If you live in an affordable area of the US...

Pittsburgh is pretty affordable, but the weather is so gloomy. We don't get many sunny days. That's my biggest complaint.

I feel like most of Michigan is still fairly affordable if you stay out of the southeast corner, Lansing, and Grand Rapids areas. As long as you don't want to live on a lake, you can find a decent house for 200,000 or less.

If you think house prices are peaking for sure, sell and rent for a few years and then move to another area.
If prices are still going up, stay put.

NC has many affordable areas. Avoid the Raleigh Durham area and you can find plenty of options. I live in the foothills. Most 4 bedroom houses here would be under $500k, probably closer to $350-$400 for something nice. Older homes would be less though you might find more land with them. I did a quick search and was surprised to find a 4 bedroom listed at $1.1 million and then saw that it was on the lake, with a 1 acre lot which is a generous lake lot and had 5,500 square feet. Property taxes are also very, very cheap compared to many areas of the country. I pay currently about $1600 per year (going up next year) on a property I would list at about $275-$300k.

There is a lot to consider besides price. Politics here is very conservative. I've never set foot in a Trader Joes because the closest would be over an hour or about 60 miles away. There is a Whole Foods a little closer but not somewhere you could shop regularly. We have 3 grocery stores in our entire county, more in the adjacent counties but not much variety. Eating out is mainly chain restaurants though there are a few good local options.

Everything including hospitals are a good distance away but there's little to no traffic. We researched some places we might want to live but didn't fall in love with any place that was nearly as affordable. I wish someone had advised me when I was young to start out in a high cost area and then move back here when I got older. If I want to move I've got to add a lot to the value of my home to buy somewhere else and that was even before the current price surges. We considered a move but didn't fall in love with any of the cities we explored. When I factored in crime, traffic and a lack of family close by, it made more sense to stay put.

We just took the money and ran, with a sizeable amount over asking. WAY more than I expected. We sold for 4x what we bought it for, 16 years ago. I think I'm to the north of you.

I don't know if you want to stay in the state, but Whidbey Island is still pretty reasonable (considering the crazy that is all over the state). Homes that are inland are going for way less than what I'm seeing on the mainland. A house down the street from us just went on the market and sold pretty much the next day. The house across the street from it is right on the beach and is going for quite a bit more. Whidbey seems to be a little slower catching up. It was that way when my family bought the house dh and I now own (again, we paid 4x what the fam purchased it for 20 years ago!). Anyway, Whidbey is quiet, relaxed, and you aren't too far from the mainland, by ferry or driving over the bridge.

Here's the one that went pending. Lake in the backyard, Puget Sound across the street. Beach club with pool on the beach.
www.redfin.com/WA/Coupeville/78-Keystone-Ave-98239/home/16704375

Here's the one directly across the street (no lake, but directly on the sound) Notice how the price goes up!
www.redfin.com/WA/Coupeville/79-Keystone-Ave-98239/home/16702872

This one is on the one of the canals on the water in Greenbank. I'd move here in a heartbeat. I'd almost consider selling our place to move here...
www.redfin.com/WA/Greenbank/3679-S-Shorewood-Ave-98253/home/16692545

that last house is so cute!

Right? It's like summer camp grows up! I love it and I'm kind of surprised no one has picked it up. It's been on the market for a few days.

With all due respect, I wish they would stop. It may have been a great market 3 years ago but not today. Prices are soaring bc of limited supply and increasing demand. Even apartment rents have gone through the roof.

That “no income tax” thing means that there are limited social safety nets, poorly paid teachers and public servants like police and fire.

How they can say SLC is affordable with an median income of $56k and median home price of $440k is beyond me lol

SLC is NOT affordable! I am sorry to say most of Utah is completely inflated and overpriced, especially when you factor in low wages. Not to mention the air quality in SLC is horrible.

There are a lot of great things about Utah, but, cheap real estate is certainly NOT one of them.

NOT here in Utah. My home recently appraised for quadruple what we paid for it 5 years ago. 😳

come to west michigan! you're already used to cloudy weather, and we have more sun than washington. lots of lakes, moderate weather. you can't get much of anything under 200k anymore, but you can get a lot for 300-400k so that still sounds better than 1 mill over asking. housing market is exremely hot tho. job market is pretty good too.

And from what my sister says, horrible public schools.

That is exactly where we live! Right by the the Missimmee Bay country club. My in -laws are about 30 minutes away and my dad lives in Tarpon Springs. We moved to be closer to them as all 3 are in their 80s. I do like it here and I’m very comfy, but Huntsville spoke to my heart. ☺️