I live in Sacramento, California where a well-built and maintained vintage Craftsman home in one of the older, tree-lined neighborhoods of Midtown runs at quite a premium. I grew up in Berkeley, California, where such houses are even more in demand and real estate costs are so high that dual-earner families must often come close to indenturing themselves or selling off a child to afford a home. However, there are parts of the country where beautiful homes are affordable: for example, this beautiful home, 632 Bonton St. in the charming town of St. Joseph, Missouri, is for sale for $120,000, which makes me shiver when I consider what I paid for my smaller and plainer Mission Revival home. The Bonton house has some unique features, such as this sort of Craftsman / Queen Anne facade with a recessed dormer, an inglenook and a beautiful tiled fireplace, a second fireplace in a formal parlor, a second-floor sleeping porch, sliding pocket doors, and some great internal woodwork. I wonder if I could telecommute from St. Joseph?
You are very right about the difference in prices. I live near Springfield, MO in a 1937 Craftsman bungalow that we have been renovating for the past 2 years. Its not very large (3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom), but we only paid $52,000 for it. Unfortunatly, by the time we bought it many of it original details had been removed and what was left was in bad shape. But, it goes to show you how much more you can get for you money in the Midwest.