what do homes go for in your area??

[dazzleman]

Housing prices have skyrocketed since 1999 and I think it's a real problem.

The problem is partially offset by much lower interest rates, which lower the monthly payment amounts on any given mortgage amount.

But even taking this into account, prices have skyrocketed.

I bought my first house in 1995 for $198,000.  It's in a good middle class neighborhood in an affluent town, with 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a little over 1/3 acre of land.  I owned it for eight years and did some improvements, the most radical of which was a new kitchen.  I also put on a new roof and installed a new furnace, and painted the entire house inside and out.  I sold it in 2003 for $359,000.  Since then, prices have gone up even more.  A house up the block, smaller and on a smaller piece of land, recently sold for $385,000.

In my current neighborhood, most houses were selling for between $400,000 and $500,000 in the late 1990s.  Now they are selling for $800,000 to $950,000.

It's supply and demand and there's little that can be done.  There is almost no buildable land in the area to increase supply, and the town is considered highly desirable and attracts a lot of high income people.  But I still worry that in many of the older suburbs in the more crowded sections of the country, we are losing economic diversification and large areas are becoming enclaves for the rich or high upper middle class, which I don't find to be such a desirable thing.

[TexasPatriot2024]

300k - 750k but we get much more house for our money than people in the new england area. My mom works with a team in new york and they compared houses and our 2,800 sqr ft home would be worth almost 4 times as much in long island.

[Smash255]

300k - 750k but we get much more house for our money than people in the new england area. My mom works with a team in new york and they compared houses and our 2,800 sqr ft home would be worth almost 4 times as much in long island.

It cuts both ways as far as benefits go.  The same home down where you are is MUCH CHEAPER than here, but the insanity in the esculation of values, if you sell your home within a couple years you could make hundreds of thousands of $$$ on equity alone.

[angus]

I'm strictly an apartment man myself, what with my non-committal nature and all, but I can tell you we looked into buying as an investment recently.  I can say that the difference between the part of Alameda Co., California I lived till August, and the part of Lowndes Co., Mississippi that I have lived in recently are bigger than I would have imagined.  For example, a newly built, never-lived-in home in Alameda County in a small (~50,000) city in a nice Republican (predominantly white) neighborhood with amenities about 3000 square feet cost on the order of 900 thousand dollars.  The same house with the same amenities of the same vintage in the same type of neighborhood in Lowndes County costs about 150 thousand.  Only real differences:  decent schools versus sorely underperforming schools, arid sunbelt climate versus subtropical humid climate, and higher taxes versus lower taxes.  We haven't bought any properties, and are not likely to in the near future, at least till we find that little corner of America where we want to grow old (and after living in more than 30 cities in 11 states I can tell you I haven't found it yet).  But I do investigate the potential for investment, and I am amazed at the nationwide differences.

Another amazing phenomenon is the difference between housing prices over time.  In 1996 I moved into a 3-apartment, 3-story dwelling about 4 miles north of downtown Boston, MA.  I lived there for five years.  The man who bought the property at the time I was moving in (an otherwise well adjusted middle-aged laywer who liked to go onto the internet and pretend he was a 20-something, well-built, gay fireman, no kidding) paid 258 thousand for the property.  In the summer of 2000, about a year before I moved out of the property, he sold the building for 505 thousand dollars.  Nearly a one hundred percent profit over a period of just four years!

Two morals here:  1.  Real estate was a good investment in the period from the mid-90s to the turn of the century.  2.  If one could have a California salary and a Mississippi rent one would have it made in the shade.

Just some observations I thought relevant to the thread. 

