What $250,000 gets you

Not too darn much, apparently.

I contributed two pieces to the cover story package in the current issue of Harrowsmith Country Life (available on newsstand only), which is titled What can you buy for $350,000?

Originally, the idea was to look at what $250,000 would fetch a home-buyer in select rural areas of Canada. However, the price point went up another hundred grand after we discovered a quarter-million really didn't get you much for your money in certain locales.

I wrote about the real estate markets in Canmore, Alberta and Eastern Kings County, Prince Edward Island. In the former, $250,000 would get you a view of the mountains - from a cozy double-wide trailer. Not exactly the sort of home Harrowsmith readers are keen on reading about.

Ultimately, the cheapest Canmore place we ran came in at $279,900, a 1,237 sq. ft. condo just off the highway. Closer to average was the $829,000 home in the Eagle Terrace subdivision, "probably not everyone's idea of country living."

Pricey? Caledon Hills in Ontario topped it with a $895,000 place. But that was for a "vintage home on a rolling acreage."

And I bet they're still on Internet dial-up out there. . . .