House cost in NY
 

In Upstate NY you get get a unbelievable house for 200,000 atleast a nice house with central air, large yard or even some acreage, fireplace, and 4 to 5 bedroom over 2,000 squarefoot home. We have family in California that have a small ranch and I think they paid over 250,000 and it still needs work. :eek: :animal-sm

We paid 173,000. last year for 2,800 sq ft. house. We are less that 20 miles northeast of dallas. We have a 4 BR, 2/5 bath, 2 car garage w/playroom, 2 living area, formal dining, in-ground 33,000 gal pool, 1/2 acre lot w/ sprinkler system. The property value's are just beginning to rise here. 10 miles west of us in Plano, the same house would probably be around 500,000 - If you could even find such a thing.

This is my house (I do love it).

VMS1177 and CMRMMM
 

Where are you guys in upstate NY??? We have been seeing great houses online in Ulster and Green counties...

Wow, your home is gorgeous!!! There is a house in Whittier that looks something like it. I have to go a little out of my way I go visit my partents just so I can see it. Something like that here would be like 700 +. I try and tell myself,,,,,,"self, you don't want a big ol house like that, The bigger the more you have to clean" But i don't think i've really convinced myself yet. You are really and truly blessed!!!

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I Live A Block Away From The Ocean. The Houses Used To Be
Bungalows Now Most Of Us Live There All Year Round...
The Property Is Only 30x60.. Very Small But Expensive.
My House Goes For 400.00 Now... I Updated To The Max.

I know California is expensive but it is a great way to make money. My husband and I have moved 6 times since we married and we made lots of money everytime and moved into an even nicer house. I have already made almost a million dollars on the house I currently live in and we have only been here two years in September. I have a brokers license so I have been the real estate agent each time and saved the commission too.

San Diego is insane, but I don't see the bubble bursting any time soon. It may level off, but if you can afford to get into the market it is a win win at this point. You cannot lose if you are in the right area. There is still a lot of growth potential and people want to live here despite the high prices.

my house is bigger cuz i have a bigger family. we have 6 bd n 6bath...cost about 1.5 million :eek: but thats miami for ya.

Well Prices in Arizona are increasing rapidly. ALthough they are expected to be steady in a few years, we bought our house last May of '04, we paid 225k for a 2050 sq. foot 4 br/2 ba (all bedrooms expect master, which is huge, are really small) with a pool. This year on our street the same house is selling for 320k. If we waited a year later we would not have been able to buy. Unless you find a neighborhood where you can buy it directly from the builder, you cannot get a newer home for less than 150k around here anymore, last year there were tons of them for that price around 1400 sq. feet!

In Phoenix it is even higher, but there is more land so you can still find several areas where you can buy right from builder, which makes it a lot cheaper. So many people are moving to Arizona from Cali that some builders (I know Pulte is) requiring you to live in your house for a year minimum, because a lot of people are buying and selling immediately to recognize a gain.

My dad thought our house was a steal! He is in Houston, where if you live near the Galleria or Bellaire the prices are high.

My exbf's dad is a Computer Programmer over in San Diego. He makes upwards of $150,000 - $170,000 a year. He still lives in a one bedroom apartment with his two kids. The rent there is, I believe, somewhere around $1,100 a month.
I love California because of the weather, the atmosphere and the shopping. But, when it comes to cost of living there, no way. I don't think I will ever make that much to even support myself. Also, I remember there was traffic in LA at 12am on a Tuesday.

Brooke - So your house is a lot less than those in, say, Scottsdale, Chandler, Phoenix, Tempe, etc? ASU is looking more and more appealing to me becuase of the landscape and weather and I have always wondered about AZ real estate. What could I expect to pay for a 2BR 1 bath condo in Tempe or Scottsdale and the surrounding area? Do you know?

Well, coming from Houston, i LOVE Arizona so I am biased and can totally see how it would be appealing to you :) Scottsdale is an older area, and is very upscale and more expensive than a lot of Arizona. In tempe, Im sure you could still find a condo for a good price. Phoenix is a lot bigger so you would probably have better luck. I think there will always be a reasonably priced area to live in Arizona, but like you, many many people are finding Phoenix and Tucson (Arizona weather) more appealing. I do not see why you couldnt find a condo for less than 200k. I am not too familiar with the surrounding areas in Phoenix, but for instance Chandler, which is only about 10 minutes from Tempe, has some very reasonably priced real estate, and its really pretty there!

If you go to longrealty.com you can search a lot of Arizona properties.

Also, although you didnt mention anything about summers, SO many people are discouraged from Arizona because of the heat. Well, Mikes mom was down here from NJ last week. She said that the heat here felt better than the heat in NJ because there is no humidity. So it might be 10-20 degrees hotter in the summer, but without humidity it feels better :D Im from Houston and could never go back to humidity.

P.S.- October-Beg. of May, the weather here is absolutely perfect!

I live in Fairfax County, Virginia and houses here are $600K plus. We have a two level condo that is worth a little over $400K.