Grrrr - home prices

[eeyore74]

So DH and I were looking online at houses. We found a gorgeous one in our price range, and not too far out in the boonies. Go to check it out... they don't add the lot price to the advertised price. So adding another 60-70 grand pushes it way out of our price range.

I just don't get how they charge so much.

An even sadder eeyore....

 

[liznboys]

It is crazy how expensive houses are in some areas...my own area included. We couldn't even afford to buy our own house! (We bought it before the prices skyrocketed...boy do we thank our lucky stars for that!!)

Good luck in finding your new home!!

 

[bananiem]

I'm sorry! I've been frustrated when looking for homes too. Sometimes I'm surprised at how much they ask for when you get so little!
But I really wanted to respond to tell you that I found a new development in our area called "Hundred Acre Woods". Perhaps you could find a home there, eeyore74!

 

[eeyore74]

I would love to live in Hundred Acre Wood!! Where in MN is it?

We've got a nice little condo now, but we've outgrown it. Plus they have such strict pet laws that Duncan may never get a brother or sister.

 

[btass]

I grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, daugther #4 of immigrants that came with nothing in the 60's. I could never in my lifetime afford to buy a house in this town now. Median price is $1.2 million for a shack that is falling down!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by btass
I grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, daugther #4 of immigrants that came with nothing in the 60's. I could never in my lifetime afford to buy a house in this town now. Median price is $1.2 million for a shack that is falling down!

That's sounds about what homes near Boston suburbs cost too. There are some homes I've seen listed in the area where I grew up for anywhere from $800,000 up in the millions.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

It is unreal. I do settlements everyday and I am shocked at what some people are paying for homes in our area. My DH and I bought our first condo in 1996 for $94,000, sold it in 1998 for $110,000. I was THRILLED. I see them now coming in at $212,000.00 I only wish there was a way for us to have held on to it as in investment property. It is so amazing.

 

[winniedapooh]

The house I grew up in was under 1000 sq. feet of living space and on a "nice" lot. It is about 75+ years old with a field stone cellar, can you say water? It just sold for 189,900 and sold in under a week because it was so cheap. If we had to pay for our house now I would be living on the street!

 

[aprincessmom]

There was an interesting article in this weekend's Boston Globe about housing costs in MA. The average price of housing is now 6 times what it was in 1980 yet the salaries are only 3 times what they were then. In addition, there are some areas that have had a 150-200% increase in prices in the past four years -- that's right houses have increase by 150-200% from 1999 to 2003.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ma.../12/would_you_pay_a_million_dollars_for_this/

It's really a great article.

 

[snoopy]

I just don't see how first time home buyers can afford it without either a HUGE inheritance/gift from someone, or a huge salary. I really feel for the young couples just starting out in this area -- DH and I were lucky that we we able to start small and work our way up in real estate. Even the smallest place around here will cost you a half a million dollars. Its just outrageous.

 

[SEAlla]

Eeyore74 -

Doesn't that stink. We just went through the same thing. The lots ranged from $60,000 - $140,000. The cheaper ones backed up to other house or a road and the more expensive ones were on corners, backed up to a lake or golf course. There are so many things involved in building a house and it seems every decision you make adds to the price.

Just remember if you want extras not included in the base price, choose structural (like a bay window) over cosmetic (such as a finished basement). Later if you decide do cosmentic work with an independent contractor, it will cost a whole lot less than structural work.


Snoopy and liznboys-

We are in the same area as you (DC metro area). It is outrageous.

About 10 years ago my parents bought some land near the river and built a house but before that in '76 they bought a house in the same town for $90,000. Do you know what that 25 y/o house on 1/2 acre is selling for now? $790,000 dollars. It is crazy. And there is nothing special about it except for the town it is in jacks up the price. Granted that isn't much more than we paid, but we are in a different town, have more sq ftge, and our house is brand new.

Susan

 

[AllyandJack]

I left MA because of the housing prices. I was looking at these shacks close to Worcester for about $400,000. $400,000 was our self-imposed limit. I did not want to be a slave to a house - especially a crappy house with no land around it.

So, I moved to NH. I bought 4.5 acres of land and built a 3,000 sq foot Colonial home on it for over $100,000 less than the shack in MA. My parents didn't like the idea of me moving to another state - I'm about an hour away, it's not that bad! Thankfully, I appear to have bought just as prices in NH are starting to rocket up. I just had an appraisal done for a refinance and it appraised for nearly $400,000! Now I wonder where the MA people will go to find a decent, affordable home since NH was where we all came.

I say now that you have SELL a home to be able to BUY a home. Who has $80,000 saved up?? Even if you do a low/no downpayment loan, the monthly payments are going to be impossible to make.

