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01 February 2023

The Cost Of Buying A Home

The Zillow Home Value Index sets the cost of buying a home in various metro areas (and for the United States as a whole). Here are selected results for December 2022:

United States: $356,819
  1. San Jose, CA: $1,521,049
  2. San Francisco, CA: $1,348,952
  3. Santa Cruz, CA: $1,224,439
  4. Santa Barbara, CA: $951,803
  5. Urban Honolulu, HI: $917,978
  6. Los Angeles, CA: $893,468
  7. San Luis Obispo, CA: $871,600
  8. San Diego, CA: $865,499
  9. Ventura, CA: $832,740
  10. Santa Rosa, CA: $810,550
  11. Boulder, CO: $753,182
  12. Seattle, WA: $725,882
  13. Boston, MA: $642,106
  14. New York City, NY: $619,155
  15. Denver, CO: $614,979
  16. Vallejo, CA: $585,242
  17. Sacramento, CA: $582,243
  18. Provo, UT: $574,397
  19. Riverside, CA: $570,580
  20. Salt Lake City, UT: $569,969
  21. Stamford, CT: $562,857
  22. Portland, OR: $556,622
  23. Fort Collins, CO: $564,926
  24. Washington, DC: $551,067
  25. Bremerton, WA: $546,876
  26. Stockton, CA: $537,973
  27. Reno, NV: $535,479
  28. Austin, TX: $531,197
  29. Greeley, CO: $526,316
  30. Olympic, WA: $526,169
  31. Ogden, UT: $505,937
  32. Portland, ME: $483,531
  33. Miami, FL: $476,860
  34. Boise City, ID: $476,570
  35. Colorado Springs, CO: $471,376
  36. Eugene, OR: $458,638
  37. Manchester, NH: $458,256
  38. Modesto, CA: $452,819
  39. Salem, OR: $449,549
  40. Providence, RI: $446,479
  41. Nashville, TN: $446,141
  42. Phoenix, AZ: $437,703
  43. Raleigh, NC: $433,424
  44. Charleston, SC: $421,868
  45. Worcester, MA: $419,855
  46. Durham, NC: $418,091
  47. Las Vegas, NV: $418,083
  48. Spokane, WA: $418,056
  49. Asheville, NC: $414,093
  50. Chico, CA: $410,228
  51. Orlando, FL: $398,331
  52. Merced, CA: $397,901
  53. Tampa, FL: $387,110
  54. Dallas, TX: $382,179
  55. Madison, WI: $381,738
  56. Ann Arbor, MI: $380,927
  57. Fresno, CA: $380,919
  58. Atlanta, GA: $380,619
  59. Anchorage, AK: $378,533
  60. Baltimore, MD: $378,283
  61. Minneapolis, MN: $370,054
  62. Daytona Beach, FL: $363,586
  63. New London, CT: $347,825
  64. Richmond, VA: $347,267
  65. Philadelphia, PA: $344,532
  66. Tuscon, AZ: $339,332
  67. Bakersfield, CA: $337,309
  68. San Antonio, TX: $336,791
  69. Yakima, WA: $336,628
  70. New Haven, CT: $332,630
  71. Atlantic City, NJ; $326,909
  72. Sioux Falls, SD: $326,759
  73. Hartford, CT: $326,038
  74. Knoxville, TN: $324,587
  75. Albuquerque, NM: $321,300 
  76. Greenville, SC: $315,192
  77. Houston, TX: $311,338
  78. Allentown, PA: $310,877
  79. Huntsville, AL: $309,522
  80. Chicago, IL: $307,349
  81. Grand Rapids, MI: $306,416
  82. Savannah, GA: $305,938
  83. Columbus, OH: $304,421
  84. Kansas City, MO: $293,088
  85. Hagerstown, WV: $288,253
  86. Chattanooga, TN: $284,847
  87. Appleton, WI: $279,527
  88. Lincoln, NE: $278,111
  89. Milwaukee, WI: $275,271
  90. Indianapolis, IN: $273,939
  91. Des Moines, IA: $271,256
  92. Cincinnati, OH: $267,706
  93. New Orleans, LA: $266,726
  94. Birmingham, AL: $252,018
  95. Buffalo, NY: $247,248
  96. St. Louis, MO: $245,958
  97. Louisville, KY: $245,203
  98. Springfield, MO: $244,146
  99. Baton Rouge, LA: $239,241
  100. Detroit, MI: $238,838
  101. Memphis, TN: $237,529
  102. Duluth, MN: $236,994
  103. Augusta, GA: $235,476
  104. Oklahoma City, OK: $226,242
  105. Cleveland, OH: $219,740
  106. Fort Wayne, IN: $217,183
  107. Pittsburg, PA: $209,325
  108. Lubbock, TX: $209,113
  109. Little Rock, AR: $201,705
  110. Wichita, KS: $199,936
  111. Gulfport, MS: $199,519
  112. Evansville, IN: $196,194
  113. Montgomery, AL: $188,943
  114. Jackson, MS: $187,587
  115. Erie, PA: $187,346
  116. Campaign-Urbana, IL: $187,013
  117. Brownsville, TX: $182,018
  118. Flint, MI: $175,653
  119. Macon, GA: $172,893
  120. Rockford, IL: $171,786
  121. Toledo, OH: $170,917
  122. Youngstown, OH: $150,699
  123. Peoria, IL: $144,941
  124. Huntington, WV: $136,528
  125. Charleston, WV: $132,072
Some observations:

* The most expensive metro area in the index is 11.5 times as expensive as the least expensive one. 

* The immense divide in housing costs reflects the immense economic divide between different regions in the U.S. which is a major drive of the political division in the U.S., with the more expensive metro areas tending to lean Democratic, and the less expensive metro areas tending to lean Republican.

* Eleven of the top twelve are on the Pacific Coast. Nine, including the top four, are in California, one is in Hawaii (#5), and one in Washington State. Boulder is the only metro area in the top twelve that is not on the Pacific Coast.

* The most expensive metro areas not on the Pacific Coast are: Boulder, Boston, New York City, and Denver, in that order.

* The West has most of the 40 most expensive metro areas in the United States (30), followed by the Northeast (8). Two are in the South: Miami and Austin.

* Madison, WI at #55 is the most expensive metro area in the Midwest. Chicago at #80 is very inexpensive considering that it is the third largest metro area in the United States.

* Metro areas with home values of under about $300,000 are fairly described as having "depressed economies" for the most part. Metro areas with home values of under $200,000 are fairly described as being in "economic collapse" for the most part. There are 62 metro areas on the list above that are above the U.S. average.

* The bottom of the list is dominated by post-industrial towns, mostly in the Rust Belt, but also with a smattering of places with fossil fuel extraction economies and some rural area hubs.

2 comments:

  1. Hum, I'm surprised at the difference between C-Springs and Denver. C-Springs always struck me as a nice town in a beautiful area.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not surprised and don't view it nearly so kindly.

    ReplyDelete