The San Francisco Real Estate Blog

Midwest is most affordable market

Here's a breakdown of homes by median price in select Ohio cities. The median price is the average, or the typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

Youngstown had the lowest median price at $82,900. Coming close were Toledo with $118,600 and Akron with $119,800. Cleveland's median price was $147,000, while Cincinnati trailed with $148,500. Columbus' average was $157,000.

Compared to other regions, most of the Midwest is well below the national average, which was $216,200 for a single-family home. This is up 16.6 percent from a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $170,000. Of the major Ohio cities, Columbus was the most expensive, but still 30 percent less than the national average.

Many people like to relocate to sunnier weather, especially during the winter months. Prices are reaching record highs in the hot spots. For example, Naples, Fla., was 79 percent above the national average during the second quarter. In California metro areas, prices ranged from $387,000 (Inland Empire east of Los Angeles) to $722,000 (San Francisco).

If you're looking for sunny and 70 degrees year-round, you'll pay a pretty penny for it. These prices have remained fairly stable throughout the year.

I don't know about sunny and 70 degrees year round in San Francisco, but still, if you can only dream of buying in the SF market and you feel like screaming in envy, I understand. I was born and raised in Indiana, and though I've lived in SF for more than twenty years, I'm still not sure that being able to buy great Chinese food at three in the morning makes up for the difference in prices.