Real Estate - How Much in Your Area? | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Real Estate - How Much in Your Area?

Kwanford Wife

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 29, 2004
In Richmond, the housing prices are going up at an alarming rate... When we moved here in November from Detroit, we totally believed the myth that the cost of living was signicifantly cheaper than in Southeast Michigan... What fools we were... If we had stayed in Ferndale ( a 'burb of Detroit) and bought the house I'd wanted for 250k I would've gotten the same square footage (approx. 1800) in an older beautiful, brick house with wooden shutters with the an amazing community feel, a great charter school system, beautiful landscaping & a pool.

Here in Richmond, we spent the same amount for a cul de sac nightmare with thin walls, no basement and "association fees" on a dirt lot (the contractor has yet to lay down the sod...) Yes, the weather is nicer here in January but our electric bill for being forced to run the air conditioner 24/7 has more than doubled my January bill in Michigan.

The good thing? My new house has increased in value approximatly 23% in eight months. The bad thing? I have to live there....
 

RealtorGal

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Many of our clients have made a small fortune on their San Diego homes and left the state, where they could pay cash for new or newer homes in areas such as Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Florida, Arkansas, North Carolina, Virginia, etc. Once I went on line to see what I could buy in a nice part of Virginia if I sold my home (for which I paid under $200K 8 years ago). Wow, was I shocked! I could go from under 1800 s.f. to 4000 s.f. and have acreage to boot! But that's okay, I'll stay in my little house because in San Diego I have 11 months a year of beautiful weather. And my husband's goal is to pay off this house in full.

What keeps me here also is that not only do I not want to pay additional mortgage, I don't want to pay the additional tax on a new home. Tax here is 1%-1.25% of the purchase price. For me to make a significant move, I'd have to go from paying $2000 a year to over $10,000! No way! But you'd be surprised how many clients I've got who are willing to do so just to move up into a newer home.

The housing prices here are obscene. There are some variances depending on the school district or whether it's close to the ocean--location, location, location! Let's see what I've got available right now: a 2002 built 3 br townhome 1548 s.f. value ranged for $550-$600K. A 2200 s.f. home with a pool, needs a lot of updating, $665K-$735K. I Just sold my friend's home in Oceanside, the lowest price coastal town around for $525K, 1700+ s.f. built in 2000. 3 years ago she paid $340K. In escrow I've got a $1 million home, 3900 s.f., 3 years old, beautiful upgrades, a hideously small yard, neighbors so close you could touch them. Oh, and that's the lowest priced home on the street.

People are taking out 100% interest only loans to get into the market. People who said to me 3 years ago that they'll "wait for the market to change" are still living in apartments, amazed that although prices have stabilized here (it is now a buyer's market due to the glut of homes), they have not fallen.

When people here really cannot afford to get into a decent home in this area, they often relocate other more affordable yet "safe" areas outside San Diego.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Location, location, location, indeed. My house, in the city of Detroit, was built in 1929 -- back when they knew how to build houses. :laugh: Move the same house a few miles down the road to one of the trendier suburbs -- I couldn't begin to afford it. In fact, they couldn’t afford to build it.

Plug: If it's a sense of community that you are looking for, move to Detroit. Our neighborhood association just held its annual "stoop day." You never heard of stoop day? That's when everyone sits out on their front porch with a pitcher of lemonade and some home-made cookies to offer the neighbors as they stroll by. I had a nice chat with Opie and Aunt Bee this year.

MM :)
 

Piel

On Edge
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
In Charleston, WV for $450,000 you can get......
Size: 4069 sq. ft.
Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms
Property Amenities:
Hardwood Floors Porch Wooded Lot
Full Basement Central Electric A/C 2 Car Garage
Deck Fireplace(s) Den/Study
Patio Landscaping Pool
Hot Tub

Spacious home in executive class neighborhood. There is a place for everybody and everything in this well planned home. There are 4 bedrooms, 3 full, 2 half baths, 2 fireplaces almost one acre of useable yard, abundant storage and lower level perfect for teens, in laws or guests.


The downside is you must travel out of state for SOI or COI ;)
 

PatriciaMcLinn

Rinkside
Joined
Jul 26, 2005
RealtorGal said:
Once I went on line to see what I could buy in a nice part of Virginia if I sold my home (for which I paid under $200K 8 years ago). Wow, was I shocked! I could go from under 1800 s.f. to 4000 s.f. and have acreage to boot!

What part of Virginia? I'm in No. Va and recently in my neighborhood a house sold for $675 ... then it was torn down to build a new house. So they paid $675 for a lot. A small lot.

