Looking at Walt's response, which I originally didn't see, we align in our thoughts. There are places in the USA to buy that you can live for 5 figures, with at least 1 acre of land. In my parents' old place, that would mean a 45 year old mobile home. You can get the 1 acre and home for less than $100k. But you can buy the lot next door for $10k and drop a $120k brand new mobile home on it instead. Just a small premium. Oh, you may have to spend $20k more for septic and well. But phone and electric are there.
Just watch out for:
- Meth addicts
- Pit bulls
- Rotting homes of neighbors
- Bad school districts with long bus rides
- Difficult to access life needs, such as food
- You'll be dead if you have a heart attack
- Rodents, fire ants, fleas, rats
So, location matters. But maybe you can deal with some of it. Maybe you don't care if you die if you have a heart attack. (Not joking about this, the longer I live, the more I think this is OK.)
The subject is inflation, so let me get back to that. Real estate is incredibly local. Florida experienced an incredible rise over the last 5 years, in general. But guess what? Not all of Florida. And it isn't just the inner swampland. Ask the 40 year old condo owners in South Florida (Southeast FL) how they are doing after the Surfside collapse.