Short List
Location Really Does Matter
Housing markets in 96 percent of the U.S. counties tracked by RealtyTrac are better off today than they were in 2010, but just 8 percent are better off than they were in 2006 at the height of the housing boom.
The RealtyTrac study analyzed four key categories of housing market health: home price appreciation, affordability, percentage of bank-owned (REO) sales and the unemployment rate. The 410 counties analyzed in the report account for 63 percent of the U.S. population.
Home prices in three-fourths of the counties analyzed are still below 2006 levels, but low inventory has helped home prices accelerate past pre-recession levels in some markets like Seattle, San Francisco, Denver and Oklahoma City, says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. Those rapid home price gains are causing a concerning drop in affordability rates in some cities, but homebuilders and homeowners with regained equity should help provide more supply to balance out many of those markets in 2014.
| Highest Median Price | |
|---|---|
| San Jose, California | $808,000 |
| San Francisco | $679,800 |
| Honolulu | $672,300 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana, California | $669,800 |
| San Diego | $483,000 |
| Lowest Median Price | |
|---|---|
| Cumberland, Maryland | $81,400 |
| Rockford, Illinois | $73,100 |
| Toledo, Ohio | $72,100 |
| Decatur, Illinois | $69,000 |
| Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio | $64,600 |
