Are you sure the government is the solution? The most expensive cities in the US to own or rent a home are the the same cities that have the most regulatory influence of the local government when it comes to low income housing, zoning, squatters' rights environmental impact studies, etc. It is a supply and demand issue but people just want to blame a big corporation or government because it is easier then having to understand basic economics.
Dude 1400 sq ft is a lot. I have a similar sized home. 3 bed 3bath. 2 story with rooftop deck, two balconies. But 300,000 is way too much for a house. Everyone move to smaller cities in Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Kansas and Missouri. Texas is getting too expensive.
@@dark12ain I think I would rather have a crappy job in those areas and have a roof over my head vs a good job and living out of my car if I was living in Austin or Dallas. Houston as far as I know has decent home prices for renting and buying. I used to live in San Antonio as well and they have decent home prices. I ended up moving abroad in January 2020 before the pandemic started and I made the right decision for me at least.
It's not just the price for rentals, the application fees that are non refundable are just an easy way for landlords to make money while keeping thier places empty. Think about it the typical application fee is around 50 dollars per adult. An average household has at minimum 2 adults, if 100 people apply that's 10,000 a month free money without ever having to put someone in the rental property. Not only do these places have application fees but some have administrative fees and or other various fees on top of the application fees. What laws do we have to protect against landlords taking advantage of this situation, None, and it's sickening. Then you have places that expect people to make 3 times the amount of rent money, this mean the typical American family would have to have both adults working at least one full time job and one part time job or more if working minimum wadge jobs. The fact of the matter is landlords have way to much pull under the current rental laws and they know how to use this information to thier advantage. Clearly we need stricter laws that protect renters from fraudulent landlords who are preying on already financially broken families.
@Jesus is LORD I may not be a "Christian" but I respect all people's religious beliefs and thank you for this beautiful passage. ❤ May God keep blessing you and your family and keep you all safe during these trying times. 🙏
@@peterhua5211 why so high? You can't make the fees smaller? I have looked over numerous background check sights and the most I've seen per month charge for service is around $100 dollars, so you mean to tell me you only do two background checks a month? I don't think so. Let's be honest here your making a profit off these fees. Don't try to justify the amount charged when it's public information that it really doesn't cost you that much and your making money off of it. I'm so sick of landlords that take advantage of people who just don't know the information that's available. If your one of thoes landlords doing this especially right now knowing families are struggling then your part of the problem and I have no regrets in what I have said. Take it how you want I'm just stating facts. Edit : not "the most I've seen ," when averaged its around $100 .... seen some as low as $29.99 a month and seen some as high as $130 a month. Just wanted to make that clear as I know someone will point it out as wrong.
This has nothing to do with anything but greed. Banks are over paying buying homes and inflating the comps. The municipalities salivate as well as the home insurance companies when they jack up your property values. The county now raises your tax bill and the insurance companies make more profit by raising your replacement cost. Owning a home is more of a liability now than it ever has been in the states. That's why I cashed out and left the country. My quality of life is now increased ten fold.
@C retired to beautiful Mexico. The U.S wants everyone to believe mexico is bad. There's over one million of us over here. When you find out how mexico truly is, you'll leave the states. Trust me.
Everyone talks about this. Nobody talks about what we can do. My apt bldg is a dump but affordable. Now we have a big increase plus fees for bldg elec and water (costs shared among tennants) landscaping (?) Snow removal, trash pickup (emptying of the dumpster, not picking up at our apts), and there is only one dumpster for 9 3-story bldgs and it is at the top of a long hill, and there is a charge for getting a bill for all this each month. Meanwhile, it is still a crime-ridden dump--in the rust belt of the US. So how can anyone say there are places to live, just smaller, just not as good a neighborhood, just not in the livable states? It isn't true. Ppl are paying phenomenal rents to live in subhuman dwellings. And there is no place left for seniors and disabled persons. So let's talk about what we can do before we become homeless and get labeled as addicts or nutjobs.
Lets them abandoned and nobody rent them. We need Islamic Emirate states of America and truly freedom for all. you are typically about me and me only. Grow up, do you think you are the only one having financial hardship and you want make thing worse than it is. You do know there millions even billions of abandoned homes all around the world. Italy, Detroit, Istanbul and china. What we need is stronger adverse possession and faster quiet titles and deeds. You can always abandoned and allow other who are willing to take care of the property. Paper ownership is a joke. Most greedy rental property owners dont even live in the property and the communities. We must abolished so call paper ownership. The real owner is the one living the property. For example, in ukraine , many paper owners abandoned and renter soliders fighting for their country. It's fair after the war the paper owners come back to what the renter fight for. Who is the real owner? Soliders that defense the lands or paper owners that fleed?
I agree. This happened in NYC, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and now it's happening all over the country. The average income for a two income family is 50,000 which equates to around 1300-1400 a month. The average cost of a two bedroom in the US is somewhere between 1800-2000. So, most housing literally is not affordable. It's a fact. They are charging too much for these rents because they can get away with it. We already know that Public housing doesn't work, it just creates ghettos. We know that rent control doesn't work. We know that building new housing does not work as it just increases the market value of the entire area and forces people out. We know that giving people easier access to mortgages also doesn't work as we saw in the 2008 housing crash. Some kind of tax incentive to encourage lowering the rents on apartments and a tax penalty for having rents above a certain price might be a possible solution. That's the only thing that I can think of.
You must stay in my apartments in Houston cause everything you pointed out we going through right now in my aprtments, it pisses me off, they haven't done repairs to the apartments in so long that alot of the balconies have fallen in, I know with mines I was showing my office people the other day that my support beam is rotted out, you can push the paint and it just mushes in.
@@dark12ain be a smart investor. Let's them abandoned and vacant the property. There are millions even billions abandoned around the country. Use the laws have been created over 100 years ago. Adverse possession
it looks like we are going to turn into LA one day. i guess what's eventually going to happen is native houstonians are going to have to move to cheaper cities or states for rent. sad but true. louisianna, missippi, alabama may boom one day.
Yeah the south has always been the cheapest,but soon as we get people moving down here who moved out in the first place, prices will rise and we will be back in this situation with no answeres but to pull yourself up by the boot straps
I'm all for helping BUT They cut covid rent relief. As a result I lost my job. "Due to funding" And there are so many people still in need of help. And now I'm one of them. Things just dont add up 🤷♀️
It's all greed. These apartments and homes are just not worth it. Houston is not worth it anymore. It's a big hype and out of town people took the bate.
@@izziestevens5835 My gosh... such craziness. This Inflation situation is going to totally collapse our economy. I wish everyone lots of love and positivity.
Even if you have an affordable home, medical health insurance is out of control but no one wants to talk about. One hospital stay and you are broke heading for homeless tent.
Unfortunately, “Affordable housing” to investors means “they won’t take care of your stuff”, and so they’re not incentivized to provide affordable housing.
It also means "economically insecure" or "they will drag you through the mud if you evict them". Obviously, we shouldn't rely on financially-conservative investors looking for stable cash flow when it comes to building housing.
Most of Houston is zoned exclusively for single family houses. When you don't allow for more units to be built (apartments, townhouses, etc), the existing houses are the only housing units that can ever be built there. This is why houses are attractive investments. They get more scarce over time. If, however, we abolish single family zoning, and allow neighborhoods to thicken up, there will be a surplus of housing and investors will leave.
@@rickg6158 A duplex looks the same as a single family house, just with two front doors. A triplex looks the same, just with three front doors. Adding more units will not make your neighborhood look any different. You just want to keep anyone out that isn't as wealthy as you are. You own your house. You own your land. Not everybody else's.
Property tax makes the mortgage payments even crazier. Decent area, decent house, paying $700ish/month in property taxes. Yet Texans stay bragging about their no state income tax lol
All the out of State people moving to Texas from everywhere have raised Property Values beyond what local populations income levels can afford furthermore those elevated home prices ,have raised the Property Taxes for those fortunate enough to own their homes beyond what they can afford . TEXAS is coming to the harsh consequences of their Voting choices . For an example during their last Blackout it was shown Texas Electric customers paid over 20 Billion dollars more for their deregulated system over the previous decade than the rest of their neighbors .That didn't include the Billions more in Damages due to the outages . El Paso is excluded because they aren't part of that system. Can anyone guess where Abbott gets massive campaign contributions, anyone ?
In Vegas , medium house is going $450,000 and that's before upgrade , lot fee , SID , LID , master plan fee etc. Nobody with less than $80,000 / year income would be able to afford this kind of price. We are just the working poor now.
Outta here soon too! House has increased in value, but taxes and cost of living has increased too. We live in a 50 yr old 3b2b, 1300 Sq feet. In order to save need to downsize, move out of city, start a garden, less movement.
im already looking to move headed to florida even though its almost inline with houston there are a few areas you can get more for your buck than here and be by the beach
US needs to stop sending weapons to Ukraine and tell the idiot Zelenskyy to negotiate for peace. At this rate all the homes in Ukraine will be destroyed and the victory will be for nothing.
Charities that raise money for Ukraine are also bs. Not even 5% of that money will actually go to helping Ukrainian refugees. Charities raise that money just to get bonuses and payouts to their executives and directors.
@@adanlopez1011 Now you're talking. Absolutely correct. An example at home was when the Red Cross had all these sandwiches made that nobody wants them and had to be thrown out. Or they had the Red Cross trucks to be driven around so people can see them during a disaster. The money that they didn't waste went to the executives pay raises and bonuses.
