This came in the other day:
Hi Brutus,
I was wondering if you had a chance to check out the study our team of researchers put together regarding the housing affordability levels of the 50 most populous cities in North America.
According to the report, El Paso stands out as the most affordable real estate market in Texas and the 4th most affordable in the U.S.
Here’s the link to the research, with data on all of the 50 cities, some visuals and extra details for each: https://www.point2homes.com/news/canada-real-estate/housing-affordability-north-america.html
Do feel free to reach out if you need anything else.
Would you consider covering this story?
Best,
Cristina
Cristina Jisa | Communications Strategist
Cristina_Jisa@yardi.com | http://www.point2homes.com
Point2 Homes is an international real estate search portal, a division of Yardi Systems Inc. Our original research, insights and in-depth analysis of the real estate market have been featured in major media publications across Canada and the US. Are you in search of ideas for your next story? Feel free to drop me a line.
elpasospeak 
Yes, that is true, and a big reason why we returned to El Paso in our retirement. But, what your research doesn’t mention is the reason why real estate is so outright cheap here compared to elsewhere. It all goes back to supply and demand, you know.
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Real estate and home prices stay low(er) than the rest of the USA due to the general low wages/ average low wages/ in El Paso.
If the majority in EL Paso earned $60,000 a year, you bet prices would go up. They would Float UP until . . . most could not afford a home. (Whatever the market will bear !)
As El Paso has a very low education level, and most do not have a college education, as many with College Degrees leave town, the wages stay low.
WE benefit by the lower real estate prices !
(There IS a silver lining to those
that are educated that leave town !)
If all those with a College Education STAYED in El Paso and attracted higher paying jobs, we’ll see the home prices go up.
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Yes, in El Paso, if a teenager would Live-At-Home for the first 10 years, after high school, and save HALF of a Minimum Wage Job earnings, JUST HALF, and within 10 years could save enough to pay CASH for a 3 bedroom / 2 bath home with 1100-1300 sq. ft. and NEVER have to worry about “Coming up with the rent or house payments for the rest of his/her life.”
Rent or house payments REALLY are a drag and you don’t want to have House Payments as they are a financial and mental nightmare and depressive, because, the country, during 25-30 years time will go thru 2-3 wars and 2 recessions, several Big stock market falls, 2 LARGE Mexican Peso devaluations (which absolutely KILL business/ businesses(s) in El Paso and cause thousands to lose their jobs as companies tighten their belts).
When any of that happens the mortgage companies will make your life a “Living Hell” with Registered Letters, Payments having to be Wired to them, nasty phone calls, threats on letters in ALL CAPS.
So, during 25-30 years the country will change A LOT and the mortgage companies and banks expect YOU, to be more financially solid than THEY or the Government.
Most likely, your Original Mortgage Company will have Gone-Out-Of-Business and your mortgage will be sold to 5 or more OTHER mortgage companies over a 30 year period.
Several will be Bailed-Out by the US Government during that time.
(THEY can go out of business any time they want, but expect YOU to be more financially stable than they are.)
Live at home first 10 years: Minimum wages / save HALF, buy house for CASH in 10 years.
No mortgage companies !
The CITY of El Paso will do their best at Raising your house payments during the time of your mortgage with Higher Property Taxes, raising your monthly payment, EVEN THOUGH . . . you did NOT Qualify, originally at the time of the mortgage, for these HIGHER PAYMENTS !
. . . . Putting your home at jeopardy of loss by these higher payments that YOU did not agree to during your mortgage qualifying.
You can make payments for 20 years. . . . and even though you own more of your house than the mortgage company, they can take your ENTIRE HOUSE if you miss 3 payments in a row.
Take the entire thing. You get NOTHING !
Generally, you will not be able to refinance, because you have not made several payments, credit is shot now, and your payments will be HIGHER because of the City of El Paso’s much higher property taxes now. You won’t be able to qualify or re-qualify at this point for a new or refinanced mortgage.
