Historic, Character Home, Pool, Garage
1900 Norwood Young America Home with Pool, Porch, and Natural Woodwork — $125,000
7
out of 10
HousesUnder150K Score
Property Merit 50% · Condition 25% · Price/Sq Ft 15% · Market 10%
| Category | Wt. | Score | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Merit | 50% | 8 | 1900 build, natural woodwork, in-ground pool, firepit patio, 4BR, detached garage, three-season porch |
| Condition | 25% | 6 | Original character intact; no system dates named; single bath limits move-in-ready confidence |
| Price / Sq Ft | 15% | 10 | Listing $76/sqft vs zip median $188/sqft — 60% below; 7 comps thin but directionally strong |
| Price vs. Market | 5% | 3 | $125K vs $509K zip median — heavily skewed by acreage/land sales, not comparable |
| Market Conditions | 5% | 5 | DOM 23, sale-to-list 99.1%, price drops 56.6% — mixed signals, floor applied |
The in-ground pool is the first thing that stops you. Most houses at this price point in Minnesota have a patch of grass and a garden hose. This one has a fenced backyard with a pool, a concrete patio beside it, and a separate brick paver patio with a firepit. That is a lot of outdoor setup for $125,000.
The house itself was built in 1900 and has the woodwork to prove it. Natural wood trim throughout, a three-season front porch that leads into the living room, and the kind of proportions that older homes tend to have before builders started cutting corners on room size. Four bedrooms, which is genuinely useful. One sits on the main floor, three upstairs. There is a large kitchen with a center island big enough to actually work at. The detached garage handles parking and storage without taking anything away from the yard.
At 1,634 square feet, this comes out to $76 per square foot. The zip median runs around $188. That gap is wide. The overall median home price in the zip looks high on paper, but it is pulled up by acreage and land sales that have nothing to do with a house on Railroad Street. The relevant comparison is price per square foot, and on that measure, this is priced low.
What you do not know yet is the condition of the systems. The listing names no dates for the furnace, water heater, roof, or electrical. Single bathroom for four bedrooms is tight, and with an old house and no update history listed, you go in knowing there may be things to address. A thorough inspection matters here more than usual.
But the price accounts for some of that uncertainty. A 125-year-old house with original woodwork, a working pool, a firepit patio, a porch, four bedrooms, and a garage, at $76 a square foot, leaves room to find out what needs doing and still come out ahead.
