In "54" mom and dad purchased a very modest 18' x 45' story and a half shot gun home in Iowa city for $16,000.00

In "77" dad died and mom sold that house. And moved to a much nicer home 2 blocks away.

I just found out that my boyhood home just sold for $300,000.00 !

My Mom still lives in the house that I grew up in. They bought it in 1961 for $15,000. The "Village" was mostly homes built right after the end of WWII.

It is 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1 car garage about 1100 square feet. Located south of Oakland, CA. Houses in the neighborhood are going for $800-900k.

We used to play football and baseball in the streets. No more, most of the houses are 1 car garages that no one uses for parking. The streets are lined with cars, reminds me of San Francisco.

And because of the area and the prices, many of the homes have multi-families or multi-generations living in them.

I went for a visit earlier in the month, quickly remembered why I left. So many people and so much traffic.

My 1500 square foot Cape Cod style boyhood home last sold for $500K in 2019. Can't remember what my folks paid for it at the time. Built in 1938.

From the pics I can see on Zillow, it looks it's been given a bad addition in the rear and like all the work my father did on the interior has been obliterated and the garage he built is about to fall over. On the upside, the Arbor Day Maple tree I planted as a wee lad looks to be doing quite well in the backyard.

My grandparents house across the alley from my childhood home suffered a similar fate. My dad built the garage for that house too. Ruined. My grandfather, great uncle and great grandfather hand nailed all the lath for the plaster while the plasterers were on strike in about 1950. When they built, they were the first house on the block. I still have the plans for their house around here somewhere.

Ditto. Parents paid 14K in 1959. Recently changed hands for 140K.
Them days are over!

I drove past my childhood home last week . It looks like crap and the neighborhood is a ghetto . The house was built around 1953 and was new when my parent's bought it . It's depressing to see it now .

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
In "54" mom and dad purchased a very modest 18' x 45' story and a half shot gun home in Iowa city for $16,000.00

In "77" dad died and mom sold that house. And moved to a much nicer home 2 blocks away.

I just found out that my boyhood home just sold for $300,000.00 !

That’s cheap for Iowa City..

Not surprising. The real estate market is absolutely insane right now.


I bought a house for $220k in July 2020. Currently worth $310k. That's a $90k increase in 1 year and 8 months. (~47.5%)


Your boyhood home went up by $284k in 68 years. And part of that was due to inflation. ($16k in 1954 dollars is $169k in 2022 dollars.)

So it actually only gained $131k in value in about 7 decades, when adjusted for inflation.


Even on my home, inflation since 2020 accounts for ~$21k of its $90k added value.

I'm living in the house my parents bought new in 1956. They paid $27K, I bought it from my Mom in 2009 for $172K, fair market value is now somewhere in the $550K-650K range.

Kind of neat that my family has occupied this house for as long as we have. However, my cousin in Lincoln NE is living in a house built by my grandfather in the early 1930's.

The home I spoke of in the o.p. was 30 yrs old when they purchased it

Interesting thread OP. My own 'boyhood home' was built by our family & hired help, from 1958-1962.
Lots of memories reading these posts above.

I became estate manager for parents in their final years 1984ish. Sold for nursing home bills for ~$87k. Just checked Zillow, not for sale/estimated market value $480k. 1200 sq ft, 2/2/1 car garage. Plus 1 car detached shop. on large lot.

I grew up in the acre of old abandoned apple orchard and living in very ruralish area, maybe 1/2 dozen houses within a mile. At first.

We had a whole acre, which was 4 or 5 lots. Dad built various structures, all of which ignored 'lot lines. His little investment 1952ish resulted in quite a local development. We built a basic 2 room granny cottage 1964, He sold off a couple lots at the ends of the acre, etc. I spent many summers pulling milkweed & tilling garden. Made my first 'real wages' at 12 selling strawberries I had grown, to a local food market. You could do that in those days.

Fun thread

Dad got stationed to to Crystal City in 72 (I was 7) parents bought house in Alexandria for 28,000. It last sold a couple years ago for 1.1m. They sold it for about 350k

You could have knocked me over with an eye lash when I heard that news.

The main structure had extensive improvements made.

But none of the three owners touched the 2 1/2 car story and a half garage built by dad and grandpa in "61"

My parents still live in the same home they purchased in July 1963 for $11,000. While they have made some upgrades to it through the years (e.g. it now has a 2-car garage vs. a 1 car carport when they bought it), it's essentially the same small house they've called home for almost 58 years.

Being an only child I assume (although not sure) I will inherit it when they pass. It's always been "home" to me and when the day comes that it is sold - whether by them, by me, or someone else - it will be a sad day personally.

My parents built their house in St. Albans, WV in 1973 for about $23k. Mom still lives there. My brother and I will inherit it, sooner than later.
Not looking forward to that.
It will be valued between $150-200k in the current market.

quote:

Originally posted by VictimNoMore:
My parents built their house in St. Albans, WV in 1973 for about $23k. Mom still lives there. My brother and I will inherit it, sooner than later.
Not looking forward to that.
It will be valued between $150-200k in the current market.

I'd hope it would be valued over $150k, because $23k in 1973 dollars is about $147k in 2022 dollars. So at $150k, it would have effectively no true appreciation in value over the last 50 years.

My mother bought a house in 1952. She paid $12,000 for it. For those in the Northeast, the term Levitt House may ring a bell. It was one of those. I grew up in that house in the 60's to early 80's.

She died in 2012. I sold the house for $335,000 IIRC. For shits and giggle, I just went on Zillow to get their estimate of it's current worth. It's up to $628,000. Someone bought the house next door, tore it down and built a new house (I very much had the same idea when my mother was still living there.) They estimate that at $1.17 million. Back in the day these were the archetypical starter houses.

The home I lived in from 11 on was purchased by my folks in '67 for 21900.After my dad passed, mom had already died, in '95 my brother moved in. Currently worth 225000.


Jim

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by VictimNoMore:
My parents built their house in St. Albans, WV in 1973 for about $23k. Mom still lives there. My brother and I will inherit it, sooner than later.
Not looking forward to that.
It will be valued between $150-200k in the current market.

I'd hope it would be valued over $150k, because $23k in 1973 dollars is about $147k in 2022 dollars. So at $150k, it would have effectively no true appreciation in value over the last 50 years.

I agree. It’s a guesstimate, in this crazy market.