West Virginia Real Estate
By: Damian Sofsian
If you are thinking of living in West Virginia either for a long time or for good, finding a home may be one of your chief concerns. Here is some information about West Virginia and West Virginia real estate, which you may find useful.
First off, real estate and real property are synonymous terms and are sometimes simply referred to as realty. Real estate or real property is defined as an immovable property that includes the land, the building on the land and all things that permanently come with the land and the building.
West Virginia 101
The largely mountainous state of West Virginia lies at the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. Most West Virginians live along the rivers of Kanawha, Monongahela and Ohio, which are West Virginia’s most industrialized areas, while only a few live in the north central region and along the edges of Alleghenies.
West Virginia ranks 37th among the states in the US in terms of number of residents. Kanawha County, its mostly populated county, only has 195,218 residents—51,685 of them are in the city of Charleston, the largest city of Kanawha and the capital of West Virginia. Other cities with more than 20,000 residents are Huntington, Wheeling and Weirton, Fairmont, Morgantown and Parkersburg.
As of 2003, West Virginia ranked 48th among the 50 states in terms of economy. Its median household income is only $31,008, the lowest in the United States. However, in spite of this, many tourists come to West Virginia and many decide to work and live here.
The state is best known for its coal production, which covers 15 percent of the total coal production of the United States. Other major industries in West Virginia include mining, steel, glass, wood, chemical, and food manufacturing industries.
Workers from other states as well as other countries who specialize in these industries comprise the largest number of foreigners who have settled in West Virginia and have eventually acquires properties here. They are Germans, Italians, Scottish, Irish, English and Arabs.
Houses and Residents in Charleston
Recent statistics show that there are 27,084 houses in Charleston. A total of 24,473 houses are presently occupied—14,186 of these are resided in by the owners themselves, while the rest are being rented. Houses are sold at around $89,000 or higher, depending on the size of the house or the land area.
Majority of the houses occupied by the owners fall under the $100,000 to $150,000 price range, while owner-occupied houses are sold from $750,000 or even more than $1,000,000.
A total of 16,940 houses were built before 1950; 6,697 from 1960 to 1979; 2,704 from 1980 till the mid-90s; and 743 from mid-90s till 2000.
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