# Million Dollar Mansions **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 2, 2021, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393 "2021-06-02T04:14:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/21 "2021-06-02T19:02:36Z")
My commute, which was only for meetings at HQ even before COVID, takes me right past this out-of-place mini-mansion. > **[1200 S Frederick St, Arlington, VA 22204 | MLS #VAAR2003962 | Zillow](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1200-S-Frederick-St-Arlington-VA-22204/12095963_zpid/)** > > 1200 S Frederick St, Arlington VA, is a Single Family home that contains 3282 sq ft and was built in 2006.It contains 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.This home last sold for $1,175,000 in November 2021. > > The Zestimate for this Single Family is... Three car garage in a neighborhood where most homes don’t even have a carport. https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!4v1622660512528!6m8!1m7!1sT3U49m1Kx-zlPIcnddlU3Q!2m2!1d38.85003087586797!2d-77.11401884763916!3f208.64!4f2.3700000000000045!5f0.7820865974627469 ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/22 "2021-06-02T19:27:12Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > 2BR/2Bath townhouse on a **14** ’x100’ lot. Did you accidentally drop a zero? Because a 14-foot wide lot would be ridiculously hard to build on or live in. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/23 "2021-06-02T19:33:54Z")
Here’s a decidedly unimpressive million dollar home in my old neighborhood. > **[14-32 30th Dr, Astoria, NY 11102 | Zillow](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/14-32-30th-Dr-Astoria-NY-11102/2070793901_zpid/)** > > 14-32 30th Dr, Astoria NY. > > The Rent Zestimate for this property is $4,362/mo, which has increased by $378/mo in the last 30 days. A few years ago, I saw a home like this listed for close to 4 million. The two differences were the 4 million dollar home was on narrow but really deep plot of land, and the area was zoned for high-rise apartment buildings. The real estate ads on that one barely mentioned the house , it was all about the zoning and the size of the building you would be allowed to put up on the lot. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/24 "2021-06-02T19:36:13Z")
[Lovely 890 sqft 1/2 mansion in Redwood City](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/703-Flynn-Ave-Redwood-City-CA-94063/15566740_zpid/) [Lovely 754 sqft 1/2 mansion in nearby Alviso](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1312-Grand-Blvd-Alviso-CA-95002/19470164_zpid/) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/25 "2021-06-02T19:51:46Z")
Meanwhile, if you head east you can get this lovely 2 bedroom 1 bath Craftsman in East Sacramento for only $925k > **[1121 40th St, Sacramento, CA 95819 | MLS #221050938 | Zillow](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1121-40th-St-Sacramento-CA-95819/25786157_zpid/)** > > 1121 40th St, Sacramento CA, is a Single Family home that contains 1214 sq ft and was built in 1920.It contains 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.This home last sold for $875,000 in June 2021. > > The Zestimate for this Single Family is $909,500, which has... It’s in the same neighborhood that was heavily featured in the film _Lady Bird_. The “blue house” prominently featured in that film, just 4 blocks away, is not on the market but has an estimated value of $1.6 million. > **[1224 44th St, Sacramento, CA 95819 | Zillow](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1224-44th-St-Sacramento-CA-95819/25786646_zpid/)** > > 1224 44th St, Sacramento CA, is a Single Family home that contains 2588 sq ft and was built in 1935.It contains 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.This home last sold for $975,000 in March 2014. > > The Zestimate for this Single Family is $1,623,600, which has... ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/26 "2021-06-02T19:54:54Z")
Down in Beaumont, TX, a million bucks can buy an actual mansion, complete with servants’ quarters. Full disclosure: I know the sellers. > **[2550 Ashley St, Beaumont, TX 77702 | MLS #61678176 | Zillow](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2550-Ashley-St-Beaumont-TX-77702/50337817_zpid/)** > > For sale This 7574 square foot single family home has 6 bedrooms and 7.0 bathrooms. It is located at 2550 Ashley St Beaumont, Texas. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/27 "2021-06-02T19:58:48Z")
In the suburbs east of Sacramento, you can get a McMansion, but it will be a longer commute if you work in the city. > **[3001 Schooner Dr, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 | MLS #221057490 | Zillow](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3001-Schooner-Dr-El-Dorado-Hills-CA-95762/52393070_zpid/)** > > 3001 Schooner Dr, El Dorado Hills CA, is a Single Family home that contains 3767 sq ft and was built in 2001.It contains 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms.This home last sold for $1,158,000 in June 2021. > > The Zestimate for this Single Family is $1,200,600,... ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/28 "2021-06-02T19:59:38Z")
I want to see more places like that one. Not how little, but how much. Those are fun. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/29 "2021-06-02T20:05:04Z")
[A million dollar house in Rochester](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3019-Clover-St-Pittsford-NY-14534/31026655_zpid/) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/30 "2021-06-02T20:05:47Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I want to see more places like that one. Not how little, but how much. Those are fun. [Check these out.](https://historicproperties.com/Search?IsSubmitted=True&styleId=&propertyTypeFlag=&minBedrooms=®ionId=&viewTypeId=&minBathroomCountValue=&priceRangeId=6&AcreageRangeId=&ConditionId=) ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/31 "2021-06-02T20:06:58Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Did you accidentally drop a zero? Because a 14-foot wide lot would be ridiculously hard to build on or live in. Nope, it’s a town (row) house. Detached houses in Toronto don’t exist under $1M, so you are looking at a semi-detached, town house, or condo. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/32 "2021-06-02T20:15:30Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > $1M in Cambridge, MA will get you a 2-3 bedroom condo. Here in the slums of Somerville you get slightly more for $1M, but not much. I’m right on the border with Cambridge and our 3 bedroom 1000 sq ft condo would go for a bit less than that. But brand new places with slightly more square footage go for $1.2M or more. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/33 "2021-06-02T20:23:28Z")
Where I moved from three years ago, Santa Cruz County CA, a million dollars is an entry-level home. If you get 3 beds 2 baths, it is a run down mess. Here in Western MA, that will get you a house big enough for a small orphanage, with a swimming pool. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/34 "2021-06-02T21:49:00Z")
In my area, $1,000,000 officially now buys you a below average house. ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/35 "2021-06-02T22:13:05Z")
Wow. And I thought prices here were out of control. I looked at Zillow for my hometown here in flyover land, and $949, 900 gets you a 10 bed/4 bath, 4700 square foot house: > **[545 Summit Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55102 | MLS #6099240 | Zillow](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/545-Summit-Ave-Saint-Paul-MN-55102/2079015390_zpid/)** > > 545 Summit Ave, Saint Paul MN, is a Multiple Occupancy home that contains 4717 sq ft and was built in 1910.It contains 10 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms.This home last sold for $800,000 in March 2022. > > The Rent Zestimate for this Multiple Occupancy is... Probably cost a fortune to heat. A bit more gets this 5 bed/4 bath 4200 square foot home on a better lot. Looks like a nicer place, too: > **[91 Crocus Pl, Saint Paul, MN 55102 | Zillow](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/91-Crocus-Pl-Saint-Paul-MN-55102/2029111_zpid/)** > > 91 Crocus Pl, Saint Paul MN, is a Single Family home that contains 4525 sq ft and was built in 1886.It contains 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.This home last sold for $225,000 in February 1989. > > The Zestimate for this Single Family is $781,700, which... ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/36 "2021-06-02T22:15:59Z")
I know someone who bought a 5 bedroom, 5 bath home over 5000 sq ft for about 550k recently. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/37 "2021-06-02T22:31:24Z")
