Why are Condos/ Garden homes SO expensive? (real estate, mortgages)

[censusdata]

For all the realitors on here... why does a 3 bedroom condo with no yard cost $150k to $500k+ while a new 5 bedroom house with a yard only cost $200,000?

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by censusdata

For all the realitors on here... why does a 3 bedroom condo with no yard cost $150k to $500k+ while a new 5 bedroom house with a yard only cost $200,000?

Actually the answer is something most liberals including nearly every Democrat I ever met has never understood. There are people who want to own a condo and are willing to pay highly.

It is quite simply "supply and demand" or FREE MARKET ECONOMICS.

You as an American have the opportunity to freely risk capital to build a building. If you call it a condo, unless you are in Florida, it will likely bring you a premium because equally free buyers can bid up the prices.

Here in Oldham County, we have too many speculatively built 5 bedroom homes with a yard, so for a buyer to have desire, they are only willing to pay a lower price. Yet, there is a demand for Patio Homes which still are selling.

Same is true in cars, mortgages, stocks and bonds. Democrat legislatures and officials think they have more sense than you and therefore, they try to control prices and supply. Let the oil companies alone and we'll see lower energy costs.

[dixiegirl7]

A new five bedroom home for 200,000??? Not in my area, unless it is in an undesirable location.

[ttyl1979]

tomocox

I COULDN'T AGREE MORE!!!!!!!!

[freemkt]

Originally Posted by tomocox

Actually the answer is something most liberals including nearly every Democrat I ever met has never understood. There are people who want to own a condo and are willing to pay highly.

It is quite simply "supply and demand" or FREE MARKET ECONOMICS.

You as an American have the opportunity to freely risk capital to build a building. If you call it a condo, unless you are in Florida, it will likely bring you a premium because equally free buyers can bid up the prices.

Here in Oldham County, we have too many speculatively built 5 bedroom homes with a yard, so for a buyer to have desire, they are only willing to pay a lower price. Yet, there is a demand for Patio Homes which still are selling.

Same is true in cars, mortgages, stocks and bonds. Democrat legislatures and officials think they have more sense than you and therefore, they try to control prices and supply. Let the oil companies alone and we'll see lower energy costs.

Um, not exactly. A truly free market does not exist in real estate, the way it does in cars, mortgages, stocks and bonds.

If you cannot afford a Ferrari, you can buy a Lexus...or a Bimmer, or a Honda...or a Ford...or even a used Yugo.

It doesn't work quite that way with real estate.

As an American, I DO NOT have the right, in urban or suburban America, to buy a 30' by 30' piece of land and build on it a 20' by 20' house (all I can afford). Also I do not have the right in urban or suburban America to buy a tiny piece of land and put a trailer on it. (This is why lot rents in trailer parks are so high - alternative options are restricted by government.)

Because Americans do not have these affordable ownership options, the supply of affordable low-end ownership options is restricted by government, thereby enabling prices to be bid up to ridiculous levels.

If urban and suburban Americans actually were free to buy 20' by 20' houses on 30' by 30' land, condos would be dirt cheap.

So it's not exactly a free market that makes condos so expensive.

[freemkt]

Originally Posted by tomocox

Actually the answer is something most liberals including nearly every Democrat I ever met has never understood. There are people who want to own a condo and are willing to pay highly.

It is quite simply "supply and demand" or FREE MARKET ECONOMICS.

You as an American have the opportunity to freely risk capital to build a building. If you call it a condo, unless you are in Florida, it will likely bring you a premium because equally free buyers can bid up the prices.

Hey FREE MARKET ECONOMICS guy, I refuted your silly assertion.

Do you have anything to say in defense of your pathetic position?

Condos are so expensive precisely because condo buyers do not have the more affordable options they would have in a truly free market.

[CraigCreek]

Actually, I think you'll find many of the current condo/townhouse purchasers are first wave baby boomers who have raised children and who are starting to downsize. A number of my friends have sought residences on one floor or with a bedroom and full bath on the first floor, minus large yards and/or with included maintenance, with a view towards staying independently in place in the future.

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by freemkt

Hey FREE MARKET ECONOMICS guy, I refuted your silly assertion.

Do you have anything to say in defense of your pathetic position?

Condos are so expensive precisely because condo buyers do not have the more affordable options they would have in a truly free market.

While you may have refuted my position, you are totally wrong. I can sell you a 30 x 30 property in many places in Kentucky and you can build a 29 x 29 house on it or you can build a 10 x 10 and be totally government free.

Sorry, Mr Typical, once again, you know not what you are speaking of.

[freemkt]

Originally Posted by tomocox

While you may have refuted my position, you are totally wrong. I can sell you a 30 x 30 property in many places in Kentucky and you can build a 29 x 29 house on it or you can build a 10 x 10 and be totally government free.

Sorry, Mr Typical, once again, you know not what you are speaking of.

Most Americans do not live in Kentucky and do not wish to move there. If this is possible in Kentucky, I would guess it's also possible elsewhere in the South, I will research this. There are very few non-rural places in North America where minimum lot size requirements do not exist, and minimum size requirements of 5,000 square feet or 10,000 square feet are common.

I have never seen such a thing allowed in the non-rural East, West, or Midwest.

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by freemkt

Most Americans do not live in Kentucky and do not wish to move there. If this is possible in Kentucky, I would guess it's also possible elsewhere in the South, I will research this. There are very few non-rural places in North America where minimum lot size requirements do not exist, and minimum size requirements of 5,000 square feet or 10,000 square feet are common.

I have never seen such a thing allowed in the non-rural East, West, or Midwest.

My point is only to hopefully encourage you to be quite a bit more open to being wrong and not assuming that everyone else is wrong simply because they have information that you might not. It's perfectly ok to question a person who provides data that does not correspond to your understanding, but as an old man, I definitely encourage you to realize that exceptions to nearly every situation, law, or event do occur.

In my business there are four foundations. I encourage my people to understand the four squares of a good deal. Integrity, Service, Knowledge, and Care. The only person that can beat me when it comes to integrity and care is myself. I can not be beaten in those categories unless I allow myself to fail, but when it comes to service and knowledge, too many variables outside of my control can prevent perfection. For example, there is no way I can know all about your business, or the journey which has led you to what you need.

Just be a bit less pompous. You'll go farther.