Californians moving to Texas due to the strong job market are pushing home prices higher. It’s an unanticipated consequence of an otherwise good situation.
Houston Realtor Michael Weaster of Berkshire-Hathaway-Anderson Properties says whether a home's price is high or low can depend on what you're used to.
“With the home values in California as high as they are, and as high as they've been,” Weaster says, “they could come to Texas and get a really nice house for a lot less money.”
Five years ago the median price for a home in Austin was just under $200-thousand. Today, it is $332-thousand.
Is Houston a buyer’s or seller’s market? It depends on what you’re looking for. If the you’re looking for properties costing $300-thousand or less, it’s a sellers market.
“If you're a buyer looking for a million-dollar house, or a higher-priced house, in the Houston market,” he says, “it's definitely a buyer's market, because they're not moving as quickly.”