Dallas vs Houston: Round 255 (Plano, Spring: home sales, closing, to move)

[Jack Lance]

Houston leads Texas in new home sales volume

New home buyers got a little price relief in October as the Houston metro cemented its position as the biggest market in Texas for new home sales, according to a HomesUSA.com report released today.

Houston reported 1,478 new home sales in October, up from 1,462 in September, according to HomesUSA.com. The Dallas-Ft. Worth reported 1,357 new home sales for October.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/bus...ntent=briefing

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

Houston leads Texas in new home sales volume

New home buyers got a little price relief in October as the Houston metro cemented its position as the biggest market in Texas for new home sales, according to a HomesUSA.com report released today.

Houston reported 1,478 new home sales in October, up from 1,462 in September, according to HomesUSA.com. The Dallas-Ft. Worth reported 1,357 new home sales for October.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/bus...ntent=briefing

Wonder if that has to do with the rising home prices in DFW in comparison to Houston's rising but more affordable home prices?

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by Redlionjr

Wonder if that has to do with the rising home prices in DFW in comparison to Houston's rising but more affordable home prices?

IDK I haven't seen any analysis , but I do know this is like 3 months in a row new Home sales in Greater Houston have been tops in the state after a extended period when DFW would lead.

It may be that DFW is slowing in population growth or inventories of older homes in Houston are in shorter supply.

[jd433]

Rising home prices in Dallas are part of the reason. Houston has also rebounded now.
I cant see why anyone would want to buy a brand new 2000 sq ft home for 300k in Anna,Texas or Celina, Texas or Prosper. which are all over an hour drive from Dallas. Good luck getting downtown during rush hour. Then they give you a tiny little 4500 sq ft lot as If land was scarce out there. They are not selling like hot cakes anymore and there is plenty of very cheap land to build on so there is no shortage.

Originally Posted by Redlionjr

Wonder if that has to do with the rising home prices in DFW in comparison to Houston's rising but more affordable home prices?

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

IDK I haven't seen any analysis , but I do know this is like 3 months in a row new Home sales in Greater Houston have been tops in the state after a extended period when DFW would lead.

It may be that DFW is slowing in population growth or inventories of older homes in Houston are in shorter supply.

Its definitely not DFW's population growth slowing. They are leading the nation in growth with no real close 2nd.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

Its definitely not DFW's population growth slowing. They are leading the nation in growth with no real close 2nd.

Yeah, Houston experiened a slowdown that may now be over, but DFW had just been growing like crazy for the last decade or so without any slowdowns.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

Yeah, Houston experiened a slowdown that may now be over, but DFW had just been growing like crazy for the last decade or so without any slowdowns.

I dont see DFW slowing for a while. The economy is white hot and despite the "Californication" of Austin, way more Californians move to Dallas than Austin.

Where I get concerned for Houston is that its growth pattern is starting to resemble Los Angeles. High immigration and high birth rates are compensating for domestic losses. Houston was still gaining domestic residents until 2015 but weve been losing them since then. To be healthy, we growth across demographics. International growth is great and Im glad we get so much of it, but we need domestic growth to continue.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

I dont see DFW slowing for a while. The economy is white hot and despite the "Californication" of Austin, way more Californians move to Dallas than Austin.

Where I get concerned for Houston is that its growth pattern is starting to resemble Los Angeles. High immigration and high birth rates are compensating for domestic losses. Houston was still gaining domestic residents until 2015 but weve been losing them since then. To be healthy, we growth across demographics. International growth is great and Im glad we get so much of it, but we need domestic growth to continue.

Yeah. Intersting enough, that patern is what makes certain people prefer Houston and what has made it more diverse than Dallas.

Dallas doesnt just do a better job promoting themselves to domestic migrants, but in a lot of ways it really is a better place to relocate for many dometic imigrants. The more diverse economy appeals to a wider range of people. The companies based here cover a wider range of industries.

The more coherent suburbs make deciding where to live less confusing. Not that suburban life in either city is really different at all, but to outsiders Houston Suburbs make no sense, while the Dallas ones are pretty straight forward.

Even visiting Dallas looks better.

I always tell people the first time i visited Dallas, the ride from DFW down 183 towards Dallas was the uggliest drive i had ever done to that point. That was quickly passed when i vistied Houston a year later.

Flying or driving into Houston is still pretty ugly, while if you visit DFW and take the North Exit from the airport towards the northern burbs, you just see brand new highways..not scenic, but not grungy looking strip malls on access roads. (183 is still ugly)

I mean, yes, the suburbs of both cities are the same brick tract homes and once you get off the freeways both cities are pretty similar, but Dallas presents itself better. That and the more diverse economy make it easy to see why more American transplants pick DFW.

[Exult.Q36]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

Yeah. Intersting enough, that patern is what makes certain people prefer Houston and what has made it more diverse than Dallas.

Dallas doesnt just do a better job promoting themselves to domestic migrants, but in a lot of ways it really is a better place to relocate for many dometic imigrants. The more diverse economy appeals to a wider range of people. The companies based here cover a wider range of industries.

The more coherent suburbs make deciding where to live less confusing. Not that suburban life in either city is really different at all, but to outsiders Houston Suburbs make no sense, while the Dallas ones are pretty straight forward.

Even visiting Dallas looks better.

I always tell people the first time i visited Dallas, the ride from DFW down 183 towards Dallas was the uggliest drive i had ever done to that point. That was quickly passed when i vistied Houston a year later.

Flying or driving into Houston is still pretty ugly, while if you visit DFW and take the North Exit from the airport towards the northern burbs, you just see brand new highways..not scenic, but not grungy looking strip malls on access roads. (183 is still ugly)

I mean, yes, the suburbs of both cities are the same brick tract homes and once you get off the freeways both cities are pretty similar, but Dallas presents itself better. That and the more diverse economy make it easy to see why more American transplants pick DFW.

Yes, 183 is a very ugly highway. I would vote it as the ugliest in the Metroplex. That’s the first look many get when they enter DFW from the airport. I don’t understand why foliage (trees) hasn’t been planted to make it look better.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

I dont see DFW slowing for a while. The economy is white hot and despite the "Californication" of Austin, way more Californians move to Dallas than Austin.

Where I get concerned for Houston is that its growth pattern is starting to resemble Los Angeles. High immigration and high birth rates are compensating for domestic losses. Houston was still gaining domestic residents until 2015 but weve been losing them since then. To be healthy, we growth across demographics. International growth is great and Im glad we get so much of it, but we need domestic growth to continue.

But the domestic migrant losses in Houston were very low and coincided with the energy slump. I wouldn't be surprised to see the rise in home sales mean that there's an increase in domestic migrants. It wouldn't be the first time Houston lost domestic migrants (and DFW has before as well). Overall DFW has been a more domestic magnet, with Houston leading for a handful of years here and there. The higher intl immigration numbers helped Houston make up for some of the differences.

I think Houston has done a lot to clean itself up over the past few years that have made differences. All it needs to do is get its foot in the door for some of these new industries and the diversification of the economy will continue. Lately it's been doing a good job of attracting new HQs. Where Houston can differentiate itself is by promoting as Texas' urban city. It has the largest and most dense in the state. Really need to get the rail and BRT transit options up and running.

Houston still has the most potential out of the Texas metros in my opinion because it has had the least help and diverse economy, but still able to be as large as it is. Now that the diversification is accelerating, flooding, and development planning is being taking seriously, who knows what will happen.