Low cost (habitable!) single family homes

[W2R]

You couldn't buy anything better than an empty lot or tear down in my zip code for less than $200K, any more, due to the recent housing bubble. Prices have gone crazy here. I think that when I bought my house two years ago, I just got in under the wire before the bubble fully hit.

If I was looking for a cheap home, I guess I'd look in southwestern Missouri.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

A search of my zip code shows 8 single family homes for sale, starting at $1,059,950 for 1,640 square feet. No where near the Bay area will you find anything under $300k. Looks like there are a few out in Stockton, but I would not recommend Stockton as a nice place to live.

This article shows 5 castles and what you could get for the same amount of money for an apartment in San Francisco:

5 Castles That Are Cheaper Than An Apartment In San Francisco - UpOut BlogUpOut Blog

I think they are all in countries with more affordable healthcare as well.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

The very cheapest home for sale in my zip code is a town home, just under 1700sf, for $510K. We're in a nice neighborhood, with excellent schools, which keeps prices high.

We bought our house 18 years ago, and will hold on to it at least until the kids have moved on, so another 10-15 years. The problem will be finding a place that we like as well as this, which isn't just as expensive. I don't want to reset my property tax basis for a lateral housing move.

 

[ABQ2015]

Zillow had a number of SFH's less than $100K in Albuquerque but most were in bad parts of town. The others were foreclosures with no pictures or looked as if they needed a good bit of work. These homes were close to $100K, not the $40K that Walt found in WV.

I'm sure there are many small towns in New Mexico where you could buy a small, very basic house for around $100K in a reasonably okay neighborhood. But there are few jobs in these towns so you would have to be willing to work a near minimum wage job or be a retiree or work from home. Also you are not going to be close to shopping, large airport, good healthcare facilities, medical specialists, public transportation, a variety of restaurants, etc.

 

[athena53]

I'm in a KC suburb and homes in this Zip code range from $50K to $300K with a couple of higher-end outliers at $325K and $950K.

The lower-end ones look tidy from the pictures, and are typically 2 or 3 BR, one bath, one-car garage or none at all. My parents, 4 siblings and I lived in a 3-BR, one-bath house with a finished basement till I was 11. I suppose now it would be child neglect to put 3 boys in one bedroom, and that was a lot of people for one bathroom. Expectations have changed. When we built a house a few years later (1966), Dad insisted on his own little throne room off the master BR, with a shower. The builder tried to talk him out of it but Dad was insistent. I'm sure that helped the resale value when we sold.

 

[Dreamer]

The cheapest SFH in our zip code in WV is $64,699. It is a 2 bed, 1 bath and is in pretty bad shape, but you could probably live there. Many smaller, older homes are being bought and torn down and new houses built. The most expensive was $1,450,000.

 

[aja8888]

Funny how people bitch about health insurance costs and deductibles when they buy $1,000,000 condos or SFH's @ $500/sq.ft.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Funny how people bitch about health insurance costs and deductibles when they buy $1,000,000 condos or SFH's @ $500/sq.ft.

hahaha, (i never complain, i pay 7 bucks a month for the family plan, $4000 max out of pocket)

 

[jetpack]

cheapest house here is $45k w/ 1000 sf.

Average is like $150k

Nice area, low crime.

I got a very large house for $200k w/ guest house I rent out.

 

[RobbieB]

The median price where I live (San Joaquin County) is 300K and rising.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Funny how people bitch about health insurance costs and deductibles when they buy $1,000,000 condos or SFH's @ $500/sq.ft.

Most people in San Francisco who live in $1M condos probably didn't buy their place for that amount - only more recent purchasers, maybe some from 2007 before the crash and households in the wealthier sections would have paid those kinds of prices. And many people who live in the city are renters. Median household income in SF is $88.5K, so healthcare costs aren't a minor item on those kinds of budgets.

 

[W2R]

The median price where I live (San Joaquin County) is 300K and rising.

That is terrific for California! Your real estate prices are very similar to ours here. The median price in my zip code was $274K in April and is rising spectacularly in my zip code and way much more so in my small neighborhood in particular. (Zillow median price graph for my zip code through April attached... I bought in 2015. )

Too bad I don't want to sell! Ever. I am staying put right here and hope to never move again.

 

[aja8888]

Most people in San Francisco who live in $1M condos probably didn't buy their place for that amount - only more recent purchasers, maybe some from 2007 before the crash and households in the wealthier sections would have paid those kinds of prices. And many people who live in the city are renters. Median household income in SF is $88.5K, so healthcare costs aren't a minor item on those kinds of budgets.

Seems like I heard homes were selling a a fast clip in the SF area and there is a waiting list at the Ferrari dealer in my BIL's town of Santa Clara. Not everyone is living on dad's money, and some are paying $3 - $5 K/month in rent though.

 

[imoldernu]

Missed opportunity...

In 1960, we lived here and paid $90/mo. for rent.

1720 House Bed & Breakfast - Home

It was for sale by our landlord (a niece of William Randolph Hearst) for $30K... My check on Zillow today shows the current value @ $1,700,000. Hmmm at current rental rate of $8400/week, we could have paid it off in less than a month.

(sigh)

 

[RobbieB]

That is terrific for California! Your real estate prices are very similar to ours here.

Yes, the central valley is much more affordable than the coast. A bit hotter and colder (seasonal) also. If you looked really hard you could find a small place for $150-200.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Missed opportunity...

In 1960, we lived here and paid $90/mo. for rent.

1720 House Bed & Breakfast - Home

It was for sale by our landlord (a niece of William Randolph Hearst) for $30K... My check on Zillow today shows the current value @ $1,700,000. Hmmm at current rental rate of $8400/week, we could have paid it off in less than a month.

(sigh)

OMG, love the house