53yo Native Texan here. Born in Texas City, Raised from the age of 6 in and around Austin. Six years ago I'd had enough and moved an hour N. to Bertram. Up until 6 yrs ago, I was proud to say I was from the ATX. 100% NOT anymore. You can almost smell the greed in the air downtown, but you cant due to the smell of piss and bums. Thanks for the memories but I'll stick to my clear skies, quiet streets and zero crime. Cool video though.
It's exactly what they do, give you half truths to spin a narrative. The neighborhood they talked about, they didn't even bother to get the information as to why it was abandoned. That developer was defrauding its investors.
@@avonti001 Yes, these side effects happen if you add Democrats into the mix. Our conservative county is growing like mad because people are escaping the leftist hell hole that is Houston but it's still peaceful and low crime here because our judges and prosecutors put criminals in jail and keep them there.
We live in a suburb north of Austin. We are watching builders pull out of multi family untis. They are now just sitting not finished. No one is working. The wood is turning black. So sad to see.
I've seen at least one similar development in San Antonio. Drive by it nearly every week, and zero new work. It looks like the framers just walked off one day and never returned. Wood is also turning black. They're going to have to tear it down now if they want to continue to build.
Austinte here, everything said in this video is 100% correct. Prices were appreciating double digit %'s before Covid, then everything just skyrocketed. Great video y'all!
Samething is happening here in Idaho. Apartments & New Housing Developments everywhere. These developers are ruining our land!!! This is such BS!!! This Building is out of control!!!
Yeah we decided not to relocate to So. Idaho due to the congestion and horrific traffic that most folks, maybe with the exception of Californians, would not want to tolerate. There is not adequate infrastructure to handle all the migrants and their vehicles. Further, the publicly listed builders construct houses that are crap, and we didn't want to throw our money away. So,,, we decided to remain in Alaska.
You're one of the few ppl paying attention. I refuse to buy a house if Values don't start coming down. I don't care about rates. I can always refinance when they come down.
@@diesel104It's lpl about the rates. If rates are 2-3%, most people making over $100k can easily afford the mortgage payments up to, what, a $800k home?
@@HipHopCantSaveMe No that’s wrong. Someone making $100k cannot afford an $800k house at 3% interest. Even assuming a 20% down and 30-year mortgage would have a $4,200 monthly payment plus $1,800/mo for taxes and insurance (on the low side). That’s $6,000/mo or 72,000/year vs a take home pay of about $75,000. You would need to be making $200,000/year to even be considered for a loan of $640k (80% of $800k) and that really isn’t enough to make it a sound purchase.
How are they trying to turn Austin in California. Austin is a little liberal enclave with it's own little vibe. During COVID a bunch of Conservatives from California packed up and moved there follow people like Elon Musk who only moved to Texas so he could sell some Tesla stock and not pay state tax. So caused a huge building boom just like ones Houston and the DFW area have had for twenty years. But where is the supposedly making Austin more like Cali other than because so many conservatives move out of California they fucked up Austin's prices.
The crazy thing is, Abbott is allowing developers to destroy productive farmland the fastest in the country for globalist industries and homes,….. and he WILL be reelected!!! You voted for it, you deserve it!!!🤣🤡👍
I'm in Austin and was here during the 1980s housing crash. You indirectly referenced this but the big problem still potentially confronting Austin is that when all this construction largely comes to an end by next year there is going to be an enormous number of unemployed people. That will start a big economic down wave as people leave the area. That's what happened in in the 1980s- tons of people moved to Austin to work in the 1980-1986 building boom and then left when the jobs disappeared. It wasn't until 1994 that the 1986 peak nominal (not inflation) prices were matched. All this will be worse if there is a broad national recession. I completely agree that Austin will lead this downturn but it'll also likely be the first to come out of it too- maybe 2026-2028.
Thank you so much for this historical context. Much needed and appreciated. What's bizarre is that's exactly how I felt - Austin will recover. Felt more hope in Austin than anywhere else....maybe because of the people.
2001 multi family had huge crash also they over built. Then the layoffs hit hard it took about 5 years to recover occupancy and then very slow rent growth.
@@rachelcarter8669 Yes after the tech bubble burst Austin was hit hard but apartment vacancy peaked at 9.6% in 2005. We're already at 14.7% vacancy, the highest since the 1990 peak of over 23%.
The median priced house in the USA today needs to drop at least 50% in price so that the median income American can afford to buy it. Food for thought about the sad state of our nation, after 40-50 years of our sell-out, corporatist political duopoly in action.
And no one buys houses either way as everyone loves in vans since rich people want to use land as hard assets since no one has income they vote for only prop taxes and then all landlords get liquidated and prop values crash by 99% GG get wrecked just deserts
Last time I went to Austin, I could barely recognize it from when I last lived there in 2015. Both the skyline as well as the demographics have changed so much. The insane growth is not without problems; The homeless issues around the city remind me of when I lived in the Bay Area of CA. It’s crazy that Austin is trending in that direction. Happy to see RE is correcting out there. Great content Travis & Melody.