Oh housing will become affordable in the next few years - you're just going to have to wait for the slew of foreclosures and tax lien sales to hit the market. At the rate the taxes are going up this year - this will decimate families that were already struggling to get by. Way to go Harris County!!! Send out the property tax notices early - grooming the public of what you intend to do. If you own a home, smart move is go secure a firm to fight your property taxes, if you don't - don't be surprised to see them increase over last years already ridiculous jump by about 30%+
Everything you said is 100% true. I’m afraid the housing bubble could pop; 20K+ applicants for assistance... taxes get raised... rent isn’t getting cheaper.. heck, my apartments “promised” to keep us at the same rate but raised unnecessary fees elsewhere so I’m paying market rate.. all politics
@@TheRealHungryJoe thx. "promises" aren't worth a nickel now. all those people in Phoenix this past year who were "promised" to keep their rates the same - and once the housing market went berserk there, they apt owners, gouged like it was going out of style!!. the thousands of renters who had the hammer drop on them - they were the ones who were getting caught at end of apt term and trying to get into a new constructed home and since materials were short, labor was in huge shortage, homes were being pushed out 2-6 mths. which means you have to have a place to live in the interim. those folks - most were given notices that they could stay single month but the rate went up by 5-10x!!! that's beyond criminal. be patient for a home - things come in cycles and if you can stay frugal and thrifty during the next 12-18 mths you could see a treasure trove of someone else's misery hit the market at 60-70% of what they're selling for now. i know a lot of folks who got caught up in the "it's free money basically" conundrum. which is 0% or low interest rates and just going spend happy. now they're about to be eaten alive... the one thing people are finally talking about is the tax issue. what they have avoided talking about in conjunction which is just as big of a hit, if not larger to some folks - is insurance rates. i had a friend who bought a house at $530k - it's now market value at $840k - so $300k+ difference. their insurance this coming year is going to fly to the moon. they are twiddling their fingers to readjust most of these properties and will use the "cost to replace" becomes astronomically higher... if you own your home outright (I do) - then sit tight... if you are in an apartment and really want to buy , man if it were me - i'd wait a good 12-18 mths - let the carnage start and once the snowball starts down the hill, it's going to pick up speed and size... you will be able to come in on the best side of this. gobble up what you want and then give it 1-2 years on that and watch rates start to drop again - then just refi.your term. everything in this country is cyclical. a good point of reference is the FRED. free of charge and you can check out data points on that. all cycles up/down. good luck bro.
This story is highlighting what I see every day as on of the few Realtors in Houston who regularly works with clients seeking affordable housing. I prescreen properties for my clients to reduce their chances of paying application fees for properties they will not likely be approved for. I also refer clients for rent to own programs if they have the money to buy but have something in their credit report that they need to address. It's often an uphill battle but all hope is not lost.
The issue I have with this. Is the risk exposure. Housing has too much emotion tied to it. If this corrects? People are upside down. I understand life happens. But buying overinflated assets and saying all hope isn't lost, sounds like more sunshine pumping. I'd encourage to tell clients that starter homes is a made up term realtors spew. The market is either affordable or its not. Trying to buy even just a 270k home on a 70k house hold income is hard as it is. I can't imagine that being done on just 3% down, and with little emergency funds, and covering other costs. Push the budget up to 300k. And they're highly exposed (job loss, recession, sudden health condition, accident, etc). That's house poor. Who can justify that? Affordability is on thing. The risk exposure of people trying hard to get in is another.
SCOTUS stinks, too. Oh, and allowing Criminals in our Government is probably self-destructive, do you think? Climate changes include coronaviruses, too. Yikes.
I was actually hoping to buy, but am being priced out. Apartments are getting ridiculously expensive and add all the crazy monthly fees and priced out again! I am single, have a decent job, and can't afford a decent place! The American Dream only exists for the privileged few.
@@armchaireconomist8648 I disagree, I bought my Houston home, seven years ago as a single, one income buyer, 15 year mortgage. My family consists of myself and two dogs. What I know…is, houses were affordable then, but definitely are not now. Seven years ago decent, starter homes were still to be built/found under $200k. At today’s prices, even I would have to have another buyer with great credit, enough money for the down payment, income to qualify and a willingness to sign up for a 30 year mortgage; for these almost half-a-million dollar homes. And I make an above average income. I just decided to live below my means, but, these homes are out of the price range of most average Houston wage earners.
@@dnh31tlg10too - there is massive migration to TX and Fl. Affordability is going to get worse before it gets better. So there will be short term pain. But one way or another wages and housing will stabilize in the long run.
@@armchaireconomist8648 How/when will wages and housing stabilize? Housing inflation is outpacing wages by almost 30%, and that’s only accounting from home prices in 2020 to 2021! Rental prices during this same time period increased 20%. We can’t even get jobs to agree to pay their minimum wage workers (predominant Houston workforce) $15 an hour. And this elusive wage does not guarantee any ability to rise above ‘barely making it.’ It puts the wage earner above the income threshold for most governmental assistance. If overall inflation continues to outpace wages, I really doubt any stabilization between the two any time soon. I fear for our future generations 😔
From your post above it appears that you have your money right and already own your home. So don't fret about things you cannot control. Focus on what you can control. Keep hustling, things have way of working themselves out Don't watch the News.
I found a 2/2 1100 sq ft for $1k in a gated community. The key is to focus on renting from private owners. The apt complexes have gotten outrageous. You have rent plus all the fees (resort, pest, trash, package room, etc).
@@karimbennett5651 how in the world is there not enough housing when we just lost 1/3 of the world's population to covid if the science is correct wouldn't that mean there's less people on planet Earth.
Remote tech workers no longer care about living in CA, Or, and WA. They are moving to whereever now. Very hard for the locals in any state to compete with cash buyers much less companies.
Y’all find anything (California) & anybody (Tech workers) to blame but 90% of workers in Texas are back in the office. Especially in Texas, check the stats. Every state & city is going through the same thing, it’s inflation + the media/public telling or making people believe they’re missing out not buying a home right now.
What I like to know is why are we bringing more people to America. And helping them but not helping American citizens it doesn't make any sense. If the US citizen don't have a place to stay or can afford a place. How are the other people that's coming from other countries. Is the government putting them first before the citizens of the US. 🤔 Because I don't see any of them complaining. About not being able to afford a place to live.
Those who immigrate to the US don’t have access to welfare. If they get it, their sponsor needs to pay the government back 100%. So they can’t get Medicaid, SNAP benefits, or TANF. Only citizens can. Oh and THEIR checks pay for OUR welfare. They can PAY INTO IT, but they don’t get anything out of it until they’re citizens.
Yes.. I start to pay attention to the plates on the car in this horrible traffic we have which has gotten worst.It’s been other states coming here.. to many people and we been been here for years and can’t afford the housing cost. But people that comes for other states can because they are paid more and saving up all their money buying all the house up in cash. We are just going to be out looking in rent to high and ect.
Ohh boy, I can’t believe huge and developed counties like Canada and US are complaining about housing inventory and housing affordability issues. Such a shame!! What are we in this situation? Don’t we have intelligent ppl who can solve this issue?
There's 330 million here. The issue is there's too many people. We shouldn't sacrifice beautiful untouched land just because cities became overcrowded. I'm SICK of new home construction tearing down woods!
@@trans-octopusspacealien8883 Open the borders! Let more flood in! We need vote...uh low priced labor! The rat-like mass breeders are causing all the problems, even the global warming! It's not people having 2 kids, it's the mass breeders having litters instead of a reasonable number that are causing their own problems!
Just like everywhere else. I remember nearly 20 years ago I wanted to move to Houston because at the time it was one of the cheapest cities to live in for its size…..
When Boomers were coming of age, there was plenty of housing available. First time home buyers could afford a BRAND NEW home for about $100k (when adjusted for inflation). We can blame COVID. We can blame business relocating. We can blame investors. But the one issue that no one seems to talk about is the fact that any time anyone wants to build anything affordable, residents freak out. They don’t want anything being built that is cheaper than their own home, even if it’s $500k! I understand growing pains. Our town exploded in the 90s. Now that issues like traffic and overcrowded schools have been addressed, people living here are up in arms about any development. They could literally (and have) clear out a trailer park for new residential development, but as soon as it’s discovered how much the housing will cost, local home owners (almost all people who have moved here from elsewhere, with the majority of those being from out of state) feel that anything less than what they paid would lower property values. Anything cheaper is considered “affordable housing,” which translates to “section 8,” which translates to increase in crime. They literally got rid of a trailer park for something better, and this was this fears people had.
Well we could stop importing millions of illegal aliens each year, that would easy the demand issue. But no one wants to talk about that. low income housing brings crime, so obviously no one wants low income housing near the expensive property, they moved there to get away from that trash.
Traffic and overcrowding in schools hasn’t been addressed. Look at 610 and every single school district. But I agree about your statement of affordable housing. People out in Harvest Green off 99, flipped their lid when they realized section 8 housing was being built near their (then) $400,000 home. They didn’t want it. So where do people go for their housing needs? It’s honestly so screwed up.
$400k, you say? Yeah, wait till they try to build $200-300k homes in that same place they wanted Section 8. They’ll be against that too, even if a few years ago, their own home cost that. The affordable housing situation I was speaking about was honestly subsidized housing for the elderly. Basically people who have paid decades worth of taxes, had their kids move out, spouse possibly passed away, looking to downsize, only they can’t afford to because there are regulations against apartments and/or sqft, so you can’t buy a small home. Sell your house, and where do you go? But subsidized/affordable housing, makes people think of section 8, which makes people think of low income, which leads to people thinking about crime. And it literally was going right where a trailer park was, which is sad for those people, because they were given a few years to leave. Good luck finding somewhere else to live.
@@UmmYeahOk the neighborhood was/is already built. The next phase was low income housing. And people went up in arms. That’s my point… where is anyone who can’t afford a $200k+ house supposed to live? I’m talking couples, single parents, the elderly, etc.
@@nope_n0pe yeah. It sucks because you get millennials and even zennials are of age to buy a first time starter home, and even if it were older, they can’t find one in their price range. We bought our first home, brand new, 1834sqft 4 bedroom 2 bathroom for $120k in 2003. It was the smallest home we could legally build due to local ordinances. Sold it in 2011 for $150k. Zillow thinks it’s worth $476k today. I can’t even imagine the family who bought it now having to pay property taxes on the recent values!
As long as there is greed, and people falling into the hands of these greedy investors will the housing market continue to be what it is. Looking forward to the time when people purchase a home to live and raise a family, and not look at it primarily as a business.
I blame Rick Perry. He went all over the country trying to talk businesses into relocating to Texas. He claimed he was creating jobs. All he did was relocate problems. These companies move to Texas, and bring with them as many employees that are willing to relocate. Only those who fail to move here, give up their jobs to TX applicants. And when you are moving from places that have a higher cost of living, you can afford something nicer and bigger and over bid, and possibly even a cash offer. This, and a local hatred for growth, started this mess, even before Harvey.
there needs to be an empty unit and empty unutilized property within the city. there is actually alot of unused land and empty apartment units in the city because the rent charge is actually adjusted by landlords to afford that empty unit.
NPR did a story on this. The 2008 recession/housing market crash caused a LOT of builders to go out of business, so there was a severe lack of homes being built. That story, coupled with the influx of new people to the area/over-population, caused a shortage of houses. All that PLUS what companies like Zillow have done to the housing market and underserved communities, are the reason why the costs are so high (plus inflation and the skyrocketing logistics/building materials costs).
The problem is.....there was a surplus leading up to the 08 crash. Then an even bigger surplus in 09-11 after the defaults. By 2013/14. We swung back into a sellers market. Whether home construction kept pace or not. The two to three years worth of surplus inventory, got gobbled up. Guess by whom? The issue with reporting the lack of construction in that decade, is it ignores why there wasn't new build demand. That's because supply got choked so fast, it was playing catch up.
Here is a solution: instead of giving free EVERYTHING to millions of illegals, help Americans. Take the money that our govt steals from taxpayers to endlessly support illegals and build affordable housing. Set rules, such as drug testing and help people get better employment. Stop making people dependant on govt handouts for life. End generational welfare. Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.
Me and my wife were very lucky. We were actually able to take advantage of the market during the epidemic, and in August of 2020 we purchased a large home, with an unusually large backyard for below market value before prices started skyrocketing a couple months later. We've actually benefited from the situation by our homes value going up 150k above the original asking price.
But then you will have a huge increase in taxes and insurance rates when they up your house value by market of what prices they are paying now. You’re safe probably for another year.
Well good for you…enjoy paying your outrageous property taxes to buy bus tickets to DC, lawsuits from truck border inspections, cost to put Texas back on the electrical grid, and other “pet peeve” projects your governor can think of 😂
As a Californian , Texans put this on themselves. You really kept on boasting about how great and cheap it is to live there and now these are the consequences.
People just have gotten to greed for money. The minimum wage should be at fifteenth dollars a hour because the cost of living has been steady going up but not the wage. People are doing any and everything. Committing unthinkable crimes. Making like they don't know why. People are paying just about all their minimum wage check in rent. You buy a little food, pay electric bills nothing is left but bus fare to get to work. Half the time you won't qualify for food stamps because you have a job. These apartment complexes steady go up on rent. Electric steady goes up. You don't have anything to save. You are just trying to not be homeless. What get me is you have people that have never work steady having child out of wedlock steady recieving welfare, food stamps and everything else. While a group is steady working minimum wages jobs paying taxes for this group struggling but can't get a little help. Some of those homeless people work everyday but don't make enough to pay rent. Some apartments complex want you to make two times the rent which should be illegal. Half the country is make minimum wage. The government had to pass that law to not let people be evicted doing the first part of the pandemic because people jobs. Half of America live the ghetto fabolous life style. We allow the super rich to pay less money on this jobs hope we just work hard we will come out this phase and things will get better. We won't if the price of living steady goes up but your wage doesn't.
It isn't the housing market that is the problem. The real problem is the ridiculous property taxes you have to pay on that house you own. And don't be fooled by the politicians who love to tell you that property tax rates are frozen for retirees. It isn't just the rate, but the accessed value that will cause your property tax to increase. And who determines the access value? The state and city government. Texas is rank among the top 10 states with the highest actual tax rate in the US. Actual means by the time you factor in sales tax, county property tax, school district tax, municipal property tax, tax on your utility, driver's license "fee", phone tax, and dozens of other fees (just another word for tax), you will be paying about 22% of your income in taxes and that is on top of your federal tax.
I’m a local landlord and builder here in Houston. Currently we don’t charge any application fees but that may change into the future. I understand both sides. I don’t think people have a good grasp on how many people weren’t paying rent the last year and a half plus especially with the eviction moratoriums. People not paying rent, property taxes going up, and insurance going up = increased rent and increased mortgages for people that escrow taxes. Everyone is getting stung with what’s going on but to characterize all landlords as greedy is shortsighted. If there’s rent control there has to be property tax control too. Can’t have one without the other. Also more people need to take a group economics play if you can. Some people make bad decisions. I know three blood relatives renting $4800 of total rent across 3 houses that are all within a quarter mile of each other. Click up and beat inflation as a team.
Same here. Landlord in Houston and taxes, insurance, and non-payment of rent has taken a huge toll on me. I work a full-time job and have had to take money out my household to pay for these things. No one talks about that when they make landlords look like villians.
Ur not the only one….I’m an immigrant and, my parents bought house couple years ago but, I won’t be lucky as them …I can’t afford to buy house due to the skyrocketing market….I feel bad for new immigrants ….they come here with so many dreams but, things r not like the old days
I live in Georgia in the outskirts of Atlanta. Moved here in 2019. My rent for a 4 bedroom house 2 bath was $1250. October 2021 went to $1600. Now they are raising it to $1845 for June 2022 which is next month. I decided I should try and buy a home. But got told my tow lender a no. I don’t make enough. At $15 an hour. And you have to be able to qualify for a loan of 300k or more just to maybe compete in this market and that’s getting a 3 bedroom home. This is so frustrating. I swear
apts too....all these extra fees pest, trash, parcel, garage, storage, water sub metered, upgrade fee, ....for luxury living and the apts inside still 1990's kitchen
That's the problem too many politicians voted on and once in office they don't hold up to the community promises they made in order to be in the seat! Make housing affordable !!!
I'm from San Antonio...I have been buying homes since 1996. I use to buy older homes need repairs at $50k. Now the same hm sales for $120k plus. My new hm cost me $143k in 2004 for a 2400sqft today is at least $260k and up......It's a Tidal wave effect and going all over the state!!!! U got to plan it right look for renting a room only for some people.....everyone waiting for this bubble to crack open like 2007 forget it!!! Prices just will get worse later...
Maybe people should vote for people who really are for the people because the ones now don't care. That goes for both parties. This should have been a priority for our government to look into. Shame on all of them.
We need to rezone empty commercial buildings into condos/townhomes/apartments. We also need to lower the the cap on property tax for homesteaders from 10% to much lower to protect homeowners from these huge increases. On top of that, home owner’s insurance is getting just as ridiculous because they have to insure the cost of if your house was to be rebuilt with today’s skyrocket material costs. I have no clue how to broach the HOI issue…that’s a whole inflation/supply chain/war/pandemic headache.
Sounds similar to what we are doing in California. These are the problems faced by the 5th largest economy in the world. I hope Texas will take our mantle soon. 🤞
So many states lack "affordable housing"!!! Why is this??? Where is the money going? If this country really cared about it's people, housing would be a priority!!!
I bought a fixer-upper about 3 years ago, right after the storm. I couldn't get any contractors out because they were too busy working on severely damaged homes.Then covid hit. I decided to wait until this year to renovate and now the contractors are price gouging. Is this madness ever going to end?
I knew this day would come to Houston as well as the Rest of Texas Major Cities, with Rising Housing Cost & Apartment Rents, the Sunbelt is Growing, the Greedy Investors are 1st in line in Snapping up Houses & Apartments & Charging Absorbent Fees.
This is a good story, but it is missing something important---an interview with some of the landlords who are raising rents all over the place. PEOPLE ARE PROFITING OFF OF THIS! Rents don't rise by themselves. Someone is pocketing money off of all the misery.
Rents go up with everything else, that's life. If the market goes up 10% then rent goes up 10%, you can't expect a land lord to graciously donate 10% a year to you, they have bills to pay.
@@bobbygetsbanned6049 Bulls**t!! Every time a price or rent goes up, it was because someone decided that it should go up. That landlord's costs haven't increased except for the small amount of property taxes they pay every year. Everything else is gravy.
Jesus, I can't afford any of those prices. I give God the praise for my $400 current rent for my 1 bedroom here in N.C. I hope my rent doesn't increase too.
Houston can be a great place to make a living, find a job, good school districts. It is not good for recent or early retirees! If you are planning to retire and live in Houston you may want to move to a smaller city. Taxes are outrageous, cost of living.
Hello, would you have any suggestions on where a young single woman in her 20s should live in Houston that's safe. So far, I've been looking at the heights area to stay close into the city, but I keep hearing the crime inside the loop has increased. Thank you for your time.
