Why is Eau Claire so expensive if it's so far up north and relatively rural? (Milwaukee: foreclosures, mobile home)

[ManApplet]

Originally Posted by timberline742

College town in one of the better second tier cities in Wisconsin. Not much more to it than that.

Sub $600 one bedrooms are quite mid to late 90s, even in the Midwest. If they're still a thing, its in a really depressed area. Maybe someplace like Prairie Du Chien. That's not a lot of money at all.

PDC has some free student housing, but you need to be convicted of a felony first - they converted Campion HS ( Later Martin Luther Preps. )

[strawflower]

Funny. I was just in Eau Claire visiting a family member, and had a great time. It's a lovely mid-sized town. Curious, I browsed the real estate websites to see what it'd cost to live there and thought that rent and housing prices were super reasonable for a safe, prosperous, semi-"trendy" college town like EC that has a lot going on in its own right, but is also reasonably close to the Twin Cities when you need or want big city amenities.

I guess it is all relative.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by strawflower

Funny. I was just in Eau Claire visiting a family member, and had a great time. It's a lovely mid-sized town. Curious, I browsed the real estate websites to see what it'd cost to live there and thought that rent and housing prices were super reasonable for a safe, prosperous, semi-"trendy" college town like EC that has a lot going on in its own right, but is also reasonably close to the Twin Cities when you need or want big city amenities.

I guess it is all relative.

It’s also located in a great geographical location close to all Up North lakes and trails, that’s a big positive.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by strawflower

Funny. I was just in Eau Claire visiting a family member, and had a great time. It's a lovely mid-sized town. Curious, I browsed the real estate websites to see what it'd cost to live there and thought that rent and housing prices were super reasonable for a safe, prosperous, semi-"trendy" college town like EC that has a lot going on in its own right, but is also reasonably close to the Twin Cities when you need or want big city amenities.

I guess it is all relative.

You summarized it exactly.

[sub]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Correct, I would say Eau Claire metro area was actually undervalued for quite awhile. It is now being valued at closer to what it should be, although companies with higher paying jobs are not abundant like you find up the road in the Cities.

Looking at average incomes whether it be household or personal, I'd say housing is insanely overvalued pretty much everywhere these days. 2010-ish was probably the only period of my adult life in which housing seemed somewhat close to being realistic, albeit still overpriced.

As I see it, average housing prices around the country should be ranging from 70k to 150k, maybe 200-300k on the top end.
Rents could easily be 20-30% less than what they are.

Supply and demand is of course the issue, but the supply seems to be artificially squelched all too often.
Also, this high demand for 3k square-foot monstrosities seems self-destructive especially considering the ever-shrinking households.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by sub

Looking at average incomes whether it be household or personal, I'd say housing is insanely overvalued pretty much everywhere these days. 2010-ish was probably the only period of my adult life in which housing seemed somewhat close to being realistic, albeit still overpriced.

As I see it, average housing prices around the country should be ranging from 70k to 150k, maybe 200-300k on the top end.
Rents could easily be 20-30% less than what they are.

Supply and demand is of course the issue, but the supply seems to be artificially squelched all too often.
Also, this high demand for 3k square-foot monstrosities seems self-destructive especially considering the ever-shrinking households.

Based on what data and analysis? How is supply squelched?

The "supply" is based on tens of millions of households making decisions as to what is in their best interest.



I guess your statement as to house size makes an assumption that sq/foot per person is a static #.
The reality is that desires, expectations, regulations, perceived investment potential and Quality of life improvements may factor into the decision as well.



You may not want to live in a 3000 sq ft. monstrosity but likely lot's of others do and are willing to pay for it.


EC is a great place. I would not mind living there and of so, would happily pay the "going rate."

[sub]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

Based on what data and analysis? How is supply squelched?

The "supply" is based on tens of millions of households making decisions as to what is in their best interest.



I guess your statement as to house size makes an assumption that sq/foot per person is a static #.
The reality is that desires, expectations, regulations, perceived investment potential and Quality of life improvements may factor into the decision as well.



You may not want to live in a 3000 sq ft. monstrosity but likely lot's of others do and are willing to pay for it.


EC is a great place. I would not mind living there and of so, would happily pay the "going rate."

Among other things, it's been well-documented that housing has been underbuilt for the last 15 years or so.

After looking at real estate more closely in Eau Claire, it looks to be pretty much identical in price to my part of Wisconsin and we're a similar distance to Milwaukee and Chicago. We never go to Chicago and hit up Milwuakee maybe once a month if that.
The prices should be cheaper being in a smaller town an hour or so out from a large city. You're still giving up a lot of convenience. Being an 1-1 1/2 hours away isn't really a perk 95% of the time.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by sub

Among other things, it's been well-documented that housing has been underbuilt for the last 15 years or so.

After looking at real estate more closely in Eau Claire, it looks to be pretty much identical in price to my part of Wisconsin and we're a similar distance to Milwaukee and Chicago. We never go to Chicago and hit up Milwuakee maybe once a month if that.
The prices should be cheaper being in a smaller town an hour or so out from a large city. You're still giving up a lot of convenience. Being an 1-1 1/2 hours away isn't really a perk 95% of the time.

I suppose some could view it that way. OTOH, houses likely sell in EC and thus those buyers are OK with price given their circumstances and desires.



Perhaps your locality is "under-priced" or maybe not as many people as you believe think like you and want the proximity to larger metro area.


Housing is built at the rate that the people doing the building are comfortable risking their assets for the expected return. Not much more to it that that. There is no grand "underbuilding" scheme going on. If enough people had resources to buy more houses, they would have been built . No one would leave that potential profit off the table if "underbuilding" was real.



I do not buy into conspiracy theories that housing markets are rigged or somehow altered to generate above market profits. Millions of people acting on their dreams and "pursuit of happiness" are the reasons houses are bought and sold. Not much more to it.


Free markets can be messy but more regulations from crappy gov't ain't gonna fix that. I have seen silly arguments put forth that "housing is a right." Good lord- we don't want that crazy socialist mentality taking hold.

[Bitey]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Apartment rental prices in nicer areas are commonly in the $900-1200 range in many areas of the Midwest now. Eau Claire is also more prosperous than Dubuque, IA overall, and is located in a more scenic area closer to a major metro area.

Dubuque is in the Driftless Area and sits right on the Mississippi River. Whatever its shortcomings are, a lack of local scenery isn't one of 'em.

Being a state college town is both an economic engine and a source of major competition for affordable housing. There's your main answer as to why Eau Claire housing is more expensive than Dubuque.

[everwinter]

Originally Posted by Bitey

Dubuque is in the Driftless Area and sits right on the Mississippi River. Whatever its shortcomings are, a lack of local scenery isn't one of 'em.

I love Dubuques scenery. Old river town/city with bluffs, eagles, barges, old architecture, & a great Mississippi River Museum to have an annual pass to take kids to regularly. It has 3 colleges & a community college if we're talking colleges.

I've always felt Dubuque is underrated. It's about the same distance from Dubuque to Madison as it is Eau Claire to the Twin Cities, if one needs a bigger city.