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Austin Strutters : what's the deal with all these cheap houses ?

SLurgSLurg 446 Posts
edited January 2011 in Strut Central
I'm considering moving from Paris to Austin soon so I've been looking at the price of houses, and it just doesn't make sense to me. For 1/4 of the price of my small appartment in France I can get a 5 bed 3 bath house.
Why is that ? I mean I know there is a crisis, but there must be something wrong with a 5 bedroom house for $110 000 ?

I keep hearing and reading that Austin's economy is rising, so I expected real estate to be more expensive.

I'm struggling here, but after I sell my appartment and move I'll have enough to invest in my own business or to buy and rent 4 or 5 houses there !

  Comments

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    For $150K you can get a decent house just about anywhere in Texas.

    My house in the Dallas/Fort Worth area that I paid less than $200K for would cost me $800K and up in NY or California
  • SLurgSLurg 446 Posts
    We had to make a choice between moving to LA or to Austin, but what I see for $150 K in Austin would be like one million in LA.
  • SLurgSLurg 446 Posts
    We had to make a choice between moving to LA or to Austin, but what I see for $150 K in Austin would be like one million in LA.
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    It all depends on what part of town you buy in. A 5-bedroom house for $110k is certainly available, but it will likely put you in the burbs of say Pflugerville, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Manor, or Kyle...and I really wouldn't recommend those spots for someone as worldly as you, especially if it gets you a cookie cutter tract home situated only 12 feet away from the houses around you. That, or you can purchase a shithole up in the Rundberg area.

    The central higher ends like Hyde Park, Tarrytown, Clarksville, Crestview, etc. IMO are vastly overpriced for what you get, which is basically a white-washed version of what living in central Austin is supposed to be. Or you can go for further gentrifying Central East Austin, but that will likely cost you more than it's worth as well.

    Fortunately, there are still great deals both in South and Northeast (where I live) Austin. We bought our house 6 years ago for $130k and still consider it a great find. The same house would cost you more like $170k today, but it is quite possible to find a nice, diverse neighborhood in the 23, 24, 21, 52, 04, 44, and 45 parts of town (those numbers are the last 2 digits of the 787__ zip code).

    But yes, in comparison to LA, most houses in Austin are dirt cheap...and nice.
  • billbradleybillbradley You want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,889 Posts
    A 5 bedroom house for $110,000 has got to be in a really bad neighborhood, or like Harvey said, out in the suburbs away from anything remotely cool.
  • SLurgSLurg 446 Posts
    billbradley said:
    A 5 bedroom house for $110,000 has got to be in a really bad neighborhood, or like Harvey said, out in the suburbs away from anything remotely cool.
    I saw one in Round Rock and another one in Pflugerville??? for that price. I'm not trying to go there but it's crazy to see something that big and that cheap.

    How's the public transportation there ? Can you survive 3 months without a car ?
  • billbradleybillbradley You want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,889 Posts
    SLurg said:
    billbradley said:
    A 5 bedroom house for $110,000 has got to be in a really bad neighborhood, or like Harvey said, out in the suburbs away from anything remotely cool.
    I saw one in Round Rock and another one in Pflugerville??? for that price. I'm not trying to go there but it's crazy to see something that big and that cheap.

    How's the public transportation there ? Can you survive 3 months without a car ?

    I think it really depends on where you live. Some areas are better than others. Out where I live, it sucks, but closer into town it isn't too bad.
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    SLurg said:

    How's the public transportation there ?

    Not very good. The buses are decent, but you are far too old to be waiting on them all day. And they just started a light rail line...and it's just that, a single straight line that takes you from north BFE to east BFE.


    Can you survive 3 months without a car ?

    Not during the summer months, which last about 7 months per year.

    You're going to need a proper pick-up truck...a Ford or a Chevy...with a proper gun rack hanging from the inside of the back window...with a rifle and a shotgun of course. Pistol goes under the front seat.
  • SLurgSLurg 446 Posts
    HarveyCanal said:

    You're going to need a proper pick-up truck...a Ford or a Chevy...with a proper gun rack hanging from the inside of the back window...with a rifle and a shotgun of course. Pistol goes under the front seat.

    Apparently Austin is in the top 5 of the big cities with the lowest crime rate in America, but you never know !
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    SLurg said:
    HarveyCanal said:

    You're going to need a proper pick-up truck...a Ford or a Chevy...with a proper gun rack hanging from the inside of the back window...with a rifle and a shotgun of course. Pistol goes under the front seat.

    Apparently Austin is in the top 5 of the big cities with the lowest crime rate in America, but you never know !

    More guns = Less crime.
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