You are comparing suburban townhomes to rowhomes in upper class/upper middle class white areas of DC and Arlginton - not a fair comparison. DC no longer has a working class/middle class white residential area. So think of the price of a rowhome in a middle class black neighborhood in DC, and you'll get the picture better. Elsewhere, think of northeast or south Philly, the northwest of Chicago, northern Baltimore, northside or southside of Pittsburgh, etc.
Dear Hermann,
The problem in the Washington, DC area is that even prices in minority neighborhoods are increasing rapidly, especially as neighborhood after neighborhood becomes "gentrified."
I'm currently dealing with the problem from sort of the opposite end of things. My mother died last year, and my father has a progressive degenerative illness. I would like for him to move near me so that in the years he has left, we could assist him.
I live in Anne Arundel County, under Baltimore, to the east of Washington. Although there have always been zip codes that were quite expensive, large parts of the county for many years offered fairly affordable housing. Five years ago, I could have gotten my father into a comfortable 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house (in anticipation of some day perhaps having to have live-in assistance) for around $100,000 in the southern part of the county.
A quick check of realtor.com reveals that out of over 1300 listings in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, there are precisely 9 houses with at least two bedrooms and two baths selling for under $200,000, the least of these being $170,000.
These are all in the Glen Burnie area. The neighborhoods (I'm familiar with the neighborhoods listed) are, frankly, undesirable.
There is not a single home in the southern part of the county with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths for under $200,000. The least expensive house meeting these relatively-basic criteria is listed at $229,000.
I could ask my father to live in a rowhouse in Baltimore, but Baltimore city has become a rather undesirable place to live, partly as a result of former mayor Kurt Schmoke all but legalizing the drug trade.
As for Washington, DC, proper, out of a couple of thousand homes listed, there are precisely 16 properties listed with this basic description for sale for $100,000 or less right now. Everyone of them is in one of three bad neighborhoods.
There are seven more, all, again, in very bad neighborhoods, between $100,000 and $150,000.
Between $150,000 and $200,000, there are another 14 homes with these criteria. The only one not in the worst part of the city is in Northeast, in an iffy, if not terrible neighborhood, going for $200,000.
That's it.
In neighboring Prince Georges County (land of high taxes and execrable services, high crime and low amenities), we have the following: $100,000 or under, two properties - a condo in a bad area, and a house in a worse area; $100,000 - $150,000, 24 properties, nearly all either in bad neighborhoods or condos.
As I look above $150,000, there are some older, small homes in satisfactory neighborhoods. However, property taxes for a house sold at $175,000 will run over $3000 per year in Prince Georges County, thus significantly affecting affordability.
I live near Bowie, MD, which going back only three or four years, was a very pleasant, very affordable community. A nice 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home could be had for $150,000, or even a little less, and that's with a nice 1/5 acre lot. It's still a pretty nice place to live, but the same house is now commanding $250,000 - $300,000. It's become insane.
Anyway, if you don't want to live in a bad neighborhood, and require 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, you're pretty much looking at $200,000 to have much of any selection, even in the least expensive parts of the inner Washington region. I'm sure if you want to live in Carroll County or Mannassas, there will be a modestly better selection of houses under $200,000.
My father is fortunate in that he could afford to spend $200,000 or more, as he own his home in Florida free and clear. But a $200,000 house, considering taxes and insurance, will require an income of about $65,000. This is certainly achievable for many folks with professional positions, but I know lots of folks who go to my church where the husband doesn't make $65,000.
sitetest