Sunday, May 4, 2008

Housing crisis

We've been hearing a lot all over the news and especially with the upcoming presidential election about the housing crisis our country is experiencing. I've done quite a bit of research about the issue, but was the reality of it was brought much closer to home just this past weekend.

There is a huge discrepancy in house prices depending on what part of the country you live in. I have a brother in Detroit, a sister currently in New York and moving to Madison, and a brother who just moved to Houston.

My oldest brother, who recently moved from Kansas City to Detroit did not personally have trouble selling his house as his work bought it for him. Detroit was recently named one of the best places to buy a home as they are cheap and are not likely to fluctuate much in prices. His house sold in KC for $180,000 and his new house cost around $200,000. My sister moved last year from Atlanta (also named one of the best cities to buy in) to New York. Her apartment there runs about $2000 per month! She is currently looking in Madison near the University. My oldest brother just moved to Houston. For a five bedroom, three and a half bathroom house with a pool in Sugarland it will cost him $288,000, without the pool is $233,000. This is about the same price as my sister's two-bedroom in madison.

Does this price discrepancy have to do with demand for the houses or more the prosperity of the local economies in Houston vs. Madison?

5 comments:

Tanvirkamal said...

Um, thats alot of cash being thrown around damn...I have never been to Houston but my uncle who has a friend down there has this gigantic freakin sweet house with like murals painted on the ceiling and this bigass pool in the back. I thought it wouldve cost him shitloads of cash to buy but it was under 300k which surprised me. I would guess that in Houston with having more space than Madison the prices of houses will be less just cuz its looser in terms of where you can live. With more space there is more chances of building another home. Now the problem with Texas is the education system is craptastic.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/dayinpictures?o=4&f=/g/a/2008/05/02/dip.DTL&type=dayinpictures

So maybe the better education of Wisconsin drives up the price also? But how can you put a price on a good education? haha

belzmat said...

I think a lot of it has to do with the environment and the economy of the places. Such as Madison, it is a lot cleaner and nicer place to live than say a big city like Houston. However a place like the ATL where it is a big up and coming town for the past decade or so, and still growing where the economy is booming, in comparison to a place like Houston. Madison is a great town, and I think that drives up the prices of housing

JOSH said...

Wow, i wish i had enough money to get a house and pool. i don't really think right now i'd spend it on that stuff but i'd really like to have all that money. I would think that it has to do with the demand for the houses in the different places but also the amount that people are going to be able to pay in those two places. This is price discrimination perhaps? I don't know what the market is like in Houston but madison is a college town, which i would think could sometimes lower the worth of the houses.

KM said...

Isn't it crazy how much it goes up and down? When I lived in TX, we saw the biggest differences (but I think I mentioned that in class with income disparities...).

BethanyStoppel said...

I watch housing show with my Mom all the time and we love discussing how much they cost depending on where they are. The housing market is such a weird thing. It can so easily be affected and yet everyone has to pay attention to it. The demand for housing in the area is a key determinate of housing prices.