Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: Home Buying: Where The Homes Are...and Aren't

I find it interesting how so much of the emphasis appears to be on the home's value in monetary terms, as opposed to its value in a geographical sense. I don't want to buy a home in Bum F$#k, Egypt just for an investment's sake. It's the eternal paradox...the coastal cities are where the culture is shaped, so that makes living arrangements and accomodations that much more expensive. If you want interesting things to do, you're gonna have to pay more for it.

That doesn't mean I don't think the Bay Area, New York, etc. aren't SERIOUSLY overpriced, of course...just making an observation.

An insight as to why certain regional markets have swelled housing prices so far out of proportion can be found here. The author's look at the continually expanding size--and price--of suburban living has some trenchantly funny observations within. For example:

Her husband, Jeff, who travels constantly and works 14-hour days, said: "Am I happier having space? Absolutely. . . . I don't worry as much. If my kid wants to hit a golf ball, I don't have to worry about it clocking a BMW."

I wonder how many readers picked up on the point that Jeff is barely around to enjoy the spoils of said massive house. ;) Here's another one:

It will be 9,506 square feet, a place Alex Hannigan, the builder, calls "an all-about-me home."...It has a guest wing, five fireplaces, three laundries, a hobby room, an elevator, a spa, a home theater, a summer kitchen, a chandelier lift -- not things that the average American can necessarily afford at the moment, Hannigan said.

But, he added, "we figured we'd make this home in keeping with where our country's going."

I wonder if that path includes treatment for an irony deficiency, because it seems like this guy's complexion is sadly lacking. ;)

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Business Week has a list of the affordable home regions.BW also provides the opinion that the market is in the middle of a blip, not a bubble pop. I find it interesting how so much of the emphasis appears to be on the home's value in monetary terms, as opposed to its value in a geographical sense. I don't want to buy a home in Bum F$#k, Egypt just for an investment's sake. It's the eternal paradox...the coastal cities are where the culture is shaped, so that makes living arrangements and accomodations that much more expensive. If you want interesting things to do, you're gonna have to pay more for it. That doesn't mean I don't think the Bay Area, New York, etc. aren't SERIOUSLY overpriced, of course...just making an observation. An insight as to why certain regional markets have swelled housing prices so far out of proportion can be found here. The author's look at the continually expanding size--and price--of suburban living has some trenchantly funny observations within. For example: Her husband, Jeff, who travels constantly and works 14-hour days, said: "Am I happier having space? Absolutely. . . . I don't worry as much. If my kid wants to hit a golf ball, I don't have to worry about it clocking a BMW." I wonder how many readers picked up on the point that Jeff is barely around to enjoy the spoils of said massive house. ;) Here's another one: It will be 9,506 square feet, a place Alex Hannigan, the builder, calls "an all-about-me home."...It has a guest wing, five fireplaces, three laundries, a hobby room, an elevator, a spa, a home theater, a summer kitchen, a chandelier lift -- not things that the average American can necessarily afford at the moment, Hannigan said. But, he added, "we figured we'd make this home in keeping with where our country's going." I wonder if that path includes treatment for an irony deficiency, because it seems like this guy's complexion is sadly lacking. ;)