Soaring home prices put a dent in Houston's reputation for affordability (Austin: sale, 2014)

[gwarnecke]

Houston may be a bargain compared to other major cities, but those of us who have lived here for awhile are astonished at how much less your money buys vs just 2 or 3 years ago. Thus, it's hard for us to feel like much of anything currently on the market represents particularly good value.

I bought my starter home early last year, and it has appreciated somewhat, but that doesn't help much if the next upgrade home is that much more expensive. Even though our home meets our needs and is in a great location, part of me wishes we'd bought earlier and/or stretched our budget more to start off with a bigger "forever" house.

[Schumacher713]

We are still a lot cheaper than other major cities. Overall, we are still a bargain. Go see what a million buys you in DC, Boston, or LA.

[Svensk08]

Originally Posted by HLS14

As one of the people you guys complain about (a soon to be Houston transplant) I think the houses are dirt cheap. I only want to spend about 400K and the amount of house I can get for that is astounding. I worked in London and 400K gets you a small apartment near the outskirts of town. I'll be coming from Boston where my 1 bdrm, 720 sqft apartment is $1825 a month, that's with old appliances and no dishwasher. The houses i'm looking at have all new appliances, 3000+ sqft, gated communities, with huge back yards. The only thing I don't like is the super high property taxes but it's a tradeoff I can take for warmer weather. Graduation can't come fast enough, see you guys in a month.

P.s. traffic would be so much better if you guys had a semblance of public transportation. I'd prefer to commute on the subway or train but it doesn't seem like that's possible so I'll be contributing to the terrible traffic .

Oh, you'll do fine driving in traffic here. Just remember to let us ease into your lane occasionally and wave thanks when we do the same for you.

[Svensk08]

Originally Posted by HLS14

Haha fortunately I'm from the midwest (Chicago) so I speak English and not Boston. I really hope you guys drive better than the drivers up here. Can you turn right on red in Houston?

You can turn right on red at most intersections. Signs on posts near the intersection or hanging from traffic signals will tell you if you can't, or at specific hours when you can't. One thing that's really aggravating is to get an intersection where the traffic is heavy and discover that the lane you're in is marked "Right Lane MUST Turn Right" or "Left Lane MUST Turn Left".

[diggity101]

Originally Posted by fnh

I'll bet Casey and Caitlyn didn't look here:
Houston neighborhoods see skyrocketing home values - Houston Chronicle

Probably because some are zoned to a 'bad' two-star school vs. a 'good' two-star school.

possibly because 90% of those "neighborhoods" are not inside the loop, which was their qualifier.

[Meyerland]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Stratford's zoning was never, ever ghetto. There are some apartment complexes that are still iffy, but the single family and non-renting community would have never, ever been considered ghetto.

Stratford has never been considered a poor school. Wilchester and Memorial better? Yes... The glitch of the crash affected Stratford for a whole 10 years..big whoop. It came back, most never did. God lord, the consistent vitriol from a poster I assume you, Toyot,are responding to is gross. I blocked them months ago, but they still show up in quotes from time to time.

I have been in Houston since 1997, and Stratford has never been ghetto in all that time. Maybe I am missing something? Memorial has always had a better reputation, but Stratfords has been very strong in the middle and mid upper classes in that area.

[fnh]

Originally Posted by ToyYot

So three years ago Stratford was ghetto? Whatever...

No one but ToyYot has said that it was ghetto.

[testmo]

Originally Posted by HLS14

As one of the people you guys complain about (a soon to be Houston transplant) I think the houses are dirt cheap. I only want to spend about 400K and the amount of house I can get for that is astounding. I worked in London and 400K gets you a small apartment near the outskirts of town. I'll be coming from Boston where my 1 bdrm, 720 sqft apartment is $1825 a month, that's with old appliances and no dishwasher. The houses i'm looking at have all new appliances, 3000+ sqft, gated communities, with huge back yards. The only thing I don't like is the super high property taxes but it's a tradeoff I can take for warmer weather. Graduation can't come fast enough, see you guys in a month.

P.s. traffic would be so much better if you guys had a semblance of public transportation. I'd prefer to commute on the subway or train but it doesn't seem like that's possible so I'll be contributing to the terrible traffic .

So youll be living what? 40-45 miles away from the city? Thats why its that affordable. People are commuting near 2 hrs one way and go on to praise their neighborhood selection for value. Dont get swindled by that. Our new ghettos are nothing but 3000-4000 sq ft homes

[HLS14]

I'll be living in Spring/Woodlands area. My job is in Spring and my wife is teaching in the Woodlands so it makes sense for us. We're looking at places near 45 so if we do want to go to the city it won't be as bad, but the woodlands and the surrounding area looks awesome.

http://kathymannpilcek.com/wp-conten...lands-Mall.jpg

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/med...t-waterway.jpg

http://www.cherrycreektexas.com/medi...t%20street.jpg

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by HLS14

I'll be living in Spring/Woodlands area. My job is in Spring and my wife is teaching in the Woodlands so it makes sense for us. We're looking at places near 45 so if we do want to go to the city it won't be as bad, but the woodlands and the surrounding area looks awesome

Better buy quick, prices in that area are going up very fast.