Saturday. 6.28.08
Go Centralia! Our Eastern Washington city made Top 12 of This Old House Magazine's Best Places to find a grand old house….
Daily Real Estate News | June 27, 2008
Top Places to Buy an Old House
This Old House magazine, is forever on the hunt for the greatest old houses. In the July issue, the magazine identifies 12 neighborhoods nationwide that it considers the best old-house neighborhoods in the United States.
The winners were chosen because of their architectural diversity, the preservation momentum in the area, and neighborhood amenities, including walkability, services, and the level of community.
The magazine also identifies dozens of other good neighborhoods.
Here are the magazine's top 12:
Centre Park Historic District, Reading, Pa.: five-bedroom townhouse can be purchased for about $60,000, a large Queen Anne for $135,000, and a mansion for less than $600,000.
Hampton Heights Historic District, Spartanburg, S.C.: homes range from $50,000 for a 1930s Arts and Crafts fixer-upper to $250,000 for a restored Queen Anne.
Galena, Illinois: a Greek Revival or Second Empire home can be bought for as little as $130,000.
Kempton's Corners, New Bedford, Mass.: prices run the range in this area, starting at $180,000 and then running as high as $800,000 for a Victorian.
Old Louisville, Ky.: a rehabbed manse might cost about $275,000, with prices topping out at $800,000.
Pleasant Ridge, Mich.: prices range from the low $100,000s for a modest bungalow to more than a million for a big Colonial Revival or Tudor.
Victorian Flatbush, Brooklyn, N.Y.: fixer-uppers are available for $600,000 to $900,000; a restored home will run you upward to a million or more.
Albany, Ore.: home prices in Albany's national historic districts range from $90,000 for a run-down Italianate to $400,000 for a fully restored one.
Georgetown, Texas: price tags on fixer-upper bungalows can be purchased for as little as $90,000; grander homes can run in the millions.
Centralia, Wash.: homes in the Edison District range from $250,000 for an 1,800-square-foot Craftsman to $600,000 for a massive Queen Anne.
New Castle, Del.: a brick Federal in good shape will run you $385,000, while large historic homes with river views cost close to a million.
Washington, Ga.: Antebellum mansions run as low as $350,000, while a 2,000-square-foot Victorian cottage might go for $130,000.
Source: This Old House online, by Keith Pandolfi, Allison Goldstein, Taryn Lonergan, and Melissa Thomas
Thursday. 6.26.08
I subscribe to NWREporter as one of my regular readings to stay attuned to our local economy and real estate market. In it's July 2008 report, there is an article titled "Research Shows Residential Values Steady, Even Rising in Some Submarkets", where Forsythe Appraisals (deemed in this article to be the nation's largest independent appraisal company) tries to explain how to understand your local market. They go on to say that even though the national housing market is showing a decline, there are pockets of areas, metropolitan cities and even sub-sections of these areas that are showing positive gains.
Here is an excerpt regarding Washington markets:
"Using Seattle, Washington, as one example, Forsythe's research showed that two-bedroom downtown condominiums have risen approximately 6.2 percent in the past year. On Mercer Island, waterfront properties are up between 15 and 20 percent, while non-waterfront properties have increased about 7 percent. Overall values of properties more than 2000 square feet on Mercer Island increased even more dramatically: from a $444 average price per square foot to a $500 price per square foot in the past 12 months, an increase of 12.6 percent."
I receive many emails from prospective residents (i.e., relocators) who want to know what our current condition is in Washington. All signs point to POSITIVE in my book (I live in Seattle), but again it depends on where in Washington you are planning to live. Please contact me if you know what specific city you are interested in and I can give you information tailored to your specific inquiry.
