Is now a good time to buy an investment property in 77006 (thinking W Gray & Dunlavy St)? Or do you think the decline in housing prices that we've seen over the past 2 years will continue?
My best advice to you is that if you need to ask a bunch of strangers on an internet forum for investment advice, you're in over your head.
I disagree. Advice from this forum isn't going to make or break my decision. It's good to hear different perspectives.
I didnt know house prices were on the decline. Maybe I can buy a cheap 1930's all wood 1,000 sqf house from the Heights then i'll be a cool kid.
I disagree. Last time I asked the board for property advice, I ended up buying a rental property in Greenspoint.
asking advice and taking it are two separate things. also, are prices on the decline in houston? i'd believe them to be stable but haven't heard of anything dropping. if so i'd sure like the tax appraisers to know.
overvauled i'd agree with. there is certainly a price bubble in certain areas around the city. are they declining though? i'm not saying they are, i just haven't heard that they've dropped.
My take depends on the situation. I think Houston has built far too many complexes recently, and that's where I see someone taking advantage. There are a couple of pockets Houston that are fairly priced, but I'd sway towards renting right now. But that's just me being a Native Houstonian. We've obviously developed a following these days.
I have lived in the same inner-loop house in 77008 for 20 years (ranch style house, 2000 sq ft, built in the late 60s). I have not seen any significant decline in house pricing - quite the opposite. I suspect that because of the high price of housing in 77006, you probably would not be able to rent it out for enough money to profit (or even break even) unless you were able to get it at a *very* low price, and were able to fix it up for a *very* low price.... and even then, your property taxes will skyrocket every year.. I'm no real estate tycoon, but I would suspect it would be a better idea to purchase a house in an area that will be going through gentrification in the very near future. Rent it for as long as you can profit (until property taxes rise too high). Then demolish, build a big new house, and sell. As far as there being a house pricing bubble in my area, I am skeptical of this. When the country experienced a national housing crisis, values in my area mostly flat-lined (maybe dropped a small amount, but not much and not for long). Since that crisis has passed HCAD has increased the appraised value of my home every year (and, unfortunately, my taxes increase each year to the maximum amount allowed by law). Bottom line: homes in this area retain their value, even through the worst of times.
I have a rental property very close to where OP is looking, and I'm about to raise rent to keep up with the demand of the area. Also, it's not a bubble when there's real demand behind the valuations.
Houston homes tend not to have drastic swings up or down. They were less hit by the market's plummet back in 2008, and less affected by the rise prior to that. There is some movement. I think real estate in general will rise over time, but how much or how quickly isn't known.
I've owned in 77006 for ten-ish years? In that time prices have gone up more than 25% (probably another 25% over the 5 years before I bought), but developers keep buying and developing properties and the demand is steady. I'd feel better buying a place there than some place out in Cypress or something where there is near endless land for developers to expand into. There is a limited amount of land in that area, and constantly increasing demand because of proximity to the center of town. There are probably places near to town with depressed values that will blow up much more over then next 10+ years, but I'd feel pretty confident about at least modest return short of economic collapse.