@@kate.c2759 The Heights is very up and coming, happening. Very expensive apartment and houses, but you are inside the loop. Depends on where you are going to work??? I would live in or near the community that I worked. You don't want to have to drive across town, or over 30min to work.
This is nothing but more money in these greedy landlord's pockets I always said when they started charging for application fees that one day this will get out of hand and this is the day. Now affordable housing needs to end because before all of these affordable housing people were able to pay their own rent without the help of affordable housing this was all a set up to hurt the poor when you try to go forward here's something else to push you back this should not be happening to anyone in this country, yet they still building affordable housing. I think people just should go out and buy vehicle's to live in I'm just so tired of hearing this and guess what it's going to get worse because of the greed. This just really upsets me dearly.
There’s no one solution to this problem especially in the current market and economic situation. One approach could be smaller homes with prices approachable for new families and retirees both for rent and ownership for the long haul.
I am from Calif. I was going to buy last year ! Happy I didnt ! I told people that Houston & Dallas is going to be another Los Angeles & SF Bay Area !! Prices !! Very crowded & higher Taxes !! Texas is not the place anymore !! Its going to get worse!!! And Texas home Taxes is just a Decoy for high income taxes !! My advice : leave now!! Becuase Texas is the now the next Calififoria !!!
@@candymaan1 I think it was prudent for you to not buy in a seller’s market. Housing prices will fall so you may be in a better position. Wishing you well from CA.
The cost of living in Chicago isn't fun either and we have the winter to deal with. I think if you want to keep "outsiders" from coming to Houston you will have to do better than the cost of living. What I pay for a 600sq ft apartment in a so so area with a view of the side of another building wouldn't deter me from coming to Houston.... yall have to talk about how yall power grid went out, the size of the bugs, traffic, hurricanes, tornados, extreme racist acts, etc. Crime... like I said I'm from Chicago... politicians.... our last 2 governors did time... I think one is still doing time... won't even talk about the mayors we had/have. I'm looking to leave Chicago so yall gotta convince me why Houston shouldn't be my next stop... well I'm looking at the North and West burbs of Houston.
Houston is still a great city and you can find housing but you’ll have to have reliable transportation because nothing near public transportation is affordable.
As someone who is from Milwaukee and have lived in chicago before ..get out of chicago you'll see a life difference here and cheaper property taxes compared to Chicago and especially Chicago suburbs (I can't believe how high the taxes are ) . Also Houston is not racist I think it is way more diverse and races intertwined than milwaukee/chicago to be honest and races doing better pay wise. I'm black so compared to midwest I feel blacks do better here in my opinion. Now on flipside I have been here 6 yrs now and plan to possibly move to a smaller city in texas or a smaller southern city in the next few years the traffic here is crazy and I want a simpler life. You do need a car here and more than likely you will have to commute for work which drains precious time
@@tiamarie1226 I work remote which is why I’m looking to make the move. I have been looking at the suburbs of Houston. I’m not big on traffic. What are some of the better smaller cities. I just require a Costco, Aldi/Trader Joe’s, and a Home Depot or Lowes near me. I want to have space, a great and safe community, and my own garden.
@@sheissunshine you said you were looking west and north burbs......I would recommend katy,tx not sure if you have children but if you do make sure the home is aligned to katy ISD and not Cypress-Fairbanks isd ... .Katy is a top school district... cypress isd isnt bad but I'm pointing it out because some of katy is aligned to cypress and some to katy isd. ISD is independent school district. Katy has all those stores you listed and restaurants nice and safe . Trader Joe's is the only one you would have to travel to city to go to. Cypress is another you can look into. Spring,tx ....spring can be hit or miss but if getting a house or renting a house that should be better apt wise I wouldnt say spring. The woodlands is really nice very expensive. Tomball and conroe are both really far out. If buying conroe might be a bonus because many homes qualify for usda loans which require 0%. If you willing to go very far out I would recommend conroe over tomball because close to the Woodlands and spring,tx for stores ,restaurants, and activity etc more life in that area.
Is anybody really surprised? Look at how much the city is growing every year! I honestly think Houston is getting way too crowded.
I agree
Facts
I so agree with u. Houston have way to many new people coming here.
It really is . Traffic has gotten worse
I agree ,too much traffic in Houston
This is a nationwide issue, homebuyers should not be competing with investors.
Facts
THIS!!!!!!!!
Since when? It’s been this way since the pilgrims
And that’s the issue. Corporations buying property and edging out homebuyers
Exactly nationwide. Many people complain n blame CA
Good luck getting a politician to do anything about it. SHAMEFUL!!!
Well certainly not ted cruz or abott
They’re probably some of the landlords (slumlords) themselves lol
The Government is not coming to save you.
Are you sure the government is the solution? The most expensive cities in the US to own or rent a home are the the same cities that have the most regulatory influence of the local government when it comes to low income housing, zoning, squatters' rights environmental impact studies, etc. It is a supply and demand issue but people just want to blame a big corporation or government because it is easier then having to understand basic economics.
Politicians caused it and now you want them to do more damage 🤡🤡🤡
Its sad because they want 300,000 for a 1,400 sq ft house. That's the size of a tool shed at home depot.
Dude 1400 sq ft is a lot. I have a similar sized home. 3 bed 3bath. 2 story with rooftop deck, two balconies. But 300,000 is way too much for a house. Everyone move to smaller cities in Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Kansas and Missouri. Texas is getting too expensive.
@@danieljones1784 then we would still be traveling back to Texas cause those areas don't have good as jobs, I moved to Texas for that reason alone
@@danieljones1784 . 1400 square foot is enough for one person and a goldfish in a bowl.
True
@@dark12ain I think I would rather have a crappy job in those areas and have a roof over my head vs a good job and living out of my car if I was living in Austin or Dallas. Houston as far as I know has decent home prices for renting and buying. I used to live in San Antonio as well and they have decent home prices. I ended up moving abroad in January 2020 before the pandemic started and I made the right decision for me at least.
It's not just the price for rentals, the application fees that are non refundable are just an easy way for landlords to make money while keeping thier places empty. Think about it the typical application fee is around 50 dollars per adult. An average household has at minimum 2 adults, if 100 people apply that's 10,000 a month free money
without ever having to put someone in the rental property. Not only do these places have application fees but some have administrative fees and or other various fees on top of the application fees. What laws do we have to protect against landlords taking advantage of this situation, None, and it's sickening. Then you have places that expect people to make 3 times the amount of rent money, this mean the typical American family would have to have both adults working at least one full time job and one part time job or more if working minimum wadge jobs.
The fact of the matter is landlords have way to much pull under the current rental laws and they know how to use this information to thier advantage. Clearly we need stricter laws that protect renters from fraudulent landlords who are preying on already financially broken families.
We not gone talk about the extra fees they make you pay just to pay your rent like why do I need to pay an extra cost just to drop off my money order
@Jesus is LORD I may not be a "Christian" but I respect all people's religious beliefs and thank you for this beautiful passage. ❤ May God keep blessing you and your family and keep you all safe during these trying times. 🙏
@@dark12ain, what kind of extra fees?
those $50 fee is used to run the background check. Unless we can make the background check free, how to check it?
@@peterhua5211 why so high? You can't make the fees smaller?
I have looked over numerous background check sights and the most I've seen per month charge for service is around $100 dollars, so you mean to tell me you only do two background checks a month? I don't think so. Let's be honest here your making a profit off these fees. Don't try to justify the amount charged when it's public information that it really doesn't cost you that much and your making money off of it. I'm so sick of landlords that take advantage of people who just don't know the information that's available. If your one of thoes landlords doing this especially right now knowing families are struggling then your part of the problem and I have no regrets in what I have said. Take it how you want I'm just stating facts.
Edit : not "the most I've seen ," when averaged its around $100 .... seen some as low as $29.99 a month and seen some as high as $130 a month. Just wanted to make that clear as I know someone will point it out as wrong.
This has nothing to do with anything but greed. Banks are over paying buying homes and inflating the comps. The municipalities salivate as well as the home insurance companies when they jack up your property values. The county now raises your tax bill and the insurance companies make more profit by raising your replacement cost. Owning a home is more of a liability now than it ever has been in the states. That's why I cashed out and left the country. My quality of life is now increased ten fold.
@C probably China
@C retired to beautiful Mexico. The U.S wants everyone to believe mexico is bad. There's over one million of us over here. When you find out how mexico truly is, you'll leave the states. Trust me.
Everyone talks about this. Nobody talks about what we can do. My apt bldg is a dump but affordable. Now we have a big increase plus fees for bldg elec and water (costs shared among tennants) landscaping (?) Snow removal, trash pickup (emptying of the dumpster, not picking up at our apts), and there is only one dumpster for 9 3-story bldgs and it is at the top of a long hill, and there is a charge for getting a bill for all this each month. Meanwhile, it is still a crime-ridden dump--in the rust belt of the US.
So how can anyone say there are places to live, just smaller, just not as good a neighborhood, just not in the livable states?
It isn't true. Ppl are paying phenomenal rents to live in subhuman dwellings. And there is no place left for seniors and disabled persons.
So let's talk about what we can do before we become homeless and get labeled as addicts or nutjobs.
Lets them abandoned and nobody rent them.
We need Islamic Emirate states of America and truly freedom for all.
you are typically about me and me only. Grow up, do you think you are the only one having financial hardship and you want make thing worse than it is. You do know there millions even billions of abandoned homes all around the world. Italy, Detroit, Istanbul and china. What we need is stronger adverse possession and faster quiet titles and deeds. You can always abandoned and allow other who are willing to take care of the property. Paper ownership is a joke. Most greedy rental property owners dont even live in the property and the communities. We must abolished so call paper ownership. The real owner is the one living the property. For example, in ukraine , many paper owners abandoned and renter soliders fighting for their country. It's fair after the war the paper owners come back to what the renter fight for. Who is the real owner? Soliders that defense the lands or paper owners that fleed?
