US house prices

[goodoldgirl]

Reading about the dreadful kidnapping of those three women in Ohio, and noticed that most of the characters the press are writing about seem to own their own houses. And one said that someone had bought their house for $3,000. So I googled house prices in Cleveland, and it's unbelievable - from $1,500 upwards. Yes, one thousand five hundred dollars. And these are big houses. So then I had a look around on google streetview, and they just have so much space compared to us. Incredible.

Am I missing something? Are they all on really short leaseholds or something?

[ArbitraryUsername]

They're probably almost unsaleable for some reason. Houses people actually want are not $3000.

[californiaburrito]

Housing in the US can be very different than the UK. The supply of houses is much greater so process in undesirable places are lower because people can just move out to the suburbs. And Cleveland isn't exactly an economic hotspot right now. I was there about ten years ago (before the housing market crashed) and there were loads on massive beautiful houses for sale for practically nothing. I can't imagine that has improved recently.

[AliceWChild]

You can buy houses here for peanuts too but they'll be the ones no one wants in areas suffering from massive catastrophic decline. I don't know much about that area, but an example in the USA is Detroit where the car industry that held it together has gone, leaving much of it as urban wasteland. There's a very interesting documentary about it, Requiem for Detroit. Be thankful that we at least have some state intervention here to stop such massive decline. Although there are many areas that suffered in similar ways here, we do a little more about it.

[californiaburrito]

Process? Prices!

[MousyMouse]

and they have space apart from downtown of the big cities.

there is just not as much space in the UK and other parts of europe.

[californiaburrito]

Also, I'm not sure the concept of leasehold/freehold applies anywhere in the US for detached houses.

[MousyMouse]

and not forgetting these houses are not built to last a hundred (or more) years.

[noisytoys]

There are places in the UK where you can get a house for less than the cost of a car. Not sure I'd like to live there though. There must be a reason they are so cheap

[goodoldgirl]

No, I realised they weren't going to last as long as some of the houses here in the UK, because they were mostly made of wood rather than brick, but you're right, california, they are beautiful.

This one's nice, and only $5,700.

Or this one, for £1,500.

Would you own the land, even if the house fell down?

[ArbitraryUsername]

Apparently glenville is 'one of Cleveland's most visible examples of poverty, crime and urban decay' (according to Wikipedia). That's why the house is $1,500.

[giantpenguinmonster]

I know a Dr from middle America whose house was around $100,000 US. I doubt it was in a crappy area.

I'd always wondered how people in films with fairly low paid jobs could afford such big houses. I think housing is a lot cheaper in a lot of the US.

I still wouldn't live there.

[NotGoodNotBad]

goodoldgirl, did you look at the interior photos of that first one? Would certainly qualify for one of those "worst interior shots" threads! House might well fall down. Second one not much better, but empty at least!

[goodoldgirl]

penguinmonster, I used to wonder the same about people in films - now we know!

NotGoodNotBad - I did look at the interior - I was brought up with no central heating, well water to bath in (0ften with frogs/bits of leaves coming through the taps) and corrugated iron outhouses - not much phases me in terms of the condition of properties - don't mind poverty and decay, as arbitrary points out, but as a parent, then the crime part would bother me, yes. But what beautiful houses......

[wonkylegs]

As others have said as always it depends where you are but yes often you can get more space than in the UK for relatively less money.
However my relatives have a quite modest 3bed house in a very cool area and it's worth approx $2million and is generally uninsurable due to the threat of brush fires. It's just a very exclusive road, with some extremely cool neighbours.

[ThisIsNotAFlyingToy]

Hmm, interesting. We had this conversation last night and I was googling US houses last year (and Detroit popped up then as cheapest place) But, can a UK citizen buy there? If so, how many days would you be able to visit?

[expatinscotland]

You couldn't pay me $1500/month to live in Cleveland. It's a pit.

[SquinkiesRule]

Oh god why would you want to visit Detroit? That poor place has seen batter days and is now so sad and full of poverty and crime.
Buying in US with no visa or citizenship is probably not a great idea, although some people buy a holiday home and have it managed in areas filled with them in places like Florida. Other than that, homeowners insurance, and mortgages are hard to get for non residents.
zfein.com/photography/detroit/

[ThisIsNotAFlyingToy]

No, I definitely wasn't thinking of Detroit or Cleveland (not been to either but I get the gist)

[expatinscotland]

You can visit for 90 days/time, bit I'd do some serious research! It's not a place that encourages speculation in the property market as we had here. Homes are seen far more as a long-term investment and many states levy heavy taxes on gains if they are not rolled into your principal domain (which it won't be as you are not a resident) at sale and other taxes to discourage BTL and absentee landlordism.

[SconeRhymesWithGone]

I live in Florida and it is possible to get some real bargains at the moment because of the boom and bust of the last few years. The economy generally has been improving though and house sales are starting to pick up.

The median price in my county, which is considered desirable due to demographics (high number of professionals and well-off retirees) and excellent schools, is currently around $200,000. This would purchase a house of about 1800-2000 square feet with a decent yard in a leafy neighborhood with good schools.

And yes, when you buy a house, you own the land, too. The exception would be a condominium; you own your apartment, but the common areas and the land would belong to the condo association.

[flow4]

I think that houses are often sold as leasehold in the US (or whatever their equivalent is), with relatively high ground-rents and taxes on top of the purchase price. For example, if you look on the property history pages of the links you posted, you'll see there are are taxes of around $16,500 per year on those houses. As far as I know, those taxes are payable whether or not the house is occupied, so someone who can no longer afford their repayments and taxes will be desperate to sell, because their debt will be building up at a frightening rate if they don't, and their 'asset' will lose value if they can't afford to maintain it. These houses are almost certainly fore-closures (i.e. repossessions).

[lljkk]

It's a somewhat deprived area.
I dare say you can tell that by the predominant skin colours of inhabitants.
Drive by shootings? Meth houses on the corners? Teenage girls snatched and held captive for 10 yrs? They got it all...

Average home prices in my home town are $380,000 but that's way down from the peak near $600k. (Sigh).

(Oh, and we have drive-by shootings, gangs, meth houses too).