Californians are arriving in Montana in droves. But they're not welcome.

[susanr516]

51. It's not that simple

I live in Corpus Christi. There are a lot of people relocating here due to our "cheap" home prices. However, they're getting screwed and those of us who are long-time residents are also getting screwed. Honestly, only the people who are trying to sell their homes get an advantage when property values increase. The rest of us (unless you're 65+ and claim the homestead exemption, which freezes the amount you pay in most property taxes) see no benefit from a property tax increase on our homes.

If you're from CA, I understand that you'd think a 2000 sq. ft. 3 br 2 bath home on a canal on N. Padre Island, priced under 1 million is a real bargain. Nope, it's not. Port Aransas has the highest average home prices in Nueces County, and the median price for a home there was 460K at the end of 2019, which was up 28.7% from the year before. That trend continues.

Couple that with the fact Nueces County is one of the 14 TX counties (out of 254) which are designated as first-tier coastal counties with the highest probabilities of windstorm damage. Windstorm insurance is required here (unless you've paid off your mortgage.) I have a 2200 sq ft house. Latest county appraisal value is $191K. Guess what I pay for homeowner's insurance? Nope, it's more than that. This year, it's $3387.36. Fortunately, my home is on one of the highest bluffs in the county, so I'm not required to purchase flood insurance.

What's happening here is that there are bidding wars going on for desirable properties. Houses on N. Padre Island that go on the market end up in a biding war. I have a realtor friend who said it's not unusual to get 20 offers over the list price the first day an island home is listed.