Home prices are rapidly rising in the Midwest, despite the region remaining one of the most affordable places to live.
Three Midwestern metropolitan areas — Milwaukee, Detroit and Cleveland — are among the top five metros where home prices are rising fastest in the U.S., according to a report from real-estate firm Redfin.
The biggest jump was in Milkwaukee, where the median home sales price grew 20% to $330,000 in February from a year ago, followed by nearly 13% in Detroit and 10% in Cleveland, Redfin said.
By comparison, median home prices nationwide grew 3.2% to $425,421, the slowest growth in six months.
The other two metros where home prices rose fastest were Nassau County, New York, by nearly 12%, and San Jose, Calif, which saw a jump of around 11%
Housing bargains galore
The Midwest is one of the most affordable places to buy a home: Detroit has has the lowest median sale price of any metro at $180,000 and Cleveland is the second-most affordable at $217,750.
Home prices are rising in the Midwest because there aren't enough homes for sale, which is encouraging buyers to bid higher, Redfin said.
Three of the five metros where housing supply is falling fastest are in the Midwest.
“Today’s housing market is weird. Some homes are attracting bidding wars like it’s 2020 again, while others are sitting on the market for weeks with no action,” said Desiree Bourgeois, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Detroit, in the report. “I recently saw one house get 10 offers and sell for $50,000 over the asking price, and the buyer waived their appraisal contingency."
"Oftentimes, it’s move-in ready homes in desirable areas that draw competition,” she added.
Sign up below for The Daily Consumer, our newsletter on the latest consumer news, including recalls, scams, lawsuits and more.