My husband, daughter, and I had moved to Austin (from Florida) during the GFC because it had ranked as one of the best places for job seekers and families at that time (our daughter was only a toddler at the time). We were able to find a duplex for a nice cheap rental rate due to the new owner buying the place just as the housing market bottomed out. It was by a creek which was extra nice. Fast forward to recent years and the place got sold and we could see homeless camps under the bridge and along the creek more and more. The new owner put a lot of money into revamping the place but now the insurance and taxes got very high for her so the rental ballooned. BYE! I checked the FEMA report too out of curiosity (a habit I did every time there was heavy rain and floods). Up until recently, the duplex was fine. Now due to climate change and all, there is over 90 percent chance of significant damage happening to the place after another heavy storm. I had noticed the creek looking scarier each time there was a storm and we could even hear the heavy water flow inside with windows shut and TV on. My daughter keeps asking when we are going back. She is disabled and I cannot get her to understand, we won't be going back, that the things we liked about living there are gone and we aren't even "stuck" anymore (jobs wise, not even her school) due to my husband retiring and her enrolled in online public schooling. There were a few other final nails in the coffin as well for us as far as remaining which offered plenty of reassurance that we did the right thing by moving out of that duplex but that is another morbid tale.
We had a few of those abandoned subdivision situations here in SoCal going into the bankster-instigated crash of the "naughties". Developers just stopped and left as soon as the business became unprofitable. Local employment dropped. The properties sat unmanaged for many years and became havens for squatters & drugs (& a boon for lawyers). The places were ransacked by thieves for plumbing and electrical fixtures. Many "accidental" fires. They pulled down property values in nearby neighborhoods, some of which had just recently been red-hot developments fueled by NINJA loans to naive first-time buyers. A disaster in so many ways.
Wow! That is so telling! Travis here in a suburb of Tucson where I live there is a luxury $1 mill homes community that seems to be slowing down! Last weekend we went to check out the place because that’s where we would actually want to buy. But we found out that on their website they have only 3 lots available listed with 3 already move in ready homes! The one home I was curious of, sat built in the market since 2022 and they JUST sold it three weeks ago for a 400k less then the same home in their other community. And then we ventured ourselves a little and we discovered they have at least 50-75 lots that they’re selling as lots! Meaning it seems like they are not even going to risk building homes or waiting for someone to build a home there with them! It was nuts to see the sign saying “lots for sale” but they told me that community is all finished and they sold the model home last year. Something big is brewing!
Hi, I’m a Realtor in Tucson. The builders are definitely hedging their bets and now mostly building on demand vs building spec homes. Be very careful if you buy new construction. The build quality is really bad, some builders are worse than others, but generally speaking they have all had problems since the pandemic. If you do decide to purchase a new home, hire a Home Inspector who *specializes in new construction and have him look several times during the build. It is well worth the money.
@@Starfish2145 thank you! Yes have experience we bought a new build 5 years ago and we hired an inspector who found 30 pages worth of issues some were fire hazard! I don’t personally like any of the existing here in Tucson, homes are pretty dated to my taste so we’ll build our other home, it’s just probably not going to be for a while. You know Fairfield homes? They’re the only builder here that kind of builds more to our style but I was shocked to see they’re selling the lots here in Vail and they don’t seem to be wanting to build more. Honestly the housing market is so uncertain right now, I can’t believe all the other builders are building like crazy like it’s all good :s
@@m3_melody You're welcome :) Shouldn't have to feel nervous about it. Personally, I think we focus too much details on historical events and not enough on the *causes* of said events.
@@Starfish2145 overcrowded, crappy weather, horrible/mental drivers, traffic everywhere, cost of living increases, etc. Austin is overrated in my opinion, but a lot of people seem to like it. It was certainly not for me though.
Melody, Lilo Linke’s words are so profound in the way that they relate to exactly what is happening today in our society. I know that’s why you shared it with us, and I thank you profusely. Thank you for your courage, hope, honesty and encouragement to empower the people. First time I’ve seen your show, and I’m coming back for more. Keep up the good work!
homeowner policies in Houston got going up 40%. add on higher taxes, water bill, electricity, yard and house maintenance. buying an expensive home is not the issue!! or buying any house for that matter! 👀🙃👀🙃🤑🤑
I'm in Dallas and just got notice that my tax went up 42% from 2019. This is ridiculous. I can't improve my home because now I have to pay more taxes... smh
The path forward is obvious. All credit feasts turn into credit famines, and this was the mother of all feasts. What isn't obvious is just how much the government is willing to print/and or distort the free market to make sure that path is not taken (again). We will know the answer to that over the next 36 months.
Good to see you here back in Dallas guys. Can't wait to see what you will find here. Your Austin info was great, that abandoned new site made my skin crawl. I just don't know what we are doing in our country regarding housing anymore. Looking to hear more from you both.
@@sheraspencer I felt so loved and welcomed....and awed by your amazing children (and the woman behind them). So glad to finally meet the person behind the voice. Thank you so much again.
Thank you for keeping us informed on so many levels. I feel like the more I learn about our country low income people my anger grows, Thanks Arleth, Imagine investing $1000 and receiving $5,450 in 3days.🇺🇸
I work in multi family they are all in a panic, to keep occupancy up. Im currently just temping to make extra $$$ so I go all over town working in different properties. Residents are noticing that their renewal rates are higher than the new residents moving in.
