Buying a home in any U.S. city has come with challenges over the last few years, thanks to limited inventory and increased interest rates on mortgages. Some experts are predicting a break in the real estate market in 2024, particularly as the Federal Reserve has mentioned rate cuts ahead.
However, homebuyers still have many challenges to face, both in terms of price and competition. And these factors vary depending on what market you want to buy in.
The Zebra analyzed the 50 most populous cities in the U.S. to find the areas where it's most expensive to buy and own a home. We used the following four data points:
- Price increase in homes: We looked at the change in price for single family homes during the third quarters of 2022 and 2023 to identify areas that are trending upward.
- Median sales price: This impacts the size of your mortgage. We looked specifically at single family homes for this data point.
- Change in active listing counts: If inventory is decreasing, there will be a limited supply for buyers, which could cause prices to rise even more.
- Median property taxes paid: Some cities and counties are more expensive than others when it comes to the amount of property taxes paid to local governments.
Keep reading to discover the 10 worst cities for owning a home in 2024.
Methodology
The Zebra pulled four data points to analyze the top 50 MSAs (by population) in the U.S. related to the cost of home buying and ownership.
- Price increase in homes: National Association of Realtors[1]
- Median sales price: National Association of Realtors[2]
- Change in active listing counts: Realtor.com[3]
- Median property taxes paid: LendingTree[4]
MSA data was used where applicable, and we sometimes substituted city or state data as necessary.