My wife, Kiana, and I have been searching since we moved to Austin four years ago.

We're currently renting a house in the Westlake area, which is just five miles west of downtown. We chose it for the schools. We have four kids.

Our initial budget was $400,000 and we wanted a four-bedroom, 2,200 square-foot home.

Within our neighborhood, listings have gone from about $200 a square foot to $300. Do the math: That's $660,000 and that's not for some sprawling estate. It's more like a tract home.

So we increased our budget to $500,000.

We have submitted a dozen offers. We have never made it as far as negotiating the terms. In each instance, we've been outbid.

We considered going further West but most of the school activities, restaurants and cultural things are downtown. We have been priced out of the market -- literally. Now we are planning a move, probably to North Carolina or Tennessee.