It’s really not as bad as they say. Girl I know just sold her house in the Dallas suburbs for $325k to capitalize on the crazy market and downsize to something at $200k and lower her cost of living (smart girl). But to me, growing up in Columbus Ohio, I was shocked to see that this “crazy” Texas real estate market was basically the same as any major city in the Midwest. It’s just that real estate was so cheap there a few years ago comparatively that it catching up with the rest of the country is shocking to long term Texas residents. But the fact that you can still get a nice home for $3-400k in suburban Dallas, or a nice rural home within a half hour of downtown on multiple acres for a mere $200k... I mean that’s not too absurd to me. Kind of a lot less than one would think in a “hot” market.

But I think your numbers are off a bit. 300k down on a 400k mortgage would put one in the range of $750 monthly plus any applicable HOA fees. Can’t imagine insurance and HOA fees working out to nearly $1k monthly on such a house. Most of Texas is on the lower end when it comes to property taxes.