What does nzd $400,000 get in the US? article

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kingdragonfly

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#208299 6-Feb-2017 07:54

I guess this article isn't surprising, but it has some nice pictures.

NZD $400,000 generally gets a nice home in the US.

In Alaska, houses are expensive relatively, because of remoteness.

In Alabama, houses are cheap because family members marry each other. (In Alabama, there's a saying "thank God for Mississippi because it's the only state that keeps us off the bottom of lists.")

Enjoy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/heres-what-300000-will-buy-you-in-all-50-states_us_58934fa3e4b08ab684ca7bad

mattwnz

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#1716058 6-Feb-2017 13:34

One of the main reason for high building prices in NZ is the lack of competition in the building meterials sector. If you got to a building supplies outlet in the US, materials can be under half the price they are in NZ. Even Oz, which owns many of NZ building materials brands, can be a lot cheaper. So this article is not surprising

mattwnz

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#1716076 6-Feb-2017 15:04

Also there is something about American houses that make them look cheap and fake. Not sure what it is. But we are getting that look in NZ too.

wellygary

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#1716086 6-Feb-2017 15:15

kingdragonfly: I guess this article isn't surprising, but it has some nice pictures.

NZD $400,000 generally gets a nice home in the US.

In Alaska, houses are expensive relatively, because of remoteness.

In Alabama, houses are cheap because family members marry each other. (In Alabama, there's a saying "thank God for Mississippi because it's the only state that keeps us off the bottom of lists.")

Enjoy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/heres-what-300000-will-buy-you-in-all-50-states_us_58934fa3e4b08ab684ca7bad

$400K will buy you a pretty nice place in semi-rural NZ too, (AKL fringes aside)- googel places like stratford, waimakariri, wairoa.....

The US is soo big that there is no real land constrants, ... except if you get near a big city,

Also most of those places ( and pretty much all of those kitchens will have come off of a Factory line somewhere,

mattwnz

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#1716094 6-Feb-2017 15:29

wellygary:

Also most of those places ( and pretty much all of those kitchens will have come off of a Factory line somewhere,

Far more competition in the Kitchen market over there. They can make them so much cheaper. They also have Ikea which helps with competition in the field. I don't think the quality is any worse though, and in many cases the quality is probably better than in NZ. Quality of workmanship in NZ can sometimes be pretty poor I have found, and often you have to get things redone. I had to ask the builder to replace a stainless kitchen bench, because it was dented and they hoped I wouldn't notice it.

antoniosk

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#1716101 6-Feb-2017 15:50

You have to think of distances and service coverage as well. Proximity to police, fire, ambulance matters - this is the USA - and it's only when you talk to people who live there that you understand why the gun culture is strong (an australian friend lives 45 mins from nearest police response in Dallas..... it makes you think)

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#1716107 6-Feb-2017 16:30

wellygary:
Also most of those places ( and pretty much all of those kitchens will have come off of a Factory line somewhere,

Yeah, that's something I've found in new US houses, many of them McMansions, they were stapled-together clapboard palaces. They look OK superficially, but once you look at them up close you can see how terribly cheaply everything is done. So "what can you get for NZ$400K" is really somewhat subjective.

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Aredwood

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#1719776 14-Feb-2017 01:18

They probably don't have the silly height to boundary rules we have here. And im sure they have alot more land that is flat or near flat. So standard design houses can be churned out of a factory. Unlike here where almost every house has to be custom designed to the site. And almost guaranteed they don't have an equivliant law to the resource management act. So land prices there will be way cheaper.

Cheapest section in Auckland according to Trademe is $219,000 in Waiuku. (and it is a small cross lease). Ignoring sections in Gt Barrier and Rakino islands, and the usual PBN and tender listings. As there is no easy way to tell if the price band the agent has told Trademe actually agrees with what the vendors will accept.

So either you buy a large section so you can build a house that is a simple rectangle as it's outside shape. Or a smaller section, that requires a really complex shape house to get the same internal floor area. planning rules in NZ mean either you save money on land costs or building costs. But not both.