America’s Most Affordable Housing Markets

10. Lansing-East Lansing, Mich.
> Home price as pct. of income: 152% (tied for 9th)
> Median home price: $99,000 (17th lowest)
> Median family income: $65,300 (80th highest)
> Unemployment: 6.8% (48th lowest)

Lansing is the first of five (six, if parts of South Bend metro are included) metropolitan areas located in Michigan to make this list. Home prices in the area are expected to rise by an average of 5.8% annually between 2012 and 2017, among the top third projected increases in the country. The median home price is just south of $99,000, or $60,000 less than the median home price in the United States. Meanwhile, the area’s median family income of $65,300 is $2,400 higher than the national median income. The 6.8% unemployment rate, far below the 8.3% rate in the U.S., is also the lowest rate for Michigan metro areas on this list. This could help the housing market recover quicker by boosting demand.

9. Appleton, Wisc.
> Home price as pct. of family income: 152% (tied for 9th)
> Median home price: $108,000 (28th lowest)
> Median family income: $70,900 (50th highest)
> Unemployment: 6.0% (23rd lowest)

The median home price in Appleton of $108,000 is higher than any metro area on this list, but it is still well below the U.S. median home price of $159,000. Home prices have consistently been cheap in the area for years. The median price between 2007 and 2012 only declined by 4.9%, far less than the national drop of 33.3%. Meanwhile, Appleton’s median family income of $70,900, in the top third of metro areas considered, makes home ownership affordable for most residents. In addition, the 6.0% unemployment rate is far below the national rate of 8.3%.

8. Battle Creek, Mich.
> Home price as pct. of family income: 150% (tied for 7th)
> Median home price: $79,000 (3rd lowest)
> Median family income: $52,300 (23rd lowest)
> Unemployment: 6.9% (53rd lowest)

The median family income in Battle Creek of $52,300 is the 23rd lowest among all metro areas surveyed. But with home prices the third cheapest of all metro areas, buying a home is quite affordable. Home prices were relatively cheap before the economic downturn, too. Prices fell by 16.1% from their peak in the second quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2012, a far more modest decline than the nationwide home prices drop of about 33%. And while home prices are expected to fall by 1% across the U.S. in 2012, they are expected to rise by 1.9% in the Battle Creek area, one of the largest increases in the country.

7. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Penn.
> Home price as pct. of family income: 150% (tied for 7th)
> Median home price: $80,000 (5th lowest)
> Median family income: $53,300 (32nd lowest)
> Unemployment: 8.0% (94th highest)

Homes in the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman area are affordable, even for those with modest incomes. While median family income in the region is $9,600 lower than the national median income, median home prices are even lower — the fifth lowest in the country. And the housing market may not have even hit bottom yet. Home prices in the Youngstown area are expected to drop for all of 2012 by 1.8%, more than the 1% drop across the United States. However, prices in 2013 are expected to rise by 5.1%, slightly faster than the U.S. increase.

Also Read: States with the Most Homes Underwater

6. Monroe, Mich.
> Home price as pct. of family income: 141%
> Median home price: $89,000 (9th lowest)
> Median family income: $62,900 (97th highest)
> Unemployment: 7.6% (88th lowest)

The median family income in Monroe is the same as the median family income in the United States. But the median home price of $89,000 is $60,000 lower than the U.S. median home price. A relatively low unemployment rate of 7.6%, well below Michigan’s unemployment rate of 8.5% and the U.S. unemployment rate of 8.3%, may help get the housing market back on more solid ground. While home prices are expected to rise at an annual rate of 3.9% across the U.S. between 2012 and 2017, in Monroe prices are expected to rise 5.2% annually over the same period.