I agree. This happened in NYC, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and now it's happening all over the country. The average income for a two income family is 50,000 which equates to around 1300-1400 a month. The average cost of a two bedroom in the US is somewhere between 1800-2000. So, most housing literally is not affordable. It's a fact.
They are charging too much for these rents because they can get away with it.
We already know that Public housing doesn't work, it just creates ghettos. We know that rent control doesn't work. We know that building new housing does not work as it just increases the market value of the entire area and forces people out. We know that giving people easier access to mortgages also doesn't work as we saw in the 2008 housing crash.
Some kind of tax incentive to encourage lowering the rents on apartments and a tax penalty for having rents above a certain price might be a possible solution. That's the only thing that I can think of.
You must stay in my apartments in Houston cause everything you pointed out we going through right now in my aprtments, it pisses me off, they haven't done repairs to the apartments in so long that alot of the balconies have fallen in, I know with mines I was showing my office people the other day that my support beam is rotted out, you can push the paint and it just mushes in.
@@dark12ain be a smart investor. Let's them abandoned and vacant the property. There are millions even billions abandoned around the country. Use the laws have been created over 100 years ago. Adverse possession
@@Dc-sl3up this is my first apartment I know nothing about anything when it comes to these things
it looks like we are going to turn into LA one day. i guess what's eventually going to happen is native houstonians are going to have to move to cheaper cities or states for rent. sad but true. louisianna, missippi, alabama may boom one day.
Mississippi is already booming!
Yup, it’s happening to all the boom towns like Phoenix and Houston.
Blooming in the Deep South ain’t it.
We are halfway there to look like "woke" LA.
Yeah the south has always been the cheapest,but soon as we get people moving down here who moved out in the first place, prices will rise and we will be back in this situation with no answeres but to pull yourself up by the boot straps
How about taking the $13 billion of our tax dollars back from Ukraine to take care of actual Americans who need the help?!
I'm all for helping BUT They cut covid rent relief. As a result I lost my job. "Due to funding"
And there are so many people still in need of help.
And now I'm one of them.
Things just dont add up 🤷♀️
They don't wanna do that. They wanna push the poor agenda as much as possible. It's all greed and happiness for them while the population suffer.
Nah we dont have money for that.
Russian troll
Heck no, how will politician buddies that own the military complex buy their new yacht?
"Just get a smaller house bro"
"Just live a little bit further out bro"
Yeah so live in a shack 1 hour and a half out is what this clown is saying.
Exactly might as well move to prairie view Texas and commute that hour or 2 hours depending on traffic commute
@@dark12ain as gas prices and inflation are rising
If you are on a fixed income I thought you could live anywhere
@@joyaustin6581 try it and see
Broke ☝️
Houston: If The Crime Doesn't Kill You The Cost Of Living Will
😅😅😅😅
coming from the interesting thought 😂 ..love this 👍
I couldn't say it better myself
My Lord
New York City: Hold my beer.
It's all greed. These apartments and homes are just not worth it. Houston is not worth it anymore. It's a big hype and out of town people took the bate.
This is happening nationwide and until everyone understand that we cannot understand what we are facing.
Same for Phoenix and Boise Idaho and Atlanta as I’ve heard. Investors like Blackrock and Blackstone buying real estate.
@@izziestevens5835 My gosh... such craziness. This Inflation situation is going to totally collapse our economy. I wish everyone lots of love and positivity.
@@izziestevens5835, I call them wolf investors.
Well said
Even if you have an affordable home, medical health insurance is out of control but no one wants to talk about. One hospital stay and you are broke heading for homeless tent.
I’m Canadian who lived in Houston . The only reason that will not move back to the states is because of healthcare issues !
Unfortunately, “Affordable housing” to investors means “they won’t take care of your stuff”, and so they’re not incentivized to provide affordable housing.
It also means "economically insecure" or "they will drag you through the mud if you evict them". Obviously, we shouldn't rely on financially-conservative investors looking for stable cash flow when it comes to building housing.
I am an affordable housing developer. The biggest fight for us is the neighbors. Everyone wants affordable housing just not in their neighborhood
It means keep up with repairs on your property and get a 1099...if they dont want guaranteed rent eff them
@@phoenix5054 You're right, take the cali free money for lazy poor people route. That way we can also have the most expensive housing in the country!
@@godgoldgunsngolf6733 Of course no one wants affordable housing in the neighborhood because it always comes with CRIME.
A self made housing crisis 😮 investors buy up all the properties and raise the prices !!!
Policy made, the free market isn’t truly free market.
Most of Houston is zoned exclusively for single family houses. When you don't allow for more units to be built (apartments, townhouses, etc), the existing houses are the only housing units that can ever be built there. This is why houses are attractive investments. They get more scarce over time.
If, however, we abolish single family zoning, and allow neighborhoods to thicken up, there will be a surplus of housing and investors will leave.
@@rickg6158 A duplex looks the same as a single family house, just with two front doors. A triplex looks the same, just with three front doors. Adding more units will not make your neighborhood look any different. You just want to keep anyone out that isn't as wealthy as you are.
You own your house. You own your land. Not everybody else's.
let's not forget property taxes, getting out of control
Property tax makes the mortgage payments even crazier. Decent area, decent house, paying $700ish/month in property taxes. Yet Texans stay bragging about their no state income tax lol
Exactly!
Iv noticed that homeowners will move because their homes get appraised and their property taxes are raised even higher
All the out of State people moving to Texas from everywhere have raised Property Values beyond what local populations income levels can afford furthermore those elevated home prices ,have raised the Property Taxes for those fortunate enough to own their homes beyond what they can afford . TEXAS is coming to the harsh consequences of their Voting choices . For an example during their last Blackout it was shown Texas Electric customers paid over 20 Billion dollars more for their deregulated system over the previous decade than the rest of their neighbors .That didn't include the Billions more in Damages due to the outages . El Paso is excluded because they aren't part of that system. Can anyone guess where Abbott gets massive campaign contributions, anyone ?
Yeah property taxes are truly insane. Taxes cost as much as the property does, we definitely need property tax reform.
@@Gcanno You're free to movie to commiefornia any time you want.
In Vegas , medium house is going $450,000 and that's before upgrade , lot fee , SID , LID , master plan fee etc. Nobody with less than $80,000 / year income would be able to afford this kind of price. We are just the working poor now.
Yes it's ridiculous and sad
Houston ain't worth living in anyway, people are literally dying to get out
That’s true. I’m out of here within the next 5-7 years for sure
Outta here soon too! House has increased in value, but taxes and cost of living has increased too. We live in a 50 yr old 3b2b, 1300 Sq feet. In order to save need to downsize, move out of city, start a garden, less movement.
im already looking to move headed to florida even though its almost inline with houston there are a few areas you can get more for your buck than here and be by the beach
@@thekingcandyman nice...PCB is beautiful, Pensacola, Destin. Car insurance is high, but taxes less.
@@dlazo32696 same
But folks would rather raise money for the Ukraine while the people in your own city need help.
US needs to stop sending weapons to Ukraine and tell the idiot Zelenskyy to negotiate for peace. At this rate all the homes in Ukraine will be destroyed and the victory will be for nothing.
The Ukraine thing is another leftist grift just like the scamdemic was.
Charities that raise money for Ukraine are also bs. Not even 5% of that money will actually go to helping Ukrainian refugees. Charities raise that money just to get bonuses and payouts to their executives and directors.
@@adanlopez1011 Now you're talking. Absolutely correct. An example at home was when the Red Cross had all these sandwiches made that nobody wants them and had to be thrown out. Or they had the Red Cross trucks to be driven around so people can see them during a disaster. The money that they didn't waste went to the executives pay raises and bonuses.
Oh housing will become affordable in the next few years - you're just going to have to wait for the slew of foreclosures and tax lien sales to hit the market. At the rate the taxes are going up this year - this will decimate families that were already struggling to get by. Way to go Harris County!!! Send out the property tax notices early - grooming the public of what you intend to do. If you own a home, smart move is go secure a firm to fight your property taxes, if you don't - don't be surprised to see them increase over last years already ridiculous jump by about 30%+
Everything you said is 100% true. I’m afraid the housing bubble could pop; 20K+ applicants for assistance... taxes get raised... rent isn’t getting cheaper.. heck, my apartments “promised” to keep us at the same rate but raised unnecessary fees elsewhere so I’m paying market rate.. all politics
@@TheRealHungryJoe thx. "promises" aren't worth a nickel now. all those people in Phoenix this past year who were "promised" to keep their rates the same - and once the housing market went berserk there, they apt owners, gouged like it was going out of style!!. the thousands of renters who had the hammer drop on them - they were the ones who were getting caught at end of apt term and trying to get into a new constructed home and since materials were short, labor was in huge shortage, homes were being pushed out 2-6 mths. which means you have to have a place to live in the interim. those folks - most were given notices that they could stay single month but the rate went up by 5-10x!!! that's beyond criminal.
be patient for a home - things come in cycles and if you can stay frugal and thrifty during the next 12-18 mths you could see a treasure trove of someone else's misery hit the market at 60-70% of what they're selling for now.
i know a lot of folks who got caught up in the "it's free money basically" conundrum. which is 0% or low interest rates and just going spend happy. now they're about to be eaten alive...
the one thing people are finally talking about is the tax issue. what they have avoided talking about in conjunction which is just as big of a hit, if not larger to some folks - is insurance rates. i had a friend who bought a house at $530k - it's now market value at $840k - so $300k+ difference. their insurance this coming year is going to fly to the moon. they are twiddling their fingers to readjust most of these properties and will use the "cost to replace" becomes astronomically higher...
if you own your home outright (I do) - then sit tight... if you are in an apartment and really want to buy , man if it were me - i'd wait a good 12-18 mths - let the carnage start and once the snowball starts down the hill, it's going to pick up speed and size... you will be able to come in on the best side of this. gobble up what you want and then give it 1-2 years on that and watch rates start to drop again - then just refi.your term. everything in this country is cyclical. a good point of reference is the FRED. free of charge and you can check out data points on that. all cycles up/down. good luck bro.
