Character Home, Garage, Historic
1920 Massena House with Cherry Kitchen, Workshop Garage, and Heated Bath Floor — $145,000
6
out of 10
HousesUnder150K Score
Property Merit 50% · Condition 25% · Price/Sq Ft 15% · Market 10%
| Category | Wt. | Score | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Merit | 50% | 7 | 1920 home, front porch, cherry kitchen, workshop garage, storage building, 3BR/2BA |
| Condition | 25% | 7 | Metal roof noted, heated tile floor, cherry kitchen; no HVAC/window dates listed |
| Price / Sq Ft | 15% | 5 | Listing $111/sqft vs zip median $110/sqft — essentially at market; thin comps |
| Price vs. Market | 5% | 4 | At $145K vs $141,939 median — slightly above, not a discount play |
| Market Conditions | 5% | 6 | DOM 24, sale-to-list 93.7%, price drops 36.4% — mixed, buyer-leaning signals |
The heated ceramic floor in the bathroom is the kind of thing you forget about until winter, and then you never stop thinking about it. It's a small detail in a 1920 house, but it tells you something about how this place has been cared for. Someone made deliberate choices here.
The cherry kitchen is the other thing that gets your attention. Cherry cabinetry done right has a warmth to it that painted boxes never quite replicate, and this one reads as a proper kitchen, not a flipped-and-forgotten renovation. There's a separate dining room off it, which gives the main floor a shape that a lot of houses this size have given up.
The family room is large, with windows on multiple sides and a walk-in closet, which is an unusual configuration. It functions more like a primary suite situation or a genuine flex room depending on what you need. Three bedrooms and two full baths in 1,308 square feet means the rooms are not oversized, but the layout sounds like it breathes.
The front porch is there. Metal roof is on. Both of those matter for a 104-year-old house in upstate New York. You want to know the big-ticket items have been addressed, and those two check meaningful boxes.
Out back, you get an oversized garage with an attached workshop and a separate storage building. That is a lot of outbuilding for this price point. If you have tools, a truck, a project, a small business, or just a chronic storage problem, the property accommodates you in a way that most houses at this number do not.
The downside is price. At $145,000 against a median around $142,000, this is not a discount. The market here has seen price reductions on about a third of listings, which means buyers have had leverage recently. This one is sitting at full ask, and the per-square-foot number lands right at the zip median. You are paying market rate for a house that has some genuine qualities, not below it.
What the price makes possible is still a 1920 house with a real kitchen, a workshop, a front porch, and a heated bathroom floor for under $150,000. That combination takes some finding.
