It's surprisingly common to find cities where land is worth more than buildings. Start with California, for instance.
Yuqing Pan writes of a fundamental fact of the real estate market, and one that contributes to the high costs of housing in some parts of the country:
Welcome to the realties of modern real estate math: While both physical structure and land contribute to the value of a home, those two components don’t hold their value equally, especially in the most desirable markets. Over time, the physical structure usually depreciates in value, while land appreciates. That’s because the property is in limited supply.
Writing for Realtor.com, Pan used data data from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to pinpoint "10 housing markets where land accounts for more than half of a home’s total value." Those cities, with more details on each included in the article, follow:
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Santa Ana
- Oakland
- Los Angeles
- San Diego
- Boston
- Miami
- Seattle
- Portland, Oregon
You know your geography if you noticed that the first six cities listed are located in California.
Read the full story: Not Dirt-Cheap: 10 Cities Where Land Is Worth More Than the Home on It
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