The 15 Most Expensive Real Estate Markets in America

The National Association of Realtors says the median sales price of an existing single-family home ended the year at $361,700, with double-digit annual appreciation recorded in two-thirds of the 183 markets the big trade group follows.

So, where are houses the most expensive? Well, "expensive" is relative, based on how much one can really afford to pay. Same thing with "affordability." There is a multitude of lists of high-priced markets, but not many that combine the two.

The following list from RealtyHop uses both price and income data to create the February 2022 version of what the investor-focused listing service calls its RealtyHop Housing Affordability Index, ranking the nation's 100 most populous cities.

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A median home price of $589,000 means it would take 78.71% of the median household income of $43,401 to support a projected mortgage of $2,846.82, including taxes. And that makes Miami -- population 454,000 -- the most expensive city in the country, the RealtyHop report says.

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No. 2 on the list is New York City. A median home price of $970,000 would require 77.98% of the median household income of $68,259 to support a projected mortgage payment of $4,435.97 in America's largest city, home to about 8.4 million residents.

Los Angeles is third on the RealtyHop list of most expensive/least affordable residential markets. This city of four million residents saw a February median home price of $925,000, yielding an estimated mortgage payment of $4,250.09 a month, which would consume 74.2% of that median household income of $68,733.

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Just across the Hudson River from the Big Apple is Newark, New Jersey, a city of about 281,000 residents. The median home price here is only $385,000. However, with a median household income of $38,517, it would still take 72.33% of the budget to support a monthly mortgage payment of $3,812.18.

Newark's neighbor, Jersey City, is similar in size with a population of about 261,000, only more expensive. Its February median home price was $699,000, and it posted a household income of $77,422 on RealtyHop's list. The share of income needed for homeownership at those levels is 59.09%, significantly lower than the top four but still high enough to place it fifth on this list of the top 100 most expensive markets.

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This Los Angeles County city of more than 450,000 people had a February median home price of $699,500 and median household income of $69,700. An estimated monthly mortgage of $3255.47 would require 56.05% of that income.

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This Dade County, Florida, neighbor of Miami has about 223,000 residents and ranks seventh in this list. Hialeah's median home price of $379,950 would eat up 55.18% of the median household income of $38,976 to support RealtyHop's projected mortgage of $1,792.19.

No big surprise that the City by the Bay has a lofty median home price of $1.23 million. A relatively high median income of $124,375 still means it would take 54.01% of the household income to manage that monthly mortgage payment of $5,597.72 in this City of about 875,000 residents.

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Southern California's most southern big city -- population 1.4 million -- posted a February median home price of $849,450 by RealtyHop's calculations. That would require 53.86% of the median household income of $88,123 to support a projected mortgage of $3,955.61.

This Los Angeles suburb of about 350,000 souls has a current median home price of $750,000 that would require 52.78% of the median household income of $79,374 to accommodate a projected mortgage payout each month of $3,491.22.

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RealtyHop says this San Francisco Bay city of about 425,000 residents has a current median home price of $746,500. That price would consume 52.35% of the median household income of $81,508 to accommodate a projected monthly mortgage payment of $3,555.90.

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This master-planned community of about 275,000 people between Los Angeles and San Diego comes with a big price tag of $1.02 million for the median-priced home. That would require 50.42% of the median household income of $116,275 at a projected mortgage payment of $4,885.34.

Like Irvine, Santa Ana is in California's Orange County. This community of about 310,000 people has a median home price of $660,000, requiring 50.16% of the median household income of $73,160 to cover what RealtyHop says is a projected monthly mortgage payment of $3,058.17.

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At the center of one of America's most historical -- and priciest -- markets, Boston has a population of about 676,000 and a median home price of $699,999. RealtyHop's projected mortgage of $3,224.05 would consume 49.39% of the median household income here of $78,327.

With a population of just over a million, the capital of Silicon Valley had a February median home price of $999,950 and projected monthly mortgage payment of $4,703.05, which would exhaust 46.56% of the city's median annual income of $121,216.

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With the lone exception of Boston, all these markets are in and around Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, New York, and Miami. Investors looking for deals to flip or rent might find better pickings elsewhere. And you might start thinking small.

The recommended maximum percentage of household income to support a mortgage -- or pay the rent -- is usually about 25%. On RealtyHop's list, you'd have to get down to number 75 -- Pittsburgh -- to reach that level.

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