Housing becoming affordable on Cape Cod

HYANNIS, Mass., March 2 (UPI) -- The bursting of the real estate bubble has been good news for many residents of one of the priciest U.S. resort areas, Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Cape Codders who thought they would never be able to buy a house there find that some properties have dropped to a price they can handle, the Cape Cod Times reported. In January, 26 homes in Barnstable County were listed at prices between $160,000 to $199,000, compared to one in that range in 2005.

Marissa Chouinard, a single mother who receives a teaching degree in May, grew up in Falmouth. She is buying a house for $173,000, $110,000 below its original asking price.

In the 20 years between 1984 and 2004, housing prices in the county, which includes the entire cape, skyrocketed from $79,099 to $457,200. In 2007, they dropped 5.5 percent.

One cruel irony for people who live on Cape Cod instead of vacationing there is that wages tend to be lower. Housing advocates say that the $200,000 barrier is a critical one because that is the point at which they become affordable to families with the cape's median income.