While the housing market is in a slump of significant proportions, there are still a handful of markets both surviving and remaining relatively affordable for homebuyers. A new realtor.com® report took a look at the 100 largest metropolitan areas, and located the top 10 cities where it’s currently most affordable to buy a house.
The report looked to see which cities had the lowest median home price per square foot. It then used price per square foot instead of the overall price to account for seasonal trends as well as the different sizes of homes around the country.
Here’s where the top 10 affordable housing markets are located:
- Youngstown, Ohio: The median home list price is $149,900 ($95 per square foot).
- Scranton, Pennsylvania: The median home list price is $225,000 ($124 per sq ft).
- Syracuse, New York: The median home list price is $217,250 ($130 per sq ft)
- Wichita, Kansas: The median home list price is $304,475 ($134 per sq ft).
- Jackson, Mississippi: The median home list price is $299,000 ($138 per sq ft).
- Little Rock, Arkansas: The median home list price is $298,873 ($141 per sq ft).
- Indianapolis, Indiana: The median home list price is $300,000 ($144 per sq ft).
- McAllen, Texas: The median home list price is $270,000 ($144 per sq ft).
- Columbia, South Carolina: The median home list price is $308,900 ($146 per sq ft).
- Augusta, Georgia: The median home list price is $311,575 ($150 per sq ft).
Major takeaway:
“These are generally smaller metropolitan areas in the Northeast, the Upper Midwest, and the South, many of which have gone through economic challenges in recent years. Prices in these places have historically been lower than the rest of the country—and they didn’t go through the dramatic COVID-19 price pumps of the past couple of years seen by red-hot markets such as Phoenix, Boston, and Denver. Many are state capitals and former manufacturing powerhouses in the Rust Belt that saw population shifts as plants closed and jobs migrated overseas,” said Evan Wyloge, a data journalist for Realtor.com and author of the report. “They may not all be thriving tech centers or America’s most fashionable metros, but they all have plenty of surprisingly nice homes that are seriously well-priced. All had median price tags that were significantly less than the $427,250 median national home price in September.”
For the full report, click here.
