Housing market: The 20 cities where houses are cheaper than condos
Remote work became the norm for many workers during the pandemic prompting Americans to upsize their homes. Here are 20 cities where it’s more affordable.
During the pandemic many workers were forced to work from home. A situation that many found suited them prompting a reconsideration of their abodes and a mass migration to upsize. Normally purchasing a condo is cheaper than a single-family house, which is the case in the majority of cities and in some the difference is more than double. But a new study has found cities where the opposite is true.
Point2, an online site that analyzes real-estate trends, studied the median price of single-family houses and condos in 200 of the largest cities. They found 20 where purchasing a detached house was not just cheaper but could be profitable including in core cities. The analysis also looked at the cities where it would be the easiest to close the gap between buying a detached house and a condo based on the median income in the area.
The 20 cities where houses are cheaper than condos
Top of the list for where a single-family house is cheaper than a condo is Detroit, where you could almost buy four detached homes for the price of one condo. However, they warn that you may need to give that new home a bit of TLC. The median single-family home at $58,000 in the Motor City is $171,000 cheaper than the median condo.
Other major cities where purchasing a detached house was cheaper than a condo include Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and St Paul. In Rochester, New York, the median house and condo go for the same price at $138,000.
Top five cities where houses are cheaper than condos
| City | Median House Price | Median Condo Price | Net Difference | % of Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit, MI | $58,000 | $229,000 | -$171,000 | -75% |
| Birmingham, AL | $174,000 | $246,000 | -$72,000 | -29% |
| Cleveland, OH | $115,000 | $181,000 | -$66,000 | -36% |
| Akron, OH | $103,000 | $169,000 | -$66,000 | -39% |
| Syracuse, NY | $155,000 | $210,000 | -$55,000 | -26% |
Cities where houses are more expensive than condos
However, the opposite was true in nearly 20 other cities where buying a single-family home was double or almost triple that of purchasing a condo.
Top five cities where condos are cheaper than houses
| City | Median House Price | Median Condo Price | % of Difference | Net Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue, WA | $1,525,000 | $535,000 | 185% | $990,000 |
| Arlington , VA | $1,132,000 | $415,000 | 173% | $717,000 |
| Honolulu, HI | $1,198,000 | $454,000 | 164% | $744,000 |
| Pembroke Pines, FL | $580,000 | $220,000 | 164% | $360,000 |
| Overland Park, KS | $448,000 | $170,000 | 164% | $278,000 |
Cities where you can afford to buy a house over a condo with less than a year’s income
There are other cities where saving less than a year’s income will cover the gap between having a home with a backyard versus living in a multi-unit building. The city with the easiest gap to close was Providence, Rhode Island based on median income. Point2 found 10 where it would take less than half one’s yearly income to cover the upgrade from a condo to a house.
Top five cities where difference between house and condo prices easiest to cover
| City | Median House Price | Median Condo Price | Net Difference | Median Income | Difference-Income Ratio (Yrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence, RI | $334,000 | $331,000 | $3,000 | $60,970 | 0,05 |
| Killeen, TX | $220,000 | $216,000 | $4,000 | $51,619 | 0.1 |
| Kansas City, KS | $180,000 | $175,000 | $5,000 | $53,884 | 0.1 |
| Norfolk, VA | $259,000 | $252,000 | $7,000 | $58,591 | 0.1 |
| Buffalo, NY | $198,000 | $188,000 | $10,000 | $40,669 | 0.2 |