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Updated October 7, 2004
If you're looking to buy an inexpensive home, try moving to Minot, ND, while the priciest homes are in sunny California. That's what Coldwell Banker Real Estate found in its 2004 Home Price Comparison Index, an annual study of the priciest and cheapest locations in the country to buy a home.
For the second year in a row, the study's most expensive market is La Jolla, CA. ($1,708,333), a scenic coastal town north of San Diego. The most affordable market for a home is Minot, ND ($130,300).
The Coldwell Banker price index is based on a 2,200 square foot single-family home with 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms and 2-car garage in neighborhoods where corporate middle-management workers would live.
The national average sales price of all markets surveyed in the Coldwell Banker index is $354,372; up 11 percent from $318,172 in 2003.
"Americans are a mobile people, especially during an expanding economy," said Jim Gillespie, President and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. "The Coldwell Banker HPCI serves as a useful tool for those involved in transfers and moves or the curious who want to see what their home would cost in other markets. Home prices vary greatly from market to market, and the HPCI gives some clarity to what homes cost in different parts of the country."
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 40 million Americans moved between 2002 and 2003.
The top 10 most expensive and most affordable markets overall in 2004 are:
| Rank | Most Expensive | 2004 Avg. Sales Price | Most Affordable | 2004 Avg. Sales Price |
|
|
La Jolla, Calif. |
$1,708,333 |
Minot, N.D. |
$130,300 |
|
|
Beverly Hills, Calif. |
$1,313,750 |
Great Falls, Mont. |
$130,525 |
|
|
Santa Barbara, Calif. |
$1,230,000 |
Arlington, Texas |
$134,550 |
|
|
Palo Alto, Calif. |
$1,212,000 |
Billings, Mont. |
$134,650 |
|
|
Greenwich, Conn. |
$1,192,500 |
Killeen, Texas |
$136,750 |
|
|
Newport Beach, Calif. |
$1,174,375 |
Tulsa, Okla. |
$138,250 |
|
|
San Mateo, Calif. |
$1,142,500 |
Topeka/Shawnee County, Kan. |
$141,850 |
|
|
San Francisco, Calif. |
$1,125,500 |
Parkersburg, W. Va. |
$144,000 |
|
|
Wellesley, Mass. |
$1,102,500 |
Cadillac, Mich. |
$145,000 |
|
|
Kailua Kona, Hawaii |
$1,087,500 |
Knoxville, Tenn. |
$145,696 |
The most expensive and most affordable markets within each state in the United States are:
| State | Most Expensive |
2004 Avg. Sales Price |
Most Affordable |
2004 Avg. Sales Price |
Variance |
| ALABAMA | Huntsville | $188,466 | Mobile | $180,575 |
$7,891 |
| ALASKA | Juneau | $420,537 | Anchorage | $248,491 | $172,046 |
| ARIZONA | Scottsdale | $376,300 | Tucson | $212,600 | $163,700 |
| ARKANSAS | Fayetteville | $207,325 | Fort Smith | $164,125 |
$43,200 |
| CALIFORNIA | La Jolla | $1,708,333 | Riverside/Ontario | $348,600 |
$1,359,733 |
| COLORADO | Boulder | $441,725 | Colorado Springs | $180,666 |
$261,059 |
| CONNECTICUT | Greenwich | $1,192,500 |
Litchfield County/Torrington |
$220,000 |
$972,500 |
| DELAWARE |
|
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| FLORIDA | Key West | $759,499 | Pensacola | $169,975 |
$589,524 |
| GEORGIA | Atlanta | $283,900 | Dalton | $172,725 |
$111,175 |
| HAWAII | Kailua Kona | $1,087,500 | Kihei, Maui | $591,630 |
$495,870 |
| IDAHO | Boise | $192,740 | Coeur d'Alene | $180,570 |
$12,170 |
| ILLINOIS | Chicago | $763,333 | Springfield | $168,800 |
$594,533 |
