Big Family Homes Costs Compared

Story first appeared in the Associated Press
ST. HELENA, Calif. $2.3 million
A 3,120-square-foot house in Napa Valley with five bedrooms and four baths, on 0.3 acre.
Details: This Victorian-style house was built around 1900 and renovated in 2000. The home has a pool, a porch and patios. There's a formal dining room and a double parlor. 2010 property taxes were $11,800.
Reunion Time: The home has a reverse floor plan, with the dining room, parlor and kitchen upstairs. The kitchen opens to a deck.
Group Dining: Downtown St. Helena is six blocks away. Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen can accommodate groups of 50 or more.
Friday's Forecast: Sunny, high 94 degrees.
CENTERVILLE, Mass. $2.1 million
A 3,300-square-foot home on Cape Cod with four bedrooms and 4½ baths, on 0.6 acre.
Details: This 1960s Cape Cod-style home, renovated in 2006, sits on a lake with a sandy beach and has a dock. A detached garage has a carriage apartment with a bath, and the property has storage space for a boat. 2011 property taxes are $14,500.
Reunion Time: Boat, fish or jet-ski on Wequaquet Lake, a 654-acre pond. The home has a screened-in porch, patios and decks.
Group Dining: Less than five miles away, Five Bays Bistro in Osterville has a back room that seats 24.
Friday's Forecast: Partly cloudy, high 73 degrees.
DALLAS $2.2 million
A house of about 7,000 square feet, with five bedrooms and 5½ baths, on an acre in Preston Hollow.
Details: This Colonial-style home was built in the 1940s and remodeled several years ago. There's a game room, gym and pool, plus garage space for five cars. A wooded backyard has paths. 2010 property taxes were $47,500.
Reunion Time: A great room with a wood-burning fireplace opens to a patio that leads to the pool area. A formal dining room can seat 15.
Group Dining: Less than two miles away, the Southern-cuisine spot Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen can accommodate groups of up to 60.
Friday's Forecast: Partly cloudy, high 102 degrees.