California Has Six of 10 Priciest Home Markets

By:
Kirk Haverkamp | October 12, 2010

California has the nation’s most expensive real estate markets, with four of the five highest average listing values, and six of the highest 10, according to recent figures from Coldwell Banker.

At the other end of the spectrum, Michigan has the nation’s most affordable real estate markets, with Detroit and Grayling posting the lowest average listings in the country.
 
Newport Beach, just south of Los Angeles, had the highest average real estate listing value, at more than $1.8 million. By contrast, the average listing in Detroit barely exceeded $60,000.
 
The figures, from the 2010 Coldwell Banker Home Listing Report, provide a snapshot of the U.S. real estate market this year. Results are based on prices for four-bedroom, two bath homes listed on Coldwellbanker.com from February to August of this year in 300 U.S. markets served by the company.
 

Most expensive markets all near the oceans

 
Not surprising, people are willing to pay to live near the water. All 10 of the highest-priced markets were adjacent to either the Pacific or Atlantic oceans, including the six in California. All 10 of the most affordable markets, on the other hand, were in the Midwest, although not strictly in cities identified with the so-called “Rust Belt.”
 
The average listing nationally was $353,000 for properties meeting the criteria. Eighty-five of the 300 markets covered by the study averaged $200,000 or less, a figure termed “generally affordable” by Coldwell representatives. The top 10 markets all exceeded $1 million and 25 communities in the study averaged $750,000 or more.
 

Bursting of housing bubble seemingly not a factor in rankings

 
The high rankings of California communities are particularly noteworthy given that the state suffered some of the biggest price declines when the housing bubble burst. Joining Newport Beach in the top five were Palo Alto, San Francisco and La Jolla, with Rye, N.Y. the only outsider at number three.
 
The most affordable markets included old industrial cities in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, but also Farm Belt communities in Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas, states that did not see particularly steep declines in home values or high foreclosure rates in recent years, but where affordable homes have been the historic norm.
 
The top 10 lists, with average listing costs for a four-bedroom, two-bath home, are as follows:
 
 
#          Most expensive                                       Most affordable
1          Newport Beach, Calif.    $1,826,348          Detroit, Mich.               $68,007
2          Palo Alto, Calif.             $1,479,227          Grayling, Mich.            $84,625
3          Rye, N.Y.                     $1,325,500          Sioux City, Iowa           $85,967
4          San Francisco, Calif.     $1,325,103          Cleveland, Ohio            $87,240
5          La Jolla, Calif.               $1,210,300          Muncie, Ind.                 $100,314
6          Greenwich, Conn.          $1,195,614          Norfolk, Neb.               $197,814
7          Wellesley, Mass.          $1,080,458          Kansas City, Mo.         $112,449
8          Pasadena, Calif.           $1,043,683          Canton, Ohio                $114,325
9          Honolulu, Hawaii           $1,026,821          Port Huron, Mich.         $116,267
10        Santa Barbara, Calif.     $1,024,661          Topeka, Kan.                $116,343
 
Data on all 300 markets may be accessed at http://hlr.coldwellbanker.com.
 

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