Markets with the most under $200,000

Affordable housing can be difficult to come by. In the past decade alone, the number of homes for purchase under $200,000 went from half of all sales to 21% of all home sales, according to a recent report from Realtor.com. At the same time, the national median listing price on homes has increased nearly 40% since 2019.

For the roughly two-thirds of Americans who do own homes, location is a major determinate of their home’s value. Shopping for a new home on a constrained budget may limit prospective buyers to certain areas in the U.S. The good news is the inventory of smaller and more affordable homes has grown in share, Realtor.com found.

Hannah Jones, a senior economic analyst at Realtor.com said in the report, “With lower living costs and increasing inventory, cities like Albany (Georgia) provide great value for homebuyers.” She continued, “The South is seeing a big increase in affordable inventory.”