San Diego is a dream for many retirees. It offers nearly continuous sunshine, great restaurants and plenty of activities to keep you busy. Unfortunately, it’s also extremely expensive. According to Zillow, the average San Diego home price is $1.03 million.
If you’re seeking a warm, tropical location to enjoy your retirement, San Diego might not fit into your budget. Luckily, there are many other locations that offer the same great features of San Diego, without the price tag.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
The first location, Myrtle Beach, might be on the opposite side of the country, but it’s a popular spot for retirees. With an average home price of $307,680, owning a home will be much more affordable.
Similar to San Diego, Myrtle Beach is a tourist destination. Its population increases significantly during the summer months, with people coming to enjoy the great beach weather. But don’t let the crowds scare you away — Myrtle Beach has a great laid-back vibe.
One of the best aspects of Myrtle Beach is the abundance of things to do. Located on the Atlantic Ocean and near numerous lakes, there’s an endless supply of fishing holes to enjoy. Plus, the area has more than 90 golf courses. Myrtle Beach is also home to many great restaurants, breweries and distilleries.
One more reason to consider Myrtle Beach is that South Carolina is a tax-friendly state for retirees. Social Security benefits are not taxed, and retirees can enjoy a $10,000 taxable income deduction on other sources of retirement income.
Monaco is home to nearly half of all Formula 1 drivers:
• Lewis Hamilton
• Max Verstappen
• Charles Leclerc
• Lando Norris
• George Russell
• Valtteri Bottas
• Sergio Perez
• Nico Hulkenberg
• Alex Albon
This is primarily because of three reasons.
Taxes: Monaco has no income tax, no wealth tax, no local tax, no property tax, and no capital gains tax.
Privacy: There are 12,000 millionaires living in Monaco — 1/3 of the entire population — so F1 drivers don’t have to deal with crazy fans. And with the government requiring written permission for all professional photography, there are also fewer paparazzi.
Location: The Nice airport is only 15 miles from Monaco, which is especially important because F1 drivers will travel over 75,000 miles this year alone.
And it doesn’t hurt that Monaco’s weather is incredible, and the views are equally spectacular.
He’s using the Zillow metric for the month-over-month change and the delta for the Case-Shiller Index should be similar – San Diego home prices have been going up close to 2% per month in early 2024.
The increases could hold up too, if rates come down substantially (doubtful) or sales dry up and just the creampuffs are selling (likely).
Where to move? Every city that lost ground when rates went up are reporting small gains this year so it appears that national market conditions are stabilizing. You don’t have to worry too much about moving to town that will be more risky than any other.
Boise isn’t on this list but Susie reported that a new subdivision being built there had put their first home up for sale at $1,599,900 for a 3,250sf one-story house. She and her husband, plus four other couples, wanted to buy it – even though she has a fine newer home (built by the same builder) and a 2.85% mortgage. She said that it has been a buyer’s market recently in Boise, yet it demonstrates that the superior homes still draw a crowd (she lost out on the new home – the builder took an all-cash offer from a local Boise couple).
Their Top 10 states didn’t include California so obviously you should move to some place better!
If you’re looking for a great place to live, you might want to check out Utah.
For the second year in a row, Utah was named the best state in the nation, according to the 2024 rankings from U.S. News & World Report. It ranked second in America for education, third for its economy and infrastructure, and sixth for its fiscal stability.
“Utah has a vibrant, diverse economy and unsurpassed natural beauty, but what truly sets our state apart is our people,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a statement. “We lead the nation in volunteering and charitable giving every year and this spirit of community leads to a collaborative approach to problem solving, an ecosystem that supports innovation, and a culture that strengthens families and individuals.”
States were evaluated in eight categories: health care, education, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections, and natural environment. More than 70 metrics and tens of thousands of data points were considered, including things like employment, internet access, affordability, and public safety. (Washington, DC, was not included in the analysis.)
How bad can it be in Mississippi? Oh wait, don’t answer that.
Median-priced homes in these states cost $300,000 or less, a significant discount compared with the U.S. median price of $402,343.
While these 14 states may have cheaper properties available, there are trade-offs to consider, like higher rates of poverty and fewer high-paying jobs compared with the rest of the country. Many of them are among the most rural in the United States, and incomes in rural areas tend to be lower than in urban cities.
In contrast, you’d need to make $197,057 to afford a median-priced home worth $739,200 in California — the highest amongst all states.
The locked-in effect has been bandied about for the last couple of years as the reason why the inventory remains thin. But it’s not stopping those who want to pay cash and avoid a mortgage altogether – every area is showing increases in the all-cash purchases.
If you don’t want to leave your local neighborhood, then yes, you’re locked in – the higher prices and rates make it prohibitive to move. But for the homeowners who don’t mind leaving town, they can take their winnings and pay cash for their next house!
Don’t let higher rates stop you. Thirty-eight percent of the homes in America are paid in full – join the club!
First-time home buyers are a growing share of the market, making up half of all home buyers last year, according to Zillow’s Consumer Housing Trends Report. Homeownership is easier to break into in some markets than others, and Zillow has named this year’s best markets for first-time buyers, where their dollars go further and starter homes are relatively plentiful.