And when wars happen, recessions & depressions happen, Peso devaluations, etc, that YOU have no control over, the mortgage company will cut you no slack !
Live at home first 10 years: Minimum wages / save HALF, buy house for CASH in 10 years.
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Once you OWN your home, with no monthly payments, you can live there, in El Paso, on a Minimum Wage Job and if you get married, and both of you work at simple jobs, you’ll have enough to live on. Your Social Security or whatever retirement plan has been set up by the government, will be enough to live on also, IF . . . you have no house payments or Rent !
If you are paying rent, you will be SCREWED . . Forever !
Rent will keep going up faster than your wages or retirement.
You’ll have to keep moving to a cheaper and smaller place over and over and over. . . .as the RENT goes up.
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If you OWN your home in El Paso you basically pay rent to the various taxing entities. My tax payments for just my home is more, double, than I paid in rent when I was young and newly married. It is ridiculous for anyone to have to pay $500 – 700 per month tax rates on just a single piece of property. What’s worse is that they keep adding to it. By the time the entire amount of local bond monies are borrowed we will be spending more on debt service than we do on actual services, and it will become more inverse from there. You seem to imply that people who rent properties are the bad guy by raising rents, what about the government that continuously spends with abandon for what appears to be no benefit to the public? Do we really need a downtown trolley? That helps the wealthiest families in El Paso who got a dirt cheap stadium that we have to pay for. It certainly doesn’t benefit me in any way. Neither did the downtown stadium, nor will an arena. El Paso will be filing bankruptcy by 2050, but before that tens of thousands of people will move to somewhere where they can retire without giving all their money to the local taxing entities. You should buy a property in El Paso and rent it out so you can see for yourself how utterly unprofitable it is to do that because of the amount of taxes you have to pay. The government literally gets more than you do.
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Exactly right. El Paso has already gone past the point of no return. We’ve spent ourselves into the ditch and now it’s too late. All it will take is a little economic hiccup and we’ll go down in flames.
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El Pasoans earn an average yearly wage of $20,150, compared to the average Texan wage of 30,000. What does that tell you about being ABLE to afford any kind of home when your income is 33% lower than the rest of Texas?
here are a couple of links that will shine truth to the fact that maybe our homes are cheaper but our property taxes are among the highest in America –
From smartasset.com:
“The average homeowner in El Paso county pays $2,336 annually in property taxes, only slightly higher than the U.S. average. However, the average home value in El Paso County is significantly lower than the U.S. average, which means county residents in fact pay higher property tax rates than most Americans.”
From tax-rates.org:
El Paso County has one of the highest median property taxes in the United States. The average yearly property tax paid by El Paso County residents amounts to about 4.52 percent of their yearly income . El Paso County is ranked 134th of the 3,143 counties for property taxes as a percentage of median income.
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The problem with buying a home in El Taxo is the FABRICATED, INFLATED Property “Values”. Whenever the City, County POLITICIANS want to increase taxes, they simply have the Appraisal District to increase Property “Values”. In my area , many new homes are vacant , can’t sell them. Or people buy, move in and at the end of the first year get “sticker shock” from the property taxes. El Taxo has the HIGHEST property taxes in Texas, many other cities, states. No jobs, low wages, bad economy. The “Quality of Life, Standards of Living” here, apply only to POLITICIANS.
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Lower than average wages. Higher than average taxes. There is nothing good about that.
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Exactly. And for some reason the POLITCIANS in El Taxo can never figure that out. A BILLON$$$ in DEBT and no way to pay it, EXCEPT to continuously increase HOME Property “Values”, followed by more tax INCREASES. In El Taxo that’s all the politicians, Public Officials know. Tax waste, spend, tax some more. Other cities, states have tax CUTS. Anybody ever hear of even one in El Taxo???
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Move to an historic area. Gems everywhere. Better than new homes. Taxes are too damn high
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