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Re:Where Can the Middle Class Buy a Home? by seanmcdirmid on Thursday October 10, 2013 @07:56PM (#6530758)
> Land was less scarce.

True, but this is also Denver. It depends on the location.

> Different amenities - doubt you saw many granite countertops or stainless steel appliances in the 1910s

Pretty sure your fancy 1910 house has been renovated more than a few times. Homes actually require maintenance and upgrades to be livable.

> Sparse (or no) plumbing/electricity

In 1910 I'm sure they had something. But see the previous point.

> Fewer building codes/regulations

Again, the home should have been upgraded unless the codes/regulations were superfluous; grandfather clauses only take one so far.

As an investment, a 3X appreciation over 100 years sans property taxes is still a quite crappy return, but at least you (and your progeny) get to live in it.

Re:Where Can the Middle Class Buy a Home? by Domenic_S on Thursday October 10, 2013 @08:04PM (#6530793)
Of course it's been renovated, but the GP was talking about the original purchase price.
Re:Where Can the Middle Class Buy a Home? by seanmcdirmid on Thursday October 10, 2013 @09:56PM (#6531095)
After 100 years of renovation and property taxes, how much of the original house's purchase value is even left? I guess an argument can be made that all of the latter costs are incremental and therefore easier to afford.
Re:Where Can the Middle Class Buy a Home? by Domenic_S on Friday October 11, 2013 @02:30PM (#6534970)
A fine point, but not really relevant as the discussion was about the cost of acquisition.
Re:Where Can the Middle Class Buy a Home? by seanmcdirmid on Friday October 11, 2013 @08:16PM (#6536638)
I thought that that the original discussion was about how the house increased in value, not about costs of acquisitions. My mistake!