Eau Claire has the Most Affordable Real Estate in Wisconsin

The 2008 Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index was just released, and it turns out that Eau Claire is the most affordable real estate market in Wisconsin. In fact, Eau Claire was ranked the 10th most affordable city in the nation.

The survey, which started in the late 1980s, compares similar 2,200-square-foot, four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath homes in 315 markets across the U.S.

According to the study, such homes sell for an average of $147,300 in Eau Claire. Sioux City, Iowa, had the most affordable homes in the nation with an average sales price of $133,459. Milwaukee was the priciest market in Wisconsin at $374,825. Minnesota's most affordable market was Rochester ($201,900); it's most expensive was Edina ($413,325).

Everyone here in Eau Claire is trying to spin this as great news. On one hand, it is great that homes are affordable. I would not want to live in many places in California where the average price of a home is well over a million dollars. It's safe to assume that the low cost of housing here means that a relatively high percentage of people own their homes, which is good!

On the other hand, it is understood that Eau Claire has one of the lowest average hourly wages of all the cities in Wisconsin, so it seems natural that our home prices would also be low. Also: low home values means that home values have not appreciated all that much...which means there isn't an overwhelming demand for homes in Eau Claire as compared to other areas of the state and country. That isn't so good.

I did not know about this study until it hit the news this week; I'll have to research how Eau Claire and other Wisconsin cities have ranked in the past.

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