I was thinking recently about how high our prices have gone up and decided to do a little research on where we stand nationwide with our values. Historically, we have been one of the most affordable places to live and I wondered if that is still the case.
This led me to my first thought, how much is the most expensive home in the United States? No surprise, it is a mansion in Los Angeles and has been referred to as “The One.” It sold for $295 million. You can google it and watch a video of this home on YouTube.
This mansion has 21 bedrooms and 42 bathrooms! I don’t understand why anyone needs this many bathrooms. Anyhow, check it out if you have time.
Last year, Zillow listed the average cost of a home in Georgia at $256,962. Historically, since 1980, values only dropped once, and we all know when that happened! I have attached a chart showing some numbers based on values reported every five years since 1980, so you can see how insignificant that blip in the history of values turned out to be. This also should reassure you that during the 30 years, it will take you to pay off your mortgage, if there is a “blip” in values, it will correct itself within a 5-10 year cycle.
Getting back on track, according to Zillow in June 2022, the median home value in Georgia was $306,113, which is about 27 percent higher than last year. This my friends, leaves Georgia. Out of 50 states, it is priced lower than 28 other states. The state with the lowest median home values is Mississippi, reporting $164,132 as the typical home value – in case you are looking for a place to invest in real estate!
Georgia is a big state, right? A quick market snapshot of how our top three CSRA cities rank for values is definitely needed to determine how affordable we are. Augusta, on average, is coming in at $196,000, under the state average. Evans is boasting a proud $369,000, which is more than the state average. Grovetown is also under at $277,000. (See provided charts for appreciation percentages)
So, the answer is the same as it’s always been: We are a great value nationwide and according to the statistics. All of our major cities are still showing values appreciating over the last three months during the slowest time we have seen in real estate since 2020!
