Housing costs in your area

[LissaC]

The reality here in Portugal is very different. There isn't so much land available, most houses are tiny by american standards, there was a period of 10-15 years when there was barely any construction so most of the houses are old too.

My house is a 2 bedroom, 70 sq m (753sq feet I believe?) apartment in a nice suburb of Lisbon. I paid 178k for it last year. I see ads for houses like mine in my area, and I can't find anything for less than 200k, with most houses being advertised at 240k-260k.

I'd love to have a bigger house but that's near impossible. I'm focusing on paying off as much of my mortgage as I can, because I hate being in debt (and I'm in debt for the next 40 years, because of the house).But it would have been impossible for me to buy a house without getting a mortgage, so it is what it is.

 

[JAS_OH1]

One of the big reasons we moved here was housing costs. Phoenix went crazy with escaping Californians skyrocketing the cost of a house past what we could comfortably afford (and with a massive risk of future price crashes). Western New York is remarkably cheap, and we got a house with a decent size yard in a gorgeous and safe area for about what a down payment would have been in PHX.

Yeh, my cousins live in Phoenix and was astounded by the housing prices there. Western NY is incredibly beautiful and the air quality is undoubtedly superior.

 

[MrsDangermouse]

The reality here in Portugal is very different. There isn't so much land available, most houses are tiny by american standards,

We have the same problem over here, newer houses seem getting ever smaller. The latest trend is seems to be 3 storey houses....more bedrooms on the same footprint, plus a tiny garden.

Our 4 bed house is about 120 sqm (1290 sq ft), but being in one of the more expensive parts of the country (about an hour on the train from central London on the train) its probably worth going for almost £600k ($720k) now, based on what similar houses have been on the market for recently.

 

[JAS_OH1]

The reality here in Portugal is very different. There isn't so much land available, most houses are tiny by american standards, there was a period of 10-15 years when there was barely any construction so most of the houses are old too.

My house is a 2 bedroom, 70 sq m (753sq feet I believe?) apartment in a nice suburb of Lisbon. I paid 178k for it last year. I see ads for houses like mine in my area, and I can't find anything for less than 200k, with most houses being advertised at 240k-260k.

I'd love to have a bigger house but that's near impossible. I'm focusing on paying off as much of my mortgage as I can, because I hate being in debt (and I'm in debt for the next 40 years, because of the house).But it would have been impossible for me to buy a house without getting a mortgage, so it is what it is.

I think for one person that's a manageable size. When I was about your age my house wasn't much bigger (850 sqft), but it was an actual house with a yard. I paid 35k for it and sold it 10 years later for 80k. It's probably worth about 250k now because that little Florida beach town has grown tremendously. I lived in an apartment before that with a roommate and it was about the same size, but we rented. I think your apartment size is pretty typical for a 2 bedroom.

 

[LissaC]

We have the same problem over here, newer houses seem getting ever smaller. The latest trend is seems to be 3 storey houses....more bedrooms on the same footprint, plus a tiny garden.

Our 4 bed house is about 120 sqm (1290 sq ft), but being in one of the more expensive parts of the country (about an hour on the train from central London on the train) its probably worth going for almost £600k ($720k) now, based on what similar houses have been on the market for recently.

Newer houses are bigger here in Portugal, the issue is we have few new constructions. And I don't know why but there was barely any new buildings built in the 2000s, meaning there are not enough houses for everyone who wants/needs one, plus an influx of wealthy migrants (mostly tech workers I guess) who have more buying power since they're basically living in Portugal on an American/UK salary.

The apartment buildings in my area are most of them 70 - 30 years old. There's a new apartment block close by (built in the last 5 years I think?), where you pay a whooping 700k for a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment (an older apartment in the same area, same square footage and same number of bedrooms/bathrooms, sells for about 350k). And I'm not even in the center of Lisbon. I'm on a well developed, middle/upper middle class suburb that's a 15 minute drive away to the city center.

 

[LissaC]

I think for one person that's a manageable size. When I was about your age my house wasn't much bigger (850 sqft), but it was an actual house with a yard. I paid 35k for it and sold it 10 years later for 80k. It's probably worth about 250k now because that little Florida beach town has grown tremendously. I lived in an apartment before that with a roommate and it was about the same size, but we rented. I think your apartment size is pretty typical for a 2 bedroom.