Good Job, Travis and Melody. Full of information not found elsewhere. I enjoyed it. I understand that it took a lot of effort on your part. Thank you for doing this.
Great report Travis and Melody! I visited Austin in November 2023 and drove around the Georgetown area. Stopped at Parkside on the River and toured a Taylor Morrison model home. Very nice. The 1500-acre development is far from complete. Plus there are several other large developments within a 10-mile radius under construction. I was stunned by the huge number of new homes being built. Your advice on renting is spot on until the market settles down.
Thank y’all for taking the time to do these videos. I’m going to us them to fight my TX appraisal in Collin Co. Got my letter yesterday. Up also 50k. That’s insane.
Fellow Collin Co resident. Currently looking for a rental in this area and from what I’ve seen on Zillow is absolutely absurd. According to Collin CAD the townhome I sold in 2019 is now tax appraised for $200k more in just four years. From 2014-2019 it didn’t even budge $30k. This is nonsense.
@@m3_melody if you have a link I can follow till my hearing date EOY for over 60 days passed due on mortgage would be very helpful. Thank you very much. How can we help support your efforts?
@@Evermorecurious I’ve got a double whammy with taxes. I’m in PISD, my kid goes to private. We live in a great neighborhood, very middle class for PISD, actually my son would say middle lower class compared to his public school class mates (hence why we went to private).
@m3_melody I got my tax increase statement yesterday too. It went up 42%, the thing I don't understand is that it says that my limited cap has been canceled. Does anyone know what that means? It scares me to think that now I won't have some kind of protection from rising taxes.
I wonder when this will pop off in Tampa and Orlando, so far we are on the same path data wise. Same issues with the fraud. I think the unspoken contributing factor many are not thinking of is just how many fraud PPP loans are linked to the purchases in 2020-2022.
Permit system needs to be drastically simplified and many permits eliminated. The permit office failed to file its own permit is just hilarious and insane
In the 1980's there was a subdivision in Garland, Texas that literally had one person living in it with almost 30 spec homes partially completed around them and the builder went bankrupt.
Bought a new build home in 2004. Forward to 2008. The home builder of our community was the first contractor in Colorado to file bankruptcy. They had three communities being built on the front range of Colorado. Thankfully they indeed finished the remaining 12 homes in our neighborhood. The other two was about half built out. Became a massive problem for them. They sold the remaining 12 homes in our neighborhood to an investor. I think that is how they were able to finish. The investor wanted to rent them out but never read our bylaws that you couldn't rent homes out in our neighborhood. Homes were forclosed on. Took only a two years to get bought up as our neighborhood became very popular because of the large autumn fire maples they planted!...
Great video! We just cashed out of our 23 year home in a Houston suburb and are going to rent in an Austin suburb. Waiting to see what happens in the market and will be ready to buy if it drops. Thanks for the confirmation that renting is better right now.
Unfortunately we can’t fight progress especially if you’re a senior. I love Texas. Thank you for the boots on the ground as people are saying. Great job guys🙏💕🇺🇸👍
We got into contract recently at a new build community in the pflugerville suburb. It was very easy to negotiate 100k on the price plus 30k in incentives. It is a buyer market if you can afford the house. Be honest with yourself and do number crunching before you sign
Austin does have a political problem. Austin has become a leftist craphole. That problem extends to all areas of city governance and thus includes the city building department. Austin is over built in both commercial and residential spaces. Taxes in Travis County are insane as well. Buying a house in and around Austin right now is a huge gamble. The looming recession will lead to very high foreclosure rates.
Absolutely outstanding piece of expertise and journalism. What a great team y’all make. You guys are the change we wanna see and you’re changing the media and the housing market. Thank y’all so much.
In my experience real estate agents are like car sales persons. I own an oceanfront condo which is on a rental program when I am not using it myself or for family and friends. It is not on the market but like clockwork every week or so I get a solicitation to list it from agents One thing which is universal with real estate agents: IT IS ALWAYS A GREAT TIME TO SELL OR A GREAT TIME TO BUY depending if you are a buyer or seller.
What area just out of curiosity? I lived in Austin from 2008-2022... I felt a lot of "weird" S**t was coming that way... moved closer to Canada 😂 Only regret so far is how much I miss the wearher.
What an incredible format and video! BONKERS! Love your work on this (and Melody, of course!). I've watched all of these and think the format and level of reporting is refreshing oh-so-needed right now. Thank you so very much. I look forward to more!
The only thing those rotting half-finished houses are good for now is for training purposes. First for inspectors and construction types, then for police and fire crews... and finally, for demolition teams.
I think there needs to be some kind of punishment for developers who do this. I don't know what, but... starting houses and just leaving them unfinished should be a crime.
When buying, you can deduct mortgage interest for tax filing. That should be factored in. Plus, there is more flexibility in what you can do with your house when you own it.
Great video. I would love to hear from the dodo birds who make these terrible decisions that lead to abandoned communities. They really should be publicly shamed.
Extremely well done video. This is what financial journalism is about. I was a journalism major in college with a Masters Degree and went into finance many years ago. Your video has inspired me to dust off my journalism skills and make a change. Great work Melody, Travis and Austin.
