How much did your first house cost and what would/should it cost today? (foreclosures, 4%)
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My first house purchased in 1980 was 1000 sq ft, 2/2/1, CBS, on a 1/4 acre lot (80x125) that I previously purchased. Cost for the lot was $3500. My cost to build (bought new) was $31,900. Not sure how much I put down, but my mortgage was 13% and my P&I was $211.00. If I remember correctly my payment with taxes and insurance was about $300 (+ or -) I sold it privately to a co worker in 1987 (I think) for $45,000
Same house today adjusted for JUST inflation is $113,158.28. P&I payment @5.5% would be about $650, plus taxes and insurance. Sold for $157,000 in 2019.
Current estimate is $280,500
Assuming homes on average go up 4% per year over inflation so I've been told. so 4% of approx. 40 years adds another $158,000
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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My wife and I bought our first house in 1978, at ages 25/26, in Castro Valley, CA (near San Francisco for $50,000. It was a 2 BR 1 BA fixer, about 1,100 SF on a 5,000 SF lot. We had to work on it for weeks before moving in, new carpet, all new paint inside, window coverings, remodeled the kitchen and bath. Zillow shows the current value at $844,000. Our mortgage was at 7%, the bank charged 8% then but my wife worked there and got a discount. Our payment with taxes and insurance was $369/month. We sold it in 1985 for $105,000.
Bought in 2010 for $270k (it was a dump) in Socal near the beach in a ghetto.
Renovated over the years, made the best I could with as little money as possible, must have spent a total of $50k.
Rented out rooms, paid it off within 8 years.
Sold in 2020 for $505K.
Could have sold it in 2022 for $600k
We bought our first house in 1990 in an old industrial city about 50 miles west of Chicago. New construction from a national builder, 3 BR, 1.5 BA, about 6000 sq ft lot. The lot was premium as it backed up to a large open space. We paid about $126,000. Interest rate was 10%, but we took advantage of a mortgage buy down so paid 8% first year, 9% second year and 10% the third year. We refinanced in the 4th year. Today Zillow estimates the value at $290,000. I noticed the last owner sold for $210K right at the beginning of the pandemic. I bet they wish they waited a year or two.
Using the inflation calculator above, it's also at $290K. I know the neighborhood had LOTS of foreclosures and very little value increases through most of the 2000's.
This calculator definitely doesn't work for real estate in California in recent years.
We bought our first (and only) house in 1997 for $160k.
Inflation calculator says it would be $295k today.
Actual going price for this same model in our neighborhood as of this month: $987k.
I went back a bit farther. My parents bought my childhood home in a different part of SoCal in 1965 for about $40k. They sold it in 1998 for $335k. The calculator says it should have been only $195k.
Our first place was a townhouse in Raleigh NC built in 1985. We paid $84,500 in 1998 and sold it 6 years later for $86,000 (townhouse market was horrible at the time). We only lived in it for 4 years before purchasing a SFR. With the inflation calculator it should be worth $154,518 but right now there is a townhouse in the same complex listed for $310,000 (1300 square feet). Zillow values our previous townhouse at $260,000.
Bought a 20 year old, 3 BR, 1.5 bath, 1050 SF ranch in 1978 for $48,000. Assumed a 8% FHA loan, one of those no-qualify, $45 transfer fee goodies from back then. Sold that house in 1984 for the low $50s. Buyer assumed that mortgage, which was a plus in the 11% rate environment then.
A very similar home down the street is currently on the market for $319,000. It does have a nicely updated kitchen and baths and the basement looks to be professionally finished.
Bought my first house in 1994 for $125k, sold in 2007 for $208k. More recent sales info does not work for that property because 1/2 the land was sold off, and the house was razed and rebuilt. The house that currently sits on the property sold a year ago for $850k, but it is larger than the house I lived in back in the day.
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