US Cities with the Lowest House Prices

You might say there is still an affordable housing migration going on. People are moving to find cheaper housing in their city or in other cities across the US.

As international travel opens up, we may even find more people selling their home and moving internationally.

With respect to the USA, banking rates has ranked the cities with the lowest housing prices. Here are the top 25 where you might find an affordably prices home.  Please do check out the employment and economic forecast before selling your home and moving on.

 

Metro Area Median Home Price % Change
1 Year
% Change
Since Peak*
% Change
Since Bottom†
Affordability Index
McAllen, Texas 84,250 3.3 33.2 32.4 6
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 113,050 6.3 -2.2 43.1 2
Toledo, Ohio 134,000 6.9 2.5 66.8 1
Dayton, Ohio 135,500 8.4 8.8 62.7 1
Lansing-East. Lansing, Mich. 138,000 13.7 1.7 87.1 1
Cleveland, Ohio 146,000 12.7 2.5 78.4 1
Akron, Ohio 150,000 10.1 6.3 62.8 2
El Paso, Texas 152,192 5.3 13.6 23.9 6
Rochester, N.Y. 153,000 16.9 44.4 60.3 3
Little Rock, Ark. 155,000 4.1 11 16.8 1
Memphis, Tenn. 156,400 12.7 11.9 80.8 2
Pittsburgh, Pa. 158,000 -0.6 24.3 38.2 2
Buffalo, N.Y. 160,000 16.5 85.2 77.1 4
Greensboro, N.C. 160,000 14.2 26.5 53.1 3
Winston-Salem, N.C. 165,000 12.1 22.7 55.6 3
St. Louis, Mo. 166,000 8.9 -3.3 58.1 3
Columbia, S.C. 166,625 8.8 16.1 49.7 3
Augusta, Ga. 169,000 7.5 13.8 37.2 1
Tulsa, Okla. 169,000 7.9 23.4 37.8 2
Kansas City, Mo. 169,700 -0.7 5.4 82.7 2
Oklahoma City, Okla. 170,000 6.6 34.9 35.6 2
Harrisburg, Pa. 175,000 12.7 16 37.9 2
San Antonio, Texas 175,000 -1.7 44.3 55.6 7

 

Online home search data is showing more out of town searches. People are putting their houses up for sale, in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia and Atlanta.

And they’re taking their windfall amounts with them to new cities and new neighborhoods. And as more housing becomes available, many who were on the fence about selling, will have somewhere to move to.  So the reasons to stay put are disappearing. Many homebuyers and renters will be more mobile this year and continuously looking for cheaper accommodations so they can improve their lives.

A Challenging Search for Homes

Of course, for fleeing home sellers, the challenge is to find houses for sale in many regions that are only now reawakening after 30 years of economic devastation. The rust belt has never looked better for many homebuyers.

Some are finding new construction opportunities, however it won’t be easy for builders to get financing to build homes in economically slow regions.

This means these cities with the lowest prices might not be low for long. The migration will pick up pace for the rest of the year and in the chart below you can see price growth.

The outward migration of home buyers was first reported last year by Redfin who noticed the migration away from high tax, pricy cities (redfin.com/blog/q2-2019-housing-migration-report/).  They found that 2 out of every 5 people searching for houses in Las Vegas were from out of town.

“Out-of-towners continue to gravitate to Phoenix for all of the quality-of-life benefits our area offers: home affordability, low taxes and cost of living, proximity to California and Mexico beaches, and natural beauty,” said Phoenix area Redfin agent Van Welborn from Redfin report.

Back then, Phoenix, Sacramento, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Austin, Tampa, Dallas, Miami, Boston and San Diego were the cities drawing new residents.

Changes in Employment

Today, as the economy slowly recovers, job opportunities change, and oil prices rise, the destination will change. Most home buyers want a home in the country away from the misery of continuous Covid 19 outbreaks, and growing strife in the big metros of New York, Miami, Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

The migration out of New York and the Bay Area is powered further by a desire to avoid the high taxation in New York state and California. And renters too are leaving the cities, freed from their desks in Manhattan, Los Angeles, and San Francisco offices. Moving to small towns where rent might be 25% of what they were paying (e.g., New York or the Bay Area) is a godsend for millions of digital nomad “gig workers.”

Buyers Migrating Reasons

⦁ homes cheaper elsewhere
⦁ taxes too high in their home cities and states
⦁ workers freed from the office chains
⦁ rural communities safer from crime
⦁ desire to live in more beautiful, clean and natural surroundings

Where are Buyers Going?

John Burns Real Estate Consulting generated this interesting infographic based on Uhaul searches. The orange dots show where they were leaving and green dots where they’re headed. Hard to validate the science but it’s a creative investigation from John Burns.

Infographic courtesy of John Burns real estate consulting.

 

Redfin Home Buyers Searches in top 10 Metros

This graphic from Redfin hints at the strength of the homebuyer migration trend.

Chart Courtesy of Redfin.com

Kiplinger Report on Cities with the Lowest Home Prices

Kiplinger produced their report on those cities with the lowest home prices. It’s a huge list of cities home buyers will likely be interested in. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Alabama, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, and even Texas will attract buyers with these ultra low average prices.  Home prices are rising fast in some of the locales. See more data on all housing markets including Chicago, Atlanta, and New York on the US Housing update.

Realtors in these cities will likely have a good second half to their 2021 sales season.