Close to 20 years ago I was looking at moving to Fayetteville, AR and looking at the home I could buy for 300-400k and they were mansions and I decided to turn the job down because I wasn’t sure how I could go from a 5000 sqft brick home on 10 acres to a condo in the bad part of town in Santa Barbara, CA (also known as back home). Checking now it seems that a million in Fayetteville will get you apparently . . . nothing. All I could find was this home for [$600k](https://www.redfin.com/AR/Rogers/Savannah-Estates/Hogan/home/174710884) and this one for [$1.3mm](https://www.redfin.com/AR/Gentry/11944-Clyde-Edwards-Rd-72734/home/116331314) with nothing inbetween. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/38 "2021-06-02T22:54:28Z")
Yeah, I laughed when I thought of the notion of a ‘Million Dollar Mansion’ in Toronto. The average price of a detached house in Toronto is $1.75 million. > **[It will now cost you $1.75 million to buy an average detached house in Toronto](https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-toronto/2021/04/average-detached-house-toronto-cost-1-75-million/)** > > Home sales and price growth both continue to accelerate at a rapid pace in Toronto, even as economists sound the alarm over a looming real estate b... ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/39 "2021-06-02T23:28:12Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > [Here](https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2510-Arlington-Rd_Cleveland-Heights_OH_44118_M31486-48440) is a very nice 6-bedroom home in our community, going for 950K. Even has a “butler’s pantry.” > > Yeah, I could live there. That’s a classically beautiful old house of the era, completed in 1913, so it was probably started the same year the Titanic was brand new and started on its ill-fated maiden voyage. Lots of space and oozing with character! No doubt the walls are all plaster and lathe, which has a great effect on acoustics. The price is unbelievable. A house like that, with that kind of land, would easily be $5 to $10 million in Toronto, depending on exact location. > [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > > [@gnoitall](#): > > > > Did you accidentally drop a zero? Because a 14-foot wide lot would be ridiculously hard to build on or live in. > > Nope, it’s a town (row) house. > > Detached houses in Toronto don’t exist under $1M, so you are looking at a semi-detached, town house, or condo. In fact, detached houses are approaching twice that in the city proper, and “don’t exist under $1M” is pretty much true for all the surrounding burbs in the Greater Toronto Area. And in fact that $1M for a small 2-bedroom townhouse isn’t even in a particularly good area. A few decades ago it was pretty run-down and has in recent years started to become gentrified, but not really my idea of a great neighbourhood. To be fair, I’m not really that familiar with it aside from having driven through it at times. One thing I always reflect on these days is that after I retired, I eventually sold my place in the city and moved way out to one of the distant suburbs. My sole objective was to find a decent place to live, and a rental seemed like a good bet. But good rentals were hard to find, even then, so my next objective was to find a place to buy in a nice neighbourhood at a low price, which was realistic because it was so distant from the city proper. The point here is that this was intended to be a cheap, decent place to live, not an investment. But the neighbourhood seemed to be growing and during my time here in less than a decade, two new schools and lots of new shopping areas have sprung up, and new construction has been going as fast as they can build 'em. When I had the property appraised recently, to my complete astonishment it had more than tripled in value in some nine years! Pretty damn good for a non-investment. Yay for real estate! ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393/40 "2021-06-02T23:30:35Z")
> [@gnarator](#): > > I looked at Zillow for my hometown here in flyover land, and $949, 900 gets you a 10 bed/4 bath, 4700 square foot house: > [https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/545-Summit-Ave-Saint-Paul-MN-55102/2079015390\_zpid/](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/545-Summit-Ave-Saint-Paul-MN-55102/2079015390_zpid/) > > Probably cost a fortune to heat. 10 beds and 4 baths sounded like an odd ratio; I thought the bigger homes tended to have a bed:bath ratio of no more than 2:1 and usually closer to 1:1. So I clicked through to the listing, and it’s a 4-plex, not a house. Makes sense now: 4 attached units, one bath each, 2 with 2 beds and 2 with 3 beds. So actually pretty economical to heat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/million-dollar-mansions/943393.md?page=3)