Portage County Housing: Info on pricing, sizing, age, demand

July 27, 2010

The average sales price in Portage County is around $150,000 and what that buys varies by area.

Here are a few homes currently for sale in the $150K range:

4BR, 2 BA in Stevens Point

3BR, 1.5 BA in Plover

3 BR, 2 BA in Amherst

(Please note that when the properties above are no longer on the market the links will be unable to find the example.)

Steve Lane of First Weber Group Realtors has worked in the Portage real estate market for over 20 years. He was recently interviewed by Nick Paulson in this article on Portage County Real Estate.

From the StevensPointJournal.com:

"There just aren’t as many buyers out in Amherst, Rosholt or Plainfield, so they are forced to give you more for your money," said Steve Lane, co-owner of First Weber Group in Stevens Point. Lane, a Wisconsin Realtors Association board member, has worked in the Portage County market for 23 years.

Buyers can expect a certain few amenities in the $150,000 range, no matter where the home is located in the county. In nearly every available home on the market for between $140,000 and $160,000, there is a two-car garage. The same goes for bathrooms, with two being the standard. A buyer also is unlikely to come away with fewer than three bedrooms for a home in that price range.

Location matters more when it comes to the overall size and age of the home.

In Stevens Point, a $150,000 home most likely will be 30 to 50 years old and have between 1,500 and 2,100 above-ground square feet, based on the current homes available. In Plover, a home in that price range will be about 10 years younger and smaller by about 300 to 400 square feet. In the outlying areas, both villages and towns, the house will be smaller than in Stevens Point but bigger than in Plover, and about the same age as in Plover, according to local MLS data, a real estate advertising service.

"In Plover, the biggest characteristic is it’s definitely going to be more suburban feeling," Lane said. "Point just has a lower end, as well, because of the age."

Much of the home construction in Plover took place during the 1980s and 1990s, so there are more homes of the same age. But around Stevens Point, that can vary.

On the west side and near the north, the homes are predominantly older, and smaller, than in the rest of the city, and therefore cost a little less, said city assessor Jim Siebers. Neighborhoods such as the ones surrounding McDill Pond are more desirable, and that drives up prices.

"Some new homes you can get for $150,000, but they are smaller," Siebers said. "Most new homes are priced higher than that."


For more information on real estate in Portage County, feel free to contact Steve Lane of First Weber Group.

Thank you for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate blog.

Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/86886338@N00/1569034426/

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