Real Estate Market

California most expensive, Midwest most affordable housing

by Broderick Perkins

(9/24/2010) ERATE Exclusive - It's called the Golden State for good reason -- for better or for worse.

Six of Coldwell Banker's most expensive housing markets are in California, with all the most affordable markets in Midwestern states.

Coldwell Banker's latest Home Listing Report calculates the average home listing price based on more than 18,000 four-bedroom, two-bathroom properties listed on ColdwellBanker.com between February and August 2010 from 296 select U.S housing markets.

The U.S. average for the surveyed listings was approximately $353,000.

Coldwell Banker Real Estate has released national real estate market reports annually for many years to provide consumers with insight into local market conditions," said Jim Gillespie, Coldwell's chief executive officer.

The most expensive housing markets were:

• Newport Beach, CA - $1,826,348
• Palo Alto, CA - $1,479,227
• Rye, NY - $1,325,500
• San Francisco, CA - $1,325,103
• La Jolla, CA - $1,210,300
• Greenwich, CT - $1,195,614
• Wellesley, MA - $1,080,458
• Pasadena, CA - $1,043,683
• Honolulu, HI - $1,026,821
• Santa Barbara, CA - $1,024,661

The survey included 25 housing markets where the average listing price for the subject home was more than $750,000, including 10 markets whose average listing price exceeded $1 million.

The most affordable markets were:

• Detroit, MI - $68,007.00
• Grayling, MI - $84,625.00
• Sioux City, IA - $85,967.00
• Cleveland, OH - $87,240.00
• Muncie, IN - $100,314.00
• Norfolk, NE - $107,814.00
• Kansas City, MO - $112,449.00
• Canton, OH - $114,325.00
• Port Huron, MI - $116,267.00
• Topeka, KS - $116,343.00

The survey included 183 U.S. markets with average prices less than $300,000 and 85 markets with average reported listing prices of less than $200,000.

"Our study shows that homeownership in the United States is generally affordable, with nearly 30 percent of the studied markets averaging $200,000 or less for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home," Gillespie said.

To put that perspective, a $200,000 30-year-fixed mortgage at a 4.5 percent rate could cost a buyer a monthly mortgage payment of just above $1,000. The average $68,000 four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Detroit could average less than $350 a month.