After pointing out yesterday that in 2006 the median monthly payment for housing in Louisville was $847 I was curious about what friends in other cities across North America (we don’t deny our Canadian friends!) are paying. So I asked them:
- “1-bedroom, maybe 700 sq ft, in
Seattle: $1100/mo.”
- Los Angeles: “I live in an area adjacent to the Hollywood Hills (nice, but not super-high end) and I pay $2600/mo rent & ~$200/mo water. Two bedrooms, one bath, semi-poorly maintained condition (is a
craftsman cottage built in 1912), original floors and moldings, crazy
wiring, on a nearly double-sized lot w/ big garden and medium-sized koi
pond.
Most people in the area seem to think I either have a reasonable
deal or a good deal based on the market in LA. I feel like I’m getting
a little hosed, but then again I don’t need quite this much space
(don’t need two bedrooms, for example). The cost of purchase has not dropped enough yet to make home
ownership an option. All the houses on my block that have gone on
market since I have lived here have been at least $1mm, most closer to
$1.75 mm.”
- “Average home price for a detached single family home in Vancouver – $616,496 (as of March 08). That price is for a dump.
It’s not unheard of for people here to spend upwards of 30% of their monthly income on housing.”
- “We pay $1500 for a 4bd 2ba house in not-so-great neighborhood. Used to
pay $750 for a 1bd 1ba carriage house in hip uptown ‘hood (Minneapolis).”
- “In Indianapolis we paid $1000 for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in a “nice” apartment complex in a neighborhood completely devoid of character, in walking distance to nothing.”
- “Our townhouse: 3BR/2BA, 1900sqft, 1st ring ‘burb, ~$200k. Smaller house with same # BR/BA ~10% more in Minneapolis, ~same in St. Paul.”
I live in what I consider to be the greatest neighborhood in Louisville. On my street there is a house for sale. It’s a large Tudor (2800 sq feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath) with a fenced backyard (including a hot tub) in walking distance to retail shops, restaurants, a great coffee shop, bread shop, hardware store, etc. It’s listed for $285,000.
I personally pay less than $1200 for house with 3BR/1.5BA, a library/office and a non-scary basement (very, very important) in the aforementioned best neighborhood in Louisville.
1. Name and what you do for a living?
Zach Wyer and I work as an Associate Marketing Manager at Yum! Brands.
2. How did you end up in Louisville?
Born and raised in San Diego, completed school in Arizona, and found work with Yum! which brought me to Louisville.
3. What did you think of Louisville before you moved here (if anything?)
There are tons of stereotypes about Kentucky (not so much Louisville in particular) – that it’s still all country, nobody wears shoes, everyone has a thick drawl, incest runs rampant as do banjos, over-alls are the only fashion, and fried chicken and bourbon is the staple. There are some positive associations as well, such as the Derby, Slugger, KFC, Ali, and bluegrass music.
4. What preconceptions did you have about Louisville that have changed since moving here?
I didn’t expect to find much of the aforementioned stereotypes, but also didn’t expect to find such a vibrant night life, music scene, and variety of restaurants.
5. How do you like living here?
It’s very nice and centrally located. It seems that we’re 5 hours from everything in Louisville. If I were considering a family at this point in my life, I think it would be ideal, with all of the parks and children activities. Since I’m more into the going out and partying scene, I’m pleasantly surprised to find that side of things as well… especially living in the Highlands.
6. What’s your favorite thing about Louisville?
You mean besides the bourbon and fried chicken? Definitely the people. I’ve always heard how nice people are in California, but they’re only cool if you know them or know them through someone else. Louisvillians will smile and say “hello” in passing, strike up random conversations, help you with loading your car, etc. That said, an interesting dynamic exists – you can spark up a conversation with anyone and get along nicely over a beer or two, but native Louisvillians have entrenched circles of friends that they tend not to break out of on a longer term basis. I’m way social and make lots of friends at bars and in soccer, but never hang out with them beyond these venues.
7. What is Louisville missing (for my money it’s a good creperie)?
Professional sports
8. What’s the one thing people should know about Louisville?
Most of us wear shoes. And cost of living makes this a wonderful location.
9. What’s your favorite restaurant in Louisville?
I should probably say KFC, Taco Bell, or Pizza Hut, but I’m going to have to go with Jeff Ruby’s on the high end meals and Nio’s for tapas style plates.
A recent
Bizjournals.com
study comparing housing affordability in the top 50 metropolitan areas
nationwide showed that Louisville, with a No. 11 ranking, is one of the
least expensive markets in which to own a home.
Rankings were based on the percentage of median monthly income in
2006 that was required to meet the median housing payment per month,
which consisted of the median mortgage per month and the median
property-tax payment per month.
Number 11 sounds pretty good right? It sounds even better when you translate that info into an actual dollar amount. The median total housing payment per month during the time studied was $847 in Louisville.
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