I will never be able to afford a house in California...

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I think I'm just not going to buy a house until the market crashes. I just can't get behind the idea of buying when a price is high on something.

Prices may continue to go up!

Thats why so many people are buying now, because they're sure that it'll keep going up. But the economy is limping, the interest rates are going up and home owners are already stretching themselves super thin to make it work. Something is going to have to give eventually, and I'm afraid of buying a home and then having its worth drop into the toliet five years later when the market crashes.

I can't afford one now anyway, well, at the prices they are at I can't, so its really a nonissue to me.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

I live in Canton/Massillon area and I can attest to the cheap housing. The houses are cheap because most of them directly surrounding downtown are decrepit and ~80-100 years old. The great thing is, within 5-10 miles from downtown, the area is littered with quiet newer developments that are perfect for raising a family and the prices are still great.

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I think I'm just not going to buy a house until the market crashes. I just can't get behind the idea of buying when a price is high on something.

You will be waiting for a while.



Tom

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I think I'm just not going to buy a house until the market crashes. I just can't get behind the idea of buying when a price is high on something.

Prices may continue to go up!

Thats why so many people are buying now, because they're sure that it'll keep going up. But the economy is limping, the interest rates are going up and home owners are already stretching themselves super thin to make it work. Something is going to have to give eventually, and I'm afraid of buying a home and then having its worth drop into the toliet five years later when the market crashes.

I can't afford one now anyway, well, at the prices they are at I can't, so its really a nonissue to me.

Interest rates have actually been going down again.

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: dquan97

Originally posted by: jemcam

This is what I got for $200,000 in 1999 when I moved to central IL

I just bought a 1000sq ft condo in Sacramento for a bit more than that!!

Sorry to hear that. My house is 6000 sf!

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I think I'm just not going to buy a house until the market crashes. I just can't get behind the idea of buying when a price is high on something.

Prices may continue to go up!

Thats why so many people are buying now, because they're sure that it'll keep going up. But the economy is limping, the interest rates are going up and home owners are already stretching themselves super thin to make it work. Something is going to have to give eventually, and I'm afraid of buying a home and then having its worth drop into the toliet five years later when the market crashes.

I can't afford one now anyway, well, at the prices they are at I can't, so its really a nonissue to me.

Interest rates have actually been going down again.

And the economy isn't limping either.

 

[bunker]

I live in #3 and just bought a house in Sept.

3 bed 2 bath 1400 sq/ft ranch on 1/2 acre. When we finish the basement it will be approximately 2400 sq/ft of living space.

$160k

Yay for affordable housing

 

[LordMorpheus]

Stl = 16th

Good place to be.

 

[ILikeStuff]

Aye!

 

[SALvation]

Nice to see a bunch of Michigan cities as affordable. Although mine's not on the list, its still nice to be able to build a brand new 1950 sq ft home for $225k.

 

[tec699]

Originally posted by: Chadder007
LOL....least affordable states are all Democrat controlled.

Haha! Jealous? My father probably makes 3 times more then you ever will in your lifetime. Don't be jealous that you live in a state that is nothing but poor rednecks.

 

[MisterCornell]

Originally posted by: tec699

Originally posted by: Chadder007
LOL....least affordable states are all Democrat controlled.

Haha! Jealous? My father probably makes 3 times more then you ever will in your lifetime. Don't be jealous that you live in a state that is nothing but poor rednecks.

When we lived on Long Island, the housing was expensive. But at least it was Long Island. You live in NJ. What are you bragging about?

 

[RadeonGuy]

Originally posted by: Chadder007
LOL....least affordable states are all Democrat controlled.

Thats because those states kick ass

 

[toant103]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
The DC area isn't on there, but it's friggin insane out here.

i know. NOVA is crazy too. crapy 2 bedroom apartment in Annandale cost $1400/month

 

[EpsiIon]

Originally posted by: ivol07
25 most-affordable and least-affordable housing markets

I hope the big one hits pretty soon so I can finally be able to afford a house. I'm currently living in Orange County and the last place I looked at was a 2 bedroom condo for $550k. Hmmmm....let me think about that. I think it's time to buy a house in another state and rent it till I'm ready to move in.

Isn't it funny that "The Big One" will drive down prices AFTER it comes?

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: KnightBreed
I live in Canton/Massillon area and I can attest to the cheap housing. The houses are cheap because most of them directly surrounding downtown are decrepit and ~80-100 years old. The great thing is, within 5-10 miles from downtown, the area is littered with quiet newer developments that are perfect for raising a family and the prices are still great.

I'd say in general, I'd rather have a well built 80-100 year old house that needs a little work, than the absolute garbage they slap together today. Vinyl siding, particle board flooring, nailed drywall, poor insulation, cut corners wherever they can. You can bet these things aren't going to last 80-100 years without being completely rebuilt from the ground up. I've heard them called McMansions, and I couldn't imagine a more fitting term.

 

[IAteYourMother]

Originally posted by: tec699

Originally posted by: Chadder007
LOL....least affordable states are all Democrat controlled.

