What You Get for ... $300,000

NY Times ^ | January 17, 2007 | ANNA BAHNEY

[Lorianne]

GULF SHORES, AL

WHAT: One-bedroom condo

HOW MUCH: $299,000

PER SQUARE FOOT: $610

This 490-square-foot unit is on the fifth floor of the Gulf Shores Surf and Racquet condominium complex. Situated along the Gulf of Mexico, the area is known for its fishing and golfing. The development offers an outdoor pool, hot tub, tennis and racquetball courts, a fishing pier and barbecue area. This unit comes furnished and includes deeded beach access and covered parking. The unit has one bath and an open kitchen. It has a view of Little Lagoon. The annual taxes are $324.06 and the condominium fee is $129 per month.

BAR HARBOR, ME

WHAT: Five-bedroom house

HOW MUCH: $299,000

PER SQUARE FOOT: $186.87

Built in 1930, this 1,600-square-foot farmhouse is near town amenities in Bar Harbor, which is on the east side of Mount Desert Island and surrounded by Acadia National Park. The area offers year-round recreation like fishing, boating, hiking, biking and cross-country skiing. On the main floor of this three-story home is the kitchen, dining room and living room. The second floor has the master bedroom, two additional bedrooms and a full bath; two more bedrooms are on the third level. The annual taxes are $2,041.70.

PORTLAND, OR

WHAT: A one-bedroom loft condominium

HOW MUCH: $299,900

PER SQUARE FOOT: $421.20

This 712-square-foot loft in a 1910 building is in the Pearl District of Portland, a recently gentrified neighborhood known for its shops, galleries and restaurants. The unit comes with one parking spot, but the building is also near a light-rail line. The condo has 14-foot ceilings, with exposed wood beams and posts. The taxes are $137 annually and frozen until 2016, and the monthly condo maintenance fee is $154.

[fish hawk]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha. This is funny. I'm not going to tell you what a small condo would cost you here on Maui. Guess. I'm building a fence on a ocean front property in Kihei right now. The lot was 13 million and the house is about 7 million. The fence is going to be about 22,000 dollars. (bamboo) Of course if you don't have that kind of money you can buy a condo with no view of the ocean for 600 thousand and up.

[Larry Lucido]

And out of fairness, Lorianne, some respondents might be confusing you with the one or two folks on FR who seem to have a morbid obsession with housing prices and interest rates, and who post doomsday thread after doomsday thread as though the world will end unless we all do......well, something, but they never quite say just what.

[Lorianne]

I'm a free market advocate. As we can see from this thread alone, some people have made a lot of money on real estate that has gone up in value!

I'm quite intersted in real estate valuation and trends. Some people can make anything into something sinister.

[Lorianne]

Cross country skiing in Honolulu? :)

[Alter Kaker]

Total hogwash. I live in Florida. I have insurance, and I'm within a mile of the water.

Thanks to Uncle Sam. Every home owner in Florida is suckling off big government's teat, after Andrew.

[Larry Lucido]

Very true!

[neb52]

Not true. Our biggest customer moved into the Florida market to do Hurricane Insurance a few months ago and is getting customers through the roof.

[neb52]

You got a good deal. My Step Grandparents paid $350,000 for a 2 Br in Frisco. I think that was 4-5 years ago.I think it is worth a little under $400,000 now.

[Alter Kaker]

Not true. Our biggest customer moved into the Florida market to do Hurricane Insurance a few months ago and is getting customers through the roof.

But only because of government loan guarantees and subsidies. There's no shortage of customers in Florida, there's an excess of potential liability, which is why no insurer can afford to insure Florida without Uncle Sam's helping hand.

[MaxMax]

No reach around?

[Petronski]

. . . disparity of housing prices across the country.

[neb52]

I wasn't gloating, just telling the other poster he got a good deal. Yes the $400,00 is assumed on what others are willing to pay, but Frisco is in between Vail, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Keystone and Beaver Creek. This makes it a high demand town. The scary part is it is cheaper than Vail and Breckenridge since it is not an actual resort town. I would never pay that much for a condo, but my step grandparents can rent it out enough to cover the mortgage for the year and they even swap it with other condo owners in Hawaii, etc. Not to bad a deal other than they are getting to the point that the traveling up there is to hard on them.

[neb52]

No subsidies. I believe there is a State Fund that residents can pay into, but that is all the State of Florida offers.

[Alter Kaker]

No subsidies. I believe there is a State Fund that residents can pay into, but that is all the State of Florida offers.

You are mistaken. The Federal Government's National Flood Insurance Program underwrites an astonishing percentage of the insurance policies issued in the state of Florida, as well as in other low lying and coastal areas around the country. If it weren't for the Federal Government's largess, nobody could afford to live anywhere near Florida's coast, at least not if they want insurance.

[highimpact]

Thanks to Uncle Sam. Every home owner in Florida is suckling off big government's teat, after Andrew.

I beg your pardon? I guarantee I've put a lot more milk in that teat than I've sucked out.

[elkfersupper]

You are advised not to speak for me. I can answer my own questions.

Yes'M.

[pepperdog]

$300,000 will get you a palace where I live, and I thank the good Lord daily that my part of the country is considered undesirable, may it ever remain so!