U.S. Metro Area Home Price % Price Change since Peak % Price Change Since Market Bottom
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pa. $103,000 2.4 36.1
Toledo, Ohio $122,000 -6.6 59.8
McAllen, Texas $124,000 35.8 37.2
Dayton, Ohio $128,000 5.3 57.8
El Paso, Texas $130,000 23.1 25.5
Jackson, Miss. $130,000 -8.5 32.7
Cleveland, Ohio $135,000 -13.7 67.9
Akron, Ohio $138,000 -.5.7 65.7
Rochester, N.Y. $140,000 28.5 40
Greensboro, N.C. $145,000 10.7 44
Indianapolis, Ind. $145,000 12.4 63
Little Rock, Ark. $145,000 11.2 12.9
Memphis, Tenn. $147,000 2.5 64.8
Buffalo, N.Y. $150,000 64.7 60.2
Columbia, S.C. $150,000 14.3 36.4
Winston-Salem, N.C. $150,000 20.1 38.5
Pittsburgh, Pa. $152,000 30.7 44.6
Augusta, Ga. $154,000 17.6 37.8
Tulsa, Okla. $154,000 17.6 30.6
Oklahoma City, Okla. $158,000 30.6 32.5
Kansas City, Mo. $159,000 -1.3 70.2
St. Louis, Mo. $163,000 -4.5 50.2
Detroit, Mich. $164,000 -10.1 138.6
Birmingham, Ala. $165,000 2.5 55.8
Cincinnati, Ohio $165,000 15.6 59.7
Chattanooga, Tenn. $169,000 43.4 63.3
Harrisburg, Pa. $169,000 16.9 31.9
Louisville, Ky. $170,000 20.2 43.9
Lakeland, Fla. $173,000 1.9 99.8
Knoxville, Tenn. $175,000 34.8 54.3
Baton Rouge, La. $178,000 18.4 23.8
Albuquerque, N.M. $180,000 11.7 32
Allentown, Pa. $181,000 2.2 45.6
Greenville, S.C. $183,000 47.5 62.3
San Antonio, Texas $185,000 48.5 66
Des Moines, Iowa $186,000 26.1 45
Omaha, Neb. $186,000 35.5 50.2
Fayetteville, Ark. $188,000 15.7 55.5
Columbus, Ohio $192,000 26.4 85.3
Grand Rapids, Mich. $193,000 39.8 119.7
Milwaukee, Wis. $193,000 -3.6 58.2
Houston, Texas $197,000 43.9 82.2
Albany, N.Y. $198,000 13.1 25.9
New Orleans, La. $199,000 30.1 74.6
Palm Bay, Fla. $199,000 -1.8 121.3
Deltona, Fla. $200,000 -3.2 112.3
Springfield, Mass. $200,000 3.5 44.8
New Haven, Conn. $201,000 -23.5 31.5
Tampa, Fla. $201,000 -0.7 113.5
Tucson, Ariz. $206,000 -4 74.8
Jacksonville, Fla. $208,000 -0.6 85.5
Hartford, Conn. $214,000 -10.1 14.3
Cape Coral, Fla. $220,000 -14.1 98
Philadelphia, Pa. $220,000 5.5 37.5
Atlanta, Ga. $225,000 14.2 123.7
Bakersfield, Calif. $225,000 -14.7 99.7
Dallas, Texas $225,000 69.4 106.8
Charlotte, N.C. $227,000 43.5 72.2
Chicago, Ill. $229,000 -15.2 67.5
Virginia Beach, Va. $229,000 -6.1 27.9
Richmond, Va. $233,000 16.9 55.1
Orlando, Fla. $235,000 -6.5 112.9
Durham, N.C. $242,000 38.6 51.1
North Port-Sarasota, Fla. $245,000 -12.1 94
Worcester, Mass. $247,000 -1.3 67.2
Spokane, Wash. $248,000 67.1 79.4
Charleston, S.C. $251,000 27.5 66.4
Baltimore, Md. $254,000 -8.4 35.9
Fresno, Calif. $260,000 -14.7 93.4
Madison, Wis. $260,000 35.6 50.9
Raleigh, N.C. $262,000 38.2 48.3
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. $265,000 7.4 80.8
Nashville, Tenn. $265,000 68.4 87.7
Phoenix, Ariz. $265,000 -0.8 132.2
Providence, R.I. $268,000 -8.5 80.5
Miami, Fla. $269,000 -11.4 116.1
Las Vegas, Nev. $275,000 -16 151.4
Ogden, Utah $278,000 81.7 93.2
Boise City, Idaho $290,000 48.7 161.9
Austin, Texas $299,000 93.3 91.5
Colorado Springs, Colo. $304,000 49.8 80.2
Salt Lake City, Utah $310,000 95.8 133.3
Modesto, Calif. $315,000 -16.3 149.7
Provo, Utah $340,000 77.6 105.2
Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif. $355,000 -9.9 110.2
Stockton, Calif. $355,000 -14.5 155.1
Bridgeport, Conn. $374,000 -19 28.7
Portland, Ore. $385,000 49 94.5
Washington, D.C.-No. Va. $397,000 -8.2 47.7

Above data courtesy of Kiplinger Reports.

Realtors, don’t forget to check out Realtor marketing packages to build buyer and seller leads this year and beyond. See yourself as a market leader and it might come true.

See more on the current Real Estate Market, the Bay Area Housing Market and the  Florida Real Estate Market.

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