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LibDemAlways

(15,139 posts)

23. California real estate is expensive. I'm in

Sat Sep 26, 2015, 02:25 AM

Sep 2015

a suburb 45 minutes north of LA. I live in a 3 bedroom/2 bath 1700 sq. ft. tract house that I bought in 1979 when prices were more reasonable. Houses in this tract have concrete slab foundations built on clay, and as the clay expands when it rains and contracts in dry weather, the walls in the house develop big cracks. We've kept drywall repair guys in business for years. Nevertheless, these places command big dollars. Houses like mine are selling for over 600k. It's nuts. That's nothing, though, compared to real estate in the South Bay south of LAX where I grew up. A teardown in my old neighborhood recently sold for 750K to a developer who rebuilt on the lot and sold the new place for 1.6 million -- cheap for the area. The value is all in the land.

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This is what a $350,000 house in San Francisco looks like [View all] damnedifIknow Sep 2015 OP

If you ain't got the jack, House of Roberts Sep 2015 #1

A little tlc is all it needs damnedifIknow Sep 2015 #2

If you don't have the bread, Arugula Latte Sep 2015 #52

Damn, around here they would just tear that down and sell the lot for 5 grand so you... Humanist_Activist Sep 2015 #3

The lot is what's worth $350K. MohRokTah Sep 2015 #4

Damn, that's insane. I guess I'm lucky, living in one of the more reasonable markets for real... Humanist_Activist Sep 2015 #6

Yes, it's the lot value. Gormy Cuss Sep 2015 #55

Cheapest house in SF damnedifIknow Sep 2015 #7

Yeah, talk about a fixer Warpy Sep 2015 #14

So how do you make fewer people want to live in SFO? Recursion Sep 2015 #21

Well, San Franscisco is geographically constrained, so not much room to expand and lower land... Humanist_Activist Sep 2015 #25

There's plenty of room up Recursion Sep 2015 #29

Vertical building is already happening in SOMA and other parts of downtown. Gormy Cuss Sep 2015 #53

Prices like that keep me in rural NC. /s/nt NCjack Sep 2015 #5

I am in Guilford Co. Kelvin Mace Sep 2015 #9

My wife, Yellow Lab and I live in Lee County. We got the last of the NCjack Sep 2015 #45

Yep Kelvin Mace Sep 2015 #49

My place cost a fifth of what that place does Warpy Sep 2015 #15

Just made my first trip out to NM, to visit an artist pal. He's a refugee from "higher rents" too. villager Sep 2015 #26

Just be aware it's an extremely poor state and there's no water Warpy Sep 2015 #27

Hey, I'm in California -- there's no water here, either! villager Sep 2015 #39

I'll be out in NM next month PasadenaTrudy Sep 2015 #44

And 350 in Kansas will buy a significant home pipoman Sep 2015 #8

A national minimum wage isn't a joke. RichVRichV Sep 2015 #24

The median wage in Mississippi is about $11/hour Recursion Sep 2015 #30

Where? pipoman Sep 2015 #34

I was in Minot ND this summer forthemiddle Sep 2015 #40

Yep there are pockets around for sure... pipoman Sep 2015 #51

That lot is perhaps 1/25th of an acre Travis_0004 Sep 2015 #10

This is about $350,000 in my area... CoffeeCat Sep 2015 #11

my house was 200K, 5 bedroom 3 bath 3400 sq feet snooper2 Sep 2015 #41

Stunning! CoffeeCat Sep 2015 #57

I can't believe there IS a house in SF for $350,000. senseandsensibility Sep 2015 #12

The lot is tiny. Recursion Sep 2015 #31

Perfect size for a tiny house. Baitball Blogger Sep 2015 #13

Agree... Deuce Sep 2015 #50

disgusting excess is killing our country Marrah_G Sep 2015 #16

I bid $351,000.! nt TeamPooka Sep 2015 #17

The floor is nice and level. Good selling point there. Monk06 Sep 2015 #18

That's somewhat true. But the problem with housing in S.F. is truedelphi Sep 2015 #28

Meanwhile.... Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2015 #19

A house with just two floors, but thousands of stories. alphafemale Sep 2015 #38

The foundation is fine. Someone did the porch on the cheap.... Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2015 #43

More people want to live in SFO than there is housing for Recursion Sep 2015 #20

This is an "investment opportunity". Imagine the price in five years. Midnight Writer Sep 2015 #22

California real estate is expensive. I'm in LibDemAlways Sep 2015 #23

The housing market is a scam, Shankapotomus Sep 2015 #32

That house isn't worth 20 bucks madokie Sep 2015 #33

Message auto-removed Name removed Sep 2015 #35

I visited my cousin in his new 550 square foot condo apartment... meaculpa2011 Sep 2015 #36

And a freeway right behind those BART tracks Brother Buzz Sep 2015 #42

350 gets you marsh front in savannah n2doc Sep 2015 #37

I have a partially finished garage the looks bigger than that jwirr Sep 2015 #46

Apparently it's an old post-quake shack from 1906 Recursion Sep 2015 #47

That's why so many people are moving to Texas...... clarice Sep 2015 #48

Not in Austin, TX. Texasgal Sep 2015 #54

Check this out: Texasgal Sep 2015 #56