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Thread: Wow, this amazed me (housing prices).....

  1. #1
    Senior Member gimmethesimplelife's Avatar
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    Wow, this amazed me (housing prices).....

    I was utterly floored by what I am about to post. As many of you know, I live in Phoenix, Arizona, which is one of the less expensive Western cities to live in. The median housing price here is around $225K the last I looked, but I find myself in a housing situation in which I pay my half of the mortgage every month - my half is $217.50, which is a very long and lucky story how I managed to pull that one off (plus my husband pays half my $217.50 at this point making the bill even less for me!).

    So, my point? I was reading a magazine article recently and was amazed that there are two cities in Massachusetts (Springfield and Worcester) that have lower median housing prices. As do Providence, Rhode Island (where my family on my father's side started out years ago) and Philadelphia, PA. I may be in an incredibly lucky housing situation (and yes, I am) but Phoenix is not as cheap as I perceive it to be if you are fresh on the market here from somewhere else. Wow! That floored me as I lived through the housing crisis of the 80's and early 90's here when you could buy three bedrooms and two baths in a nice area for 55K. Those days are gone!!! Rob

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    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    I sold my grandfather's house in rural Ohio a couple years ago for < $20k. It was an easy commute distance from employment.

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    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    I remember looking wistfully at a craftsman-like cottage in Portland some years ago. They were asking 55k. Houses on that street are going for ten and twenty times that now. File that under "missed opportunities."

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    Senior Member Simplemind's Avatar
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    I hear ya Jane... plus the rent wars in PDX are something else. My kiddo is still at home for the time being while he finishes school. We are afraid that even if he gets into something he can afford the price won't stay for long. I have one niece who now works two full time jobs to pay her rent. Never in her life has one job not covered her expenses. Her sister was in a modest home for years. She was the last hold out from some properties around her and finally sold at a great profit. Her home and the ones surrounding were torn down for a condo a few streets south of the Hawthorne district.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bae View Post
    I sold my grandfather's house in rural Ohio a couple years ago for < $20k. It was an easy commute distance from employment.
    Employment affects leisure time. I am surprised he didn't say he expects to be given an house.

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    Housing prices are something way back when I felt like an expert on in my area along. Now I have no idea where the prices come from on many homes. I am in MI not the boom part of the country for sure, yet 4 times in the last 6 months Realtors have approached us with unsolicited offers. The price of the last one was well above what we paid in 09. 4 Homes in our tiny neighborhood have sold this way in the last few months. One we all said will never appraise, but it did. We are content and I guess I hope the prices stay high when we say it is time to move on.

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    A condo across the street from me sold in one hour with multiple bids. It is nuts but actually one of the lower priced homes in the whole downtown area. I am not moving but we keep getting notes in the mail to contact this or that realtor for info on selling.

  8. #8
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Real Estate prices are crazy in the greater Boston area. I'm in a solidly middle-class town known for having mediocre schools, and the most modest of cape "starter homes" is going for at least $350,000. There is no inventory with the local realtors and anything decent that goes on the market is selling almost immediately.

  9. #9
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    I'd love to sell (heard that before?), but this market is so overheated I'm afraid I'd have to live in my car, or show up with wheelbarrows full of cash just to buy a modest fixer. That's true of both Portland and Seattle markets.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by rosarugosa View Post
    Real Estate prices are crazy in the greater Boston area. I'm in a solidly middle-class town known for having mediocre schools, and the most modest of cape "starter homes" is going for at least $350,000. There is no inventory with the local realtors and anything decent that goes on the market is selling almost immediately.
    Mine's a little ticky tacky post WWII house in Roslindale (neighborhood of Boston for those who don't know that). Bought 2001, the crash dropped the price slightly below what we bought it for, but since then it's close to 200% of original price (if it was fixed up but it's nowhere near that). Not a lot under $350k here, though.

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