According to the most recent US Census Bureau's statistics ranking the largest Consolidated Metropolitan Areas by Population, Worcester, MA is included in the Boston CMA which ranks as 5th largest in the US.
Worcester is the same distance west of Boston as Aurora is west of Chicago. The same distance Southwest of Boston is Providence, RI which would be comparable to the distance Joliet is southwest of Chicago.
The same distance to the north of Boston is Manchester, NH which would be comparable to the distance Waukegan is north of Chicago. Nashua, NH is just 40 miles to the Northwest of Boston, comparable to the distance Elgin is northwest of Chicago.
Mike Mann
of MA
@
Dec 26, 2009 17:31:17 PM
Don't know what you are talking about...
I've read so many crazy comments here from people (not all) that either missed the point of the article or do not know what they are talking about.
To Ernie Banks of IL, whatever do you mean by “none of the listed are near large cities”? Do you mean the top five largest cities? Of course they are not listed, we want a sampling of the median home prices. If Chicago were to be listed, each of those homes would be represented just in the Chicago metro area! Nonetheless, many of the cities that are mentioned are the #1 or #2 in their state (Raleigh NC, Charleston SC, Portland OR, etc). A couple of them are part of some of the largest metropolitan areas in the country (Tampa at 2.7 million).
To the LA resident- MOVE! LA is a huge rip-off. If people are willing to pay, then the market will be high. It is the law of supply and demand. You can live in a shack (literally) in Maui that will cost you 500k and not want anyone to see the place but still brag that you live in Maui. Nevertheless, LA has taken some serious downturns. However, you’ll never see the prices that are the norm for areas 2-3 hours outside of LA.
Sure, housing prices vary in a single area and there are many factors that influence: location, taxes, school district etc. I’m sure the author could have added it but he chose to stick with a simple sampling.
This piece is just to give a general idea of how the housing market has dropped in various areas of the country. It is not a guide that will make you a nation-wide home market expert.
If you want a full comprehensive list of housing in all areas of the country, you would have to do your own research. Choose just one large metropolitan area and you can spend days reading about the various area markets.
Ron
of IL
@
Nov 03, 2009 23:31:25 PM
Housing
Pittsburgh has virtusally no job loss and affordable housing.
Obama wouldn't have taken G20 to Pittsburgh if we didn't.
You never mentioned affordable housing.
Linda
of PA
@
Nov 02, 2009 11:34:37 AM
Wrong AGAIN
Whats with these sites....my city, Sioux Falls, SD has low low housing prices. It's crazy for someone to spend over 200k on a home when the prices here rarely rise above 150k and you can buy a nice 3 bedroom 2 story for 65k.
Wrong wrong again
ao
of SD
@
Nov 01, 2009 23:29:18 PM
What about L.A.?
I live in the general Los Angeles area. I keep hearing about the "real estate crisis" and the "down market". When will I get to see this "down market"? $174,000 can't even buy me the dumpiest shack in the scariest, most crime-ridden part of L.A.! Even stupid new condos in Pasadena next to the ugly office building I work in are running for $2 million MINIMUM! I think Mr. Mullins should have included L.A. as one of his 10 featured areas. When am I going to see some cheap, safe housing here?
L.A. Resident
of CA
@
Nov 01, 2009 20:21:13 PM
Clovis, CA
3 Years ago you couldn't find a house (crappy house) for under $250,000 here in clovis (merges with Fresno). Houses here are now around $150,000ish. But investors from LA and Bay Area and coming and paying cash over asking price. We have been outbid on 7 homes in the last 3 months to cash buyers with no contingencies and we are already go $10,000-$15,000 over asking price. So it is starting to get higher again.
Also most of Fresno is a crap hole, so you can even find home for $20-$30,000 if you want to live in the slums.
renee
of CA
@
Nov 01, 2009 13:11:59 PM
Boise???
I don't know who they think they talked to as an "expert" of Boise, but this house they show is in one of the slummiest neighborhoods around town. Almost every home in this neighborhood is either a meth house, sherrif seized, or a foreclosure. The picture they are using is from 2-3 years ago during the housing boom.
Boise Native
of ID
@
Nov 01, 2009 12:43:48 PM
Boise???
I don't know who they think they talked to as an "expert" of Boise, but this house they show is in one of the slummiest neighborhoods around town. Almost every home in this neighborhood is either a meth house, sherrif seized, or a foreclosure. The picture they are using is from 2-3 years ago during the housing boom.
Boise Native
of ID
@
Nov 01, 2009 12:43:47 PM
no large cities
None of the properties listed are in or near large cities. Good luck finding anything listed under $175K in San Francisco, LA, or New York.
Ernie Banks
of IL
@
Oct 29, 2009 17:46:25 PM
Median Home Prices
Unfortunately, the often-published "median home price" numbers mean very little. Especially when attempts are made to draw some conclusions by comparing with previous "median home prices". Meaningful comparisons can only be made between houses that are as similar as possible, and there's no attempt, and probably no way, to do that.
This article compares houses on the basis of price alone. Mr. Mullins doesn't say, and probably has no way of knowing, whether one of these houses is modern, newly or recently built and another is a hundred years old (e.g. "Victorian" with 4 bedrooms but only 1.5 baths) with ancient wiring and plumbing, no insulation, obsolete heating system, single-pane windows, well water and septic tank instead of city water and sewer, garage?, in a safe neighborhood with decent schools, etc etc. The brief descriptions he is able to give tell us nothing that we need to know.
In my own community, I can show you houses of widely differing quality, age, and condition, in different parts of town, all for the same $177,000 price, and that is not close to the median price here. It is unfortunate, but an article like this is of value only to those who have time to kill and nothing else to read. We are no better informed after reading it, than before.
Mike Mann of MA @ Dec 26, 2009 17:31:17 PM
Ron of IL @ Nov 03, 2009 23:31:25 PM
Linda of PA @ Nov 02, 2009 11:34:37 AM
ao of SD @ Nov 01, 2009 23:29:18 PM
L.A. Resident of CA @ Nov 01, 2009 20:21:13 PM
renee of CA @ Nov 01, 2009 13:11:59 PM
Boise Native of ID @ Nov 01, 2009 12:43:48 PM
Boise Native of ID @ Nov 01, 2009 12:43:47 PM
Ernie Banks of IL @ Oct 29, 2009 17:46:25 PM
Chuck S. of OR @ Oct 29, 2009 14:59:20 PM
Back to article