A recent 24/7 Wall St. story listed The Ten Most (and Least) Affordable Cities to Buy a Home. Using February’s numbers from Realtor.com‘s database of nationwide listings, 24/7 Wall St. calculated the median price per square foot across the 146 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country. You can see the ten MSAs with the lowest PPSF in the table below. Cities in the Midwest appear to dominate the table – with three cities in Indiana, two in Ohio, and one each in Michigan and Kansas.
| MSA | Price per sq. ft. | Median list price | Median square feet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit, Mich | $62.45 | $84,900 | 1,360 |
| Fort Wayne, Ind. | $66.03 | $104,900 | 1,580 |
| Toledo, Ohio | $67.02 | $100,000 | 1,488 |
| Indianapolis, Ind | $68.56 | $133,000 | 1,940 |
| Wichita, Kan. | $69.04 | $129,900 | 1,882 |
| South Bend, Ind. | $69.17 | $98,500 | 1,424 |
| Dayton-Springfiled, Ohio | $71.07 | $104,900 | 1,476 |
| Las Vegas, Nev. | $71.75 | $122,900 | 1,713 |
| Macon, Ga. | $72.77 | $134,625 | 1,850 |
| Atlanta, Ga. | $74.19 | $154,900 | 2,088 |
So, how does Reno-Sparks’ “affordability” compare to these lowest priced cities? To find out I used the same methodology that 24/7 Wall St. used – specifically, they looked at February’s median listing price and median square footage to calculate the median price per square foot. In February, 518 site/stick built properties were listed on our MLS. These listings exhibited a median list price of $159,450, and a median size of 1,776-square-feet. Using these numbers, we get a price per square foot of $89.78.
Not sure where, out of the 146 MSAs, that $89.78/sq.ft. would place Reno-Sparks, Nev., but certainly it would be at the lower-priced/greater affordability end of the ranking – given that the most expensive MSA (San Francisco, incidentally) boasts a median list price per square foot of $421.
BanteringBear
I’m sorry, but how can affordability even be discussed without considering local wages? Stupid, stupid article.
Walter
Thanks for the data, Guy. It provides some interesting contrasts. Keep it coming.
anna
very interesting data regardless of if local wage information is included. thank you for another great post. I check your blog daily. Fantastic resource for our community!
Guy Johnson
anna, Walter and BB, Thank you for your comments.
anna and Walter, I am glad you find the information I post on the blog useful.
tyler durden
beyond wages….population growth, climate, geographical location etc, etc , etc are to be factored in BB. (someone woke up grumpy)
Rory
So someone living in Sacramento or Sonoma would be a fool to look at Reno prices as more affordable since they don’t earn a local wage? Huh???
gomez
Reno is looking pretty affordable to me and median income has nothing to do with it. Looking forward to purchasing another income property in the next 6 months 🙂
bantering ignoramus fan
ah yes the rich folks from california are coming to keep prices in reno rising. sorry local wage earners you will soon be priced out forever. not. gomez, did you pick up any of those investment properties in idaho advertised in reno a few years ago. hope you still have your shirt.
Sully
ROBERT SHILLER: THERE’S MORE DOWNSIDE IN HOUSING PRICES
Guy Johnson
[Yesterday] Zillow projects some markets to experience substantial home value gains over the next 12 months; for example the Phoenix metro is projected to gain 6.5% from March 2012 to March 2013. See Home Values Show Largest Gain Since 2006; Many Markets to Hit Bottom by Late 2012
gomez
Bantering ignoramus fan
Not only do I still have my shirt, I also have enough funds to purchase another 2-3 rental properties with CASH over the next couple of years. No need to worry, I’m doing just fine.
🙂