In one home, you have a fantastical, sprawling castle in the woods and lush fields of Iowa. <\/p>\n
In another, you have a smaller, trendy California abode<\/a> that\u2019s disappointingly normal for the price.<\/p>\n For the home alone, the decision is easy for many onlookers. The $10.2 million Iowan mansion covers more than 13,000 square feet and dwarfs the $9.9 million Carpinteria home at 2,135 square feet of space.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n One of its owners, Dawn Ameling, said she assumed it was some expensive California home when she first saw the listing. Google Earth<\/p>\n The contrast exposes an obscene housing market<\/a> in the Golden State, one of the most expensive in the country, that forces consumers to look smaller and smaller to afford a decent property.<\/p>\n The impressive Iowan estate is in Toddville, a few miles north of Cedar Rapids. It has a 15-acre lake, a pond, and miles of woods.<\/p>\n The home\u2019s facade is made of a fossilized stone, and the updated landscaping is akin to an Italian villa\u2019s, Ameling said. The house has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and a spacious backyard pool. Google Earth<\/p>\n The impressive Iowan estate is in Toddville, Iowa, a few miles north of Cedar Rapids. It has a 15-acre lake, a pond, and miles of woods. Google Earth<\/p>\n One of its owners, Dawn Ameling, said she assumed it was some expensive California home when she first saw the listing.<\/p>\n \u201cI assumed it was some $20 million estate in California,\u201d Ameling told The Wall Street Journal.<\/a> \u201cThen I looked closer and thought, \u2018Oh my gosh, this thing is in\u00a0Iowa!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The home\u2019s facade is made of a fossilized stone, and the updated landscaping is akin to an Italian villa\u2019s, Ameling said. The house has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and a spacious backyard pool.<\/p>\n The Carpinteria home, located in Santa Barbara County<\/a>, is much, much smaller \u2014 but does offer \u201cspectacular harbor, islands & sunset views.\u201d<\/p>\n The Carpinteria home, located in Santa Barbara County, is much, much smaller \u2014 but does offer \u201cspectacular harbor, islands & sunset views.\u201d Instagram\/@TimWalshMontecito<\/p>\n Despite the huge contrast, many commenters preferred the worse value for the space California home. Instagram\/@TimWalshMontecito<\/p>\n \u201cThis 4 Bedroom beach house offers an open floor plan with an enclosed glass windbreak terrace at beachside and private gated walk-up courtyard and entry deck.<\/p>\n \u201cLarge oceanside terrace with more than enough room for family and friends and your private steps to the sand, Serena Cove and Loon Point,\u201d the home\u2019s description says.<\/p>\n The home has beachside and island views with access to the ocean. It has four bedrooms and three bathrooms along with a spacious front patio area.<\/p>\n Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, told the California Post she wasn\u2019t surprised by how close in price the two properties were despite the massive size difference.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a mantra in real estate: location, location, location. These two houses exemplify that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cLocation, Location, Location. That iowa mansion is nice, but it\u2019s in the middle of nowhere with absolutely not much to do. Borefest,\u201d one commenter wrote. Instagram\/@TimWalshMontecito<\/p>\n California is significantly more expensive to live in than Iowa. Instagram\/@TimWalshMontecito<\/p>\n The $10.2 million Iowan mansion covers more than 13,000 square feet and dwarfs the $9.9 million Carpenteria home at 2,135 square feet of space. Instagram\/@TimWalshMontecito<\/p>\n Hale said it is largely up to buyers to determine which house they prefer. Even though the Iowa house has a massive size advantage, the Golden State home \u201chas a lot of location advantages that just aren\u2019t matched by the Iowa property.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the fact that the Iowa home, Hale theorizes, has much fewer comparable properties to compete with in price. The Santa Barbara market is much more competitive with similarly priced homes, she said.<\/p>\n But Hale says the difference is also due to the Golden State\u2019s inflated housing market \u2014 that a relatively small property can equal a massive castle elsewhere in price.<\/p>\n \u201cThese two properties show how disconnected from the rest of the US California home prices are,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n California is significantly more expensive to live in than Iowa. <\/p>\n