If you’re in the Philly are, aren’t the areas near the rail super expensive already? My wife is from Montgomery County, and with the (very) limited knowledge I have of the area, I thought most of those areas were already built out with houses in the $600-$800k range for relatively modest homes?
In Fairfax County, VA there is generally some mid to high rise buildings near most metro stop, but families typically don’t live there since they’re mainly 1-2 bedrooms with 600-1300 sqft… condo fees on these are expensive ($1k/mo or higher aren’t uncommon for a 2 bed) as they age because plumbing, elevator, and other repairs and also just front desk/office staff cost a fortune
I live in montco, 600-800k should get you a decent 2000-2500 sq feet house. The problem is on the starter home. 1200 sq feet house which used to be 180-300k is now pushing to 350-450k even with current mortgage. Inventory is low because those who usually upgrade to 2000-2500 sq feet house no longer afford it with current interest rate and chose to keep their current home with 2-3% mortgage rate. Low inventory kept the price high for starter home. We need more inventory on the 1200 sq feet house, and yet no new construction will touch it since it has less profit than building new McMansion.
They could always gentrify norristown! Prob already happening. Same with places like Bristol/levittown in bucks, darby in delco. There’s still cheap markets just have to make sacrifices.
Some of us choose not to live like sardines in a concrete jungle dystopia that smells like sour milk.
Bingo. Sometimes more and even then they’re often in need of major repairs or updates which at that point puts you within earshot of the next socioeconomic level of homes.
It did. You either have to purchase or lease solar panels with a new build. There are exceptions but that has been in effect since 2020.
New home prices are so crazy here because that’s the inventory that is more available and the builders know it. Like I said, there are new tract homes for $3-$5m and they are only 3000sft homes on 4000-5000sft lots.
The seniors who downgrade their house may choose to buy in east Norritown due to cheaper price n safer neighborhood within Norristown school district. Those who have kids may not want to go to Norristown school district though.
Check taxes in that area… I have friends that are from there that went to private school. Looking 10k+ on a house that’s 500. There’s also a measly 5 houses on the market crazy the worse the schools usually the higher the taxes in a lot of areas. Cheltenham/ Elkins park is another example of that
Seniors usually stay put or move to low tax areas it seems.
There are many ways to get around or lessen the solar “mandate” with new construction with shade for the house, batteries, etc. Adding $10k or so to the price of a new home when the savings will catch up in 5-10 years is not a big deal.
As for the $3m-$5m “tract home” that is “only” 3,000 sf, I assume you realize the average home in California is only 1,800 sf? For most people, 3k sf in California is gigantic so of course you are paying that on top of the lot price ($150k average on a 6k SF lot on average) when building per square foot can be anywhere from $400-$900 per square foot.
New home prices in CA are not “crazy” at all when you look at the insurance, costs, taxes and overall picture of the real estate market in CA. If you think the price is “crazy” then you probably need to move out of California.
I looked at rental prices in desirable areas in Cali and it didn’t seem that different from south Florida. I guess it’s the state tax that makes the market what it is there. Good place to go after you’ve made your money that’s for sure, or if your income is so much higher there that it doesn’t matter either. Seems to be a similar market where renting can make more sense than buying…
Looking at one now in La Jolla that sold in 21 for 2.1 mill and rental is 6900. I don’t get it…appreciation I guess is the goal
Yup- and appreciation in SoCal can be wild with current prices (the dollar amount, not necessarily the percentage). My cousin’s landlord bought the house they’re renting in 2019 for $930k (in late 1990s, was around $275k) and now it’s worth $1.5… it’s been rented out for only $3500 this entire time. Market rent is now $5k/mo but it’s so hard to evict in California that I see lot of individual landlords not adjust rates if tenants actually pay.
If landlord qualifies for real estate professional status, these houses that lose a ton of money on paper could make sense to minimize income tax off their spouse’s W2 or their real estate income
state tax + lower property taxes + weather = boomer gold rush. of course, since you need to be flush to even come down, its generally the crappiest of the wealthy that do end up migrating down here.
basically, and its not getting better any time soon.
Funny enough most of the rust belt would dream of being Allentown. Population never crashed and in fact growth remained strong with lots of blue collar jobs available even after the mills closed.
crazy the worse the schools usually the higher the taxes in a lot of areas. Cheltenham/ Elkins park is another example of that