Intel about south Texas, considering a move

[Duck52]

The wife and I are considering moving from Missouri to south Texas to be closer to our children and grandchildren which live in Portland. We have been down for numerous short visits but not long enough to get the know the area as one living there. My son has been helpful but more information is always good. I know enough to stay away from Corpus Christi, but we only really know about Portland. Any insight the Texans in the tribe can provide would be most appreciated.

[coastalcop]

The wife and I are considering moving from Missouri to south Texas to be closer to our children and grandchildren which live in Portland. We have been down for numerous short visits but not long enough to get the know the area as one living there. My son has been helpful but more information is always good. I know enough to stay away from Corpus Christi, but we only really know about Portland. Any insight the Texans in the tribe can provide would be most appreciated.

Portland construction both housing and industrial is exploding. The housing market in Texas is crazy right now so be warned that there arent many "deals" right now in housing, in fact one of my realtor friends says that bidding wars over asking price is getting common.



Would need more info about what you are looking for. Suburban, land and privacy, and what you consider "close" to Portland 20 miles-75 miles? Also how far is usually measured by time not miles and 150 miles is considered "close". Do you have specific medical needs as well.

If I wanted rural with some land, Goliad isnt a bad place to look it also takes you a bit out of real hurricane range.

Port Aransas is going to be hippy chic and the home prices reflect that, also three weeks a year you will have to hole up in your home during spring break, also hospitals are 30-45 minutes away. figure 350k +

Rockport is nice but you will be in the 300k plus range for a decent 3/2 home

Aransas Pass is to be avoided, there are a couple of good neighborhoods but they are 750k plus and the rest isnt worth living in

Fulton/lamar are nice as well, not quite as hippy chic , while still being coastal towns home prices vary figure 250-500k

Victoria is nice as well and would give you lots of options on rural and suburban.

Port Lavaca is kinda like aransas pass as in not recommended.

as you said before, Corpus is generally not an area I would buy outside of Padre Island (North) but figure 500-900k for a home

hope this helps

[Duck52]

Thank you Coastalcop. That's helpful. We are retired so employment is not an issue. We are semi-rural in Missouri and would prefer a small town setting as opposed to city life. We would like to be within an hour of Portland. Real estate seems to be crazy everywhere. Rental property is even more nuts in TX. The challenge for us is to sell our home in MO and find one in TX. Looking in the $250k range. Don't know if that is realistic or not. Don't want to be homeless in TX.

[coastalcop]

Refugio or Taft might be in the range you are looking for, just did a quick search and this listing popped up (FYI Im NOT in real estate) ;)

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/4468-County-Road-1177_Taft_TX_78390_M81045-17082

[LawDog]

Looking in the $250k range. Don't know if that is realistic or not.Sorry to be a downer, but I think you might be two years too late. I'm north of Austin, which is a world away from the coast, but my wife is very plugged into real estate so I'm constantly hearing about it. Land prices are high right now and construction prices are ridiculous.

The big question is whether we are sitting on a bubble. Will it burst? If so, how low will prices drop and when? My perception is that the bubble risk is actually pretty slight right now. A lot of the increase is driven by inflation. People want to turn their cash into land before we start seeing Zimbabwean-level inflation. And there is wisdom in that. Unfortunately, with everyone buying at once it has driven prices up to unrealistic levels. And you can't buy anything unless you are flush with cash, because you'll have to pay more than the property will appraise for, which means you can't get a loan large enough to cover it.

While land prices are high, there is still room for it to go higher. Construction, though, has peaked at stupid levels. Unless you absolutely have to build right now, I would avoid it. Given your objective, you may want to buy land now and wait to build. If building doesn't suit you, and you want a ready structure, be prepared for craziness. A house near me recently sold for $100k over asking price.

[LawDog]

Refugio or Taft might be in the range you are looking for, just did a quick search and this listing popped up (FYI Im NOT in real estate) ;)

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/4468-County-Road-1177_Taft_TX_78390_M81045-17082Go to photo 23/28. That seller is one of our people.

[Duck52]

Thank you Lawdog. Your not being a downer. Realistic information is what I'm needing.

[coastalcop]

on the market one day and sale pending

[HermosaBeachPatriot]

Almost everyone I know is buggint out of CA and heading to Texas, Arizona, or Florida.

All of them have been putting in offers on homes with 30/40K over asking and it's still 50/50 if they secure the home. Crazy.

Free people are moving to free areas while communists take full control in the blue states. I'm behind enemy lines for my inlaws and father for now - when they pass we are moving to free America ASAP.

We also have learned the hard way to be very active in the local school board, PTA, etc. to keep the commies and CRT bullshit out. Same with the DA - we have a communist DA in LA now and are trying to recall him. When we move I will make it a goal to support freedom loving, hard on crime DA to enforce the law and love America. Living under a DA who hates America, is a total racist, and a communist has been the worst for the last year. Almost 76,000 felons have been released in CA for "covid" this year. Violent crime is no longer a reason to keep someone in jail. Even here in Hermosa, we are starting to see sketchy homeless - dangerous and mentally ill people in our community. Our DA does a good job of prosecuting vagrants and we have a local police force that enforces the law as it should be enforced - but the city DA constantly is riding our community to be "inclusive" and threaten's legal action for enforcing the law as it's "racisit"

I stay sane by being a total pirate.
-HBP