In regards to the racks in S.F.- moved here from Salt Lake City, The deer in Cali are incredibly small next to the nice mulies i used to chase in the wasatch mountains right next to town. This is so not the right place to move if you deer hunt. To the Cali hunters sure to flame me for this post - yes I have drawn an X Zone tag - you need to go hunt Utah is all I can say!
Sooo, how much you wanna spend....? 12 Topekas. 1 Beverly Hills. Tough Trade CNNMoney.com By Les Christie Coldwell Banker's House Price Comparison Index reveals how much the same size home sells for in 342 U.S. markets. Pity the poor, modern-day Jed Clampett, exchanging the simple and inexpensive life of the Ozarks for the glitz, glamor - and prices - of Beverly Hills. A typical middle-class house in the Southern California city now costs more than 10 times what a similar place sells for near Clampett's old stomping grounds, Fort Smith, Ark. That's according to the Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index released Wednesday. The index provides apples-to-apples comparisons of 342 U.S. markets, looking at the cost of a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, 2,200 square foot house with a two-car garage in a nice, middle-class neighborhood. This year, that home in Beverly Hills costs $1.8 million; in Minot, N.D. it's just $132,333 - a difference of nearly 14 times from the most expensive to least expensive market. "Each year the difference between the most and least expensive city is growing," says Jim Gillespie, Coldwell Banker's CEO. Last year La Jolla, Calif. was the most expensive U.S. city in Coldwell Banker's database, but prices dropped about 6 percent in the past 12 months to $1.76 million. That was still good enough for third place. Santa Monica, Calif. just barely edged it out. Among the major omissions from the list are Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City. Coldwell Banker explains that the number of single-family homes it sells in Manhattan is too low to calculate for the purposes of the index. Joining Minot on the least expensive list are last year's winner, Killeen, Texas, at $140,310, and Arlington, Texas, $140,975. Killeen prices rose 7.3 percent while Minot's fell by 0.7 percent. Topeka, Kan. at $148,050, ranks No. 5 on the least expensive list. Almost all of the costliest markets in the country can be found on the East and West Coasts. California had nine of the top 10 most expensive markets with Greenwich, Connecticut the lone exception. "California is where people want to be," says Gillespie, sounding a little like Jed's kin folk, "where there's good climate, mountains and the ocean." Other states over-represented on the most expensive list were Connecticut, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida and Hawaii. Chicago, where such a house costs about $916,667, is the most expensive inland city. Coldwell Banker also surveyed 42 international markets where the company sells properties. Milan, Italy came in as the most expensive foreign city in the company's network. A house there costs about the same as in Beverly Hills. (see table) Texas has more inexpensive places than any other state; it placed three of its cities in the top 10 for affordability. In no Texas city does the average house of this type cost more than $300,000. Dallas, at $288,278, is the most expensive. Michigan and Ohio also have many inexpensive housing markets. The costliest city in Ohio, Columbus, averages $251,364 for this kind of house and in Ann Arbor, Michigan, it goes for $324,500. In Canton, Ohio, though, that home can be bought for $148,333 and in Grayling, Michigan it would cost $144,250. One significant finding, according to Gillespie, is how many markets out there are still very affordable, even after the outsized price increases of recent years. "These are more expensive than average homes," he says, "yet 29 percent of the markets we reported on indicated that their surveyed home was below the National Association of Realtors national median home price of $225,000. About 47 percent of the markets we surveyed averaged less than $300,000 for these very nice houses."
Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index: Most Expensive 25 State City/Metro 2006 Sale Price CA Beverly Hills $1,800,000 CA Santa Monica $1,766,666 CA La Jolla $1,762,500 CA Santa Barbara $1,700,000 CA Palo Alto $1,652,042 CA Newport Beach $1,566,250 CA San Jose $1,410,662 CT Greenwich $1,403,750 CA San Mateo $1,366,139 CA San Francisco $1,363,750 CA Palos Verdes $1,337,000 MA Boston $1,275,000 MA Wellesley $1,182,500 CA Oakland $1,100,000 CA Thousand Oaks $1,099,000 CA Long Beach $1,017,500 NJ Ridgewood $1,009,750 CA San Rafael $991,667 CA Fremont $983,050 HI Kihei, Maui $935,000 CA Santa Cruz $933,333 CA Pasadena $931,228 CA Monterey Peninsula $926,250 IL Chicago $916,667 NY Katonah $912,000 Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index: Least Expensive 25 State City/Metro 2006 Sale Price ND Minot $132,333 TX Killeen $140,310 TX Arlington $140,975 MI Grayling $144,250 KS Topeka $148,050 OH Canton $148,333 OK Tulsa $148,575 MT Billings $150,141 TX Fort Worth $151,250 MI Cadillac $151,530 WV Beckley $152,000 TX Houston $155,304 ME Augusta $156,125 TX Lubbock $158,225 MT Great Falls $159,000 WI Eau Claire $161,531 WV Parkersburg $162,667 GA Macon $166,300 SD Sioux Falls $170,775 NY Binghamton $171,135 SD Aberdeen $171,625 OH Toledo $173,700 IN Fort Wayne $175,038 OH Dayton $175,250 IN Evansville $175,437 Full List: http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/26/real_estate/costliest_housing_cities_for_middle_managment/index1.htm
jobs move to places with less expensive housing. There are places where you can still pick up houses for 20k in the US still. I would buy in these places, but stay away from metropolitian places. Personally I think a middle class person should not have to pay over 100k for a house, but now you have middle class people thinking they are getting a bargin when they are paying 300k for a 1300 square foot house. So now you got the wife out working to help with the mortgage to afford a house thats really not worth IMO 75k. A middle class man can not take care of his family anymore, he needs his wife to help pay the bills and sub-contract out parenting for the kids. I hope interest rates go back to 17% like they did 25 years ago and put housing back in its place. Its so sad that people have to use 75% of their income to go to housing.
"So now you got the wife out working to help with the mortgage to afford a house thats really not worth" That is the biggest problem right there. In my 20s, I felt like a champ and thought I would be healthy/strong forever. I still feel confident, but I dont have that same energy today. I've gained a few extra pounds and as much as I work out, Im just not as sharp as I was when I was in my 20s. Whats my point? Many couples bank on the fact that they will both be able to work into the future. However, as I stated above, things change as you get older. What are the chances of one person experiencing a health problem and not being able to work? There is always a chance. . .
If I had a choice? No, I would buy in Germany, which is currently the cheapest real estate in the industrialised world, relative to historical valuations & other fundamentals.
This table proves what most RE bears have long thought. Texas is damn good value, relative to the rest of the US. If you want to avoid losing 300k equity, but stay in a viable urban US location with reasonable jobs, move to the Lone Star State. Houston in 2006 at $155k is a pretty good bargain, I would say.
Too true. Ever been to the "End of the world bar" on the west side of North Bimini? Played the deceptively simple yet difficult "hoop game" with a local that can fling it from behind his back and land perfectly? That is a crazy place, especially if a few rich yachties are around, or anytime during spring break. And the fishing there is amazing - catch some mahi-mahi and then get back to Miami, call around a few restaurants and ask them to cook it for you that evening for dinner. Nothing quite like eating your own catch, with a top chef preparing it for you.
Dear god, I may be a sacriligeous atheist, but please let people like this continue to put their money into the markets. Thank you.