Turns out, the average homeowner in the Salt Lake metro area doesn't either.
Eight out of the top 10 most expensive housing markets in the U.S. are in California, while eight Midwestern cities are among the 10 most affordable markets, according to the Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index released Tuesday.
The study compared the average value of 2,200-square-foot houses with four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a family room and a two-car garage across 315 U.S. markets.
The Salt Lake City metro area, once one of the most affordable areas in the country, was ranked in the bottom third of affordability at No. 217, with an average sales price of $389,400.
The results underscore the vast disparity in how much homeowners in different markets across the country pay essentially for the same amount of living space.
The sharpest contrast was found between La Jolla, Calif., and Sioux City, Iowa - the most expensive and most affordable cities, respectively, tracked in the study.
In La Jolla, an upscale seaside suburb of San Diego, the average price was $1.8 million, while in Sioux City the price was $133,459 - about 13 times more expensive.
Overall, the average sales price of the homes that met the survey criteria was $403,738, a drop of 4.4 percent from 2007.
That reflects the decline in the U.S. housing market since the housing boom fizzled. Fewer buyers and rising mortgage defaults have left many markets saddled with a large supply of foreclosed properties and other heavily discounted unsold homes, fueling home price declines.
The price drops have been most severe in California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida - states that saw a rapid surge in prices during the housing boom, but have since borne the brunt of the foreclosure crisis. Some areas of the West, including Utah, also saw price run-ups, but until recently the declines were less severe.
No city in the study, which also tracked some international markets, was more expensive than Dubai, in the Middle Eastern nation of United Arab Emirates, where the average was $2.5 million. In 15 markets outside the U.S., the average home price averaged more than $1 million.
Quito, Ecuador, was the most affordable housing market outside the U.S., with an average of $96,750.
After Sioux City, the most affordable domestic markets were Jackson, Mich., $134,325, and Akron, Ohio, at $135,780.