@@MostlyPeacfulRiotsI wish we had the same issue here In San Diego. Yesterday I put an offer at asking price for 775k on a duplex a 6br and 4ba and lost to a bidding war.
Work in Austin live 40 miles from my job. Look at Jarrell, tx house prices are all over the places. New builds 370 and I couldn’t sell my house for 280.
Love this reporting format, wow!! I was waiting for you guys to stop by the large mobile home development (crammed together) just south of the Tesla factory off Tollroad 130 - you can see it clearly from the Tollroad. Lived in Austin since 1999, recently moved away due to the traffic and congestion.
Great boots on the ground video. I appreciated it even though I don't forsee myself ever moving to Texas at this point in time. Keep up the great work.
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53yo Native Texan here. Born in Texas City, Raised from the age of 6 in and around Austin. Six years ago I'd had enough and moved an hour N. to Bertram. Up until 6 yrs ago, I was proud to say I was from the ATX. 100% NOT anymore. You can almost smell the greed in the air downtown, but you cant due to the smell of piss and bums. Thanks for the memories but I'll stick to my clear skies, quiet streets and zero crime. Cool video though.
Indeed the *greed* in Austin is unbelievable.
Real talk
This is what reporters used to do - REPORT!
Great reporting piece Melody, Austin, and Travis, thank you.
Thank you so much. The kind words mean a lot to us. Putting our heart and soul out there.
It's exactly what they do, give you half truths to spin a narrative. The neighborhood they talked about, they didn't even bother to get the information as to why it was abandoned. That developer was defrauding its investors.
You're right. This is where we get our real news. I gave up on the big networks years ago.
No, no no Austin is falling apart because of 100% political reasons come on now let's be real. Everybody knows the truth.
1,000,000,000% FACT !
Absolutely understand this. Portland metro area has the same affliction.
That abandon new build area gives me 2006/07 vibes.. watch out next year.
Just like Vegas 😢
High taxes, high crime, high rents (that businesses can't afford) is killing Austin.
Sounds like California. Oopsie
Side effects of growth!!
@@avonti001 Yes, these side effects happen if you add Democrats into the mix.
Our conservative county is growing like mad because people are escaping the leftist hell hole that is Houston but it's still peaceful and low crime here because our judges and prosecutors put criminals in jail and keep them there.
Boots on the ground, showing the real America. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
Great work Travis and Melody!! 👍👍👍
except they didn't even get good information. They could've easily googled that neighborhood to figure out why it was abandoned.
As soon as Tesla announced they were moving to Austin, the property value doubled.
And now that they’re not…
Doubled before that
We live in a suburb north of Austin. We are watching builders pull out of multi family untis. They are now just sitting not finished. No one is working. The wood is turning black. So sad to see.
World government housing programs work in lock step with "tech industry". It is orchestrated by finance and not economics.
I've seen at least one similar development in San Antonio. Drive by it nearly every week, and zero new work. It looks like the framers just walked off one day and never returned. Wood is also turning black. They're going to have to tear it down now if they want to continue to build.
What a dump. The amount of homeless in your town us an embarrassment.
Austinte here, everything said in this video is 100% correct. Prices were appreciating double digit %'s before Covid, then everything just skyrocketed. Great video y'all!
But now it’s a dumpster fire.
Same thing has happened in Florida.
😮😮😮😅😅
Thank you so much for the confirmation and local intel. And, thank you for the kind words.
Now people are realizing that it’s a furnace so moving back.
Samething is happening here in Idaho. Apartments & New Housing Developments everywhere. These developers are ruining our land!!! This is such BS!!! This Building is out of control!!!
Yeah we decided not to relocate to So. Idaho due to the congestion and horrific traffic that most folks, maybe with the exception of Californians, would not want to tolerate. There is not adequate infrastructure to handle all the migrants and their vehicles. Further, the publicly listed builders construct houses that are crap, and we didn't want to throw our money away. So,,, we decided to remain in Alaska.
People are worried about rates? These people are 🤡's its the price of the homes it used to be in 150k and 200k now its crazy
You're one of the few ppl paying attention. I refuse to buy a house if Values don't start coming down. I don't care about rates. I can always refinance when they come down.
Crazy what people are paying for a house. I was a custom builder for 20 years. You’re just bailing out someone’s poor purchase or greed. Do the math.
@@diesel104It's lpl about the rates. If rates are 2-3%, most people making over $100k can easily afford the mortgage payments up to, what, a $800k home?
@@HipHopCantSaveMebut how many people are making 100k?
@@HipHopCantSaveMe No that’s wrong. Someone making $100k cannot afford an $800k house at 3% interest. Even assuming a 20% down and 30-year mortgage would have a $4,200 monthly payment plus $1,800/mo for taxes and insurance (on the low side). That’s $6,000/mo or 72,000/year vs a take home pay of about $75,000. You would need to be making $200,000/year to even be considered for a loan of $640k (80% of $800k) and that really isn’t enough to make it a sound purchase.
The crazy thing is they moved from Cali and NY to Texas and now they are trying to turn Austin into Cali and NY.
Exactly, instead of staying in their states and fixing. Their problems they created.