Sure am glad I bought "back then"!

BTW, for Gracefulswan: You might also explore renting a house that you really like ... and look for one with an owner who's moving far away, possibly a couple retiring or someone selling because s/he is consolidating with a SO. Because those folks frequently end up wanting to sell. And you'll be in the house, know any potential problem areas, and you can make an offer.

That's what I did. I rented from someone who'd gone overseas. When I was ready to buy, I made an offer. Her agent said she'd never take it and swore up and down that she didn't want to sell and besides, this offer was too low. I said I've made the offer, you're obligated to present it. He did. She accepted.

Always wondered if I should have offered less :laugh:
 

Kwanford Wife

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 29, 2004
Mathman said:
Location, location, location, indeed. My house, in the city of Detroit, was built in 1929 -- back when they knew how to build houses. :laugh: Move the same house a few miles down the road to one of the trendier suburbs -- I couldn't begin to afford it. In fact, they couldn’t afford to build it.

Plug: If it's a sense of community that you are looking for, move to Detroit. Our neighborhood association just held its annual "stoop day." You never heard of stoop day? That's when everyone sits out on their front porch with a pitcher of lemonade and some home-made cookies to offer the neighbors as they stroll by. I had a nice chat with Opie and Aunt Bee this year.

MM :)

Just stop it... You are being so mean... I miss my old Ferndale/Pleasant Ridge/Hunninton Woods life... Don't rub it in... People say such awful things about Detroit, esp. Detroiters, but it really is a great place to live, work & raise children in... Not to mention, with notable exceptions, there are a lot of decent places to live at human prices... :eek:hwell:
 

attyfan

Custom Title
Medalist
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
I live in Ventura -- a coastal city about an hour north from L.A. Houses in my neighborhood -- a planned unit development, from 1400 to 1500 square feet are selling at over half a million dollars (my husband bought ours for 170K over ten years ago) Houses like my mom's, where you can see the ocean by craning your neck near one of the windows, are closer to three quarters of a million, if not more.
 

ElizabethM123

Spectator
Joined
Feb 4, 2004
My Mother, who lives in San Diego, has been in the same house for nearly 40 years and literally cannot afford to move. Originally, the house cost $14,900, was a dinky 3 bedroom, 1 bath - approximately 1800 sq. ft. Needless to say, with 6 of us living in the house, it got interesting at times. 20 years ago she turned the garage into another bedroom and bath and enlarged the kitchen, so it's now probably around 2200 sq. ft. and despite it's slightly 'falling apart' condition, she could still sell it for over $500K because of it's location.

Also, her property taxes are a whole $225.00 twice a year (compared to mine which are over $7K a year in NW Illinois)... Needless to say, she's not moving.

If also have an Aunt in La Jolla, whose home is 60 years old and literally originally a 'trailor-type' home, rolled up to the lot (a very small lot) on railroad tracks, that was built for under $10K and is now worth over a million bucks! Simply incredible!!!!

As for someone trying to buy a first house, it seems with all the new 'interest only' loans they're promoting, that might get a first-timer's foot a least in the door and started.
 

RealtorGal

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Just FYI, if you are over 55 in California, a person may transfer the property tax base ONE TIME ONLY from your old property to the new one. It's a law designed to help seniors downsize without having the additional tax burden.
 

dlkksk8fan

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I bought my house in Carlsbad, CA two years ago for $500,000. It has 3 bds, 4baths, den(which can be a 4th bedroom), loft, 2500sq ft, in a gated community. We have what's called zero lot lines, so my backyard isn't hugh, but big enough for me. Our model goes for about $775,000-$800,000. New homes that are being built about a mile up the street are going for $900,000-1.5million. I'm staying put. I am about 3 miles from the beach and like Rgal said, we have the best weather here in San Diego county.

Unfortunately for the young folk it is almost impossible to buy anything here.
 

Ravyn Rant

Totally 80s Dance Party!
Medalist
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Amazing how high prices are in CA, eh? In 1962, my parents bought a 3 BR, 1.5 bath just south of San Francisco that had been built in the big post-WWII housing boom. It wasn't one of the houses that Malvina Reynolds made famous in "Little Boxes" - the ones that were "all made out of ticky-tacky, and they all look just the same", but those houses are just a few miles away from where I grew up. (For the record, they're still there, and they all look just the same.) That tacky little house would sell for half a million dollars today. Forty-some-odd years ago, my folks paid $18,000 for it.
Yikes!
 
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