Home prices have spiked in 73% of U.S. metro areas, according to a fourth-quarter report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Even so, there are still small towns across the nation where people with modest incomes can find single-family homes they can afford.
That includes some cities that showed the country's highest home appreciation, the NAR reported.
Ranked at the top was Cape Girardeau in Southeast Missouri, with a median home price of $275,000, up 19.9% year-over-year. Cumberland, MD, ranked second with a median home price of $174,900, up 17.1%, but still qualifying as one of the nation's least expensive markets. Owensboro, KY, followed with a median home price of $264,000, up 15%. Anniston-Oxford, AL, up 14.9% and Mobile, AL, up 13.7%, came in fourth and fifth.
Despite the rapid appreciation, each town offers houses well below the national median home prices, which rose 1.2% to $414,900 in 4Q 2025.
"In order to meet the 30% threshold to afford a typical home in the three markets, an annual household income of $53,320 (Cape Girardeau MO-IL), $33,920 (Cumberland, MD-WV) and $51,360 (Owensboro, KY) is needed," said Jiayi Xu, Realtor.com economist.
The calculation is based on 20% down payment for a first-time buyer at an average 30-year mortgage rate of 6.1% and excludes tax and insurance, she stated.
A fall in monthly mortgage payment requirements in 4Q 2025 offered a hopeful signal for affordability. The 5.7% drop would bring the mortgage on a home priced at the national median to $2,057 monthly, down from $2,122 a year before, NAR stated.
Qualifying median family incomes needed to buy a home fell to $98,720, while median household incomes increased to $107,751 in 4Q 2025.
The highest qualifying income required, based on a 20% downpayment, was in the West ($148,900), the Northeast ($122,440), the South ($87,394) and the Midwest ($75,449).
Home prices fell the most in Cleveland, TN, Pueblo, CO, Boulder, CO, Farmington, NM and Elmira, NY.
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