Priciest Homes 2005

[GettinHeadStuds]

Not sure if this is a repost:

http://money.cnn.com/best/bplive/topten/homes.html


1. CA Los Altos $1,348,121
2. CA Pacific Palisades $1,329,856
3. CA Beverly Hills $1,323,721
4. CA Manhattan Beach $1,304,431
5. CA Laguna Beach $1,229,484
6. CT Greenwich $1,223,523
7. CA Alamo $1,180,527
8. CA Burlingame $1,152,066
9. CA Palos Verdes Peninsula $1,151,058
10. CA Malibu $1,148,105


I love CA.

[kaisen]

Great, if the median homes are also 7000+ sq ft and gilded

E

[Hugh R]

I'm not sure I believe all thats there. Manhattan Beach is only about 30K less in median price than Beverly Hills? and a lower family household income? It lists my city as having a population of about 40,000 while it actually has 160,000.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I pity you guys. What we can buy in KS for $200k is $1 million plus in Cali. A buddy of mine lives right by Laguna, he paid over $400k for a townhome. You guys have better scenery and weather, but damn.

[Hugh R]

Yeah, Matt. its all sort of relative. My house has appreciated, on paper, by about 250% in 8 years. I can't afford to buy my own house now, but (again on paper) when/if I retire in about 12 years, I'll be able to sell my house, and pay cash for a house somewhere else and have a fair amount left over, I hope. In the middle of January it'll get down to freezing in the middle of the night, but warm up to the 60's mid-day. Whats the temps in Mid-January in Wichita?

[Moses]

I live in #7. Alamo, California. Kind of surprised that a town of 16,000 people makes the list. Beautiful place, though. I have not seen a home for sale around here for less than 1.5 million recently.

I bought years ago and had a few sleepless nights after buying a $500,000 house. I'm sleeping easier these days, but I expect local prices to drop.

[TerryBPP]

Originally posted by Hugh R
Whats the temps in Mid-January in Wichita?

Exactly! My soon to be wife wants to move to NC, but snow and I don't have a good relationship. The beach is a mile from my new house and the water is still above 70 degs.

[JavaBrewer]

I would have thought that Rancho Santa Fe, Coronado, Montecito, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez would have easily made the list. Actually I think a condo in RSF goes for $1M and the cheapest home is like $2-3M.

Matt - it's all about priorities. Nothing more. Like Hugh I couldn't afford to buy my home today (by a long shot) but even if I lost it all I would rather rent and live in SoCal than anywhere else on the planet. Oh and I'd hold on the pity come January dude

[MikeSid]

Something is outta whack here. What about Manhattan....not the beach...the one in New York?

[RickM]

...and the "Nicest" places to live.....

Rank Best place Pop.* Nearest city


1 Moorestown, NJ 20,700 Philadelphia
2 Bainbridge Island, WA 21,600 Seattle
3 Naperville, IL 163,900 Chicago
4 Vienna, VA 61,700 Washington, DC
5 Louisville, CO 32,400 Boulder
6 Barrington, RI 16,800 Providence
7 Middleton, WI 21,400 Madison
8 Peachtree City, GA 35,800 Atlanta
9 Chatham, NJ 17,600 New York City
10 Mill Valley, CA 29,200 San Francisco

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally posted by Hugh R
Whats the temps in Mid-January in Wichita?

Well, they're....., uh........., yeah, shut up.

No, I know in some ways you get what you pay for, the pictures that my friend in Rancho San Margarita (something like that) has sent are simply gorgeous. It wouldn't be for me, I'm one of those idiots that likes winter. My top choice for an overpriced place to live would be in the mountains of Colorado, maybe up in one of the smaller towns in Summit County. I just hope that the So Cal real estate bubble doesn't burst like some have predicted, a lot of people would lose their ass.

Oh yeah, and despite our shortcomings, Wichita was like 40 on the top places to live list, at least one of them. Hey, I have to have something to sort of brag about. And for what you guys could sell your Cali house for, you could have a mansion in Wichita. Literally.