[Smash255]

I'm strictly an apartment man myself, what with my non-committal nature and all, but I can tell you we looked into buying as an investment recently.  I can say that the difference between the part of Alameda Co., California I lived till August, and the part of Lowndes Co., Mississippi that I have lived in recently are bigger than I would have imagined.  For example, a newly built, never-lived-in home in Alameda County in a small (~50,000) city in a nice Republican (predominantly white) neighborhood with amenities about 3000 square feet cost on the order of 900 thousand dollars.  The same house with the same amenities of the same vintage in the same type of neighborhood in Lowndes County costs about 150 thousand.  Only real differences:  decent schools versus sorely underperforming schools, arid sunbelt climate versus subtropical humid climate, and higher taxes versus lower taxes.  We haven't bought any properties, and are not likely to in the near future, at least till we find that little corner of America where we want to grow old (and after living in more than 30 cities in 11 states I can tell you I haven't found it yet).  But I do investigate the potential for investment, and I am amazed at the nationwide differences.

Another amazing phenomenon is the difference between housing prices over time.  In 1996 I moved into a 3-apartment, 3-story dwelling about 4 miles north of downtown Boston, MA.  I lived there for five years.  The man who bought the property at the time I was moving in (an otherwise well adjusted middle-aged laywer who liked to go onto the internet and pretend he was a 20-something, well-built, gay fireman, no kidding) paid 258 thousand for the property.  In the summer of 2000, about a year before I moved out of the property, he sold the building for 505 thousand dollars.  Nearly a one hundred percent profit over a period of just four years!

Two morals here:  1.  Real estate was a good investment in the period from the mid-90s to the turn of the century.  2.  If one could have a California salary and a Mississippi rent one would have it made in the shade.

Just some observations I thought relevant to the thread. 

Real estate still is a good investment, you just need to know where to invest.   Long Island, NYC, hudson valley in NY are good places to invest, much of CT are great places to invest, most of Massachuttes (especially near Boston) are good places to invest.  Washington D.C burbs (even the city) itself are good places to invest (Fairfax County, VA especially), much of California especially the Bay Area are great places to invest & so is the Seattle area.  The home values in these areas tend to be quite expensive, but rent out the property and have an interest only mortgage payment it suddenly becomes affordable, then sell the home within a few years and make a profit on the equity.  Haven't done it yet myself, but this is something that i'm really taking into consideration.

[David S]

Advertised prices for new homes  run from about $220,000 for a 1600 sq ft home east of here to
$500,000 to $1,000,000 for something in the 3000 to 4000 sq ft range. Those are really nice large homes at that price.

You could find an older house in the area for under $200,000 but it would probably need lots of work.

[Platypus]

Beachside ab to $3 million (approx. $2.25 million US) and up to $15 million for a penthouse (approx. $11,250,000 US); factoryside about $250,000 (approx. $190,000 US).

The average for the suburb is $482,500 (approx. $360,000 US), and our place is probably about $750,000 (approx. $560,000 US).

There are also lots of Government housing estates, which make up about 10-20% of the suburbs' population, and their cost isn't counted (because they are never sold). There are also still alot of people (like my family) who bought when it was a lot cheaper-in our case 120 years ago . The average house price definently doesn't reflect the economic status of the area. Also, houses sell for quite significantly more then the median, because there are a LOT of apartments. The median for houses would be about $550,000 (approx. $412,500 US), but thats completely a guess.

[Platypus]

We haven't bought any properties, and are not likely to in the near future, at least till we find that little corner of America where we want to grow old (and after living in more than 30 cities in 11 states I can tell you I haven't found it yet).

New Zealand, or if you want to remain in civilisation, Australia.

We're always looking for new English-speaking people (preferably Indian, East Asian (if fluent in English), British or American). Not necessarily my guidelines, but as you fit, you're in (if you want it).

House prices are very very good in American dollar terms. Whilst I live in a rich-er area, you can get good houses in the middle suburbs for about $300,000 Aussie ($225,000 US) or apartments of varying qualityall over the place.

I'd suggest you steer clear of Sydney though, it's house prices are in-bloody-sane.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Whats wrong with a trailer home?  I lived in one for several years.