Yes, for 1 person this is a nice size. The issue is if my boyfriend ever moves in, or if I have a child. With current house prices there's no way I can ever afford a bigger house in a nice, well developed suburb. I bought my house assuming I would never be able to afford a bigger house and that this would be my "forever home" and that I would be raising a family here. If we're ever 3 people here we'll be a bit cramped, and there's no way I can ever dream of having more than one child (my biggest bedroom is around 11sq m big lol).

 

[The OMWC]

Yeh, my cousins live in Phoenix and was astounded by the housing prices there. Western NY is incredibly beautiful and the air quality is undoubtedly superior.

Air quality and it's not 115 degrees out!

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Property valuation in any high-demand area is laughable and borderline criminal. My family lived in the house on the left in the 1970s:

Nice house, great location. It's small - 1400 square feet - with 3 small bedrooms. No basement (it's California...earthquake country). My parents sold it for $75,000 in 1975, and figured they got a good price. What you see here is the picture on Zillow. The estimated list price today? $2,383,500.

A 31 times appreciation in value isn't something that naturally happens. The cost of living is 5.5 times more than it was back then, so this property should be valued at $412,000. Still absurd, but you can understand it when you consider the perks of living in a community with perfect weather and phenomenal support services.

This sort of thing has to evolve over time. Someone lists a property for more than expected, and it sells. So, the next time, someone raises the list price above that...and that sells, too. It's a runaway freight train.

What I don't understand is someone who would actually pay that price for this house. It seems like it would be cheaper to own a house in a rural area and fly a helicopter to work in Palo Alto every day.

 

[JAS_OH1]

Newer houses are bigger here in Portugal, the issue is we have few new constructions. And I don't know why but there was barely any new buildings built in the 2000s, meaning there are not enough houses for everyone who wants/needs one, plus an influx of wealthy migrants (mostly tech workers I guess) who have more buying power since they're basically living in Portugal on an American/UK salary.

The apartment buildings in my area are most of them 70 - 30 years old. There's a new apartment block close by (built in the last 5 years I think?), where you pay a whooping 700k for a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment (an older apartment in the same area, same square footage and same number of bedrooms/bathrooms, sells for about 350k). And I'm not even in the center of Lisbon. I'm on a well developed, middle/upper middle class suburb that's a 15 minute drive away to the city center.

Oh yeah my house was ancient, LOL. I think it was built in the 1940s. Newer construction was indeed way more expensive.

Yes, for 1 person this is a nice size. The issue is if my boyfriend ever moves in, or if I have a child. With current house prices there's no way I can ever afford a bigger house in a nice, well developed suburb. I bought my house assuming I would never be able to afford a bigger house and that this would be my "forever home" and that I would be raising a family here. If we're ever 3 people here we'll be a bit cramped, and there's no way I can ever dream of having more than one child (my biggest bedroom is around 11sq m big lol).

With two incomes you should be able to afford something a little larger when that time comes, especially if your boyfriend also owns his home and can sell it, then you will have to additional $$ for a downpayment. And you might have to move a bit further away from the city center?

Where I live now my house is really big (after we added on to it) and we raised 4 kids in it, but we had a neighbor who lived in the house next door (they sold it) and it was 1,000 sqft, yet they managed to raise two kids in that house before they moved into a bigger home (right before their oldest graduated from high school). Those poor kids had to share a room from birth but they had bunkbeds. They were cramped for space but it worked.

 

[JAS_OH1]

Property valuation in any high-demand area is laughable and borderline criminal. My family lived in the house on the left in the 1970s:

View attachment 96808

Nice house, great location. It's small - 1400 square feet - with 3 small bedrooms. No basement (it's California...earthquake country). My parents sold it for $75,000 in 1975, and figured they got a good price. What you see here is the picture on Zillow. The estimated list price today? $2,383,500.

A 31 times appreciation in value isn't something that naturally happens. The cost of living is 5.5 times more than it was back then, so this property should be valued at $412,000. Still absurd, but you can understand it when you consider the perks of living in a community with perfect weather and phenomenal support services.

