Throughout the nation, housing prices have been slashed in response to the real estate bubble bursting. The discounts have been a necessary step for private sellers interested in staying competitive in a market place filled with real estate owned properties and short sales. Despite the trend, there are still some pricey markets out there that will require consumers to secure a jumbo mortgage in order to finance the purchase.
Coldwell Banker recently released their Coldwell Banker Home Listing Report, which unearthed the most expensive cities by home value in America. Consumers would need hundreds of thousands of dollars for the appropriate down payment amount to finance the purchase of an average home in the nation's most expensive cities.
The real estate listing agency analyzed price data they accrued between February and August (2010) in approximately 300 markets. The properties reviewed included 18,000 four-bedroom, two-bathroom properties listed for sale by the agency on ColdwellBanker.com where the real-estate firm has a presence. The average price tag for properties listed in their database was $353,000. Between the most expensive real estate markets versus the most affordable markets there was a $1.7 million price differentiation surrounding the average.
Newport Beach, California
Average Home Price, $1.83 Million The 86,252 residents (January, 2009) of Newport Beach, California enjoy a fine quality of life courtesy of the gorgeous beaches and sunny days that fill the city. Newport Beach has approximately 40 square miles of property within city borders and approximately 25 miles of the local property is water. That means, in town land is scarce and consumers interested in buying a home in this enclave have to shell out some serious bucks to finance the local version of the American Dream.
If a homebuyer is fortunate enough to have the financial resources to buy a property in town, they will be lucky enough to rub elbows with the rich and famous. Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall, Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant and legendary childhood star Shirley Temple have all owned or currently own properties in the city that was officially incorporated in 1906. If you have a couple million of bucks to spare, so can you.
Palo Alto, California
Average Home Price, $1.48 Million Palo Alto, California has a long history. The Ohlone tribe of Native Americans originally settled the area in 1769. Spanish settlers started to migrate to the area and the region became an incorporated city on April 16th, 1894. Now the area is proliferated with masters of the Silicon Valley as Palo Alto has over 7,000 businesses and around 61,000 residents, many of whom work in the industry. It is the technology based business and the subsequent salaries of the professionals that have forced local property values to become sky high.
Palo Alto is considered to be the official birthplace of Silicon Valley as the original spot where Hewlett Packard was born. The multi-billion dollar company was originally launched out of a garage at 367 Addison Avenue. The space has been converted to a museum. Aside from that historic landmark big brained Steve Jobs (Apple founder), Actress Amy Irving, Fleetwood Mac talent Lindsey Buckingham and actor, director, screenwriter, producer, artist James Franco all enjoy the fine life provided by the town of Palo Alto.
Rye, New York
Average Home Price, $1.33 Million Most people consider Manhattan to be the most expensive city on the east coast, however, those truly in the know, commute back to the sanctity of their luxury homes in Rye, New York. Rye is located in Westchester County and approximately 15,000 residents live in the incorporated city.
Many tri-state residents are familiar with the exclusive city as the area is home to the National Historic Landmark called Playland. Some past and present notable residents of Rye include brother and sister Hollywood notables Justine and Jason Bateman, author Elizabeth Janeway and professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez.