 

[barbeml]

I bought my tiny little (1400 sf, no basement, no garage) townhome for $113,000 in 1993. I could sell it today (and I mean today, they don't last on my street) for $290,000.

While I could manage to buy it at that price, I wouldn't want to!! The single-family homes in our development are going for over $600,000, and they are on postage-stamp-sized lots.

I don't know how so many people can afford $600,000 for a house with an annual tax bill of $10,000 on top of that.

 

[jrydberg]

Heck, I bought a place in northern VA last year (Sept. 1) and places in my townhouse community are now selling for $100,000 more than I paid a year ago.

Prices will level off as interest rates climb though. Historically low interest rates allow people to afford a much higher price tag on a house. It also makes people more inclined to buy now rather than continuing to rent. Thus, more people in the market buying than selling -- prices go up.

 

[sk8belle]

eeyore74:

It seems like it's bad all over. I'm in the same area as snoopy, SEAlla and liznboys, looking for a 1 or 2 bdrm condo. My price range is $150-190K and it's nearly impossible for me to find anything. All the new construction is "luxury". Can't someone build a place for just regular people? Not all of us can afford "luxury"! Even the existing condos are expensive. The one that makes me laugh is the new set of buildings going up on Jeff Davis Hwy., a rather busy thoroughfare. These condos are going to back up against a set of Metro/train tracks and be right under the flight paths for Nat'l Airport. This is not going to be a quiet area. Yet the starting price for these condos is $300K. Unbelievable. I keep hoping prices will drop some time soon, but that's probably delusional on my part.

Good luck, eeyore. I hope you find something affordable.

sk8belle

 

[brerrabbit]

I knew there was a reason I never wanted to live in the northeast.

I thought house prices were getting bad here but they are nothing compared to what yall are paying. We bought our house ( 4 bedroom, 2900 sq ft 4 car garage on a 1/4 acre lot) for $137,000 in 1993. To day its worth about $190,000. With that kind of money here you can still buy in a lot of places that you would want to live. Our biggest gripe is property taxes, its how the state funds education and they average about 3% of your appraised value.

 

[CamColt]

I agree prices have gone crazy. We bought a new home here in MA 5 1/2 years ago. Its gone up probably 150,000.00 in value since then. We definitely wouldnt have been able to afford it new now.
I laugh when I see adds in the paper for "starter homes" at 300,000.00.

 

[SEAlla]

sk8belle-

Yea, new neighborhoods everywhere. I can't stand the traffic as it is now. The say in our area there is no rush hour anymore because it is rush hour all the time. They are supposed to be building 25,000 more home out in my area. Granted I am part of the probblem beacuse we just built a new home but if we didn't someone else would have.

Traffic is only going to get worse. I tell my husband that they need to start mandating expansion in this area. It is getting out of control.

You mention these condos that are going up in a hig noise area. My favoirte is when I see a house being built on road that has a and is super busy. I can't imagine living there because they have to turn right (if they can get into the traffic) drive a mile down to do a uturn if the wanted to make a left out of their driveway.

There is no way the people who bought those houses were from around here or they would have known better. The agent probably showed it to them when the agent knew the traffic was at its lightest.

Susan

 

[LindaG4458]

Originally posted by aprincessmom
There was an interesting article in this weekend's Boston Globe about housing costs in MA. The average price of housing is now 6 times what it was in 1980 yet the salaries are only 3 times what they were then. In addition, there are some areas that have had a 150-200% increase in prices in the past four years -- that's right houses have increase by 150-200% from 1999 to 2003.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ma.../12/would_you_pay_a_million_dollars_for_this/

It's really a great article.

I thought one point in that article was very interesting: People are refusing jobs at universities, hospitals, and excellent businesses in the Boston area because they can't afford housing. Something has got to give!

Every Sunday I read the real estate ads for my old town in the Globe. I look for open houses in areas with which I am familiar. The prices are scary! One in my old neighborhood, a small garrison, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, tiny lot, was for sale for $379,900!!! This is not an exclusive community, either! How can young couples make it?

 

[chrissyk]

Originally posted by AllyandJack
I left MA because of the housing prices. I was looking at these shacks close to Worcester for about $400,000. $400,000 was our self-imposed limit. I did not want to be a slave to a house - especially a crappy house with no land around it.

We just sold that house last Tuesday, LOL! Actually, it sold above your self-imposed limit The buyers were SO happy to get it too We sold FSBO, since there is just no point in having a realtor when people are begging to buy your crapshack for an insane price. Our house was a total crapshack when we bought it 6 1/2 years ago. We put like 20K into renovating it and sold it for 2 1/2 times what we paid for it We're now happily in our lovely, brand new house in FL MA people, get out while the getting is good!!