# $170,000 is an affordable house **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2002, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205 "2002-04-06T19:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205/61 "2002-04-10T02:23:19Z")
Where _are_ you, **Radio Wave**? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205/62 "2002-04-10T04:42:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ringo \* > \*\*Where _are_ you, **Radio Wave**? \*\* [Palo Alto?](http://www.mlslistings.com/common/properties/propertyDetail.asp?open=0&page=2&mls_number=202716&type=property&name=) [Saratoga?](http://www.mlslistings.com/common/properties/propertyDetail.asp?open=0&page=1&mls_number=212629&type=property&name=) [Carmel?](http://www.mlslistings.com/common/properties/propertyDetail.asp?open=0&page=1&mls_number=212826&type=property&name=) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205/63 "2002-04-10T11:55:52Z")
W hat gets me is there bragging how down town looked 20 years ago and how it does now they show the whole street with the av bowl old theatre ect They only show the performing arts center the new library and new police station and not the 50 stores that’s been empty for 5 years the ones going out of business ect I liked the look back then … It seemed like a town now it just seems dead … ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205/64 "2002-04-10T12:11:31Z")
We paid $130K for our townhouse last year. 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, 1 car garage. $170K will buy a nice house with a good yard around here. Just for scale, the first house I ever bought was in Plano, TX back in 1963. I paid $14.5K with an $80.00 down payment, $88.88 monthly payment, and a 3.75% mortgage. That was a tract house, 3 bedroom, 1 bath, laundry room, covered patio and a 1 car garage. IIRC, the lot was 75’ X 150’ and the back yard was fenced. Of course, I was making less than $400.00 per month gross in those days. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205/65 "2002-04-10T12:31:58Z")
The thing that would worry me is that the market can only sustain higher prices for limited amount of time in most of those areas that had their high growth during the Internet boom. I’d be afraid to buy a 1000 sq. ft. house in San Francisco for $350K, only to have it be worth half that 5 years later when the market dropped. ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205/66 "2002-04-10T18:39:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Where are you, Radio Wave? Corona Del Mar, California. I guess in the context of this thread, that might have been useful information, huh:rolleyes: There’s a rumor that there is a house for sale for $45Million but I haven’t seen any proof of it. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205/67 "2002-04-10T20:38:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DocHopper \* > \*\*I read a statistic somewhere that the Twin Cities has a relatively high percentage of homes owned by single people, which might help drive prices higher and contribute to a skewed sense of affordability. Of course, living in Minnesota is worth any price! 🙂 \*\* I can believe that. I moved here in January for an extended internship. I started out living in Maple Grove and renting from someone (who was ~25) who worked for my company. He took a new job, and now I live with someone else who graduated just 2 years ago. A lot of his college friends also seem to be buying houses. With real estate values doubling in 10 years, it seems to be a good investment. My current “landlord” said his mortgage payment isn’t that much higher than rent he was paying. Of course, he’s got two renters, so I suppose that eases some of the burden. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205/68 "2002-04-11T00:10:31Z")
Bought it 12/99 brand new, 1700 sq ft, two stories, three bedrooms, two baths, fireplace, balcony, patio, two car garage, oversize lot with 27’ x 13’ in-ground, solar-heated swimming pool. $168,000 Las Vegas, Nevada The mortgage payment is almost exactly, to the penny, what I was paying for a 1 bedroom w/loft apt in Los Angeles. However, prices are going up here as well…but nowhere near what the rest of you are talking about! ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205/69 "2002-04-11T04:28:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > \*\*Gosh, I don’t think anyone has mentioned the North of Boston area yet. Not the most pricey real estate in the country, but it’s probably in the top 10. There’s a sort of “ring” effect whereby real estate prices are lower for the scary/industrial towns just north of the city, then rise when you get to some very tony suburbs, then start dropping off very slightly as you head further north into long commute territory. \*\* Same thing with the South of Boston (and no, I don’t mean South Boston, although their prices are bordering on the ridiculous)! I know what you mean by the “ring” effect. Down this way, though, the ring has already started to include once-industrial towns such as Taunton – not the whole city, mind you, but the “nicer” areas. Same holds for the southeast corner bordering on both Fall River and New Bedford, as well as the towns on the Rhode Island border. Speaking of which, at least 50% of the people I worked with commuted from Rhode Island. Maybe it’s 60-70%. And I remember some of them complaining that even the Providence suburbs were getting pricey! ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205/70 "2002-04-11T04:29:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > \*\*Gosh, I don’t think anyone has mentioned the North of Boston area yet. Not the most pricey real estate in the country, but it’s probably in the top 10. There’s a sort of “ring” effect whereby real estate prices are lower for the scary/industrial towns just north of the city, then rise when you get to some very tony suburbs, then start dropping off very slightly as you head further north into long commute territory. \*\* Same thing with the South of Boston (and no, I don’t mean South Boston, although their prices are bordering on the ridiculous)! I know what you mean by the “ring” effect. Down this way, though, the ring has already started to include once-industrial towns such as Taunton – not the whole city, mind you, but the “nicer” areas. Same holds for the southeast corner bordering on both Fall River and New Bedford, as well as the towns on the Rhode Island border. Speaking of which, at least 50% of the people I worked with commuted from Rhode Island. Maybe it’s 60-70%. And I remember some of them complaining that even the Providence suburbs are getting pricey! ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205/71 "2002-04-11T04:36:30Z")
Whoops – sorry for the double post! :eek: We now return you to our real estate discussion… ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205/72 "2002-04-11T14:02:37Z")
Well, for another non-city data point, here in Ann Arbor prices are relatively high. There are three listings in Ann Arbor for $170,000. Two have about 800 square feet, bedrooms sharing a bathroom. There is one with more square footage but it is on a busy street. We’re a fairly affluent community. I have a friend whose husband is a computer programmer while she elected to quit her biochemist job to stay home. They are now just above the Head Start income qualification level for our town! I guess they have to have it fairly high lest no one qualify. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/170-000-is-an-affordable-house/102205.md?page=3)