Historic
1905 Fairbanks Downtown, 2891 Sq Ft, Hardwood Floors — $79,900
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 | 1905 downtown Fairbanks, 4BR/2BA, 2891 sqft, hardwood floors, large windows, historic character |
| Condition | 25% | 4 | As-is, needs elbow grease; no system dates; construction loan language signals real work required |
| Price / Sq Ft | 15% | 10 | Listing $28/sqft vs zip median $228/sqft — 88% below; thin data (8 comps) but directionally extraordinary |
| Price vs. Market | 5% | 10 | $79,900 vs $274,881 median — 71% below zip median; strong signal even with thin market |
| Market Conditions | 5% | 9 | DOM 50 median vs 29 here; sale-to-list 84.6%, price drops 24.9% — clear buyer's market |
At $28 a square foot, this is one of those numbers that makes you read the listing twice. The zip median runs around $228 per square foot. This place is 88% below that. Four bedrooms, two baths, 2,891 square feet, built in 1905, sitting downtown in Fairbanks. That combination does not happen without a reason, and the reason here is condition.
The agent says "elbow grease." The financing language says cash or construction loan, which means conventional lenders have already looked at this and passed. So whatever shape you're imagining the house is in, assume it requires more than paint and new fixtures. No system dates are listed, which means the roof, the plumbing, the electrical, the heating — in interior Alaska, where heating is not optional — are all unknowns. You need to walk in with a contractor, not a decorator.
That said, what's here is real. Hardwood floors and large windows in a 120-year-old downtown building have a quality to them that you cannot replicate in new construction at any price. The bones of a house built in 1905 that is still standing in Fairbanks have proven something already. The layout gives you four bedrooms and nearly 3,000 square feet, which is a lot of house to work with. The neighboring lot is also on the market, fronting both Eighth and Ninth Avenue, so there's additional land available if you want it.
Fairbanks is a buyer's market right now. Median days on market is 50, sale-to-list ratio is sitting at 84.6%, and about a quarter of listings have seen price cuts. You have room to negotiate from an already low number.
This is a project for someone who knows what a project actually costs, has the cash or the construction financing to see it through, and wants to end up with a large historic downtown property for a fraction of what anything comparable would run. For the right person, $79,900 for a piece of 1905 Fairbanks is a serious deal. You just have to earn it first.
