Texas Housing Price Increases Blamed on California

The Housing Bubble Blog quotes The American Stateman: “The number of Californians who moved into Hays, Travis and Williamson counties in 2005 jumped 32 percent from the previous year, and real estate agents helping many of the transplants buy homes here said the numbers did not decline in 2006.”

“Stephanie and John Landers moved from the Laguna Beach area of California to Austin with their two young sons in February 2005, leaving behind a bluff-top home overlooking the Pacific Ocean. ‘Everybody made a lot of money on real estate out there, but it’s kind of like golden handcuffs,’ Stephanie Landers said. ‘If you don’t leave the state, you can’t move anywhere else.’”

“The tremendous amount of money from real estate gains coming out of California helps explain why this relatively small group is often blamed or credited for rising housing prices in Central Texas, even though the majority of California transplants have median incomes no higher than those in the areas into which they are moving.”

“(Realtor) John Rosshirt said California buyers are accustomed to much higher home prices and generally are prepared to pay more than buyers from Texas. This has a ripple effect on the market, Rosshirt said, because buyers who lose out on one house to a California buyer with a higher bid often are willing to pay more the next time.”