Manufactured home - 50-75k
Wood Frame House (older) - 60-75k
Block House (old) - 80-90k
Block House (new) - 90-125k

You can still buy a very large house for a rather low price still around here. Some of our old Victorian homes here in town are selling for 125-160k. Land is where the real money is at around here.

They also don't build many wooden homes around here as the termite problem in Florida is absolutely horrendous. We have termites here that can make a house structuraly unsound in under 3 years.

You didn't list the trailer homes.

[??????????]

Whats wrong with a trailer home?  I lived in one for several years.

Manufactured home - 50-75k
Wood Frame House (older) - 60-75k
Block House (old) - 80-90k
Block House (new) - 90-125k

You can still buy a very large house for a rather low price still around here. Some of our old Victorian homes here in town are selling for 125-160k. Land is where the real money is at around here.

They also don't build many wooden homes around here as the termite problem in Florida is absolutely horrendous. We have termites here that can make a house structuraly unsound in under 3 years.

You didn't list the trailer homes.

Actually i did list the "trailer homes" under manufactured homes. I just didnt want to feed the troll, Don. And yes they are actually as nice as new houses. People have big misconceptions as to what a "trailer" is. The only problem I have with them is they never increase in value. It's like buying a car. You never get back for it what you pay into it.

[patrick1]

just wondering what the average home price is and what the values are in everyone's area

here in Nassau County NY (Long Island) home values are skyrocketing.  Average price is around $465,000 in Nassau and around $525,000 in my area, values have skyrocketed here in the last 5-10 years.  What are thhe values in your area?

Pretty f***ing depressing isn't it Smash.  The only values you will really find are in areas that are considered "turning" - read blacks and spanish moving in- like valley stream, elmont for a while now, Baldwin, Malverne(because people don't want their children to go to school with n#ggers (used for effect)  from Southside- heavans forbid.  I laugh when I look through Real Estate books at the amount of codewords they build in to say hey your neighbor wont be black. 

[JohnFKennedy]

I think the average house price in my borough is about £169,000, t'is one of the lowest in London (third lowest IIRC).

[Smash255]

just wondering what the average home price is and what the values are in everyone's area

here in Nassau County NY (Long Island) home values are skyrocketing.  Average price is around $465,000 in Nassau and around $525,000 in my area, values have skyrocketed here in the last 5-10 years.  What are thhe values in your area?

Pretty f***ing depressing isn't it Smash.  The only values you will really find are in areas that are considered "turning" - read blacks and spanish moving in- like valley stream, elmont for a while now, Baldwin, Malverne(because people don't want their children to go to school with n#ggers (used for effect)  from Southside- heavans forbid.  I laugh when I look through Real Estate books at the amount of codewords they build in to say hey your neighbor wont be black. 

Most homes even in those areas still go for 350-450k

[dazzleman]

just wondering what the average home price is and what the values are in everyone's area

here in Nassau County NY (Long Island) home values are skyrocketing.  Average price is around $465,000 in Nassau and around $525,000 in my area, values have skyrocketed here in the last 5-10 years.  What are thhe values in your area?

Pretty f***ing depressing isn't it Smash.  The only values you will really find are in areas that are considered "turning" - read blacks and spanish moving in- like valley stream, elmont for a while now, Baldwin, Malverne(because people don't want their children to go to school with n#ggers (used for effect)  from Southside- heavans forbid.  I laugh when I look through Real Estate books at the amount of codewords they build in to say hey your neighbor wont be black. 

It's true that there's a huge difference in price between school districts that are predominantly white and those that are mixed, or heavily black.

In my area, there are few mixed districts.  Most are either 90+% white, or heavily black and latino.  And the premium you pay to be in a predominantly white district is enormous.  Of course, that's not the only factor.  The more expensive areas have lower crime, higher quality of life, offer more recreation, etc.

It's funny to see how pervasive this situation is in the liberal northeast, where people are always patting themselves on the back for being so "tolerant" and passing judgment on other sections of the country.