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NEW YORK — Despite the challenges of soaring home prices and a competitive market, NationalBusinessCapital.com, a fintech lending platform for businesses, discovered 10 elite metropolitan areas where buying a home is surprisingly within reach.
With remote work becoming the norm and retirement plans taking shape, the dream of homeownership in desirable locations may be more attainable than many realize. National Business Capital’s inaugural report on home affordability reveals a silver lining in a market where affordability sometimes seems out of reach. These findings turn the notion of home affordability on its head. The study exposes locations offering a blend of reasonable housing costs and desirable amenities.
Surprising Findings
Vacation Hotspots Remain Surprisingly Affordable: Despite their popularity, many vacation hotspots and pandemic boomtowns in the Sun Belt, such as Miami, Las Vegas, and Austin, are still within reach for prospective homebuyers. Contrary to expectations, housing prices in these areas, although higher than before, remain surprisingly within reach for many.
Florida Cities Buck the Trend: Despite experiencing explosive growth, no Florida cities made it into the top 10 most expensive places to buy a home. While the cost of living is on the rise in the Sunshine State, it remains less expensive than many of the areas new residents are moving from. Miami, the most expensive Florida metro area, ranked 144th out of 167, while Ocala was the cheapest, ranked 62nd.
Wealthy Suburbs and Elite Cities Offer Better Deals: Contrary to common belief, wealthy suburbs and small upscale cities, like Southwest CT’s “Gold Coast” and Salinas, CA, offer better deals than their big city counterparts such as New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, or San Francisco. Home values in these areas are more in line with local salaries, making homeownership more feasible than expected.
The 10 places that are (relatively) less expensive than you might think
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach; (Score out of 100): 22.8; (144 on the list)
Salinas, CA; 11.2; (157th)
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX; 30.4; (135th)
North Port-Sarasota-Brandon; 37.4; (118th)
Naples-Marco Island; 30.6; (134th)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 22.5; (145th)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA; 19.0; (150th)
Urban Honolulu, HI; 15.4; (154th)
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV; 36.4; (121st)
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT; 13.7; (156th)
The 10 cheapest places to buy a house
Evansville, IN-KY; (Score out of 100): 84.6
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH; 84.1
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR; 83.5
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX; 82.6
Montgomery, AL; 81.6
Mobile, AL; 80.9
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA; 80.6
Fort Wayne, IN; 80.5
Canton-Massillon, OH; 80.4
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL; 79.5
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Buy A Home
158. Vallejo, CA (Score out of 100); 10.7
159. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA; 10.3
160. Boston-Cambridge-Newton; 10.1
161. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ; 8.9
162. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA; 8.7
163. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA; 8.3
164. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA; 7.6
165. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA; 5.7
166. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA; 5.5
167. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA; 1.5
“These findings are a game-changer for homebuyers,” says Joe Camberato, Chief Executive Officer, NationalBusinessCapital.com. “Home prices are still the largest piece of most household budgets. But if you know where to look, it can be a smaller piece than expected.”
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