Coldwell Banker Releases Annual List of Most Expensive and Affordable Housing Markets
By Jaime Briggs, REALTOR® www.BriggsOnHomes.com
COLDWELL BANKER® RELEASES ANNUAL LIST OF MOST EXPENSIVE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING MARKETS
$2 MILLION difference between 4 BEDROOM HOMES IN North America’s
most expensive VS. Most affordable communities
Total of 345 North American Centers Represented, including 35 Canadian Markets
La Jolla CA tops North America at over $2.1 million US; Vancouver leads Canada
56 International markets studied; Singapore Most Expensive Foreign Market
BURLINGTON, ON (Sept. 23, 2009) – The 2009 Coldwell Banker® Home Price Comparison Index (HPCI) released today found a price gap of more than $2 million between the most expensive and most affordable North American markets for the studied 2,200 square foot home. In the annual comparison of similar homes in 345 North American markets, La Jolla, CA led the list as the most expensive real estate market on the continent with an average home price of $2,125,000 US. Vancouver, BC placed tenth on the North American most expensive list at $1,174,241 US ($1,262,625 CDN) topping the 35 Canadian markets studied. Grayling, Michigan was North America’s most affordable market, one of 20 similarly-priced communities on the most affordable list. Canada’s most affordable major market Charlottetown, PEI was narrowly edged out of the North American top ten most affordable markets. A similarly-sized home there costs only $147,560 US ($158,667 CDN).
Internationally, Singapore, $1.9 million US dollars, was the most expensive market for the same type of home compared with Salinas, Ecuador, $69,375 US dollars, was the most affordable studied international market.
Differing from most housing reports which compare median prices, the annual Coldwell Banker HPCI, provides an apples-to-apples comparison of similar 2,200 square foot, four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath homes in Canada, the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and a sampling of 56 countries/territories outside of North America where Coldwell Banker Real Estate has a presence.
”While Canadian home prices have been on the rise again following a brief market downturn, today’s historically low interest rates have kept the dream of homeownership within reach for most of today’s homebuyers,” says John Geha, president of Coldwell Banker Canada Operations ULC. “It is particularly interesting to compare the affordability levels now seen across North America and other global centers. Compared to many major markets throughout the world, Canadian real estate looks like a bargain.”
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