Housing costs

imoldernu

imoldernu

Gone but not forgotten
Joined
Jul 18, 2012
Messages
6,335
Location
Peru
Thought you might be interested in what it costs to live in a small town in Illinois. Just for fun, see what you could get for $250K. Do the "sort" ...high to low, or low to high.

https://www.coldwellbanker.com/for-sale-homes/Peru-IL-17842c

We live in Peru, Il. 10,000 people. The other day, jeanie and I took a drive down the old part of town, where you can buy a pretty nice home for under $100K. What was nice to see, is that even the tiny homes, down by the river,.. built back in the early 1900's ... are well maintained, yards, neat and taken care of.

Great town... no crime, no traffic. Everthing you'll ever need withn 5 miles, and very nice people.

All of the other towns shown are with 25 miles of Peru.

I like this one. 35 inside pics.
https://www.coldwellbanker.com/property/728-26th-St-Peru-IL-61354/98235643/detail?src=list

How much would this one cost in California? The popcorn machine is in the basement.

https://www.coldwellbanker.com/property/10-Baker-Park-Ave-Peru-IL-61354/98334855/detail?src=list

How do the prices compare to your area?
 
Last edited:
That looks nearly identical to a little town near me, but with only 4500 population. The prices are very similar...Bluffton, Ohio.
 
I would say that the home prices in your area are very inexpensive. But so many of those with the cheapest prices are not considered modern homes. The more modern homes per square foot are substantially higher than comps in our ULCOL area.

I used to work in Central Illinois after college for 3 years, and worked as far north as Watseka. Your part of Illinois is especially beautiful if you're into agriculture--with magnificent farms. But we're more into mountains and lakes, and our lifestyles and interests are just a little different. We have a 6 mile water view to the west, and a 24' boat hanging in a boathouse 40 feet from our front door. But home is home, no matter where you live.
 
nancyfrank232 said:
How are the medical facilities there?
Click to expand...

The very best part of living here. We've lived in 22 different towns, and this is far and away the best. Two incredibly great hospitals within 5 minutes of our home. Illinois Valley Community Hospital (IVCH) and St. Margarets. Not just hospitals, but doctors too. Some of the very best in Illinois.

https://www.ivch.org/

https://aboutsmh.org/

They treat us the way they'd take care of their parents. Great reputation.
 
Last edited:
That's a beautiful home.
Here in northern NJ, it would be $800,000??

We have our ideal retirement home on a small lake, purchased last year for $316,000. Taxes are $5800 annually. Only 900 sq ft but plenty for us two.
It is in a small city with walkable downtown, easy access to beaches, mountains and NYC.
Costs are about 1/3 of the family home we sold.

I know NJ is way out of line for housing costs but it's where all our family is, so were not leaving.

Very glad that there are parts of our country that have affordable choices for many.
 
Here in San Francisco Bay Area, CA. I would guess. Between $ 1 and 2 million.
Depending which part of the Bay Area.
 
I like some of those sweet little bungalows. They're expensive here in San Diego, probably at least $500K unrenovated. That's why we'll be moving when we retire.
 
Much to small for us. Plus we have tons of events to choose from all the time. I grew up in the Midwest and I am not fond of the weather. Good thing we don’t all want the same thing:))
 
Could be real content in a couple of the sub-$100k houses shown - but I'm a sucker for 1910 era places.
 
Last edited:
A comparable house where we are is more expensive and property taxes are higher.
 
Love the park there.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0089FB.jpg
    IMG_0089FB.jpg
    1 MB · Views: 21
Many houses in our complex are in the 125 sq ft range, which appears to be comparable with the some of the larger houses in Peru, Ill.
 
I've thought about Peru. We live in Champaign. The university/sports/family keep us here. There are beautiful parks and outdoor recreation in Peru or near there. It's a lovely area. And you're not surrounded by corn and bean fields.
 
We live in Argyle Maine, population 235.

We own 150 acres with a quarter-mile of river frontage, in a barndominium farmhouse of 2400 sq ft, valued at around $90k. Our annual taxes are $857.

We are about 25 minutes from two hospitals, shopping malls, banks, an international airport, and an assortment of college campuses.

The most expensive home in our town is around $150k. I routinely see homes around here starting at $30k.
 
Imoldernu, that house on 26th street is beautiful and would cost over $700K in my neighborhood.

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD:

Housing prices have really gone up here. When I bought my Dream Home four years ago, I paid the asking price of $225K for it and felt it was overpriced (but it was worth it to me). I suppose my home is a little nicer than average for this neighborhood but that could be my bias talking.​

Now, there are ZERO homes in our neighborhood that are for sale for under $400K. Zero. And several are in the $600K-$800K range. I used to think that housing prices here were average to low, but now I don't feel that way. There are other neighborhoods in our suburb where the prices have not gone up quite so much, but apparently ours has been targeted as "desirable" for some reason because the selling prices here are completely insane.

Recently a vacant lot with no house on it at all sold for more than I paid for my Dream Home in 2015, and that lot is just around the corner and no bigger than my lot. The world has gone mad.​

OUR SUBURB:

For our entire suburb (not just our neighborhood), the median list price currently is $325K but a year ago it was $299K. Most homes in our suburb are small ranch style houses built in the 1960's or 1970's and not renovated. They were built on smallish 50'x100' lots.​
 
I didn’t mean the house was too small but the town is. The Midwest still is cheap in many areas.
 
The house is really beautiful, but I can’t imagine living in such a small town. Well, actually, I can kind of imagine as I’ve done a small town thing once (15,000 including two nearby cities) and I don’t want to do it again.
 
Since we've lived in so many places over the years... including the Woodhaven Lakes Campground, the variance in prices doesn't surprise me.

We live about 2 1/2 minutes from that home on Baker Park, a 4 minute bike ride.

You go to Zillow, right?... for fun, look at our first house in Falmouth Mass... bought for $12,200 in 1963.... check today's value... (BTW... looked much better when we owned it.)

https://www.zillow.com/homes/72-Oakwood-Ave-Falmouth,-MA,-02540_rb/55892681_zpid/

Or... the previous home on Marthas Vineyard, which we rented for $90 mo.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/152-Main-St-Vineyard-Haven-MA-02568/56898512_zpid/

We could have bought this for $30,000 in 1962 just before I got transferred to Falmouth.

Here's what it looks like today.

http://www.1720house.com/
You can rent the whole house for a full week in August for only $8400.

Did you ever go back? :)
 
Last edited:
What I like is a small to medium size town (10,000-25,000) that has good schools and parks and has some symbalance of culture. A town that's maybe 30-40 miles outside of a large city. And I like the large cities to be 2-3 hours apart like so many major Southern cities are.

I prefer buying in a retail housing market that's cost driven versus one that's demand driven. I see some homes selling for $450K that in our market could be custom built for half that.

Most of the new homes I see now start at $265K, but with options will realistically run $300K for 2000 square feet--all brick with a triple car garage. They're nice, but really not large enough for our "stuff," five cars and two boats.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
Trying to determine Fed Tax exemption (%) for funds w/V funds
Replies
5
Views
631
eroscott
E
Happyras
Thoughts on moving to 55plus community
2
Replies
44
Views
4K
pb4uski
pb4uski
M
Our First Year of Retirement!
Replies
22
Views
936
mountainsoft
M
F
July 2023 - My trip to Ireland
Replies
6
Views
810
Koolau
Koolau
S
Year 0 update
Replies
9
Views
1K
Calico
Calico

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom