New to Real Estate and Not Sure If Austin is a Good Idea

[Kaya Spicer]

First time posting; hopefully, I am doing this correctly.

So I am interested in investing in Texas, specifically Austin, Dallas, SA, and Houston. I am a newbie, no properties yet. I have saved about 25k and been pre-approved for 430K and will be using the VA loan for my first purchase of owner occupancy. So having read several books, listened to podcasts, and attended a few REI webinars, I felt ready to begin. Then I came to Austin to purchase last week. I have been looking at houses in the area between 350K-400K. I was outbid on a few places, and I understand that the house in the Austin area is going for 15-20 percent over the asking price. I am clutching my coins, feeling afraid and doubting myself. Anyway, I wanted to get the opinion of someone with more experience as to whether this Austin market is a good place to start?

We live in the DMV.

Kaya and Eric