[JManc]

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

I'm finding that it's that way here in Cypress on the northwest side of Houston. Mostly luxury apartment complexes with high rents. The complexes that are affordable for the working class are on the eastern edge of Cypress, e.g., along FM 1960. Crime is rampant in those complexes. My niece lives in one, and she has been awakened by gunfire (there have been murders in that area recently).

One thing that I can relate to is that these 55+ apartment complexes in Cypress are expensive, yet cater largely to retirees on fixed incomes. And these days, the owners are using dynamic pricing, which I've mentioned here before. Someone can rent an apartment one day, and then the same floor plan next door can go for several hundred dollars more the next day, depending on demand. A person can rent that apartment at the higher price, and then in a couple of days someone can rent the same floor plan for hundreds of dollars less because demand decreased. Residents where I live are pretty upset about it, and those who can are planning to leave and buy homes again. The problem there, though, is that homeowners insurance is increasing rapidly, as are maintenance costs. And property taxes in Texas, especially in suburban neighborhoods within municipal utility districts, are huge. You can't win.

Homeowners' insurance here is insane. We spent $10,000 in premiums last year for our two houses and they aren't anything special. This and the property taxes are what's keeping property values deflated.