Real estate prices in Texas crazy cheap?

[sanantone]

Houston is cheaper than Austin and Dallas. You do have to consider the safety of the neighborhood whenever you see super low prices. Condo prices have been dropping because they're undesirable. The HOA fee is $350 per month, which isn't too bad for a condo this old. The HOA fee can increase significantly at any time, and there can also be a special assessment if the HOA doesn't have enough funds for repairs. Special assessments can be thousands of dollars. You don't really own the building you're living in. Currently, there are people being forced out of their condos in Florida because the HOA sold to a corporation.

This condo is small, has old appliances, and mold in the shower. This might seem like an upgrade for some people coming from another country, but this is not appealing to American buyers, which drives the price down. This property has been on the market for 98 days, which is a long time. They also dropped the price a month ago and still couldn't sell.

Houses in many big cities are unaffordable for the average person when you factor in the typical salary. Most locals can't afford a home in Dallas and Austin, but prices have been coming down nationally. If someone really wanted to live in California, there are cheaper cities, such as Fresno. I wouldn't want to live in California, but I've also considered leaving Texas. We don't get a whole lot for the high property taxes we pay.

A licensed real estate agent cannot say things like "this is an undesirable neighborhood" or "this is unsafe," as such statements could be considered discriminatory and may violate other regulations.

That is the standard size for most apartments built in the 1980s and 1990s in many cities. New homebuyers want the most they can afford, and if better options are available elsewhere, they will choose those instead.

Many big cities are not affordable, and high interest rates make it even harder to buy a home.

I am aware that real estate agents can't mention crime rates or demographics; that's why you have to do your own research. Locals are familiar with which areas are undesirable, which is why this property has been on the market for a long time. 

This might help someone: Neighborhood Scout is a top search result when you search for crime stats. You'll see a color-coded city map. Neighborhoods with higher crime rates are a darker blue. The issue that confuses people is that Neighborhood Scout is only comparing neighborhoods within the city to each other. It's not comparing to the national or state average. Sometimes, you could be looking at a city that has low crime all over, but because a neighborhood is colored dark, people think it's a high-crime neighborhood when it's not. This doesn't apply to Houston. If a neighborhood is a darker blue, you can be sure that crime is high.

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Hi guys.
 
I currently live in Belarus, but I consider moving to the US for better career prospects.
 
I am used to boring Soviet commie block houses, so my standards for "a good place to stay" are comparatively low.
 
A 1-bedroom/studio apartment with about 300 square feet would be totally fine for me.
 
 
I heard that Zillow seems to be a common website to look for housing, and I checked a couple of cities. 
 
I found several condos in Houston, TX, for like $60,000-$80,000. Example: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2832-...5390_zpid/
 
This seems crazy affordable to me, since 2-3 bedroom apartments in Belarus cost roughly the same, but these buildings were built like 50 years ago, and the local monthly median net salary is like $450 (roughly a tenth of the salaries in Houston).
 
So, are condos in Texas just so crazy affordable, or am I missing something important? It seems too good to be true, and I know that most people on this forum live in the US, so maybe you can help me understand the situation. I would be very thankful!

Stay away from those Hearthwood condos unless you want to be burglarized every other week! For 30 years those units were selling for ~$20,000. Now sellers are asking for 4 times as much. 

I owned 2 condos in Texas Medical Center that I purchased 15 years ago for <$80,000. Now both of them are listed >$200,000. You would not find any remotely decent 40+ years old 2/3 BR condos that are under $150,000 in Houston. Factoring in condo association annual maintenance charges (esp. after hurricanes) on top of monthly dues those condos are anything but crazy cheap

Home insurance is also high in Texas. I only found one insurance company that wasn't charging an outrageous rate; I received probably over a dozen quotes. New builds in Houston are required to meet specifications to minimize flood damage. If you're buying a pre-Hurricane Harvey home on the first floor, good luck.