Out of the nation’s 50 most populous metro areas, San Jose is the most expensive with a median price of $845 per square foot for homes, according to new research from Home Bay, an online publication owned by Clever Real Estate.
Following San Jose as the most expensive metro per square foot is San Francisco ($705 per square foot), Los Angeles ($641), San Diego ($587) and New York City ($490). At the other end of the spectrum, the cities offering the lowest price per square foot are Cleveland ($133), Memphis ($143), Pittsburgh ($147), Birmingham, Alabama ($158) and Indianapolis ($158).
While California is home to the four most expensive cities, Tampa saw the largest increase in price per square foot from 2018 to 2023, at 72%, while Baltimore saw the smallest increase at just 13%. Rhode Island’s capital city of Providence recorded the most significant growth in median square footage at 11% since 2018 and Charlotte has faced the most significant reduction with a decrease of 22%.
Furthermore, 95% of metros where increases in the price per square foot exceeded 50% from 2018 to 2023 actually saw decreases in the median square footage. Thus, it would seem that buyers are not acquiring larger homes but are actually paying more the same-sized properties or smaller homes.
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