That's why Gov. Helmethair's claims about the strength of the Texas economy are bullshit. Unemployment is still going up in most major metropolitan areas, the heavy local reliance on property taxes looks shaky (especially with those fake resale Z prices, eh?)
And, I totally agree that this is part of the issue, too:
Compounding the problem is the seemingly endless prairie that stretches in every direction. Residential real estate in Dallas is all about what’s new, fresh, clean and contemporary, and beyond last year’s farthest-flung suburban outpost there is always more prairie, another slice of raw land on which to build this year’s model of the luxe domestic dream.
And, no, per the quote at the end of the story, nothing will change. Cheap gas prices will lead to more sprawl, not just suburban but exurban sprawl, while inner-ring suburbs on the north and east of Dallas, not just the south, will age ever less gracefully and ever more quickly.
I lived in suburban Dallas just about all of the last decade. Trust me on this one. I told residents of a Dallas suburb, back in late 2006, to vote against a new school bond issue in part because default and foreclosure numbers were already rising.
So, state Sen. Steve Ogden's plan to push more of school funding on a statewide property tax may not work so well, either. Especially if it caps appraisal rises not at 10 percent, but at even less than that.
You are an idiot. Texas' housing market is the most stable in America. One of the lowest foreclosure rates, bankruptcy rates, and the most jobs created in America.
ReplyDeleteYou are obviously illiterate as well as deep in Perry's pocket. You didn't read the story at all, did you? Fake prices on foreclosures? 45 percent of home sales in Mesquite right now are foreclosures? That's NOT "the most stable housing market in America."
ReplyDeleteIt may be more stable than the areas I mentioned, but plenty of other states are more stable than it. :P
Housing market is entirely driven by supply
ReplyDeleteand demand. More Seller than Buyers lower prices, more Buyers than Sellers prices go up. The Metrotex currently has 150,000 plus people moving here annually, and there has been nearly no supply increase, since many of the builders are out of business the pendulm is going to swing back to the Seller advarage naturally. Texas needs to find a different revenue stream that is not singularly reliant on property tax, which is only paid by owners and many of the people using the schools don't own property. It's nice not having a state income tax but it is off set by one if the highest property tax rates in the US. Speaking of Rick Perry talking about his financial policies being so sound he was going to refuse the stimulus package from the Obama administration, and now because of the money we got it kept Texas out of the red, and now he's taking credit for balancing the budget. amazing.
Anonymous - agreed. That's why I concluded by saying that Steve Ogden's idea for a state property tax is questionable.
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