5 interesting towns in America where you can purchase a house for $100,000 or less

Though home prices in many areas are out of attain for abode buyers, these spots are far more accessible.

The skyline of Birmingham, Ala.

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Home prices in the U.S. have been on a rapid ascent. According to data from Realtor.com, the national median list price in Nov 2022 was $379,000, up 8.six% compared with 2020. On the plus side, mortgage rates, though upwards slightly, are still near celebrated lows — with some thirty-year rates around three.2% and some 15-year rates effectually two.4% — and in some towns you lot can still purchase a house for $100,000 or less. Nosotros identified five cities where the median abode value, as of December 2021, was nether $100,000 simply at that place was still enough to do and see.

For the artist: Detroit, Michigan

Belle Isle Park in Detroit.

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Architectural Digest wrote of "a creative renaissance" that "breathes new life into Detroit," while Condé Nast Traveller has noted "Detroit's continued evolution, and the creatives fueling it." And indeed, Detroit — where the median home value is $63,449, according to Zillow — has a thriving arts and music scene centered around the Detroit Plant of Arts, venues similar the Fillmore and the Majestic Theater, and community-based initiatives including the Heidelberg Project, which installs outdoor art around the city.

You lot'll besides enjoy myriad outdoor activities  in places like Belle Isle Park, a 982-acre isle and nature solarium that includes an aquarium. And Detroit has emerged as a hotspot for culinary innovation. It's dwelling to restaurants including Takoi, which was a 2022 James Beard semifinalist for best new restaurant, and the Apparatus Room, which is housed inside the Detroit Foundation Hotel and run by executive chef Thomas Lents. Some of the large downsides are that crime is elevated in the metropolis, and certainly non all of its neighborhoods accept been revitalized.

For the adventurer: Dayton, Ohio

The Miami River runs through Dayton.

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As a resident of Dayton, yous'll find plenty to keep you decorated, especially with kids. Enjoy exhibitions and programming at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, or the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, which houses the Discovery Zoo and the Apollo Observatory, an astronomical observatory. Dayton is great for the adventurous family: National Geographic named information technology "America's next outdoor gamble capital," citing its 16,000 acres of parkland, and gear up admission to river kayaking and paddle boarding. Both Cincinnati and Columbus are roughly an hour away by automobile, meaning that you'll take admission to large-metropolis amenities at affordable prices. Much similar Detroit, Dayton has seen a renaissance in recent years, with housing prices rise 24.4% in the past yr, co-ordinate to Zillow. Even however, the median dwelling value is in the five figures, ringing in at just $97,272. But, again like Detroit, crime in Dayton is elevated.

For a college-boondocks feel: Birmingham, Alabama

A sunset Birmingham vista.

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Birmingham is home to attractions including the award-winning Alabama Ballet, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and Hairdresser Motorsports Park, which includes the largest motorcycle museum in the world. Information technology'due south domicile to the University of Alabama at Birmingham and simply over 50 miles from the flagship Academy of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, which in addition to its marquee sports programs (Gyre, Tide!) has an entire college devoted to continuing studies for lifelong learners. You'll also relish plenty of good dining and shopping options in Birmingham's recently revitalized downtown, including ramen at Shu Shop and the curated vesture choice at Lodge Duquette. The median home value is $95,589.

Editor's note: A previous version of this MarketWatch Picks article misidentified the location of the University of Alabama.

For the history buff: Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson is the capital of Mississippi.

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Jackson has established itself as a centre for learning about the history of both slavery and civil rights. Historical attractions include the Mississippi Ceremonious Rights Museum and the Mississippi Freedom Trail, which has 25 markers along the trail that commemorate the civil-rights motility. Housing in Jackson remains affordable, with the boilerplate home price running effectually $77,689. You can buy a three-bedroom habitation for an affordable cost and spend your weekends enjoying natural dazzler in the surrounding parks, including LeFleur's Bluff Country Park. At that place'due south lots of shopping and dining in the Fondren neighborhood, which has nearly two dozen restaurants, bakeries, confined and coffee shops within a four-cake radius. Just be prepared for some swampy summers.

For those who want a close-knit community: Huntington, West Virginia

Huntington, W. Va., as viewed from the Ohio River.

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Located on the banks of the Ohio River at the bespeak where W Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky run into, Huntington not only has a lot of natural beauty but also has received a perfect score from the Homo Rights Campaign for creating an inclusive community for LGBTQ+ people for the past iii years. The average home price in the urban center is $94,150, and buyers get access to plenty of wildlife and outdoor activities at nearby Crown City Wildlife Area and Beech Fork Lake Wildlife Management Expanse. The one thousand-prize winner in the America's All-time Communities competition, Huntington is currently undergoing a $30 million community revitalization entrada that will transform downtown areas, make neighborhoods more walkable and build out a baseball stadium. That said, Huntington has an outcome with crime (though multiple neighborhood organizations are committed to making life better for residents) and drugs.