Haha! Jealous? My father probably makes 3 times more then you ever will in your lifetime. Don't be jealous that you live in a state that is nothing but poor rednecks.

Gotta love that user rating...

 

[Koing]

My house will cost ~ £250k ~ $450 and be a lot smaller then ones in the states!

Koing

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Triumph

Originally posted by: KnightBreed
I live in Canton/Massillon area and I can attest to the cheap housing. The houses are cheap because most of them directly surrounding downtown are decrepit and ~80-100 years old. The great thing is, within 5-10 miles from downtown, the area is littered with quiet newer developments that are perfect for raising a family and the prices are still great.

I'd say in general, I'd rather have a well built 80-100 year old house that needs a little work, than the absolute garbage they slap together today. Vinyl siding, particle board flooring, nailed drywall, poor insulation, cut corners wherever they can. You can bet these things aren't going to last 80-100 years without being completely rebuilt from the ground up. I've heard them called McMansions, and I couldn't imagine a more fitting term.

True, but I don't much care if the house we bought lasts 80 years, or even 50 for that matter. I'll be long gone by then We bought new and it's been gorgeous. Not a single problem. Not even a touch of paint required to get it up to snuff. No leaks, no new roofing needed, no walls that are rotting, no cracks around joints, etc.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: Kermy
Wow, knew it was expensive here in SLO, but never realized it was more expensive than SF.

It's not more expensive - it's less affordable. There are a lot more high paying jobs available in SF than there are in SLO. People with high paying jobs can afford to live in SF.

The days of 100K HTML jobs are long gone.

A lot of the people buying these houses are from out of state and other are people who are just upgrading a little since their houses went up so much themselves.

First time home buyers in the Bay Area are very rare.

We moved to the Sacramento area because it was the only place we could afford a house on just my salary. We had our house appraised recently and it has literally doubled in value. We've been there less than three years. We're living in a house we could never dream of affording now. If we hadn't moved when we did, we'd be like all my similarly aged co-workers and friends who are looking at 6+ years before they can even get into a condo or shack.

You can still get a nice 2/3 bedroom house in a desirable area of Suthern Cali for ~$250k

not a 'fixer-upper'.

Try Yucca Valley/Joshua Tree. The nearby Coachella Valley (Palm Springs is 30 minutes commute by car to Yucca Valley) is experiencing an eXplosion of growth (with housing in the mid 300s) due to Indian Gaming and warm Winters. I live even closer to Palm Springs - 20 miles to downtown - and bought my house in the HiDesert for $25,000 on 2-1/2 acres 20 years ago . . . . my neighbors all have horses and it is a nice neighborhood . . . . needless to say my oriniginal investment has 10x'ed (plus).

Oh year, did i mention we were 75 F yesterday. . . . not bad for mid-Jan

:thumbsup:

you gotta know where to look

there are STILL bargains in Cali . . . just don't move here - it is starting to get crowded.
:roll:

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: ivol07
25 most-affordable and least-affordable housing markets

I hope the big one hits pretty soon so I can finally be able to afford a house. I'm currently living in Orange County and the last place I looked at was a 2 bedroom condo for $550k. Hmmmm....let me think about that. I think it's time to buy a house in another state and rent it till I'm ready to move in.

Sure...move here to Texas where that 2-bedroom condo will probably cost $50k

But remember, you get what you pay for

 

[lobadobadingdong]

why would you want to live in cali anyway?

high taxes, high cost of living, high housing, high traffic, high crime/murder rate, high likelyhood of falling off the face of the earth when the "big one" hits, high likelyhood of dying from falling mud, etc. etc. I can go on like that for a long time about why one shouldn't live in cali.

 

[Gibson486]

Lowell, Mass.-N.H.????

What are they talking about? Lowell is this big stink pile. Unless they magically neglected 95% of the city (Lowell Belvidare = the %5), there is no way Lowell or most of it's surrounding area is that expensive. even if you factor in Andover and the rich part od tewksbury, value should not be that high.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: lobadobadingdong
why would you want to live in cali anyway?

high taxes, high cost of living, high housing, high traffic, high crime/murder rate, high likelyhood of falling off the face of the earth when the "big one" hits, high likelyhood of dying from falling mud, etc. etc. I can go on like that for a long time about why one shouldn't live in cali.

property taxes are fixed . . . . it stays at the rate you purchase it at (i pay $750 a year).

the area i live in, the crime rate is relatively low . . . i'd rather the occasional 'shaker' copmpared to the hurricanes, ice storms and hurricanes the rest of the USA faces regularly. . . . . falling mud? you gotta KNOW where you are moving to before you buy.

AWESOME weather . . . . it's 85F where i work today and 75 F where i live.
:roll:

i am in the hi desert, 2 - 2-1/2 hours drive from LA or SD including the beach and less than 1-1/2 hours to skiing.

Plus there is a GREAT party life here . . . .

priceless.
:roll:

 

[Fausto]

Huh...my hometown is #2 most affordable.