Report: The 7 Cheapest States to Buy a Home

Craig Johnson | July 27th, 2020

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If you’re looking to buy a home and can afford to move, you may be able to find cheaper options in another state.

A recent report from fintech site SmartAsset.com shows the cheapest states to buy a home right now.

SmartAsset.com says it analyzed U.S. home data using these criteria:

Effective property tax
Median listing price
Median listing price per square foot
Median value in the bottom one-third of homes
Average closing costs

Here are some key findings from the report:

Five of the top seven states with the cheapest homes are in the South.
Of the top seven states, only Alabama has a median listing price of more than $200,000.

Here are the seven cheapest states to buy a home, according to the report:

Buying a Home in These States Is Cheaper
State	Median Value of Bottom-Tier Homes	Median Listing Price
West Virginia	$53,600	$165,000
Arkansas	$63,900	$176,000
Alabama (Tie)	$66,100	$220,000
Mississippi (Tie)	$70,800	$189,000
Indiana	$86,500	$186,000
Oklahoma	$64,100	$195,000
Kentucky	$76,700	$193,500

SmartAsset.com used information from each of the factors to create an index score. You can see the full analysis here.

Final Thought

Money expert Clark Howard says the decision to buy a home right now has as much to do with your personal financial outlook as it does with the economy.

“If you’re planning on owning the property for a number of years, then today’s conditions are fine as long as your employment looks stable,” he says.

Clark says if you’re looking for a home, two things are currently working in your favor:

You can get a low interest rate on a mortgage, allowing you to save money on the purchase of your home.
You have the opportunity to lock in that low rate for the life of your loan.

Want to know the first steps in buying a home? Read the Team Clark Home-Buying Guide.