Homes for the price of a car. A house for the price of an SUV? That’s plausible, given the dip in housing. But a home for the price of a Ford Fiesta? Whoa. Now there’s a value-bending proposition. While most people don’t think of real estate in prices relative to that of a car, there are houses in some parts of the United States that are for sale with listing prices just like what you’d see at an auto dealership. And we’re not talking about a house priced at the median home value of $150,000, which is akin to the sticker price of an Aston Martin.
Some of these properties are distressed sales — either foreclosed or in the midst of a short sale — and some need a little renovation, but that’s still a pretty impressive given that they’re all comparable to the price of a new car. 1620 W 2nd N, Wichita, KSFor sale: $54,900 Priced at almost $55,000, this Wichita home for sale is on the pricey end of our list. 1404 22nd St, Two Rivers, WIFor sale: $29,900 15851 Rutherford St., Detroit, MIFor sale: $12,900. Best places to bargain for a home - Yahoo! The real estate market is showing signs of life — in many areas, home prices are rising, or at least stabilizing, and stories about bidding wars are starting to surface. While all of this is good news for sellers, buyers remain in the driver’s seat in many parts of the country. To determine the metros where buyers had the most negotiating power, Zillow looked at factors including percentage of listings with price cuts, the median price cut, foreclosure re-sales, and the difference between the final list price and the final sale price.
You may be surprised at which places made our Best Places to Bargain list. Rockford, IL Home values in Rockford are quite affordable compared to the rest of the country. The Zillow Home Value Index shows the median home value in Rockford is currently $77,700, well below the national median of $146,200. Nearly 40 percent of listings in March had a price cut and the median price cut was 8 percent. Punta Gorda, FL Cleveland, OH Chicago, IL Sarasota, FL. 10 cheapest cities in the country. Cheapskates of the world unite -- you have nothing to lose but your spare change!
The 10 cities below offer the lowest cost-of-living levels of some 300 communities surveyed each quarter by the Council for Community and Economic Research. "These are parts of the country that are incredibly inexpensive," the council's Dean Frutiger says. "Prices there are a lot less than [No.1 cost-of-living area] Manhattan. " The council volunteers help compile cost-of-living figures for various cities by checking local prices every three months on some 60 goods and services, from doctor's visits to T-bone steaks.
There's also a heavily weighted "miscellaneous" category that serves as a catch-all for everything from bowling prices to dry-cleaning costs. If your idea of of the perfect date is using a two-for-one coupon at a Sunday matinee, click below to see the U.S. communities that offer the nation's lowest cost-of-living levels. 10) Pryor Creek, OK Cost of living index: 86.3. America's 10 hippest cities - Yahoo! Homes. Houston is known for many things: oil, NASA, urban sprawl and business-friendly policies. But the Texas city deserves to be known for something else: coolness. The Bayou City may not be the first place you associate with being hip or trendy. But Houston has something many other major cities don’t: jobs. With the local economy humming through the recession, Houston enjoyed 2.6% job growth last year, and nearly 50,000 Americans flocked there in response — particularly young professionals.
In fact, the median age of a Houston resident is a youthful 33. The result? Combine that with a strong theater scene, world-class museums and a multicultural, zoning-free mashup of a streetscape and you have the recipe for the No. 1 spot on Forbes’ list of America’s Coolest Cities To Live. Yahoo! Behind the Numbers “Cool” is defined by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary as “very good; fashionable.” Sperling’s Best Places helped us calculate the number of entertainment options per capita in each metro area. 10.
Cheapest Places to Live in the U.S. As the tough economic times continue in the U.S., many people are looking to cut down on their expenses by moving to more affordable cities and towns. But where to go? The Council for Community and Economic Research, a nonprofit group that provides information on local economic trends, recently compared the cost of living in 306 urban areas in the U.S. Based on the price of housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services, here is a look at the least expensive cities around the country to live in.
Photo: PicasaHarlingen, Tex. The town with the nation's lowest cost of living is Harlingen, Tex., located in the state's southernmost tip and with a population of 74,950. The after-tax cost to maintain a standard of living enjoyed by the average company manager or other professional is roughly 17 percent lower than the national average. [Related: Apps for Cheaper Summer Travel] Photo: ThinkstockMemphis, Tenn. [Related: Most Affordable U.S. Cities where paychecks stretch the furthest - Yahoo! Homes. Houston ranks No. 1 because of its relatively high average wage and relatively low cost of living.
(Photo credit: … When we think of places with high salaries, big metro areas like New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco are usually the first to spring to mind. Or cities with the biggest concentrations of educated workers, such as Boston. But wages are just one part of the equation: High prices in those East and West Coast cities mean the fat paychecks aren’t necessarily getting the locals ahead. No. 1: Houston In first place is Houston, pictured, where the average annual wage in 2011 was $59,838, eighth highest in the nation. No. 2: Silicon Valley Only two expensive metro areas made our top 10 list. No. 3: Detroit area One major surprise is the metro area in third place: Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.
Visit Forbes.com to see city photos, study methodology and more detailed numbers The rest Most of the rest of the top 10 are relatively buoyant economies with relatively low costs of living.