A $1 million starter home is now the norm in more than 200 US cities

[MineralMan]

11. Not so unusual, really.

I bought a house in California, in a coastal community, for just $20K in 1974. I sold it in 2004 for $ 337K. Not an unusual thing over 30 years in a desirable place to live. I recently looked up that house's estimated value on Zillow. About $600K.

I live in the Twin Cities metro area now. In 2021, we sold the home we owned there and bought a similar-sized townhome in a desirable suburb. We paid $240K for it, and sold our previous home for around $220K.

In that same suburb, the same two houses, in 2024, are worth between $300-350K. There are plenty of homes in suburban communities in the Twin Cities area for under $400K.

While it's true that you can find cities where the cheapest home is around $1M, but less expensive homes in surrounding areas can be had for half that amount. It you go farther from the densest population areas, home prices go down even more.

There's a lot of exaggeration going on out there. Don't be deceived by it.