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You Can Still Find Homes Under $350,000 in These 10 Cities
By Mary Ellen Cagnassola MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
The number of affordable homes for sale is up 20% over last year, with especially big growth in the South.
Where, oh where are all the affordable homes? With the national median home price hovering around $415,000, weary shoppers may feel like they have a better chance of finding a castle in the air.
But a new analysis from Realtor.com shows there are a handful of big cities where homebuyers can still make a purchase for $200,000 to $350,000. Even better: The number of homes for sale in this range shot up more than 20% in February compared to the same time last year.
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View RatesA “growth spurt” in homes priced under $350,000
Even with mortgage rates and home prices poised to cool a bit this year, affordability will remain a challenge for the average buyer in 2024. As of last month, homebuyers need a household income of about $106,500 a year to afford the monthly mortgage payment on a typical home, according to a recent report.
But Realtor.com’s analysis shows that the circumstances aren’t so bad everywhere, and there are actually more affordable homes now compared to a year ago. A “growth spurt” in listings between $200,000 and $350,0000 in February outpaced all other price categories.
The major metropolitan areas with the greatest share of listings at this price tier are mostly in the South, which the Realtor.com report says now accounts for more than half of the country’s available affordable inventory. The median for listings in this range is about $285,000, a whopping $130,500 less than the current national median.
Miami and Tampa, Florida saw the most growth in this range, even though the median home prices in these cities are pretty high at $550,000 and $416,000, respectively. Florida is home to 18% of the country’s supply of listings within the affordable price range, Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in the report.
What can homebuyers get within this range? Miami and Tampa offer mostly attached homes, meaning condos, townhomes and row houses. Those looking for single-family homes can find budget-friendly options in Texas — specifically Dallas, San Antonio and Houston.
10 cities with the most affordable homes
The cities with the greatest shares of affordable homes are mostly in the South. These are the 10 big cities with the most listings between $200,000 and $350,000:
- Miami, Florida
- Dallas, Texas
- Tampa, Florida
- San Antonio, Texas
- Houston, Texas
- Orlando, Florida
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Birmingham, Alabama
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Mary Ellen (M.E.) Cagnassola joined Money as a reporter in 2022 following several years covering local communities in her home state of New Jersey and U.S. news for national brands, including Newsweek and People. Since receiving a B.A. in English and journalism and media studies from Rutgers University in 2017, M.E. has written about pretty much everything under the sun. As the versatile lead reporter for TAPinto Newark from 2019 to 2021, she won awards from the Center for Cooperative Media and the Society of Professional Journalists-New Jersey for her coverage of COVID-19, domestic violence, homelessness, eviction, police brutality, city government and more. She served on the board of the Society of Professional Journalists-New Jersey from 2021 to 2023. Her time at Money has afforded her newfound experience reporting primarily on Social Security policy, retirement, housing, lifestyle and employment. Influenced by her origins in community journalism, M.E.'s consumer finance coverage is informed by her dedication to service and equity. Some of her favorite topics that she has covered so far include the financial toll of caring for aging parents, sales taxes on diapers and period products, the booming personal loan industry and the customer service crisis at the Social Security Administration. Sometimes, M.E. makes TikTok videos for Money with her cat and Money’s in-house acting talent, Willow, from their home New York City.