Talk about an investment!

[M_Six]

My ex-wife and I bought this house in June 2000 for $164,000. Now she's selling it for $339,900. More than double the money in four short years. Good reason to stay out of Massachusetts. This house, which is not far from where I live now, is going for about $100,000 less and is a much nicer house.

The sad part is, two professionals like my ex-wife and I were when we bought that house wouldn't have a chance in Hades of buying it now, just four short years later. I don't know how the state can continue to operate effectively when the majority of the middle class and below cannot afford a house. Something has got to give somewhere, I would think.

Now obviously there are pros and cons of living in both places. but having done both, I'll take Illinois for two very major reasons; much, much less traffic, and more money in my pocket.

[osprey4]

There's no doubt you get more house for your money in the mid-west. Unfortunately, I have to live where the jobs are.

[thekingofpain]

WOW! I wonder if I could live in Illinois?
Ill take that 2nd pad for $1100 a month---unreal compared to CA

Three-year returns are upwards of 60% on average for my local area in FL. Real estate can be a lucrative investment if a person is seeking solid returns. However, one must closely observe area demographics when purchasing for speculation.

[Theophylact]

The assessment on our 1914 three-bedroom house in DC has gone up over 50% in the past three years, from about $450K to $690K. And that reflects actual neighborhood housing sales. New town houses are going for close to a million.

No way we could buy now.

[waferdog]

Originally posted by M_Six

The sad part is, two professionals like my ex-wife and I were when we bought that house wouldn't have a chance in Hades of buying it now, just four short years later. I don't know how the state can continue to operate effectively when the majority of the middle class and below cannot afford a house. Something has got to give somewhere, I would think.

I am also 100% sure that the housing is going to suffer a big decline. As you stated, it is getting to the point where someone making good money can hardly afford a shack, much less a liveable house. Once the interest rate goes up, housing values are going to drop. The rate of appreciation cannot continue.

On a side note, I bought my first house last April for 97,000 (an average price in these parts), hated the house, and sold it six months later for 10,000 more than I paid. Absolutely crazy.

[osprey4]

I don't see any housing decline in the foreseeable future with interest rates like they are now. On the other hand, the percentage of families that own a home has never been higher, so those low rates are having an impact.

[M_Six]

I wonder how many folks are in over their heads with the mortgage, though. In the 80s boom, tens of thousands found themselves upside down with their mortgage and got foreclosed upon.

[waferdog]

Put all of those factors together and you have to have a decline - high ownership means that less people are going to be looking to buy, people that overbought are going to lose them to foreclosure (which means that the houses will come back on the market cheaper). Finally, those rates are going to go up, which means the price of the house is going to go down. Basically, you can't sell a house if no one can afford it.

I sold my 97,000 house like I stated, and am now looking in the 70-90 range. I could easily afford 97,000, but it still left me a little tighter monetarily than I am comfortable. I would rather have less of a house and more spare change (and more flexibility). The nice thing now is that house prices are starting to reverse in my area, so I should be able to find a nice place at a fair price.

[caddmannq]

Man, things are booming here. The house I bought for $86,000 in 1991, I sold last year for 145,000.

A house down the street, identical to the newer house we bought for $168,000 about the same time, sold for $229,000 last year.

My neighbor across the street just put his, again nearly identical house up fo $285,000. He'll get it too. That's like 70% appreciation in less than 2 years. WOW!