BS that will never happened
Gotta love democrat run cities.
@@robertd6925 yeah. In a republican state.
This story is highlighting what I see every day as on of the few Realtors in Houston who regularly works with clients seeking affordable housing. I prescreen properties for my clients to reduce their chances of paying application fees for properties they will not likely be approved for. I also refer clients for rent to own programs if they have the money to buy but have something in their credit report that they need to address. It's often an uphill battle but all hope is not lost.
The issue I have with this. Is the risk exposure. Housing has too much emotion tied to it. If this corrects? People are upside down.
I understand life happens. But buying overinflated assets and saying all hope isn't lost, sounds like more sunshine pumping. I'd encourage to tell clients that starter homes is a made up term realtors spew. The market is either affordable or its not. Trying to buy even just a 270k home on a 70k house hold income is hard as it is. I can't imagine that being done on just 3% down, and with little emergency funds, and covering other costs. Push the budget up to 300k. And they're highly exposed (job loss, recession, sudden health condition, accident, etc). That's house poor. Who can justify that?
Affordability is on thing. The risk exposure of people trying hard to get in is another.
This just boils my blood. Why is minimum wage still $7 when the cost of living has raisen? Something just ain't right.
They want hamsters to keep spinning the wheels.
SCOTUS stinks, too. Oh, and allowing Criminals in our Government is probably self-destructive, do you think? Climate changes include coronaviruses, too. Yikes.
I was actually hoping to buy, but am being priced out. Apartments are getting ridiculously expensive and add all the crazy monthly fees and priced out again! I am single, have a decent job, and can't afford a decent place! The American Dream only exists for the privileged few.
You cannot out money married people. House were designed around the family.
@@armchaireconomist8648 I disagree, I bought my Houston home, seven years ago as a single, one income buyer, 15 year mortgage. My family consists of myself and two dogs. What I know…is, houses were affordable then, but definitely are not now. Seven years ago decent, starter homes were still to be built/found under $200k. At today’s prices, even I would have to have another buyer with great credit, enough money for the down payment, income to qualify and a willingness to sign up for a 30 year mortgage; for these almost half-a-million dollar homes. And I make an above average income. I just decided to live below my means, but, these homes are out of the price range of most average Houston wage earners.
@@dnh31tlg10too - there is massive migration to TX and Fl. Affordability is going to get worse before it gets better. So there will be short term pain. But one way or another wages and housing will stabilize in the long run.
@@armchaireconomist8648 How/when will wages and housing stabilize? Housing inflation is outpacing wages by almost 30%, and that’s only accounting from home prices in 2020 to 2021! Rental prices during this same time period increased 20%. We can’t even get jobs to agree to pay their minimum wage workers (predominant Houston workforce) $15 an hour. And this elusive wage does not guarantee any ability to rise above ‘barely making it.’ It puts the wage earner above the income threshold for most governmental assistance. If overall inflation continues to outpace wages, I really doubt any stabilization between the two any time soon. I fear for our future generations 😔
From your post above it appears that you have your money right and already own your home. So don't fret about things you cannot control. Focus on what you can control. Keep hustling, things have way of working themselves out
Don't watch the News.
Are the wages going up? Our wages are higher than Louisiana, but definitely lower than the Northeast.
Our cost of living is quite a bit less than Louisiana and up north as well
I found a 2/2 1100 sq ft for $1k in a gated community. The key is to focus on renting from private owners. The apt complexes have gotten outrageous. You have rent plus all the fees (resort, pest, trash, package room, etc).
👀 if you feel comfortable can you pls dm me more info
I would like info too , if you care to share
I used hotpads. For security. I paid all move in costs through the app.
People coming from California selling their 500k+ plus homes coming down here living like kings out bidding most people down here.
So who’s the wizard of Oz controlling the gears…
This isn’t some natural phenomenon, this game is super rigged.
There’s just not enough houses to go around.
Blackrock and other investment companies swooping in buying up homes and artificially driving up prices.
@@karimbennett5651 how in the world is there not enough housing when we just lost 1/3 of the world's population to covid if the science is correct wouldn't that mean there's less people on planet Earth.
Not really. It's all about zoning laws.
Life is tough.
Remote tech workers no longer care about living in CA, Or, and WA. They are moving to whereever now. Very hard for the locals in any state to compete with cash buyers much less companies.
Y’all find anything (California) & anybody (Tech workers) to blame but 90% of workers in Texas are back in the office. Especially in Texas, check the stats. Every state & city is going through the same thing, it’s inflation + the media/public telling or making people believe they’re missing out not buying a home right now.
What I like to know is why are we bringing more people to America. And helping them but not helping American citizens it doesn't make any sense. If the US citizen don't have a place to stay or can afford a place. How are the other people that's coming from other countries. Is the government putting them first before the citizens of the US. 🤔 Because I don't see any of them complaining. About not being able to afford a place to live.
We’re hoping they will work in housing construction, which has a labor shortage,
That is because they will live 8-10 people in 1 apartment, until they can afford to get a house.
Cheap labor
Stop putting the blame on people that will never be able to afford a 400K house. Don’t be a beta male
Those who immigrate to the US don’t have access to welfare. If they get it, their sponsor needs to pay the government back 100%. So they can’t get Medicaid, SNAP benefits, or TANF. Only citizens can. Oh and THEIR checks pay for OUR welfare. They can PAY INTO IT, but they don’t get anything out of it until they’re citizens.
Yes.. I start to pay attention to the plates on the car in this horrible traffic we have which has gotten worst.It’s been other states coming here.. to many people and we been been here for years and can’t afford the housing cost. But people that comes for other states can because they are paid more and saving up all their money buying all the house up in cash. We are just going to be out looking in rent to high and ect.
Yep ! I'm in Florida and I do the same! License plates from New York! Alabama! Ohio! All coming to Florida!!
Lmao, same. Such frustrating. We’re full already 🤦🏽♀️
Ohh boy, I can’t believe huge and developed counties like Canada and US are complaining about housing inventory and housing affordability issues. Such a shame!! What are we in this situation? Don’t we have intelligent ppl who can solve this issue?
It'll hurt corporations, so they won't do anything.
Yeah, where are all those "High-IQ" people we always hear so much about???? 🤣🤣🤣
There's 330 million here. The issue is there's too many people. We shouldn't sacrifice beautiful untouched land just because cities became overcrowded. I'm SICK of new home construction tearing down woods!
@@trans-octopusspacealien8883 Open the borders! Let more flood in! We need vote...uh low priced labor! The rat-like mass breeders are causing all the problems, even the global warming! It's not people having 2 kids, it's the mass breeders having litters instead of a reasonable number that are causing their own problems!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Just like everywhere else. I remember nearly 20 years ago I wanted to move to Houston because at the time it was one of the cheapest cities to live in for its size…..
When Boomers were coming of age, there was plenty of housing available. First time home buyers could afford a BRAND NEW home for about $100k (when adjusted for inflation). We can blame COVID. We can blame business relocating. We can blame investors. But the one issue that no one seems to talk about is the fact that any time anyone wants to build anything affordable, residents freak out. They don’t want anything being built that is cheaper than their own home, even if it’s $500k!
I understand growing pains. Our town exploded in the 90s. Now that issues like traffic and overcrowded schools have been addressed, people living here are up in arms about any development. They could literally (and have) clear out a trailer park for new residential development, but as soon as it’s discovered how much the housing will cost, local home owners (almost all people who have moved here from elsewhere, with the majority of those being from out of state) feel that anything less than what they paid would lower property values. Anything cheaper is considered “affordable housing,” which translates to “section 8,” which translates to increase in crime. They literally got rid of a trailer park for something better, and this was this fears people had.
Well we could stop importing millions of illegal aliens each year, that would easy the demand issue. But no one wants to talk about that. low income housing brings crime, so obviously no one wants low income housing near the expensive property, they moved there to get away from that trash.
Traffic and overcrowding in schools hasn’t been addressed. Look at 610 and every single school district. But I agree about your statement of affordable housing. People out in Harvest Green off 99, flipped their lid when they realized section 8 housing was being built near their (then) $400,000 home. They didn’t want it. So where do people go for their housing needs? It’s honestly so screwed up.
$400k, you say? Yeah, wait till they try to build $200-300k homes in that same place they wanted Section 8. They’ll be against that too, even if a few years ago, their own home cost that.
The affordable housing situation I was speaking about was honestly subsidized housing for the elderly. Basically people who have paid decades worth of taxes, had their kids move out, spouse possibly passed away, looking to downsize, only they can’t afford to because there are regulations against apartments and/or sqft, so you can’t buy a small home. Sell your house, and where do you go? But subsidized/affordable housing, makes people think of section 8, which makes people think of low income, which leads to people thinking about crime. And it literally was going right where a trailer park was, which is sad for those people, because they were given a few years to leave. Good luck finding somewhere else to live.