How are they trying to turn Austin in California. Austin is a little liberal enclave with it's own little vibe. During COVID a bunch of Conservatives from California packed up and moved there follow people like Elon Musk who only moved to Texas so he could sell some Tesla stock and not pay state tax. So caused a huge building boom just like ones Houston and the DFW area have had for twenty years. But where is the supposedly making Austin more like Cali other than because so many conservatives move out of California they fucked up Austin's prices.
Austin has been California since the 60’s, this isn’t new
The crazy thing is,
Abbott is allowing developers to destroy productive farmland the fastest in the country for globalist industries and homes,….. and he WILL be reelected!!!
You voted for it, you deserve it!!!🤣🤡👍
@@88gcllc Austin is the sister city of San Diego, what the heck did anyone expect it to turn out to be?
I'm in Austin and was here during the 1980s housing crash. You indirectly referenced this but the big problem still potentially confronting Austin is that when all this construction largely comes to an end by next year there is going to be an enormous number of unemployed people. That will start a big economic down wave as people leave the area. That's what happened in in the 1980s- tons of people moved to Austin to work in the 1980-1986 building boom and then left when the jobs disappeared. It wasn't until 1994 that the 1986 peak nominal (not inflation) prices were matched. All this will be worse if there is a broad national recession. I completely agree that Austin will lead this downturn but it'll also likely be the first to come out of it too- maybe 2026-2028.
Thank you so much for this historical context. Much needed and appreciated. What's bizarre is that's exactly how I felt - Austin will recover. Felt more hope in Austin than anywhere else....maybe because of the people.
2001 multi family had huge crash also they over built. Then the layoffs hit hard it took about 5 years to recover occupancy and then very slow rent growth.
@@rachelcarter8669 Yes after the tech bubble burst Austin was hit hard but apartment vacancy peaked at 9.6% in 2005. We're already at 14.7% vacancy, the highest since the 1990 peak of over 23%.
The ppl building the homes will just move back to Mexico when the boom stops.
The median priced house in the USA today needs to drop at least 50% in price so that the median income American can afford to buy it. Food for thought about the sad state of our nation, after 40-50 years of our sell-out, corporatist political duopoly in action.
With endless fiat currency printing, this artificially increases home prices. The game is over. Banks will fail, gold/silver/oil will skyrocket up.
And no one buys houses either way as everyone loves in vans since rich people want to use land as hard assets since no one has income they vote for only prop taxes and then all landlords get liquidated and prop values crash by 99%
GG get wrecked just deserts
I’m looking forward to 50 percent off. not the list price, but 50 percent off what the flipper or investor paid for it.
If it drops by 50% the country will be in the great depression and you won't be able to buy.
Fun fact: Austin is in Travis County. Austin and Travis are also the two men in this video.
Melody Ranch was only 108 miles away, a missed opportunity!
What are the odds that they are lighting them on fire themselves to collect insurance money on these incomplete homes?
They're doing it on the automobile side. So I wouldn't put it past folks.
Last time I went to Austin, I could barely recognize it from when I last lived there in 2015. Both the skyline as well as the demographics have changed so much. The insane growth is not without problems; The homeless issues around the city remind me of when I lived in the Bay Area of CA. It’s crazy that Austin is trending in that direction. Happy to see RE is correcting out there. Great content Travis & Melody.
Thank you so much for the comments
My husband, daughter, and I had moved to Austin (from Florida) during the GFC because it had ranked as one of the best places for job seekers and families at that time (our daughter was only a toddler at the time). We were able to find a duplex for a nice cheap rental rate due to the new owner buying the place just as the housing market bottomed out. It was by a creek which was extra nice. Fast forward to recent years and the place got sold and we could see homeless camps under the bridge and along the creek more and more. The new owner put a lot of money into revamping the place but now the insurance and taxes got very high for her so the rental ballooned. BYE! I checked the FEMA report too out of curiosity (a habit I did every time there was heavy rain and floods). Up until recently, the duplex was fine. Now due to climate change and all, there is over 90 percent chance of significant damage happening to the place after another heavy storm. I had noticed the creek looking scarier each time there was a storm and we could even hear the heavy water flow inside with windows shut and TV on. My daughter keeps asking when we are going back. She is disabled and I cannot get her to understand, we won't be going back, that the things we liked about living there are gone and we aren't even "stuck" anymore (jobs wise, not even her school) due to my husband retiring and her enrolled in online public schooling. There were a few other final nails in the coffin as well for us as far as remaining which offered plenty of reassurance that we did the right thing by moving out of that duplex but that is another morbid tale.
The new people are from the Bay area so it's not surprising they brought the Bay area problems with them.
Because some the homeless population are from CA.
All the blue cities have the severe homeless issue.
This is nuts. Everything is upside down.
Great job Melanie and Travis. You guys are Raising the bar. Equality the quality, the content much much better.
*Melody (Wright)
We had a few of those abandoned subdivision situations here in SoCal going into the bankster-instigated crash of the "naughties". Developers just stopped and left as soon as the business became unprofitable. Local employment dropped. The properties sat unmanaged for many years and became havens for squatters & drugs (& a boon for lawyers). The places were ransacked by thieves for plumbing and electrical fixtures. Many "accidental" fires. They pulled down property values in nearby neighborhoods, some of which had just recently been red-hot developments fueled by NINJA loans to naive first-time buyers. A disaster in so many ways.
