How much house will $1M buy you?

JEK

JEK

Senior Insider
My daughter is house hunting in San Francisco and that looks about right to me!


We looked at housing list price data from real estate brokerage Movoto.com and real estate marketplace Zillow.com. The diagram below shows the number of square feet of housing that you can buy for $1,000,000, based on the median price per square foot in each city:

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/us-city-real-estate-price-chart-2014-3#ixzz2vljkA59T


city real estate chart corrected.jpg
 
6000 square feet for $1 million in Chicago?
Maybe someplace where nobody would want to live.

But in Streeterville or anywhere on the north side? Maybe 2500, max.
Even now with prices down, a decent two bedroom condo of about 1400 square feet goes for about $500,000.

The problem with "averages" is that when a city has some tough areas, those are included in the averages.
New York and Chicago will always have lower "averages" than other areas.
However, once you start looking at areas that are considered safe, the numbers change radically.
 
My daughter and son-in-law have bid on several homes and they all sell for at least 40% over asking and all cash.
 
Prices are definitely heating up, which makes life better for a lot of my clients.

People can finally dump condos they don't want or can no longer afford.
New buyers are coming in who can pay their assessments.
Condo associations now have more money available to pay for repairs and upgrades.

I admit that's good for me, since chasing unit owners for assessment is the worst part of my job (or second worst -- chasing my own clients for fees may be worse) and now I'm spending less time doing that and more time negotiating construction contracts, which I actually like doing.
 
When my dear friend was leaving town, potential buyers actually began to bid in her living room-and she got more than she was asking.
 
katva said:
ouch is right! My oldest nephew was house hunting there a few years ago, after the birth of their first child. He had been living in SF for 15+ years, and finally decided to buy rather than rent. His budget was over a million.....but when he saw what his money could buy (a very average, smallish house in not the greatest area) he was so frustrated. He and family went to visit his mom (my oldest half-sister) who had recently left CA for Kentucky, where her SO was from. It took him a week to realize he would have a far greater standard of living there. He was hired by the Jockey Club to do their IT stuff---leaving a Director of IT position at a major company in SF.......he never looked back!:) Now with 2 kids (one with Down's Syndrome)--he can't imagine his life if he had stayed.....I have just one more nephew in CA----otherwise the entire clan has moved elsewhere. His life in SF was so busy and crazy that he never had any free time to spend with his family. Of course, not for everyone, but it was a life-changer for him. A million bucks....that's a lot of dough for most everyone....
Click to expand...

good for him.....he did the right thing for him......I checked out decades ago from the rat race and its the single best decision I ever made....less money but more personal freedom rocks..after all..this is no dress rehearsal and there arent any do overs as best as I can tell....so you better get it right the first time!

cracks me up the amount of living space some people need....ridiculous

the most important things in life are not things

a million bucks up here will get you a sh*tload of both house and land..
 
As observed by others, the "average" numbers are misleading. Like katva's nephew, I've found life outside of CA (in FL) . . . and it's very nice -- especially in view of greater affordability in real estate and NO state income tax.

Of course, SBH real estate is a story that distorts even the San Francisco, Boston, Washington, New York, LA profile . . . and the market's even improving there!
 
Dennis....I have my mothers house for sale because I am moving her up here...I looked at condos today for her in our resort....if I told you what I am probably going to pay for her condo, how low the price will be, and how nice it will be, and how much she is getting for the money, you woudln't believe it....,meanwhile the asking price for her house ten minutes outside of NYC is absolutely ludicrous....but fear not..someone will pay it...I have no doubts
 
Mike-good luck with both ends of your real estate endeavors. As a Mom, I am happy to see that your Mom will be near you.
 
thanks.....it took much badgering, arguing, yelling, crying etc to get her to finally let me sign the papers to list the house this past weekend.
 
Mike, I am sure it was rough negotiating and I am thrilled she finally saw things your way.
 
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