@@UmmYeahOk the neighborhood was/is already built. The next phase was low income housing. And people went up in arms. That’s my point… where is anyone who can’t afford a $200k+ house supposed to live? I’m talking couples, single parents, the elderly, etc.
@@nope_n0pe yeah. It sucks because you get millennials and even zennials are of age to buy a first time starter home, and even if it were older, they can’t find one in their price range. We bought our first home, brand new, 1834sqft 4 bedroom 2 bathroom for $120k in 2003. It was the smallest home we could legally build due to local ordinances. Sold it in 2011 for $150k. Zillow thinks it’s worth $476k today. I can’t even imagine the family who bought it now having to pay property taxes on the recent values!
🇺🇸 America not just Houston 🇺🇸💔
One day, the whole country will be like this.
Then ....one day the whole country might grow some balls and rise.
As long as there is greed, and people falling into the hands of these greedy investors will the housing market continue to be what it is.
Looking forward to the time when people purchase a home to live and raise a family, and not look at it primarily as a business.
I blame Rick Perry. He went all over the country trying to talk businesses into relocating to Texas. He claimed he was creating jobs. All he did was relocate problems. These companies move to Texas, and bring with them as many employees that are willing to relocate. Only those who fail to move here, give up their jobs to TX applicants. And when you are moving from places that have a higher cost of living, you can afford something nicer and bigger and over bid, and possibly even a cash offer. This, and a local hatred for growth, started this mess, even before Harvey.
Thanks California
I wish those demons would stop coming here too
And when you can barely afford a house they double your taxes the following a year
there needs to be an empty unit and empty unutilized property within the city. there is actually alot of unused land and empty apartment units in the city because the rent charge is actually adjusted by landlords to afford that empty unit.
NPR did a story on this. The 2008 recession/housing market crash caused a LOT of builders to go out of business, so there was a severe lack of homes being built. That story, coupled with the influx of new people to the area/over-population, caused a shortage of houses. All that PLUS what companies like Zillow have done to the housing market and underserved communities, are the reason why the costs are so high (plus inflation and the skyrocketing logistics/building materials costs).
The problem is.....there was a surplus leading up to the 08 crash. Then an even bigger surplus in 09-11 after the defaults. By 2013/14. We swung back into a sellers market.
Whether home construction kept pace or not. The two to three years worth of surplus inventory, got gobbled up. Guess by whom? The issue with reporting the lack of construction in that decade, is it ignores why there wasn't new build demand. That's because supply got choked so fast, it was playing catch up.
Npr is propaganda
Houston is def one of those tale of two cities. The haves and the have nots
Every city is like that.
Here is a solution: instead of giving free EVERYTHING to millions of illegals, help Americans. Take the money that our govt steals from taxpayers to endlessly support illegals and build affordable housing. Set rules, such as drug testing and help people get better employment. Stop making people dependant on govt handouts for life. End generational welfare.
Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.
My rent went up 100.00 last month
Mine went up 200.00 in December
@@myfurryfam365 wow 200 that’s too much
Both are too much, mine went up $57.
Me and my wife were very lucky. We were actually able to take advantage of the market during the epidemic, and in August of 2020 we purchased a large home, with an unusually large backyard for below market value before prices started skyrocketing a couple months later. We've actually benefited from the situation by our homes value going up 150k above the original asking price.
But then you will have a huge increase in taxes and insurance rates when they up your house value by market of what prices they are paying now. You’re safe probably for another year.
Not to mention your mortgage is about to increase (taxes)
So how are the new property taxes for you? They've also increased.
That increase is going to cost you
Well good for you…enjoy paying your outrageous property taxes to buy bus tickets to DC, lawsuits from truck border inspections, cost to put Texas back on the electrical grid, and other “pet peeve” projects your governor can think of 😂
As a Californian , Texans put this on themselves. You really kept on boasting about how great and cheap it is to live there and now these are the consequences.
It was affordable until Californians relocated there
@@thaintriguing1 Don't forget ppl from North East and Chinese cash buyers.
@@thaintriguing1 its not only California's the whole world is flocking to Texas. Good Job!
Not to mention the no state tax I’m pretty sure that’s the selling point
Yeah a house that use to be 300, now is 600,???? That is ludicrous
Just 25 applications fees will pay rent for the month and never let any one move into the apartment WOW
That application fees go to the credit bureau. Landlord does not benefit from that.
@@nailalalani2527 okay
My wife and I pay $2,100 a month for a 700sq/ft apartment in Moreno Valley, CA.
How many bedrooms
sounds about right, that would be $3000 in san diego
Wow
@@jm17023. people in San Diego are having to move to Mexico and commute from there.
@@raulnavejar474 that’s crazy
People just have gotten to greed for money. The minimum wage should be at fifteenth dollars a hour because the cost of living has been steady going up but not the wage. People are doing any and everything. Committing unthinkable crimes. Making like they don't know why. People are paying just about all their minimum wage check in rent. You buy a little food, pay electric bills nothing is left but bus fare to get to work. Half the time you won't qualify for food stamps because you have a job. These apartment complexes steady go up on rent. Electric steady goes up. You don't have anything to save. You are just trying to not be homeless. What get me is you have people that have never work steady having child out of wedlock steady recieving welfare, food stamps and everything else. While a group is steady working minimum wages jobs paying taxes for this group struggling but can't get a little help. Some of those homeless people work everyday but don't make enough to pay rent. Some apartments complex want you to make two times the rent which should be illegal. Half the country is make minimum wage. The government had to pass that law to not let people be evicted doing the first part of the pandemic because people jobs. Half of America live the ghetto fabolous life style. We allow the super rich to pay less money on this jobs hope we just work hard we will come out this phase and things will get better. We won't if the price of living steady goes up but your wage doesn't.
It isn't the housing market that is the problem. The real problem is the ridiculous property taxes you have to pay on that house you own. And don't be fooled by the politicians who love to tell you that property tax rates are frozen for retirees. It isn't just the rate, but the accessed value that will cause your property tax to increase. And who determines the access value? The state and city government. Texas is rank among the top 10 states with the highest actual tax rate in the US. Actual means by the time you factor in sales tax, county property tax, school district tax, municipal property tax, tax on your utility, driver's license "fee", phone tax, and dozens of other fees (just another word for tax), you will be paying about 22% of your income in taxes and that is on top of your federal tax.
Respectfully, no... There is no simple one finger pointed in the direction of a reason. This is a different kind of beast.
I’m a local landlord and builder here in Houston. Currently we don’t charge any application fees but that may change into the future. I understand both sides. I don’t think people have a good grasp on how many people weren’t paying rent the last year and a half plus especially with the eviction moratoriums. People not paying rent, property taxes going up, and insurance going up = increased rent and increased mortgages for people that escrow taxes. Everyone is getting stung with what’s going on but to characterize all landlords as greedy is shortsighted. If there’s rent control there has to be property tax control too. Can’t have one without the other. Also more people need to take a group economics play if you can. Some people make bad decisions. I know three blood relatives renting $4800 of total rent across 3 houses that are all within a quarter mile of each other. Click up and beat inflation as a team.
Same here. Landlord in Houston and taxes, insurance, and non-payment of rent has taken a huge toll on me. I work a full-time job and have had to take money out my household to pay for these things. No one talks about that when they make landlords look like villians.
I laughed at your capitalistic comments. You heard of Climate Change, yet? How about the term "toxic waste dump"?
the days of poor people in the inner-city have come to a close
For f* Houston! I would never buy a house in this city.
Understandable. The crime rate is awful!
Buy your house next year when it will literally be dirt cheap but stack and save your money this year!! Because 2023 will be tough if you don’t
Money will be worthless too, maybe not 2023, but soon.
It makes me so sad knowing that with the rise of the house prices, I won’t be able to purchase a home in the neighborhood I grew up in😕
Ur not the only one….I’m an immigrant and, my parents bought house couple years ago but, I won’t be lucky as them …I can’t afford to buy house due to the skyrocketing market….I feel bad for new immigrants ….they come here with so many dreams but, things r not like the old days
But everybody balling out and living their best lives😂😂😂
sumn ain’t adding up
Debt financing💡
I live in Georgia in the outskirts of Atlanta. Moved here in 2019. My rent for a 4 bedroom house 2 bath was $1250. October 2021 went to $1600. Now they are raising it to $1845 for June 2022 which is next month. I decided I should try and buy a home. But got told my tow lender a no. I don’t make enough. At $15 an hour. And you have to be able to qualify for a loan of 300k or more just to maybe compete in this market and that’s getting a 3 bedroom home. This is so frustrating. I swear
homes in baton rouge and denham springs louisiana are very cheap just make sure they are in flood zone x
@@Sxmt1776 I don’t want to relocate
What goes up must come down. This isn’t the first time the housing market has sky rocketed..
Yes but it’s the very highest it’s ever been. Astronomically high
@@elegantempress1395 This time when it comes back down, it's going to crash harder 🤷🏽♀️
There tryna run off the thieves . They can't live here if they can't afford it. But it destroys hard working middle class families also.
Im hard working and not middle class. Not even close. So those below middle class are thieves too lazy to work? Think again
@@sugarfree8303 I don't know u . So maybe. U sus asf too this the 3rd or 4th comment of mine u under tf
@DoughnationCreative actually I'm moving to uk or Ireland I've had enough of American corruption. They can have it trust me
By your 2060 we will by living in large small apartments only
Tiny homes are the future.
apts too....all these extra fees pest, trash, parcel, garage, storage, water sub metered, upgrade fee, ....for luxury living and the apts inside still 1990's kitchen
Corinda I lived at an apartment complex where they charged you everytime it rains.
