding supply. Spillover areas like North Hills are getting the same way. Much higher appreciation rates vs other areas of the Triangle, and generally much more expensive than Cary, Morrisville etc.
My youngest brother has lived in Denver for 28 years, and they have also have had a major spike in pricing. He's about 15 minutes from downtown. On the other hand, another brother has lived in Houston for 20+ years, and he's had little appreciation. Maybe due to his location, I don't know. He's also about 15 minutes from downtown.
I suspect that, excluding certain pockets, this area will be cheaper than Austin overall.
I suspect that, excluding certain pockets, this area will be cheaper than Austin overall.
Just a quick note about "overall" costs: TX vs NC. I'm sure the OP has considered all the costs associated with living in NC beyond the cost of purchasing a home, such as state income taxes (NC flat rate of 5.499%), taxes on all basic groceries (2%), annual property taxes on cars (depends on value), all of which are assessed in NC, but not TX.
NC also imposes a HUT (highway use tax) on cars coming into the state for the first time, max am't is $250, I think, if car was owned more than 90 days out of state. Otherwise 3% of value is owed for sales tax on cars coming into state for first reg (purchased out of state less than 90 days before first reg).
The sales taxes are a little bit higher in Austin (8.25%) vs Raleigh (7.5%), and no idea about property taxes in Austin vs Raleigh.
Here is a good chart showing the overall "tax burden" of the 50 states. Something to consider.
Texas property taxes run roughly 2%-2.5% of assessed value which from my research is pretty close to market rate.
It really depends on your income and value of your house if NC is cheaper as far as taxes go or not. High income, less expensive home...TX wins. Expensive home...relatively little income...NC wins.
Looking at a chart of tax burden by state is not the way to figure it out.
Good points, but my statement: "I suspect that, excluding certain pockets, this area will be cheaper than Austin overall" was specific to purchasing housing units, and did not include other cost-of-living items (taxes, etc). Total cost of living may very well be higher here.
My brother who lives in Houston thinks housing costs are generally much cheaper there than in Raleigh, but other items like property taxes are much higher there than here. Don't know if that's specific to the county where he lives (Harris County) and not necessarily all of Texas, or not. My house is worth roughly twice as much as his, yet we pay roughly the same in property tax.
Good points, but my statement: "I suspect that, excluding certain pockets, this area will be cheaper than Austin overall" was specific to purchasing housing units, and did not include other cost-of-living items (taxes, etc). Total cost of living may very well be higher here.
My brother who lives in Houston thinks housing costs are generally much cheaper there than in Raleigh, but other items like property taxes are much higher there than here. Don't know if that's specific to the county where he lives (Harris County) and not necessarily all of Texas, or not. My house is worth roughly twice as much as his, yet we pay roughly the same in property tax.
Median home price per metro area (probably outdated from where I'm pulling these numbers.....)
True that property taxes are roughly double in TX compared to NC, but if your family taxable income is over let's say $60-70k, you're going to be paying more in state income taxes than you would be paying with higher real estate property taxes generally speaking. I also paid over $700 in NC vehicle taxes this year.
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