Home shoppers looking for a bargain can still score deals in some areas of the country. The Rust Belt and Midwest regions tend to have the highest percentage of homes listed for less than $100,000—properties with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a yard. “Bargains definitely exist,” says realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “But buyers should go in with their eyes open. In some of those areas, $100,000 can buy a pretty decent home that maybe needs a little bit of updating. In others, it might be a home that needs an awful lot of work and might be in not yet up-and-coming neighborhoods.”
Realtor.com® pinpointed the metro areas with the largest number of single-family homes listed for less than $100,000 on its site as of March 1 (based on volume, not percentages). The following metros topped the list:
1. Pittsburgh
- Median home list price: $179,950
- Number of homes listed for $100,000 or less: 2,656
2. Detroit
- Median home list price: $245,050
- Number of homes listed for $100,000 or less: 2,478
3. Chicago
- Median home list price: $299,550
- Number of homes listed for $100,000 or less: 2,397
4. St. Louis
- Median home list price: $207,550
- Number of homes listed for $100,000 or less: 2,227
5. Cleveland
- Median home list price: $175,050
- Number of homes listed for $100,000 or less: 1,779
6. Birmingham, Ala.
- Median home list price: $219,950
- Number of homes listed for $100,000 or less: 1,169
7. New York
- Median home list price: $523,740
- Number of homes listed for $100,000 or less: 1,155
Source: “Bargain Hunter’s Bonanza: Metros With the Most Homes for Sale Under $100K—Act Now!” realtor.com® (June 4, 2018)