| INDIANA | Munster | $299,666 | Evansville | $166,565 | $133,101 |
| IOWA | Des Moines | $242,400 | Dubuque | $177,725 |
$64,675 |
| KANSAS | Lawrence | $226,800 |
Topeka/Shawnee County |
$141,850 |
$84,950 |
| KENTUCKY | Louisville | $223,518 | Lexington | $155,983 |
$67,535 |
| LOUISIANA | New Orleans | $250,375 | Lafayette | $171,750 |
$78,625 |
| MAINE | Portland | $334,800 | Lewiston/Auburn | $166,475 | $168,325 |
| MARYLAND |
Bethesda/ Chevy Chase/ Montgomery County |
$491,440 | Eastern Shore | $247,425 |
$244,015 |
| MASSACHUSETTS | Wellesley | $1,102,500 | Greater Springfield | $291,666 |
$810,834 |
| MICHIGAN | Ann Arbor | $340,000 | Traverse City | $229,967 |
$110,033 |
| MINNESOTA | Edina | $367,175 | Moorhead/Clay County | $167,850 |
$199,325 |
| MISSISSIPPI | Jackson | $219,875 | Tupelo | $166,225 |
$53,650 |
| MISSOURI | St. Louis | $229,325 | Springfield | $159,933 |
$69,392 |
| MONTANA | Bozeman | $256,499 | Great Falls | $130,525 |
$125,974 |
| NEBRASKA | North Platte | $177,825 | Omaha | $169,900 |
$7,925 |
| NEVADA | Reno/Sparks | $347,100 | Las Vegas | $263,125 |
$83,975 |
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | Hanover | $469,125 | Portsmouth | $277,000 |
$192,125 |
| NEW JERSEY | Warren | $753,000 |
Turnersville/Gloucester County |
$231,467 |
$521,533 |
| NEW MEXICO | Santa Fe | $448,625 | Albuquerque | $262,500 |
$186,125 |
| NEW YORK |
Bayside, Queens |
$641,125 | Binghamton | $147,525 |
$493,600 |
| NORTH CAROLINA | Wilmington | $229,750 | Greensboro | $178,500 |
$51,250 |
| NORTH DAKOTA | Fargo | $184,262 | Minot | $130,300 |
$53,962 |
| OHIO | Cincinnati | $234,167 | Dayton | $166,600 |
$67,567 |
| OKLAHOMA | Oklahoma City | $182,158 | Tulsa | $138,250 |
$43,908 |
| OREGON | Bend | $319,519 | Salem | $225,633 |
$93,886 |
| PENNSYLVANIA |
Philadelphia County/ Center City Philadelphia |
$488,675 | Erie | $183,450 |
$305,225 |
| RHODE ISLAND |
|
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| SOUTH CAROLINA | Charleston | $290,000 | Columbia | $175,500 |
$114,500 |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | Rapid City | $174,700 | Aberdeen | $148,225 |
$26,475 |
| TENNESSEE | Nashville | $198,000 | Knoxville | $145,696 |
$52,304 |
| TEXAS | Dallas | $236,313 | Arlington | $134,550 |
$101,763 |
| UTAH | Salt Lake City | $238,288 | Provo | $210,552 | $27,736 |
| VERMONT | Burlington | $279,750 | Montpelier | $241,500 |
$38,250 |
| VIRGINIA |
McLean/Fairfax County |
$558,650 | Roanoke/Blacksburg | $279,750 |
$278,900 |
| WASHINGTON | Bellevue | $491,666 | Spokane | $207,321 |
$284,345 |
| WEST VIRGINIA | Charleston | $195,667 | Parkersburg | $144,000 |
$51,667 |
| WISCONSIN | Milwaukee | $310,000 | Eau Claire | $151,433 | $158,567 |
| WYOMING |
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Methodology: Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation conducted its Home Price Comparison Index study by compiling survey data from Coldwell Banker offices throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. Companies within the Coldwell Banker System submitted data based on the average sales price of sold listings through July 2004, along with averages of prior listings that were priced at current market levels. The criteria for the HPCI subject home is: single-family dwelling, 2,200 square feet (approximately)2, 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, family room (or equivalent) and 2-car garage in neighborhoods/zip codes within a market that is typical for corporate middle-management transferees.