These 10 Inexpensive Cities Have Investors Thinking Twice About Home Buying

Homeownership and home investment have suffered dramatically in recent months, with countless people pulling their properties off the market and buyers waiting for lower interest rates. 

Though mortgage interest rates dropped below 7% this week, the Federal Reserve again raised rates again, and it’s just a matter of time before the hike is reflected. But for those willing to bite the bullet on rates, there are investment deals to be had in several cities across the country, according to a new survey from Realtor.com. 

The company is quick to support its listing agents by claiming that the “slump isn’t happening everywhere.” However, you won’t see any cities claiming lower prices in the Western half of the U.S., which won’t be coming down anytime soon. But there are a number of markets that may not be the most fashionable but for investors are worth looking into, according to Realtor.com. The website’s top 10 list includes:

10. Augusta, Georgia

Median home list price per square foot: $150
Median home list price: $311,575
Augusta is best known as the site of the annual Masters Golf Tournament. Augusta is also a medical, tech and military hub and host to Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia, the state’s only public medical school. It’s also home to Fort Gordon Army Base, an Army cybersecurity and electronic warfare training center. Buyers typically can get homes on a half or full acre. 

9. Columbia, South Carolina 

Median home list price per square foot: $146
Median home list price: $308,900
The state capital and home to the University of South Carolina, Columbia, became more popular during the pandemic with out-of-state buyers who were looking for places with more affordable prices, low taxes and warmer weather. 

Home prices in Columbia have seen the most significant price slump in recent months, falling almost 5% since prices peaked in June but still 10% over where they were a year ago. Just 1½ hours from the coastal vacation mecca of Charleston and the booming and more expensive city of Greenville to the north, you can purchase a 1,800-square-foot, three-bedroom home for $310,000 just a few minutes from downtown. 

8. McAllen, Texas

Median home list price per square foot: $144
Median home list price: $270,000
McCallen is a city of around 150,000 on the U.S.-Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley about an hour’s drive from the Gulf Coast. Visitors travel to the city to see its nearly 550 species of birds and 300-plus species of butterflies. It’s also a regional shopping mecca for people on both sides of the border. However, home prices in this trade-port city have defied the housing market’s recent price downturn. Still, a brick, three-bedroom starter home that could be turned into a rental will go for $205,000. 

7. Indianapolis, Indiana

Median home list price per square foot: $144
Median home list price: $300,000
Best known as the home of the Indy 500, the Colts and the Pacers, Indianapolis is a frequent mention in most affordable cities lists. Indianapolis weather is typically mild for the Midwest, and buyers in the state capital can find some of the cheapest mansions in the nation. Prices are up 11% compared to 2021, but buyers can find a recently remodeled three-bedroom, one-bathroom house for about $150,000. 

6. Little Rock, Arkansas

Median home list price per square foot: $141
Median home list price: $298,873
Prices are rising in Little Rock, but buyers can still find good deals in the state capital. The city was recently named one of the best for middle-class buyers thanks to its low cost of living and the massive revitalization of its historic downtown. For around $300,000, a buyer in Little Rock can afford a one-bedroom condo with floor-to-ceiling windows and a patio overlooking the Arkansas River and the downtown River Market District. That price will also get a large, four-bedroom home on an oversized lot in the wooded suburbs farther from downtown.

5. Jackson, Mississippi

Median home list price per square foot: $138
Median home list price: $299,000

Jackson has been in the news lately because of its toxic drinking water, and the crisis appears to be damaging the area’s real estate market. Home inventories have climbed as sellers rushed to list their homes, and there are now 50% more homes for sale than last year. Like the publicity surrounding water issues in the city of Flint, Michigan, Jackson has historically been a flashpoint in the struggle for civil rights. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced a civil rights investigation into the current water crisis, especially in the heavily Black urban center of the Jackson metropolitan area. Prices have fluctuated a little each month, rising about 17% year over year per square foot. And for entertainment, you can always go to Jackson State University football games and watch Deion “Prime Time” Sanders lead his Blue Bengal Tigers to another victory. 

4. Wichita, Kansas

Median home list price per square foot: $134
Median home list price: $304,475
Wichita, known as the Air Capital of the World, attracts aviation enthusiasts from around the globe and serves as a high-tech manufacturing hub for companies like Beechcraft, Cessna, Learjet, and Boeing Co.’s BA Stearman Aircraft. 

The city still offers residents a low-cost, high quality of life and world-renowned barbecue. Home list prices in Wichita have increased the most of any city on the list, rising 24% in the past year. So far, the market has avoided the downturn seen in other U.S. metropolitan areas, instead hitting a yearlong high in September. Buyers searching for deals can find a 2,500-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath house on nearly a third of an acre for $180,000. 

3. Syracuse, New York

Median home list price per square foot: $130
Median home list price: $217,250
The college town of Syracuse in Central New York was recently named one of the best places for middle-class homebuyers by Realtor.com because of its low housing prices, even though they’re up about 10% year over year. There are also inventory issues, as the number of homes for sale in Syracuse is the lowest of any metropolitan area on this list. 

Homes are sitting on the market longer, selling in 47 to 60 days over the past four months. Investors can land a three-bedroom brick ranch in a cul-de-sac in Syracuse’s historic Washington Park neighborhood near the center of town, just a five-minute drive from the Onondaga Lakeshore, for $220,000.

2. Scranton, Pennsylvania

Median home list price per square foot: $124
Median home list price: $225,000
Fans of “The Office” television show shouldn’t be swayed by some of the derogatory Scranton references for this town about 2½ hours north of Philadelphia. The hometown of President “Scranton Joe” Biden, the city is also one of the most affordable ski towns in America. 

Home prices in Scranton are low even after steady increases over the past year, with costs per square foot climbing 20% year over year, outpacing the national market’s 12% year-over-year increase. It’s one of four metropolitan areas on this list bucking the recent trend of prices falling a little. But for just under $225,000, you can get a large, three-bedroom home built in the 1940s with an updated kitchen.

1. Youngstown, Ohio

Median home list price per square foot: $95
Median home list price: $149,900
Conveniently located halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh on the Ohio side of the state line, Youngstown is known for its Midwestern charm and is the least expensive metropolitan area in the nation. The former steel town saw its population decline starting in the 1970s, and with more homes than buyers, prices dropped. 

Youngstown also has a low cost of living, appealing to people moving in from other higher-priced parts of the country looking for bargains. Prices in the city have come down a little over the past several months, dropping a little more than 2% since hitting a high in August. And prices are still up year over year by around 12%.

See more on the real estate market from Benzinga:

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