I will have to agree that the job market is starting to slip. I am in the auto repair business and many small car dealers have lost their financing and have closed. Also, with Nat Gas prices plunging, it is just a matter of time before the barnett shale jobs get hit.
I currently have residences in both Dallas & Chicago. Even with the property taxes in Dallas, it's cheaper than being in Chicago. Much cheaper now that Chicago has found it needs even more creative ways to fleece the people. And let's not even begin to talk about the new (and coming) county taxes. In both cities I have leases for large loft (live/work) units. I have a land parcel under contract in Dallas proper. And I'm currently scouting a large parcel to the south east of the city. One of my brothers moved his family to Houston two years ago. He picked up a nice foreclosure home in a new subdivision. The home appraised for over $450k. He got it for waaaaaaaaay less! Pumped in $20k to finish it off the way he wanted.
The property taxes on our rental home in the Dallas area are around 2.5% (we've made the decision to remain flexible in this job market, especially since my husband works for a company not based here). Other people I know pay about the same, the areas I can speak for are Dallas, Richardson, Plano, Allen, and Mckinney. If you're planning on buying, I'd buy in an area where it's built-out already, like the "M streets" area or one of the closer suburbs like Richardson. Or, buy in a place where the schools are ranked very highly (Southlake, Fairview).
I think you might still be missing the point he has been making. The houses I was looking at in DFW that go for $500,000 would probably sell for about $1.5million to $2.0 million in a city like Chicago, Tampa, Miami etc. Now, although your tax is relatively high, say $$10,000 per year, even though the tax rate is lower in Chicago, Tampa, Miami etc your probably still going to end up paying around the same $10,000 tax on the house..yes its more vs the price of the house..but if you put one house next to the other house, then you'd find the taxes pretty much in line with each other. If I'm misunderstanding this point please correct me.
back in February I was looking to buy a property to rent out in Houston, TX too, nice homes for 150-200k....well, then my realtor informed me about the taxes, and the dream died
Your logic is 100% sound, I was just responding to the statement that you could find counties with a 1.5% tax rate in Texas, which I have never seen. The 500K house you are looking at would probably result in a yearly tax of closer to 15k-19k depending on the area, which would obvoiusly be equal to a 1% rate on a $2 million home. I think a person also has to keep in mind their age, life stage, and goals. For example, I live in a home that is currently worth $165k... it's a relatively small home (2k square feet), but it is a very nice, comfortable home for my young family located in an upper middle class suberb of Houston. I could afford a lot more, but I choose to stay in a modest home to keep my tax bill low (not to mention the mortgage) so I can pour more capital into my trading. This bucks the traditional wisdom though, because for most markets, the advice would probably be to buy the most house you can possibly afford to capture the most price appreciation (obviously the current housing market has everyone singing a different tune, but that will change at some point in the future). But in Texas, buying a bigger home increases your tax bill to the point that you'll pay more in taxes then you will capture though price appreciation when you eventually sell... it's a losing proposition. That said, if you are in a life stage where you just want to settle down in a nice, large home and live out your life, Texas is a great place to do it. Just stay away from the coast.
Correct. You understand what I am saying. And don't even get me started on sales taxes in Chicago, currently the highest in the nation and going higher. The bottom line is, it's very cheap to live in TX. However it's not for everybody. It's very hot in the summer obviously and there is a different culture down there. I happen to like it, others not so much. Keep in mind also that Dallas is in Tornado alley and Houston is close to the hurricanes. Both of those are also bear items for a lot of people.
Brandon, Check out the Charleston, SC area, specifically Mount Pleasant just over the bridge from Charleston. Home prices are reasonable (about $125-150 per sq ft, property taxes are low (about 1% max). I plan to retire to that area, it's alot nicer than Texas IMO, (no offence intended)
In downtown Chicago (near the loop) where I stay, sadly $165k won't buy you anything. Starter 800 square foot, one-bedroom condos run $220k. The townhomes with about 1,700 square feet start at $450k. And all of these are the lower end of the pricing spectrum, NOW! While I don't think they're worth that, that's what the market asks. And not much is moving either!