That's the problem too many politicians voted on and once in office they don't hold up to the community promises they made in order to be in the seat! Make housing affordable !!!
I'm from San Antonio...I have been buying homes since 1996. I use to buy older homes need repairs at $50k. Now the same hm sales for $120k plus. My new hm cost me $143k in 2004 for a 2400sqft today is at least $260k and up......It's a Tidal wave effect and going all over the state!!!! U got to plan it right look for renting a room only for some people.....everyone waiting for this bubble to crack open like 2007 forget it!!! Prices just will get worse later...
I live in low income area and still can't afford the rent this is truly sad.
This has happen before, if you buy them at this time , later you will lose money because the prices are going down after the pandemic.
What is happening now has never happened before.
The problem is you have a massive exodus of people from HCOL cities with HCOL salaries moving here, jacking up prices.
There will soon be no space in America.
There is plenty of space. Land everywhere. It's a matter of conservation that is the issue.
🗣📢 alllll right everybody, let's go ahead and set up shop in the homeless shelters that looks like what it's coming to
This is happening all around the world. Canada, London, Hong Kong, Sydney, Mumbai and Singapore. One reason: GREEED!!!
Good because I wasn’t never moving back there!!!!!…….it’s the cost of my kids losing their lives for me!!!….ijs
We're getting priced out of our hometown
Maybe people should vote for people who really are for the people because the ones now don't care. That goes for both parties. This should have been a priority for our government to look into. Shame on all of them.
Politicians do nothing but talk.
This is a good segment; more like
This!
We need to rezone empty commercial buildings into condos/townhomes/apartments. We also need to lower the the cap on property tax for homesteaders from 10% to much lower to protect homeowners from these huge increases. On top of that, home owner’s insurance is getting just as ridiculous because they have to insure the cost of if your house was to be rebuilt with today’s skyrocket material costs. I have no clue how to broach the HOI issue…that’s a whole inflation/supply chain/war/pandemic headache.
Sounds similar to what we are doing in California. These are the problems faced by the 5th largest economy in the world. I hope Texas will take our mantle soon. 🤞
"You will own nothing and be happy" - World Economic Forum
Especially with all this gentrification.
Idk maybe more investors are buying and jacking prices up , which makes it less affordable …..it’s sad tho
Property taxes up over 300 percent they forgot to list that one.
So many states lack "affordable housing"!!! Why is this??? Where is the money going? If this country really cared about it's people, housing would be a priority!!!
baton rouge is full of affordable housing
I'm getting ready to leave houston honestly it's getting too expensive..
I moved from Houston to Louisiana
@@happygirl532 what area?
Is it cheaper in Louisiana
I bought a fixer-upper about 3 years ago, right after the storm. I couldn't get any contractors out because they were too busy working on severely damaged homes.Then covid hit. I decided to wait until this year to renovate and now the contractors are price gouging. Is this madness ever going to end?
Sadly No, it will only get worse.😢
I knew this day would come to Houston as well as the Rest of Texas Major Cities, with Rising Housing Cost & Apartment Rents, the Sunbelt is Growing, the Greedy Investors are 1st in line in Snapping up Houses & Apartments & Charging Absorbent Fees.
This is a good story, but it is missing something important---an interview with some of the landlords who are raising rents all over the place. PEOPLE ARE PROFITING OFF OF THIS! Rents don't rise by themselves. Someone is pocketing money off of all the misery.
Rents go up with everything else, that's life. If the market goes up 10% then rent goes up 10%, you can't expect a land lord to graciously donate 10% a year to you, they have bills to pay.
@@bobbygetsbanned6049 Bulls**t!! Every time a price or rent goes up, it was because someone decided that it should go up. That landlord's costs haven't increased except for the small amount of property taxes they pay every year. Everything else is gravy.
@@kirkgarner7381 So if they are selling their car should they sell it for less than the blue book value too?
Landlords serve no purpose in society other than to leach
@@memcore1312 They serve a lot of purpose for everyone who can't afford to buy a home.
This is happening in every big city in the country. Pretty soon affordable housing will only be available in the boondocks and small towns.
Not even they're going up as well.
Jesus, I can't afford any of those prices. I give God the praise for my $400 current rent for my 1 bedroom here in N.C. I hope my rent doesn't increase too.
That's Beautiful
Its a global problem! There isn't enough affordable housing and they don't build it in wealthy neighborhoods. New England has always been like this.
Houston can be a great place to make a living, find a job, good school districts. It is not good for recent or early retirees! If you are planning to retire and live in Houston you may want to move to a smaller city. Taxes are outrageous, cost of living.
Hello, would you have any suggestions on where a young single woman in her 20s should live in Houston that's safe. So far, I've been looking at the heights area to stay close into the city, but I keep hearing the crime inside the loop has increased. Thank you for your time.
@@kate.c2759 The Heights is very up and coming, happening. Very expensive apartment and houses, but you are inside the loop. Depends on where you are going to work??? I would live in or near the community that I worked. You don't want to have to drive across town, or over 30min to work.
@@kate.c2759 Hard to make it here alone on a single salary. You almost need a roommate or two incomes to make it for one household. GOOD LUCK!
@@mustangsally6500 Thank you! I currently work remotely but I'm am also bringing my wig making business to Houston as well!
I will never spend 200k for 900sqft house on a 3000sqft lot . It won't even apprase
Mobile homes need to come back in style.
Ever see how fast fire completely guts out a mobile home?
In hurricane alley?
Don’t forget tornadoes
This is nothing but more money in these greedy landlord's pockets I always said when they started charging for application fees that one day this will get out of hand and this is the day. Now affordable housing needs to end because before all of these affordable housing people were able to pay their own rent without the help of affordable housing this was all a set up to hurt the poor when you try to go forward here's something else to push you back this should not be happening to anyone in this country, yet they still building affordable housing. I think people just should go out and buy vehicle's to live in I'm just so tired of hearing this and guess what it's going to get worse because of the greed. This just really upsets me dearly.
I wish all these people would leave houston
Yall keep helping the people that dont want to help themselves and the people that want to help themselves yall not going to help them at all
There’s no one solution to this problem especially in the current market and economic situation. One approach could be smaller homes with prices approachable for new families and retirees both for rent and ownership for the long haul.
I am from Calif. I was going to buy last year ! Happy I didnt ! I told people that Houston & Dallas is going to be another Los Angeles & SF Bay Area !! Prices !! Very crowded & higher Taxes !!
Texas is not the place anymore !! Its going to get worse!!! And Texas home Taxes is just a Decoy for high income taxes !!
My advice : leave now!! Becuase Texas is the now the next Calififoria !!!
@@candymaan1
I think it was prudent for you to not buy in a seller’s market. Housing prices will fall so you may be in a better position. Wishing you well from CA.
The cost of living in Chicago isn't fun either and we have the winter to deal with. I think if you want to keep "outsiders" from coming to Houston you will have to do better than the cost of living. What I pay for a 600sq ft apartment in a so so area with a view of the side of another building wouldn't deter me from coming to Houston.... yall have to talk about how yall power grid went out, the size of the bugs, traffic, hurricanes, tornados, extreme racist acts, etc. Crime... like I said I'm from Chicago... politicians.... our last 2 governors did time... I think one is still doing time... won't even talk about the mayors we had/have. I'm looking to leave Chicago so yall gotta convince me why Houston shouldn't be my next stop... well I'm looking at the North and West burbs of Houston.
Houston is still a great city and you can find housing but you’ll have to have reliable transportation because nothing near public transportation is affordable.
As someone who is from Milwaukee and have lived in chicago before ..get out of chicago you'll see a life difference here and cheaper property taxes compared to Chicago and especially Chicago suburbs (I can't believe how high the taxes are ) . Also Houston is not racist I think it is way more diverse and races intertwined than milwaukee/chicago to be honest and races doing better pay wise. I'm black so compared to midwest I feel blacks do better here in my opinion. Now on flipside I have been here 6 yrs now and plan to possibly move to a smaller city in texas or a smaller southern city in the next few years the traffic here is crazy and I want a simpler life. You do need a car here and more than likely you will have to commute for work which drains precious time
@@tiamarie1226 I work remote which is why I’m looking to make the move. I have been looking at the suburbs of Houston. I’m not big on traffic. What are some of the better smaller cities. I just require a Costco, Aldi/Trader Joe’s, and a Home Depot or Lowes near me. I want to have space, a great and safe community, and my own garden.
@@sheissunshine you said you were looking west and north burbs......I would recommend katy,tx not sure if you have children but if you do make sure the home is aligned to katy ISD and not Cypress-Fairbanks isd ... .Katy is a top school district... cypress isd isnt bad but I'm pointing it out because some of katy is aligned to cypress and some to katy isd. ISD is independent school district. Katy has all those stores you listed and restaurants nice and safe . Trader Joe's is the only one you would have to travel to city to go to. Cypress is another you can look into. Spring,tx ....spring can be hit or miss but if getting a house or renting a house that should be better apt wise I wouldnt say spring. The woodlands is really nice very expensive. Tomball and conroe are both really far out. If buying conroe might be a bonus because many homes qualify for usda loans which require 0%. If you willing to go very far out I would recommend conroe over tomball because close to the Woodlands and spring,tx for stores ,restaurants, and activity etc more life in that area.
Been watching Houston home prices on Redfin over the last year, and have seen plenty of homes under $300k. It's Ft. Worth that's gotten out of reach.