[RallyJon]

...and the "Nicest" places to live.....

Rank Best place Pop.* Nearest city

1 Moorestown, NJ 20,700 Philadelphia

Hah--I saw that. Moorestown is a cute historic town that used to be surrounded by orchards. Toll Brothers cut down all the orchards and replaced them with thousands of stapled together flakeboard tract mansions that sell for $500k - $ several million.

Pure paradise.

[vash]

i hope and pray my town copies the neighboring town of walnut creek. they total revamped the downtown shopping area, and the area is jamming. i live a golfball hit from downtown. even that, i bet it would only get to #113 on the list. especially with my crackhead neighbor.

the catch of it, at least for me is: all the work is here! with all of the population booming here, the construction work is not letting up. what is the job market like elsewhere? i dont see the advantage of getting a 150k home if all i can make is relatively small change.

[onewhippedpuppy]

My buddy that just moved there is in construction management, he's making maybe $5k more than he was offered in KC and Wichita. He loves his job, but I don't think the extra he's making is enough to cover the increased cost of living. But to some it's obviously worth it.

[ubiquity0]

Originally posted by MikeSid
Something is outta whack here. What about Manhattan....not the beach...the one in New York?

The average home price in Manhattan is below $1M. Of course the average home is a 700 sf 1 bedroom apartment.

[onewhippedpuppy]

How about Manhattan, KS? I bet the average home there is $175k or so, high for KS but it's a college town. C'mon, they've got a mall!

[MikeSid]

Originally posted by ubiquity0
The average home price in Manhattan is below $1M. Of course the average home is a 700 sf 1 bedroom apartment.

Well...it's above a million according the NY Daily News, but it's still only $1.3M -which is less than the top 3 CA hoods on the list. Although in Manhattan, the cost of residential real estate on average is $1000/sf - so I guess that makes those CA hoods a "bargain" at $1.3M!

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/324304p-276995c.html

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally posted by RickM
...and the "Nicest" places to live.....

Rank Best place Pop.* Nearest city


1 Moorestown, NJ 20,700 Philadelphia
2 Bainbridge Island, WA 21,600 Seattle
3 Naperville, IL 163,900 Chicago
4 Vienna, VA 61,700 Washington, DC
5 Louisville, CO 32,400 Boulder
6 Barrington, RI 16,800 Providence
7 Middleton, WI 21,400 Madison
8 Peachtree City, GA 35,800 Atlanta
9 Chatham, NJ 17,600 New York City
10 Mill Valley, CA 29,200 San Francisco

1. Too cold. Plus it's Jersey.
2. Too rainy.
3. Too cold. And too suburban generica. I used to live near there.
4. Maybe.
5. Too cold.
6. Too cold.
7. Too cold.
8. Maybe. Probably too heavy on the redneck though.
9. Too cold. Plus it's also Jersey.
10. Maybe.



California is ridiculous right now. If you're not already a homeowner, you have no chance of buying without a rich relative kicking off and resulting inheritance or hitting the lotto.

I used to mind, but honestly I'm in no hurry to be chained to a $2,000+ a month mortgate for the rest of my life. Once you simply give up and abandon the idiocy of it all, it's quite liberating. Frees up way more money for P-car stuff.

[snowman]

Its not a problem. $6000 per month interest only mortage plus $3000 per month real estate taxes (remember the people in the know think CA taxes are to low) and you to can have a 2000 sq foot fixer upper 25 miles from the beach, in the desert of CA. And the new ones ALL come with PRESSBOARD cuboards. The real name for Melomine.

[Flatbutt1]

Originally posted by RallyJon
Hah--I saw that. Moorestown is a cute historic town that used to be surrounded by orchards. Toll Brothers cut down all the orchards and replaced them with thousands of stapled together flakeboard tract mansions that sell for $500k - $ several million.

Pure paradise.

What he said +1

How does anyone not of blue blood buy a house for $1.5MM? I make a good living but i couldn't do it. Who is buying these houses?