Sal
Senior Member
Some blighted cities are actually returning land to farming.Sad thing about quality Ag land that gets developed: it'll never again go under the plow.
Some blighted cities are actually returning land to farming.Sad thing about quality Ag land that gets developed: it'll never again go under the plow.
The cheap Levitt house that I grew up in (1/4 acre plot, single story cape, built on a concrete slab) now has a Zillow estimate of almost a million dollars, despite not being substantially changed since my folks sold it in 1986.My house is earmarked for my kids. A significant part of the real estate market is being bought up by absentee landlords.
I can't tell you how many times I've had real estate people cold call me on the cell. Or send me texts. Or send me emails. All to buy my house. One guy was talking to me one day, and I said to him, "I could sell my house, but I couldn't afford to live anywhere else!"
I have no interest in moving to another state away from my family, just so I can buy another house at this age. I'm all about passing along the generational wealth, since basically I had none growing up.
All the new construction around here is McMansions and expensive townhomes.
No Levittowns anymore.
I grew up in a Levitt home myself. A rancher in Bowie, Md where my mother still lives. Thankfully, being in a regulated Chesapeake runoff area, only a certain % of a property can be an impervious surface/structure…so no leveling of any Levitt homes in Bowie. Despite that, and given it’s ideal location right between DC/Balt/Annapolis, with upgraded kitchen and bathrooms (and a den addition) many original homes are still selling for $700,000+. I think my parents paid $48,000 for it in 1974. In 62-65 when they were new they started at $16,000.The cheap Levitt house that I grew up in (14 acre plot single story cape built on a concrete slab) now has aa Zillow estimate of almost a million dollars, despite not being substantially changed since my folks sold it in 1986.
17 Wakefield Ave, Port Washington, NY 11050 | Zillow
17 Wakefield Ave, Port Washington NY, is a Single Family home that contains 1383 sq ft and was built in 1949.It contains 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.This home last sold for $725,000 in August 2019. The Zestimate for this Single Family is $1,004,800, which has increased by $31,680 in the last 30...www.zillow.com
And folks buy them, bulldoze them, and replace them with McMansions that take up the whole quarter acre. It's nuts.
HeyMikey,The other sad thing is builders aren’t building stand alone starter homes. Either it’s going to be McMansions or multi-condos. It used to be there were neighborhoods chock fully of 2-3 bedroom affordable ranches. No more.
So true!!CA still offers a lot in terms of climate and scenery, but the quality of life otherwise has degraded to the point of being almost unrecognizable when compared to how it was back during the 1950s-1970s. This state is definitely no longer "middle-class-friendly" the way it once was.
GAD,This is what the farm I grew up on is today. This is literally the same address and this is on the hill by where the barn was.
This is the trend in suburban Detroit, as well. In the neighborhood I grew up in the average house was 1000 sq ft on a 40' x 100' lot. Those are getting torn down and developers are building 2 and 3 story houses nearly as wide as the lot with an attached garage in front so that they no longer need a driveway going into a garage behind the house and putting 1 million+ prices on them.In Portland, developers are buying up really nice old houses, tearing down the houses and surrounding trees, then building McMansions to the edges of the property lines. It's sickening to watch
Chazmo,Poet, what part of CA are you talking about?
This is a huge factor. I wish single family homes could be off-limits to corporate absentee landlords and buyers.A significant part of the real estate market is being bought up by absentee landlords.
And the quality of life there is much degraded. I wouldn't live there again.
My first apartment in SF was a studio with all utilities paid at $150 a month.
I lived in San Francisco 1/2 block from the Panhandle for 8 years (1979-1987) on Central near Masonic and Fell. Used to take walks at night without a worry. Then I lived off Silver Ave near McLaren Park a few years. No worries. I last lived along Ocean Avenue and was mugged at gunpoint for the $9 I had on me. That was the end of me walking at night. Left SF in 2000 and wouldn't even think of living there again.The panhandle was sketchy at night, as were places like Fillmore, Haight, Hunters Point, Tenderloin and parts of the Mission, but the rest of it was pretty much no worries. And car burglary wasn't off the charts just about everywhere as it is now.
So true. Or they buy smaller houses like ours, do the magical makeover and relist them for 250K more.In Portland, developers are buying up really nice old houses, tearing down the houses and surrounding trees, then building McMansions to the edges of the property lines. It's sickening to watch.
That will a big issue in the long term. In eastern Canada (Ontario & Quebec) the best ag land is along the St Lawrence River and lower Great Lakes. These areas are the most populous and are increasing in pop size.Sad thing about quality Ag land that gets developed: it'll never again go under the plow.
I just checked the house I lived in from age 3 to 12. It was in Woodland Hills, CA so the San Fernando Valley. My parents bought it new in 1957. Only 1400 sq. ft., with 3 small bedrooms and 2 baths. So Redfin has it listed HERE if you want to see it. Cute little ranch house. Redfin current estimate is $1.2 million. Who is buying these again??
So $300K?? or what....The developer was well known for building to code but just barely and using scraps from one house in the next one. ) and it could go for over $300 now.