Homes for $250k or $450k

From the NY Times, you can read about three homes on the market for $250,000 and three homes on the market for $450,000 in different areas of the country. You can also view the corresponding slideshow for $250k homes and the slideshow for $450k. Gives a nice snapshot of real estate values for different homes in different places.

2 comments:

  1. I scoffed at $450k for the suburban Minneapolis home until I saw the garden and patio area... pretty nice. Then again it is covered in snow half the year.

    Also, $450k for that log cabin in Idaho? Really?

    Man, it feels like you need like a cool $1 million to buy something of significant size and character in our country...

    ReplyDelete
  2. In our Texas > California? discussion, I shared an anecdote on the disparity of property values across the country:

    At my previous employer, I had to go to a training in Austin and spent a few days with people from both California and Texas. This was early in my financial planning career, so I asked aloud why there was a California municipal bond fund, but no Texas municipal bond fund. Municipal bonds are always federal income tax-free and if you purchase a bond from the state in which you reside, it is also state income tax free. This makes a big deal in California and I learned at that time that Texas does not have a state income tax, but they really make up for it in property taxes.

    We had just bought a home the year before in San Diego, so I asked them what property values were like. One gentleman had purchased a home the same size as ours and paid about 40% of our purchase price.

    Even if their property taxes were twice what California is, they are still paying less.

    I brought this to their attention and they were just as caught off guard by the values of homes in California as I was to learn they had no state income tax.

    ReplyDelete