Wow! That is so telling! Travis here in a suburb of Tucson where I live there is a luxury $1 mill homes community that seems to be slowing down! Last weekend we went to check out the place because that’s where we would actually want to buy. But we found out that on their website they have only 3 lots available listed with 3 already move in ready homes! The one home I was curious of, sat built in the market since 2022 and they JUST sold it three weeks ago for a 400k less then the same home in their other community. And then we ventured ourselves a little and we discovered they have at least 50-75 lots that they’re selling as lots! Meaning it seems like they are not even going to risk building homes or waiting for someone to build a home there with them! It was nuts to see the sign saying “lots for sale” but they told me that community is all finished and they sold the model home last year.
Something big is brewing!
Hi, I’m a Realtor in Tucson. The builders are definitely hedging their bets and now mostly building on demand vs building spec homes. Be very careful if you buy new construction. The build quality is really bad, some builders are worse than others, but generally speaking they have all had problems since the pandemic. If you do decide to purchase a new home, hire a Home Inspector who *specializes in new construction and have him look several times during the build. It is well worth the money.
@@Starfish2145 thank you! Yes have experience we bought a new build 5 years ago and we hired an inspector who found 30 pages worth of issues some were fire hazard! I don’t personally like any of the existing here in Tucson, homes are pretty dated to my taste so we’ll build our other home, it’s just probably not going to be for a while. You know Fairfield homes? They’re the only builder here that kind of builds more to our style but I was shocked to see they’re selling the lots here in Vail and they don’t seem to be wanting to build more. Honestly the housing market is so uncertain right now, I can’t believe all the other builders are building like crazy like it’s all good :s
Lived in Austin for 6 years, absolutely hated it. Fantastic video y'all! That ending with Melody was...*chef's kiss*
So glad you liked it and thank you. We were a bit nervous about it :)
@@m3_melody You're welcome :) Shouldn't have to feel nervous about it. Personally, I think we focus too much details on historical events and not enough on the *causes* of said events.
Why did you hate it?
@@Starfish2145 overcrowded, crappy weather, horrible/mental drivers, traffic everywhere, cost of living increases, etc. Austin is overrated in my opinion, but a lot of people seem to like it. It was certainly not for me though.
Austin is horrible. Stop moving here.
Melody, Lilo Linke’s words are so profound in the way that they relate to exactly what is happening today in our society. I know that’s why you shared it with us, and I thank you profusely. Thank you for your courage, hope, honesty and encouragement to empower the people. First time I’ve seen your show, and I’m coming back for more. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much. These words are so powerful....and hopefully a lesson to many.
My old stomping grounds. We left because it’s not the same. Too much traffic and the infrastructure is still not up to par. Excellent analysis!!!
Thank you for reporting the TRUTH!
Great video! I love the interview style !
Thank you, Orlando! It's always nice to hear from you, my friend
homeowner policies in Houston got going up 40%. add on higher taxes, water bill, electricity, yard and house maintenance. buying an expensive home is not the issue!! or buying any house for that matter! 👀🙃👀🙃🤑🤑
Facts.. houston very much still working class city.
I'm in Dallas and just got notice that my tax went up 42% from 2019. This is ridiculous. I can't improve my home because now I have to pay more taxes... smh
Same here in San Antonio!! Our LOCAL governments are NOT serving the PEOPLE!!!
I remember these abandoned new builds from 2008. It's happening already whether anyone admits it or not.
The path forward is obvious. All credit feasts turn into credit famines, and this was the mother of all feasts. What isn't obvious is just how much the government is willing to print/and or distort the free market to make sure that path is not taken (again). We will know the answer to that over the next 36 months.
I love the on the scene segment. Austin needs to join the team, he was informative. This was awesome!
Good to see you here back in Dallas guys. Can't wait to see what you will find here. Your Austin info was great, that abandoned new site made my skin crawl. I just don't know what we are doing in our country regarding housing anymore. Looking to hear more from you both.
Loved this episode. Great talking to the people
Thank you so much. It was such an honor to talk to people.
Thank you so much for this feedback. We loved it too and very helpful for future videos!
Real journalism! Thank you!
You guys are better than any TV station. Good job!
Too much growth is terrible for any neighborhood.
Y'all covered so much in this video! Great boots on the ground coverage finding things people haven't seen yet! ❤
Thank you so much for watching! It was from the ♥
@@m3_melody it was so nice finally meeting you in person Melody! I hope you felt truly welcomed and loved in our home ❤
@@sheraspencer I felt so loved and welcomed....and awed by your amazing children (and the woman behind them). So glad to finally meet the person behind the voice. Thank you so much again.
Thank you for keeping us informed on so many levels. I feel like the more I learn about our country low income people my anger grows, Thanks Arleth, Imagine investing $1000 and receiving $5,450 in 3days.🇺🇸
Low income people are suffering to survive, I appreciate her she's a great personality in the state, Imagine receiving $13,670 in few days.
Getting Arleth Coronado to help me really helped me clear all my debts. I started with what I have left and it's been the best decision I ever made.
She changed my life for good, I'm also a beneficiary.
I'm new at this, please how can I reach her?
