you guys are so effing lucky to be able to own nice homes at those kind of prices. where I live, a suburb of DC, the prices are inflated because of all the wealth here. new 3 bedroom condos (even some older ones if they're high rises and well maintained) go for over $1 mill. many homes that are nice, but not mansions push up well over $1 mill. nothing, absolutely nothing, even a house that is tiny and old and a fixer upper goes for less than 400K. but living in an area where there are so many wealthy people has its advantages (and no I'm not wealthy, I bought a long time ago and because it's a low rise condo it hasn't appreciated that much) - better roads, schools, shopping, restaurants, transportation, security, etc.