Eau Claire Real Estate
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Eau Claire, the hub of Western Wisconsin, is located about 80 miles east of Minnesota's twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Eau Claire is close enough to this large metro area to make day trips easy, but far enough away to have a personality all its own.
Incorporated in 1872, Eau Claire was settled as a lumber town. Prior to that it was inhabited by Native Americans and then fur trappers. The city grew along the banks of the two major rivers that converge downtown -- the Eau Claire River and the Chippewa River.
About 65,000 residents currently call Eau Claire home. There are over 25,000 housing units in the city of Eau Claire ranging in price from about $70,000 to over $500,000. Eau Claire residents can choose to live in the city, in the country, on a wooded lot, or on waterfront property. Eau Claire has many unique neighborhoods with their own personality and advantages.
Real estate is affordable in Eau Claire. The average residential home in the Eau Claire school district sold for just over $152,000 in 2006. About 50% of Eau Claire homes were built prior to 1970. That number is on par with the average for Wisconsin overall. In 2005 Eau Claire's cost-of-living index was 97.2. The average is 100, and Minneapolis' cost of living index was over 109 in 2005!
Because Eau Claire is located along the banks of two rivers, waterfront property within the city limits is available. In fact, about 6.5% of Eau Claire's total area is water.
