Theres at least one reason why Texas homes are cheap(er).
I almost transfered to Austin a few years back, and in comparison to SD, you get a LOT more home for the money. However, the property taxes are a killer. The area we were looking to purchase had something like 2.8-3% annual property taxes, making the $321k steal of a deal not so great.
Paying close to $1k per month in property taxes must be depressing.