The 10 Most Expensive Housing Markets in America—and 1 State Dominates the List

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Home prices climbed successful astir each 1 of America’s top-dollar lodging markets—but 10 cities stood retired for having the nation’s highest median income prices.

And 8 of these 10 metros were clustered successful California, confirming the Golden State’s reign arsenic a desirable lodging blistery spot, according to the latest quarterly study from the National Association of Realtors®.

What’s more, galore of these markets saw location terms gains.

San Jose, CA, registered the highest median income terms for a single-family location successful the U.S. from January to March, reaching a staggering $2.02 million, up 9.8% compared with a twelvemonth ago.

Notably, San Jose made past past summertime erstwhile it became the archetypal U.S. metropolis to transverse the $2 cardinal median terms threshold since NAR began tracking information successful 1979.

Anaheim, CA, had the second-highest terms for a emblematic home, astatine $1.45 million, up 6.2% twelvemonth implicit year, followed by San Francisco, astatine $1.32 million, which saw an yearly uptick of 1.5%.

Honolulu was the lone non-California lodging marketplace that made it into the apical five, with the median income terms determination surging 7.3% from the erstwhile year, to $1.16 million, during the archetypal 4th of 2025.

San Diego snagged the No. 5 spot, with its median location terms climbing to $1.04, up 5.7% from a twelvemonth ago.

The California cities of Salinas, San Luis Obispo, and Oxnard emerged arsenic the sixth, seventh, and eighth astir costly lodging markets, with prices conscionable beneath $1 cardinal crossed the board, representing yearly increases ranging from 2.5% to 6.2%.

The sole East Coast introduction connected the list, Naples, FL, came successful ninth, with its median location income terms rising 1.8% from a twelvemonth ago, to $865,000.

Despite being devastated by deadly wildfires during the archetypal weeks of the caller year, Los Angeles saw the terms of the emblematic location emergence 4.8% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth successful the archetypal quarter, reaching $862,000, and landing Tinseltown successful the 10th spot connected the list.

Lack of proviso boosts location prices

So wherefore are the location prices successful these 10 markets truthful high? The abbreviated reply is that not capable caller properties were being built to boost the section inventory, resulting successful an upward unit connected the existing-home stock.

“Very costly location prices partially bespeak aggregate years of location underproduction successful those metro markets,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Another origin is the debased homeownership rates successful these areas, implying much unequal wealthiness distribution.”

In different words, homeownership successful cities similar San Jose and San Francisco is retired of scope for the bulk of inhabitants, and homebuyers thin to beryllium to the affluent set.

Affordable markets, similar the ones recovered successful the Midwest, are known to person amended proviso and higher homeownership rates, according to Yun.