Twenty counties where houses are still affordable

Third on the list in Lexington County, South Carolina, a suburb made affordable for young professionals and families due to migration and growing economic opportunity. Home prices have appreciated by only 34.4% in the last three years. The recorded median home price is at $206,726, and home costs only take 34% of the residents’ income.

Following Lexington Country is Madison County, Alabama. MoneyGeek has noted that the county is home to Huntsville, recently ranked the best place to live in 2022 by US News. Homes in the county start at a low price to match the low costs of living. Growing job opportunities have also encouraged people to flock there. Home price appreciation since 2019 was recorded at 42.3%, median home prices at $263,726, and home costs as proportion of income at 42%.

Rounding out the top five is Marion County, Florida, which has reported strong commercial and residential growth and increased home construction. Its median home price of $218,548 is a result of 50% home price appreciation over the past three years. Home costs constitute 47% of income.

Other affordable real estate markets are: Hidalgo County, Texas; Oklahoma County, Oklahoma; Benton County, Arkansas; Escambia County; Florida; and Tulsa County, Oklahoma. These are followed by Spartanburg County, South Carolina; St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana; Pasco County, Florida; Lubbock County, Texas; Forsyth County, North Carolina; Douglas County, Nebraska; Greenville County, South Carolina; Richland County, South Carolina; Webb County, Texas; and Knox County, Tennessee.

Despite home prices burgeoning to nearly impossible highs, the good news is that home prices are not rising at the same rate everywhere. Affordability is influenced by an area’s cost-of-living, MoneyGeek noted. Tertiary markets – generally holding a population below one million and less known than primary and secondary property markets – hold twin promises of a growing population and sustained low costs of living as a potential solution to the housing affordability crisis homebuyers currently face.