The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in an unprecedented surge in demand for homes in the United States. Inventory is at a record low, as is the average time homes are on the market. Meanwhile, both home prices and the share of homes selling above asking price have reached record highs.
Of course, in some parts of the country, exorbitant home prices are nothing new. Even before the pandemic, there were towns across the country where most homes had estimated values of well over a million dollars. Meanwhile, the median home value nationwide is $217,500.
Using data on median home value from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 50 most expensive towns to buy a home. Several of the places on this list have a median home value above $2 million, the upper boundary published by the Census. To break those ties, areas with fewer homes and higher incomes ranked higher on this list. We included cities, towns, villages, and unincorporated communities with populations between 1,000 and 25,000 in our analysis. Most of the towns on this list are in the Western United States, including 30 in California alone.
Home values in a given area are often a reflection of what residents can afford. And not surprisingly, with only one exception, the median annual household income exceeds the $62,843 national median in every town on this list. Here is a look at the richest town in every state.
Likely due in part to higher incomes, homeowners in the towns on this list are not necessarily more likely than average to need to rely on a mortgage. In only just over half of the most expensive towns to buy a home, the share of homeowners who are financing with a mortgage is above the 62.7% share of homeowners with a mortgage nationwide. Here is a look at where the middle class can no longer afford housing.
Click here to see the most expensive towns to buy a home in the nation
Click here to see our detailed methodology
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