What Can You Buy For $250,000?

(MoneyWatch)  "What Can You Buy" is a series that looks at what type of house and amenities you can get for a particular price point in various locations across the U.S. Be sure to check out each of the posts in the series: What Can You Buy For $625,000?, What Can You Buy for $950,000?, What Can You Buy For $35,000 and What Else Can You Buy for $35,000?
Are you a city kid? Do you love walking around, enjoying the sights, smells, and lights of a major metropolitan area?

With the decline in prices, you might be wondering what you can pick up in the way of a pied-a-terre in one of these hot towns: San Francisco, New York City, and Miami.

Here's are three properties we found. Feel free to add links to your own $250,000 properties, in these cities, and elsewhere.

What Can You Buy For $250,000 In San Francisco:

8100 Oceanview Terrace, Unit #119, San Francisco 94132
It's a one-bedroom, one-bath unit in a tidy 669 square feet. Corner view, granite kitchen countertop, and a large private patio. The listing says the unit is quiet and that it "doesn't face the freeway," which makes me wonder how noisy this community really is. Worse, it's a short sale, but the package has already been submitted to the one lender.

Just remember, for a pied-a-terre, it's all about the neighborhood. (Click to see more photos.)

What Can You Buy For $250,000 in New York City:

19 W 105th Street, Apt. 1C, New York 10025
You don't get all that much for your money in New York City. In this case, it's a small, 226-square foot studio in a lovely pre-war (known as "vintage" in other parts of the county) red brick building on a tree-lined street.

The monthly maintenance on this studio is just $410, and this property is income restricted. So if you earn more than $50,000 a year, this place won't be for you. But do you have a just-graduated child who is now living in New York and needs a place?

What Can You Buy for $250,000 in Miami:

3265 Virginia Street, Apt. 20, Miami 33133
The largest of our three homes, this two-bedroom, one-bath home in the heart of the Grove allows you to walk to restaurants, hot shops and the marina. The property features a granite and stainless steel kitchen, cherry floors and a washer-dryer.

Would you buy any of these units? What can you buy for $250,000 in your neighborhood?

Read More:

• What Can You Buy For $625,000?
• What Can You Buy For $35,000?
• What Else Can You Buy For $35,000?
• What Can You Buy For $950,000?
• 3 Reasons Why Now Is The Best Time To Buy A Home
• Housing Market Predictions for 2010: How Good Will It Get?
• Mortgage Interest Rates Rise To Highest Level In 8 Months
• Tax Credit Daze: Why It Might Take Months To Get Your Home Buyer Tax Credit Cash
• Are You In Loan Modification Hell? Join The Club
• Want To Buy A Home? So Does Nearly Everyone Else
• 2010 Will Start With Strong Home Sales. But What Happens After The Home Buyer Tax Credits End?
• Jon+Kate Plus 8 Finally Sell Their Starter Home
  

Ilyce R. Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com.