This sort of thing has to evolve over time. Someone lists a property for more than expected, and it sells. So, the next time, someone raises the list price above that...and that sells, too. It's a runaway freight train.

What I don't understand is someone who would actually pay that price for this house. It seems like it would be cheaper to own a house in a rural area and fly a helicopter to work in Palo Alto every day.

Yeah, it's pretty amazing when you consider cities like Austin, TX and most cities near the coast in CA, and of course everywhere within an hour of NYC...astronimical housing prices. Then you look at rural OH and you can pick up land and homes still pretty cheap (of course that's if you aren't financing a home, with the way interest rates are currently). And it's beautifull here with pretty good weather most of the time. In NE OH there are rarely tornadoes, no earthquakes and no hurricanes...and the snowstorms of the past seem to be just that, a thing of the past (due to global warming perhaps).

 

[rascal]

I was looking up my first home I bought in 81. I paid 19k and has a 25 year mortgage. I sold it in 89 for 69k and bought where I am currently in 89 for 92k. My valuation is currently 690 but houses are about 150k above that. I was mortgage free in 05. I built a second story in 94 of 70 sq meters.
Houses In Auckland are in the millions!!
I'm in Christchurch south island.

Russ

 

[rascal]

Oh yeah my house was ancient, LOL. I think it was built in the 1940s. Newer construction was indeed way more expensive.

With two incomes you should be able to afford something a little larger when that time comes, especially if your boyfriend also owns his home and can sell it, then you will have to additional $$ for a downpayment. And you might have to move a bit further away from the city center?

Where I live now my house is really big (after we added on to it) and we raised 4 kids in it, but we had a neighbor who lived in the house next door (they sold it) and it was 1,000 sqft, yet they managed to raise two kids in that house before they moved into a bigger home (right before their oldest graduated from high school). Those poor kids had to share a room from birth but they had bunkbeds. They were cramped for space but it worked.

I was raised in a 2 bedroom house. I shared a bedroom with my 2 brothers.
There was no room.

Russ

 

[JAS_OH1]

I was raised in a 2 bedroom house. I shared a bedroom with my 2 brothers.
There was no room.

Russ

I thought you had 2 more brothers, 5 kids?

 

[rascal]

I thought you had 2 more brothers, 5 kids?

I'm middle of 3 boys. I have 2 kids and 5 grandkids.
And the kommandant lol

Russ

 

[caseydog]

Property valuation in any high-demand area is laughable and borderline criminal. My family lived in the house on the left in the 1970s:

View attachment 96808

Nice house, great location. It's small - 1400 square feet - with 3 small bedrooms. No basement (it's California...earthquake country). My parents sold it for $75,000 in 1975, and figured they got a good price. What you see here is the picture on Zillow. The estimated list price today? $2,383,500.

A 31 times appreciation in value isn't something that naturally happens. The cost of living is 5.5 times more than it was back then, so this property should be valued at $412,000. Still absurd, but you can understand it when you consider the perks of living in a community with perfect weather and phenomenal support services.

This sort of thing has to evolve over time. Someone lists a property for more than expected, and it sells. So, the next time, someone raises the list price above that...and that sells, too. It's a runaway freight train.

What I don't understand is someone who would actually pay that price for this house. It seems like it would be cheaper to own a house in a rural area and fly a helicopter to work in Palo Alto every day.

When Toyota moved their North American HQ From Los Angeles to Texas, they built the new HQ about ten miles from me. The Californians that moved in for Toyota, and Toyota's suppliers from LA were going nuts over the home prices, and were taking the equity from thier LA homes and paying cash for homes here, and paying asking price, and prices shot up like a rocket.

There were bidding wars for homes in my neighborhood. My house more than doubled in value in about one year.

Since then, so many companies have moved here from California and the Northeast, that I still get calls from realtors and investors asking me if I want to sell my house.

Silicon Valley (SanFran Bay area of California) companies are moving to Austin, Texas, and prices are going nuts there, too.

Even Houston real estate prices are up, although not as much. My sister's Houston home in a gated community is 1,000 sq/ft larger than mine, and worth about $50K less. But it is still a lot more than she paid for it.

CD