Affordability is a tough hill to climb in today’s market, and it is especially steep for first-time buyers who do not have equity from a previous home purchase to tap into. Markets with relatively more affordable rent, more options and less competition for starter homes provide the best opportunities.
Zillow’s 2024 list of the best markets for first-time buyers is based on four metrics:
Rent affordability, as defined by the share of median household income spent on rent.
The share of available inventory on Zillow that the median household can comfortably afford, meaning spending no more than 30% of income on the estimated monthly mortgage cost.
The ratio of affordable for-sale inventory to renter households. More inventory per renter household is an indicator of less competition for each listing.
The share of households age 29-43. More households of similar age means a higher score in Zillow’s ranking.
More affordable rent shortens the time it takes to save for a down payment, and a higher number of active for-sale listings relative to the potential homebuyer population means more options – and more bargaining power – for potential first time home buyers in those markets.
These are Zillow’s 10 best markets for first-time home buyers this year:
St Louis, MO
Home Buying Age Households As a Share of Total Households: 26%
Percentage of Median Household Income Spent on Rent: 20%
Affordable Listings As a Percent of Total For-Sale Inventory: 67%
Affordable Listings To Renter Household Ratio: 3.4 per 100 Renters
Detroit, MI
Home Buying Age Households As a Share of Total Households: 24%
Percentage of Median Household Income Spent on Rent: 21%
Affordable Listings As a Percent of Total For-Sale Inventory: 64%
Affordable Listings To Renter Household Ratio: 4 per 100 Renters
Minneapolis, MN
Home Buying Age Households As a Share of Total Households: 28%
Percentage of Median Household Income Spent on Rent: 20%
Affordable Listings As a Percent of Total For-Sale Inventory: 48%
Affordable Listings To Renter Household Ratio: 2.5 per 100 Renters
Indianapolis, IN
Home Buying Age Households As a Share of Total Households: 29%
Percentage of Median Household Income Spent on Rent: 22%
Affordable Listings As a Percent of Total For-Sale Inventory: 50%
Affordable Listings To Renter Household Ratio: 2.6 per 100 Renters
Austin, TX
Home Buying Age Households As a Share of Total Households: 34%
Percentage of Median Household Income Spent on Rent: 20%
Affordable Listings As a Percent of Total For-Sale Inventory: 23%
Affordable Listings To Renter Household Ratio: 1.3 per 100 Renters
Pittsburgh, PA
Home Buying Age Households As a Share of Total Households: 24%
Percentage of Median Household Income Spent on Rent: 22%
Affordable Listings As a Percent of Total For-Sale Inventory: 63%
Affordable Listings To Renter Household Ratio: 3.7 per 100 Renters
San Antonio, TX
Home Buying Age Households As a Share of Total Households: 31%
Percentage of Median Household Income Spent on Rent: 23%
Affordable Listings As a Percent of Total For-Sale Inventory: 33%
Affordable Listings To Renter Household Ratio: 2.6 per 100 Renters
Birmingham, AL
Home Buying Age Households As a Share of Total Households: 25%
Percentage of Median Household Income Spent on Rent: 22%
Affordable Listings As a Percent of Total For-Sale Inventory: 47%
Affordable Listings To Renter Household Ratio: 4.2 per 100 Renters
Kansas City, MO
Home Buying Age Households As a Share of Total Households: 27%
Percentage of Median Household Income Spent on Rent: 21%
Affordable Listings As a Percent of Total For-Sale Inventory: 51%
Affordable Listings To Renter Household Ratio: 2.2 per 100 Renters
Baltimore, MD
Home Buying Age Households As a Share of Total Households: 27%
Percentage of Median Household Income Spent on Rent: 22%
Affordable Listings As a Percent of Total For-Sale Inventory: 56%
Affordable Listings To Renter Household Ratio: 2.3 per 100 Renters
Urban sprawl in west Phoenix is a tradition and it makes you think that eventually the desert will be paved all the way to California!
We have clients who have befriended Shawn and find her personable and a believer in real estate videos. Here’s her introduction the the best 55+ homes in the west valley:
The San Diego inventory is still woefully low. But most of the feeder areas have more homes for sale, which might make it easier for you to find a good match – and maybe even a better price than you expected?
A couple of years ago, I had a client who thought about moving to Dallas. He rented a house there and moved the family, but didn’t sell his house here. The market was so hot there that he lost several bidding wars and was completely frustrated with trying to buy a decent house at a decent price. They gave up and moved back to the Sandy Bagel. With more listings now, maybe it’s a good time to reconsider.
Same thing below. A few more San Diego houses listed last month, but still well under the 2019 count prior to the pandemic. Other areas where you might move are surging with new listings (red dots), and their selling seasons are just beginning:
The NSDCC sales in March will be about the same as they were in February – from Bill: March sales will be mostly for contracts signed in January and February and mortgage rates increased to an average of 6.8% in February. My early expectation is we will see a sales decrease in March on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis (SAAR) compared to February. There were two fewer working days in March 2024 compared to March 2023, so seasonally adjusted sales will be higher than the NSA data suggests.
