You should put a premium on location, location, location while searching for a new house. Where you choose to reside might impact both your housing expenses and your utility bills. You could, alternatively, pay a higher mortgage rate, but then your property taxes would also increase dramatically. Since housing prices are increasing all around the country, it might be confusing to figure out where to invest. For the vast majority of individuals, purchasing a home is the single largest investment they will ever make. Ninety-one per cent of Americans have the long-term goal of becoming homeowners. However, just 65.4% of households in the United States are homeowners.
Home affordability is a major issue for potential purchasers. The median value of homes in the United States is estimated at $344,141 by the Zillow Home Value Index. Meanwhile, the average American family can barely afford a $250,000 mortgage, according to a median income of $67,521. As a result, a large number of people may no longer be able to afford a home. House prices vary greatly from state to state because of their most important contributor, location. The median home price is under $200,000 in nine states, while it’s above $500,000 in eight.
Homes in the Southern states are often the least expensive in the country. In general, the cost of living is less in these states. Homebuyers who are flexible about where they settle might benefit from the home marketer’s deals.
States With the Lowest Average Home Prices in 2022
Arkansas
The third-lowest median house price in the United States is found in Arkansas, at $169,867. On average, purchasers will find homes with 1,792 square feet of area. When compared to the national average, the state’s homeownership rate of 66.5% is slightly higher. Arkansas has the tenth-lowest state property tax rate in the US at 0.63%, meaning that a typical home in the state will pay only $1,070 in state property taxes per year.
Mississippi
The average home in Mississippi costs just $157,828 making it the second-cheapest state to purchase real estate in. This is far less than what most Americans would pay for a home today. Mississippi’s typical house size of 1,879 square feet is greater than the median house size in several of the more costly states. The yearly property tax rate for homeowners in Mississippi is 0.81%, or $1,278. Mississippi has the second-highest rate of homeownership in the United States, with 74.8%.
Western Virginia
The cost of purchasing a home is the lowest in West Virginia. The median price of a home in West Virginia is $129,103, approximately $30,000 less than the cost of a home in Mississippi and roughly $40,000 less than the cost of a home in the United States as a whole. For that money, a buyer may purchase a house with a living area of about 1,792 square feet. Property owners in the state, which has the eighth-lowest property tax rate in the United States at 0.59%, will pay an average of $762 in taxes annually. With a rate of 79.6 per cent, West Virginia also boasts the highest percentage of home-owning citizens in the United States.