We Compare a $300,000 Home in Buffalo to Cities Around the Country

People who are not from Buffalo often ask us why we live here. If you're from Buffalo you most likely would not want to live anywhere else.  Over the past few years we've been hearing about how the real estate market has crashed in many cities across the country.  That crash never took place here in the Buffalo area because we never experienced the sharp increases in home prices.

$300,000 is a lot of money to spend on a home but in many parts of the country $300,000 is considered affordable.  We wanted to compare a home in Buffalo currently for sale at $300,000 and see how it stacks up to homes in other parts of the country.

Cape Coral, Florida

If you've ever been to south Florida on vacation you've probably dreamed of going back on vacation.  The weather is warm year round and it seems that the sun never stops shining.  In fact Florida has seen some of the highest foreclosure rates in the country as well some of the highest unemployment rates.  Yes it's always warm but Florida also has to deal with the occasional hurricane and a persistent drought.

We selected this house in Cape Coral as our comparison house:

3 Bedroom Single family Home
1,777 square feet
2 Baths
Lot Size: 10,019 Square Feet
Asking price: $300,000

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is sometimes referred to as Buffalo South due to all the Buffalo natives now living there.  I been to Raleigh myself and thought it was nice but could not imagine myself moving there.  I could not find anything specific to dog Raleigh about other than the fact they have no NFL team in the city to root for.  They do however have some great college basketball teams and the Durham Bulls minor league baseball team is a short drive away.

We selected this house in Raleigh as our comparison house:

4 Bedroom single Family Home
3,603 Square Feet
4.5 Baths
Full Basement
Lot Size: 1.14 Acres
Asking price: $300,000

Provo, Utah

Provo Utah has some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.  On one side of the city there are mountains and on the other the Great Salt Lake.  I've heard that its not easy to get a drink in Provo though, most bars require you to have a membership to get in so you're paying membership dues on top of the cost of a drink.

We selected this house in Provo as our comparison house:

6 Bedroom Single Family Home
3,818 square Feet
4 Baths
Lot Size: 0.22 Acres
Asking price: $300,000

Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas or "Sin City" as some refer to it is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation.  With all of the casinos you would think jobs are  plentiful but the unemployment rate in Las Vegas is 12.2 compared to Buffalo's 9.1.   And if you like really hot temperatures Las Vegas is for you.  The average temperature in June, July and August is 100 - 106 degrees.  You'd better like staying indoors.

We selected this house in Las Vegas as our comparison house:

6 Bedroom Single Family Home
3,698 Square Feet
3 baths
Lot Size: 6,527 Square Feet
Asking price: $300,000

Austin, TX

I've been to Texas in July and I have to say "don't go to Texas in July".  It's HOT!  In the past several years Texas has been suffering through one of the worst droughts in its history. The city of Austin has taken drastic measures to conserve water so if you think you're going to water your lawn in Austin you can forget about it.  Your lawn is most likely dead anyways.

We selected this house in Austin as our comparison house:

3 bedroom Single Family Home
Square Feet Unavailable
2 Baths
Lot Size: Unavailable
Asking price: $300,000

Western New York (Buffalo)

Buffalo could possibly be the perfect place in the United States to live.  Our quality of life is far and above better than most other cities in the country when you factor everything in.  We have some of the best school districts in the state of New York, Our weather is among the best in the country.  In the past few years we've had less snow than Washington DC, Philadelphia, and New York City.  The word drought only comes up when beer shipments are late. And our unemployment rate is better than almost half of the cities in the nation.  In the past few years there has been a concerted effort to transform Buffalo into a biomedical research city. And Roswell Park Cancer Institute is one of the premiere Cancer research facilities in the world.

We selected this house in Orchard Park, NY as our comparison house:

4 Bedroom Single Family Home
2,299 Square Feet
2.5 Baths
Lot Size; 100' x 175'
Asking price: $300,000

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