Real Estate Relocation Guide To West Virginia

Relocating from Chicago to West Virginia is a major move. You’re crossing state lines and heading 500 miles to find a new home in a different community. By familiarizing yourself with the local real estate market, whether your destination is Huntington or Charleston you can get a good idea of the West Virginia landscape and locate the best area for you and your family.

We’ll start with the big picture… West Virginia has an estimated population of 1.8 million* and around 24,000 square miles of land. The total number of housing units is 877,587, of which about 554,800 are owner-occupied and 188,300 are inhabited by renters. Roughly 134,500, or 15 percent, of the residences in the state are vacant. The median home value in West Virginia is $89,700 and the median household income is $35,059. For an idea of how this sizes up with national averages – the median home value in the U.S. is $185,200 and the median household income is $48,451.

Statewide figures provide a good overview of West Virginia, but when you’re planning to relocate to the region, knowing what types of housing are available is the most important thing. So here’s a breakdown of what West Virginia real estate has to offer…

About 7,000 homes in West Virginia are new construction, developed in 2005 or after (another 47,200 were put up between 2000 and 2004). West Virginia has its share of vintage charm as well with 170,000 residences built prior to 1940. The total number of detached, single-family houses across the state is 625,700, and there’s also a good selection of multi-unit residences and condos. Most homes have 3 bedrooms, but size varies greatly depending on where you look. And, in case you’re wondering about how your budget will pan out in The Mountain State, monthly mortgage costs in [Alabama] generally hover between $300 and 2,000.

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*All statistics are from the 2006 American Community Survey as shown on the U.S. Census Bureau website.
Sources: factfinder.census.gov and www.city-data.com