Is it worth it? (Houston, Sugar Land: real estate, apartment, lease)

[fembot99]

Hi everyone,
I have been checking out real estate in Texas online and I can't believe how low the cost of housing is! I realize Houston is huge and there are extremely expensive parts but there seem to be plenty of suburbs where I can get what I would consider my dream house for a close to 200k. I'm talking newer construction four bedroom two and a half bath with 2500 square feet. Where I live now that would run me 650k easily and that's not even in the most exclusive towns. So my question is how much income do you need to get and maintain that kind of house, in Sugarland or Katy for example.

[txaggie00]

fembot99,

I've lived in Houston most of my life, so I'm kind of biased, but I can provide some perspective. I spent much of the past year living in a corporate apartment in Norwood, MA, so I can relate to your statement about home prices in the rest of the country being out of control. My company would have like for me to relocate permanently up there, but you can imagine my sticker shock when I started looking at home prices.

As for whether or not its worth living in Houston, there would be a number of things to consider. We learn to like driving here. Nothing is close. I drive 45 minutes to work every morning, but I'd say average commute is between 30-40 minutes. Most families here also have at lease one SUV, so, if you drive a smaller car, you may be uncomfortable on the roadways.

The other thing you may want to brace yourself for is the heat. It's hot!!! In August, it regularly approaches or exceeds 100 degrees, and, coupled with the humidity, the heat index is usually 105-107 degrees. The Fall and Spring are pretty moderate, though. It's just the summer that makes us question why we live here.

If you aren't used to living in a highly populated area, this may also come as a shock to you. While Houston is spread out, the population still exceeds 4 million, so, if your from a smaller city, this may take some getting used to. On the plus side, though, Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the country, so just about anyone is welcome here.

Having spent some time up north for the winter, I realized how much I enjoy living here. You could say that me and my family have put down our own roots, aside from those I put down growing up here. People are friendly in Texas, except during rush hour traffic There are a lot of things to do if your into theatre and culture. There aren't a lot of touristy things to do, so your family may not flock to come visit, but I still think it's a good place to live and work.

As for how much you need to live in Sugar Land and/or Katy, I'd say that anywhere between $50k and $75k per year would allow you to live in either city. Most households in those cities are dual income, so I'd guess the average household income to be between $90k and $125k. However, one could buy a 2k sq ft home for 150k in either of those cities. One thing to watch out for is that Texas has high real estate taxes. This is because there is no state income tax. These taxes can range from $300 to $600+ per month, so you'd basically add this to your monthly house payment.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your decision.

[fembot99]

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply. I visited Houston a few months ago and really liked it. I loved how diverse it is and I think I could even learn to handle the heat. I started seriously considering relocating while I was on my trip. In my opinion, having a shot at obtaining what I consider a "dream house" is enough reason to move across the country. I just worry that I am underestimating how much it will really cost to live in Texas. I have a well paying job now but I will have to start all over again if I move so I want to make sure it will be worth it in the long run.

[Need_affordable_home]

I have Houston high on my list of places to move to. A $200k house there is a very, very nice one, like 4 to 5 bedrooms and about 3000 square foot a/c! Here, a $200k house is a tiny 2 bedroom fixer upper! I also cant believe how cheap Houston is. There are reasons, but none explains the low cost. Its not as desirable as south Florida, but the fact Houston is a third the cost of living makes it worth while! True property taxes are higher, but hurricane insurance is lower so that makes up for it! Just about everyone in Houston can afford at least a condominium seeing they can be had for $50k in a great neighboorhood(over here, they start at 150k! triple the price!)
Smaller houses can be had for 100k easy.

[Redrover]

fembot99, not sure what you do for a living but Houston is in such a growth mode that there are a lot of jobs for people with skills. BP is about to start construction at their west side location which will add 2000 new jobs in the next few years. There seems to be a decided move by other energy companies to relocate to the westside Energy Corridor which makes living in Katy particularly a great option. If you don't live here, that Energy Corridor is basically south of I-10, north of Westheimer, west of Dairy Ashford and east of Hwy 6. There are "spillovers" on both sides of the I-10 access roads west of Hwy 6 but they aren't technically in that EC. If you do anything that has an application in the energy industry you shouldn't have trouble finding a job. Good luck.