SHE'S MOSTLY ON TELEGRAMS WITH THE BELOW NAME’
Bonkers! Travis you're kill it man! Appreciate your hard work and bringing people the truth!
I work in multi family they are all in a panic, to keep occupancy up. Im currently just temping to make extra $$$ so I go all over town working in different properties. Residents are noticing that their renewal rates are higher than the new residents moving in.
Real journalism. Bravo. Rare these days.
Just wild! I saw a 1mm home build abandoned and being sold as a frame for 300k here, but a whole community!?! Sheesh
Good Job, Travis and Melody. Full of information not found elsewhere. I enjoyed it. I understand that it took a lot of effort on your part. Thank you for doing this.
Awesome job brother. I know it’s hard to do all that traveling and not makeing a lot. But you are getting ready to BLOW UP! Keep the faith
Great report Travis and Melody! I visited Austin in November 2023 and drove around the Georgetown area. Stopped at Parkside on the River and toured a Taylor Morrison model home. Very nice. The 1500-acre development is far from complete. Plus there are several other large developments within a 10-mile radius under construction. I was stunned by the huge number of new homes being built. Your advice on renting is spot on until the market settles down.
Thank you both for the information. I'm still holding out on buying my dream home.
Thank you both for your hard work.
Level 10 Bonkers! Great work Travis, Melody, Austin and all involved in this production!
Thank y’all for taking the time to do these videos. I’m going to us them to fight my TX appraisal in Collin Co. Got my letter yesterday. Up also 50k. That’s insane.
Yes, please fight it! Let us know if you need some links to data, etc.
Fellow Collin Co resident. Currently looking for a rental in this area and from what I’ve seen on Zillow is absolutely absurd. According to Collin CAD the townhome I sold in 2019 is now tax appraised for $200k more in just four years. From 2014-2019 it didn’t even budge $30k. This is nonsense.
@@m3_melody if you have a link I can follow till my hearing date EOY for over 60 days passed due on mortgage would be very helpful. Thank you very much.
How can we help support your efforts?
@@Evermorecurious I’ve got a double whammy with taxes. I’m in PISD, my kid goes to private. We live in a great neighborhood, very middle class for PISD, actually my son would say middle lower class compared to his public school class mates (hence why we went to private).
@m3_melody I got my tax increase statement yesterday too. It went up 42%, the thing I don't understand is that it says that my limited cap has been canceled. Does anyone know what that means? It scares me to think that now I won't have some kind of protection from rising taxes.
I wonder when this will pop off in Tampa and Orlando, so far we are on the same path data wise. Same issues with the fraud. I think the unspoken contributing factor many are not thinking of is just how many fraud PPP loans are linked to the purchases in 2020-2022.
Based on my observation, many places in FL the housing price is still increasing. Is that true?
Permit system needs to be drastically simplified and many permits eliminated. The permit office failed to file its own permit is just hilarious and insane
Good video. Keep bringing more content like this Melody and Travis.
LOVE YOUR CHANNEL THE TRUTH AND PASSION!
Outstanding report! Love it when you guys get together and report what’s really going down.
My block in north austin has 4 homes up, 2 sales 2 rentals. Both sales are over 400k. Both rental under 2k/month. The math is not adding up yall.
In the 1980's there was a subdivision in Garland, Texas that literally had one person living in it with almost 30 spec homes partially completed around them and the builder went bankrupt.
It was way worse in Houston during the 80’s.
My parents got a nice home in west Houston in 1990 for 60k. It was the same ole story, people weren’t paying their mortgages.
If you buy a new build hire a home inspector who *specializes in new builds
Yeah generally speaking the new-builds constructed by publicly listed companies are pure crap. Built as quickly as possible as cheaply as possible.
Bought a new build home in 2004. Forward to 2008. The home builder of our community was the first contractor in Colorado to file bankruptcy. They had three communities being built on the front range of Colorado. Thankfully they indeed finished the remaining 12 homes in our neighborhood. The other two was about half built out. Became a massive problem for them.
They sold the remaining 12 homes in our neighborhood to an investor. I think that is how they were able to finish. The investor wanted to rent them out but never read our bylaws that you couldn't rent homes out in our neighborhood. Homes were forclosed on. Took only a two years to get bought up as our neighborhood became very popular because of the large autumn fire maples they planted!...
Thank you both. Very informative.
Great video! We just cashed out of our 23 year home in a Houston suburb and are going to rent in an Austin suburb. Waiting to see what happens in the market and will be ready to buy if it drops. Thanks for the confirmation that renting is better right now.
Austin has turned into a liberal pit. Homeless is all over, crime up, just not good.
Unemployment and all that has already started just that the government is acting like we are clueless
trading full time family supporting jobs for multiple part time hustles is not falling unemployment, not matter what the .gov says.
Government offices seem to be the only ones hiring and they're not the best place to work in.
Unfortunately we can’t fight progress especially if you’re a senior. I love Texas. Thank you for the boots on the ground as people are saying. Great job guys🙏💕🇺🇸👍
Thank you so much
Travis, Melody great video! That new build subdivision looks like 2009. Lord help us!
We got into contract recently at a new build community in the pflugerville suburb. It was very easy to negotiate 100k on the price plus 30k in incentives. It is a buyer market if you can afford the house. Be honest with yourself and do number crunching before you sign
Big jump in production quality for this boots on the ground. Very good work team. Good to see you guys.
