Article by Mobridge Home
It is no secret that in October 2008 the U.S. housing market took a enormous drop. Markets all over the nation were seriously affected and housing prices dropped. Literally millions of families found themselves homeless and many more learned the raw meaning of foreclosure. There is no doubt that this was the beginning of one of the worst periods that the U.S. home market has ever seen and things have yet to recover.
People are used to hearing about the collapsing markets in California, Nevada, Florida and North Carolina. These areas are in the headlines daily and on CNN and MSN on an hourly basis. People are less aware of the unseen housing crisis affecting small rural communities across the nation. These are places that are too small to make the headlines and for good reason. Many small cities and towns were slightly insulated from the major crash, partly because it takes longer for the ripples to reach rural America and partly because these areas never experienced the over inflation of home values that precipitated the bubble bursting. Nevertheless, many areas are feeling the pinch of the global economic collapse and the decline in the American housing market today, over 3 years later.
In this article we will explore the housing market in a small mid-western town of Mobridge, South Dakota. We will also look at a property for sale at 401 4th Avenue West in that town.
Mobridge has a population of just fewer than 3,500 and it is located in extreme rural northern South Dakota. The town is bordered in the west by the Missouri River and the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock tribal lands. Mobridge has no industry and the economy is dependent on farming, ranching and tourism. The population declined approximately 6.5% from 2000 to 2010 and the per capita income is ,921 with 21.6% of the population living below the poverty line. As if things were not bad enough, Mobridge, SD is facing its version of the housing crisis. People who have owned homes for years are learning that they cannot sell them for what they think they are worth and many are finding that they cannot sell them at all.
Another problem comes in when homeowners refuse to price their homes according to true market value. It is understandable that owners want to get the most from the sale of their homes, but when they price their property for what they want and not the true market value they cause the property to sit on the market for an extended period of time which further discourages buyers. This over pricing is the main problem with the home featured in this article. The owner purchased the property approximately 10 years ago. The purchase price was approximately ,000. Absolutely no improvements have been done to the property other than paint and cosmetics. In fact, the house is in worse condition now than it was when originally purchased. The appliances, with the exception of the stove, are all 10 years older. The furnace, which was old and out dated already, is 10 years older and much less efficient. Some areas of the house do not even have heat. The wiring is a Hodge podge of new and old and some parts of the house will not support more than a moderate current draw without blowing fuses. The shingles are 10 years older and will need replacing very soon. The outside of the house needs to be repainted. In short, the owner has really done nothing to improve the property yet she thinks that on the heels of the worst global housing crisis in history, her home at 401 4th Avenue West, Mobridge, SD 57601, is somehow worth 50% more than she originally paid. It must be nice to expect a 50% return on investment when everyone else is experiencing a loss.
Mobridge, South Dakota is a dying town and the housing market there is dying faster than the town. If you are looking for a place to invest you will be best served to avoid this and many other rural towns. Without a growing industrial sector and with emotionally inflated housing prices, these areas are worth avoiding.
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