Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Because relatively few regional housing markets have non-luxury 2 bed condos going for $525,000 (75K over 450K, per your original post).

E.g., in the Midwest you'd have to be in a nice part of Chicago or choosing the most expensive city neighborhood of a mid-sized city to find a meaningful number of $525K 2 bed condos. And even then, spending that much on a condo is 100% an unnecessary luxury. 10 minutes in any direction prices will crater, and by the time you get to the suburbs starter homes are from the $200s and $525K is a mansion. For the entirety of the midwest and most parts of the south.

Even on the coasts $525K for a 2 bed condo is a Big City thing. E.g., $500-$700K is the going rate for 2 bed condos in most of Boston, but drive an hour away from Boston in any direction? Not so much. Hell, even Wakefield has a 2 bed condo below $300K and that's only a 25 minute drive. And that's one of the more expensive housing markets in the US.

Living 20 minutes from major city centers via public transit has become a luxury, sure. But it's just not accurate to say that $525K for a 2 bed condo is "normal" in the US. It's not. It's quite specific to a very high CoL markets.




Ah yea i see what you mean. that might be an exception to suburbs of altanta. It was just an example of insanity of housing market in USA. I was not implying that the going price of condo.


Our old apartment in Chicago, which was in a nice neighborhood had its rent prices drop by at least $500/month. It might be more now.

When I look at real estate in general in Chicago, it's been dropping a little, not a ton, but it's not like how other are describing the huge increase in housing costs in other parts of the country.

It seems like there are big regional differences going on with housing costs in the US. Supply/demand and policy I'm guessing are making the difference.




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: