Evaluating America's real estate market

By Elizabeth Ross White

Essex County Newspapers correspondent

How much would your four-bedroom colonial be worth in Palo Alto, Calif.? What is it worth in Sioux City, Iowa; Tulsa, Okla., or Greenwich, Conn.?

Now you can find out with the Home Price Comparison Index produced by Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation based in Parsippany, N.J. Each year, the company releases a study to show how home prices compare in different parts of the country. Home owners can easily access the information on the company's Web site at www.coldwellbanker.com.

"It is especially [helpful] for people who are trying to relocate. It helps them figure out what kind of life they can afford if they move to other parts of the country," says Dan Davenport of Coldwell Banker's public relations department.

The company's 2000 study revealed some notable price differences. It found, for example, that there is a $870,597 price difference between the average home price in the most expensive market (Palo Alto, Calif.) and that of the least expensive market (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.). The study compares the same type of house in every market: a 2,200-square-foot, single-family house with four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths, a family room and two-car garage in a middle-management transferee neighborhood.

It's probably no surprise to learn that of the top 10 most expensive places to live, eight California cities made the list with Palo Alto the highest with an average home sales price of $974,237. Greenwich, Conn., is No. 7 with a home price of $706,500 and Wellesley, Mass., is No. 9 at $634,783. Of the 10 most affordable places to live, Mt. Pleasant, Mich., was No. 1 with an average home sales price of $103,640 and Tulsa, Okla. was No. 10 at $129,950.

"Each real estate market is very individual with different economic conditions and standards of living for the area," says Davenport.

"California is more expensive than the middle states. That has always been consistent."

Now, back to you. How much is your home worth in other U.S. cities? The Coldwell Banker's Web site's online calculator has instructions. Or, if you use your own calculator, simply multiply the market value of your current home by the index number next to the city ( a list of index numbers is found on the Web site) where you want to relocate. Then, divide that number by the index number next to the city where your current home is located.

Don't want to move out of state? The study also provides the most expensive and the most affordable markets within each state. With Wellesley being the most expensive city in Massachusetts as noted above, the Greater Springfield area is the most affordable with an average home price of $193,171.

California has the widest disparity in home prices. Between its most affordable market of Bakersfield (with average sale price of $171,737) and its most expensive of Palo Alto there is a $802,500 price difference, for the same house.

Coldwell Banker's Home Price Comparison Index can be very helpful for home buyers, says Barbara Babin, vice president of Carlson Relocation and Corporate Services in Woburn. "Easy access to quick information is what the transferee is demanding now," she says. "And all these Web sites make it easier for us to get information easily and make decisions."

With today's robust economy, more people are deferring plans to sell their homes, says Babin. "People are resisting the moves because they have more options. They don't need to move anywhere. The spouse is working. And the market, being what what it is, people often can find other employment."

Home owners are opting to try out an area for a few years before settling down, says Babin. "We certainly have seen more renters. There is more mobility but maybe less commitment."

As for the North Shore, prices are still high. But these days, transferees planning to buy a home on the North Shore are more prepared for its high home prices, says Katharine Pickering, senior vice president and manager of Coldwell Banker Hunneman in Glouester, Beverly and Manchester. At least with her company, buyers are more knowlegeable about what to expect, especially since Coldwell Banker has developed more sophisticated counseling services and expanded its team of buyer brokers in its Boston office.

"Five or six years ago, we had these poor, dazed people moving from, say, Atlanta to the Boston area that were dumbstruck by our prices. But now, we have a lot more buyer brokers in our company than five years ago.They represent the buyers and work for them," she says. Employers are now more aware that they need to pay employees more money to live in higher-priced areas, she says.