Where is the Most Expensive U.S. City to Live?

From RealTrends.com: How many homes in the Midwest can you buy for one in Silicon Valley? About 30, according to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. For the second time in three years, the Coldwell Banker® Home Listing Report ranked Los Altos, Calif. as the most expensive market in the United States. The average four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the Silicon Valley market costs $1,963,100. This is six times the national average in this report ($295,317) and 30 times the cost of a home in the country’s most affordable market, Cleveland.

“Both the most expensive and most affordable markets in this year’s Home Listing Report have become real estate hot spots,” said Budge Huskey, president and chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “Los Altos is in the heart of Silicon Valley, where seven of the top most expensive markets are located. And Cleveland has been making headlines for its surge in home sales.”

The annual report is the most extensive home price comparison tool currently available in the United States, ranking the average listing price of four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes in nearly 2,000 markets. While other affordability reports provide average or median prices for all homes in a given area, the Coldwell Banker Home Listing Report analyzes more than 51,000 similar listings to better address how much a home in one market would cost if the same home were located somewhere else in the country.

“The continued success of many tech companies throughout Silicon Valley has brought markets such as Los Altos into focus,” said Joe Brown, managing broker of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Los Altos, Calif. “With Los Altos providing the utmost convenience and comfort as well as listing prices reflective of the ongoing demand of properties, it remains one of the most highly coveted places to live.”

Topping the list of the country’s most affordable markets, the average four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Cleveland lists for $64,993.

In addition to providing a look at the most expensive and affordable markets in the nation, the Home Listing Report also provides data for each individual state in the U.S. Full state data, including affordability rankings of markets by each state is available at hlr.coldwellbanker.com. To be included in the report, markets were required to have a minimum of 10 four-bedroom, two-bathroom home listings between January and June 2014. Markets not included in this year’s ranking did not meet this requirement.