That tower has a very tragic history going back to 1966.
Sniper tower
Cool format. Thanks for the research. I’m standing on the sidelines in SacTown California waiting for the right time and place.
Austin does have a political problem. Austin has become a leftist craphole. That problem extends to all areas of city governance and thus includes the city building department. Austin is over built in both commercial and residential spaces. Taxes in Travis County are insane as well. Buying a house in and around Austin right now is a huge gamble. The looming recession will lead to very high foreclosure rates.
Loved this boots on the ground approach with interviews. Well done!
Better and more timely reporting than mainstream media. Good job guys!
2007 ~ all over again, empty subdivisions were common
I love the two of y'all! Wow things are happening fast. So glad I haven't bought yet. Dave Ramsey is so wrong!
Thank you Willy!
The shit Dave Ramsey is selling should be criminal! He is a horrible human for misleading people intentionally!
I like the news style reporting.
Great video Travis & Melody. I’ve lived in Austin and visited there a couple of years ago, I didn’t even recognize it.
I lived in Texas for a few years in the 90s, left and visited in 2003 .I didn’t recognize it back then.
those abandon houses remind me of 2008
I love your reporting! We need more in all areas like you to get the real truth and look put for one another. Great job!!
Absolutely outstanding piece of expertise and journalism. What a great team y’all make. You guys are the change we wanna see and you’re changing the media and the housing market. Thank y’all so much.
In my experience real estate agents are like car sales persons. I own an oceanfront condo which is on a rental program when I am not using it myself or for family and friends. It is not on the market but like clockwork every week or so I get a solicitation to list it from agents One thing which is universal with real estate agents: IT IS ALWAYS A GREAT TIME TO SELL OR A GREAT TIME TO BUY depending if you are a buyer or seller.
Hey that abandoned community in the opening is down the street from me! lol ABSOLUTELY BONKERS!
What’s the name of the community?
What area just out of curiosity? I lived in Austin from 2008-2022... I felt a lot of "weird" S**t was coming that way... moved closer to Canada 😂 Only regret so far is how much I miss the wearher.
@@TimesUp8888 It was South Austin. There are a couple of those abandoned new communities here.
@@TimesUp8888I relocated to OH, no regrets.
What an incredible format and video! BONKERS! Love your work on this (and Melody, of course!). I've watched all of these and think the format and level of reporting is refreshing oh-so-needed right now. Thank you so very much. I look forward to more!
Great report. Great preview of what is coming to a town near you over the next 5 years.
I feel bad for those Tesla workers that just purchased their homes and are getting laid off.
Thanks for this presentation
I hope its really hot this year to the degree of Miserable for all the non texans can leave
The only thing those rotting half-finished houses are good for now is for training purposes. First for inspectors and construction types, then for police and fire crews... and finally, for demolition teams.
That might not be a bad idea, lol
I think there needs to be some kind of punishment for developers who do this. I don't know what, but... starting houses and just leaving them unfinished should be a crime.
Paint Ball Parks!
And finally for urban combat training!
Fantastic. The content just keeps getting better.
When buying, you can deduct mortgage interest for tax filing. That should be factored in. Plus, there is more flexibility in what you can do with your house when you own it.
Great video. I would love to hear from the dodo birds who make these terrible decisions that lead to abandoned communities. They really should be publicly shamed.
Extremely well done video. This is what financial journalism is about. I was a journalism major in college with a Masters Degree and went into finance many years ago. Your video has inspired me to dust off my journalism skills and make a change. Great work Melody, Travis and Austin.
Great coverage you two! Thank you for your hard working & reporting!!! 🙌
Love watching Melody. You are great Journalist/ reporter😊
👍
Thanks for the insight into Austin, Austin!!!!🤷🤷
Was such a blessing to connect with you while in town. Thank you so much again!
@m3_melody No thank you!!!!! Yall call me for the after apocalypse video 😃
Took me 17 minutes to realize that Austin guy was @dontmove2tx 😭😂 Good job brother 👏
@@MostlyPeacfulRiotsI wish we had the same issue here In San Diego. Yesterday I put an offer at asking price for 775k on a duplex a 6br and 4ba and lost to a bidding war.
Great Job reporting this you two. Very well put together.
BONKERS! Absolutely BONKERS!😂🤣
Absolutely BONKERS
@@realestatemindset why can I hear you say it when you type BONKERS but not hear you when someone else does lol
Great reporting, thanks!
Thanks for this video:) Nice work guys.
Work in Austin live 40 miles from my job. Look at Jarrell, tx house prices are all over the places. New builds 370 and I couldn’t sell my house for 280.
Most of my friends brought for 196k to 250k ...all homes valued at 400k to 500k.
Great video.... appreciate the effort
Love this reporting format, wow!! I was waiting for you guys to stop by the large mobile home development (crammed together) just south of the Tesla factory off Tollroad 130 - you can see it clearly from the Tollroad. Lived in Austin since 1999, recently moved away due to the traffic and congestion.
Great boots on the ground video. I appreciated it even though I don't forsee myself ever moving to Texas at this point in time. Keep up the great work.