The Expert Podcast

We've talked a lot on this channel about finding a house under two hundred thousand dollars. This was before interest rates went up—when interest rates were in the two or three percent range. During that time, you could buy a house for two hundred thousand and have a mortgage payment of a thousand dollars or less. Now, with interest rates having gone up, it's even more desirable to find a house under two hundred thousand dollars. Many people think it's not possible anymore.

Even this article from The Wealth Creators talks about, "Where have all the two hundred thousand dollar houses gone?" They're referring to how such houses went from being more than 40% of the market in 2010 to almost zero percent today. However, they’re discussing new houses, so let's not get carried away. While there probably aren’t any new houses under $200,000, it’s worth noting that just a short ten or so years ago, nearly half the market consisted of homes under $200,000.

Imagine it’s 2010 or 2012: interest rates were at three or four percent, and you could buy a brand-new house for $200,000 with a payment of around a thousand to twelve hundred dollars a month. Fast forward to today, and you can’t buy a new house for that price. But can you still find a resale home? While it might seem difficult, there are plenty of options out there.

On our channel, we’ve shown selectively curated homes in various markets. To look at the broader picture, here’s a screenshot from Zillow. We zoomed in just north of Dallas, a highly desirable area. Even when filtering for single-family homes with at least one bathroom (to exclude raw land), there are still plenty of homes under $200,000.

These houses aren’t luxury or brand-new homes, but they exist. For example, here’s a four-bedroom, two-thousand-square-foot house. It’s not new, but it’s functional and could be fixed up. If you scroll further, you might find homes with more character. Here’s one for $124,000, spanning 1,700 square feet—an older house, but with charm.

The question is, what’s more important to you? A lower budget or a newer home? For instance, here’s a nice brick rancher in Greenville, Texas, with a long front walkway.

Let’s zoom out from Texas and check Florida. In the elbow area of the Florida Panhandle along the west coast, you’ll find houses near the coast for under $200,000. Here’s a small rancher in Newberry, Florida—$100,000 for a house on a double lot. Crystal River is another area with homes under $200,000, proving these houses are not extinct.

Of course, these aren’t luxury mansions or 5,000-square-foot homes. But just for fun, let’s see if anything fits that size under $200,000. After adjusting the filters, we found very few. For example, there’s one in Clayton, Alabama—an old Victorian home with 5,600 square feet on an acre, priced at $195,000. It even has a pool and a fenced yard, though it might need some work.

These large homes require trade-offs, such as their location or condition. For example, there’s a 5,000-square-foot Empire Victorian-style home in Ottumwa, Iowa, for $130,000. Would you want to live in Ottumwa? Maybe not, but it’s an option.

What if you prioritize acreage over square footage? Filtering for houses with at least five acres, we found homes like a 1,700-square-foot ranch on seven acres in Texas for $199,000. These homes offer land and potential, though you may need to compromise on location or condition.

Moving farther west to Arizona, you’ll find more rural options. Some of these homes are extremely remote and may not appeal to everyone. But shifting east to areas like Allegheny, New York, we found a 2,000-square-foot house on 10 acres for $189,000. It even has a pond.

So, to answer the question from the article: "Where have all the $200,000 houses gone?" They’re still out there. You might have to make trade-offs, like putting in elbow grease to fix them up or choosing acreage over a new build. But the options exist if you’re willing to look.