RealEstateEconomyWatch.com

There’s a $2 million chasm between America’s most expensive housing market, La Jolla, California, where the average home costs $2,125,000, and Grayling, Michigan, where houses go for $112,675, according to Coldwell Bankers’ annual home price comparison index.

La Jolla was joined on the most expensive list by 13 other California markets while Grayling was one of 20 Midwest communities on the most affordable list.  La Jolla beat out Beverly Hills, where the average home costs $1,981,750.  Greenwich, Conn., whose average price of $1,519,250 places it as the most expensive market on the East coast, followed by Boston at No. 7 overall.  In total, 11 U.S. markets exceeded the $1 million average price for the surveyed home.

 ”While price differentials are interesting to compare, I am most intrigued with the affordability levels now seen across much of the nation,” says Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.  “The four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath home is one we deem ‘aspirational’ and usually purchased by move-up buyers experiencing lifestyle changes.  Thirty percent of the markets show this type of home to be below $200,000, illustrating the opportunity to take advantage of price declines, interest rate levels and increased selection of homes.  Encouraging these move-up buyers back into the market is a crucial next step toward helping to rejuvenate the housing industry and the overall U.S. economy.”

In total, there are 84 U.S. markets in which the sample home price averages under $200,000.  The monthly mortgage cost for homes in this price range could average less than $600, and down payments could amount to less than $4,000.

 The top 10 most expensive and most affordable surveyed U.S. markets overall in 2009 are: