TL;DR: Based on February 2026 REMAX National Housing Report data, the five most affordable metro areas were Wichita, KS ($243,950), Pittsburgh, PA ($239,900), New Orleans, LA ($290,555), Tulsa, OK ($274,000), and Birmingham, AL ($299,950). All five sat well below the national median of $428,000, offered growing inventory, and had close-to-list ratios at or below the national average — which may give buyers more options and more negotiating room than other markets.
Looking to stretch your dollar further? These markets are worth a serious look this spring.
National Median Home Price
The national median home price sat at $428,000 in February 2026. Across the 50 metro areas surveyed in the REMAX National Housing Report, there are cities where prices were below the national median, and in some cases, homes were still closing at or below asking price, with reasonable inventory and manageable competition.
For buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for prices to come down nationally, a good strategy could be shifting your focus entirely. These five markets were not just affordable in relative terms. They offer real, livable cities with job markets, infrastructure, and communities that make them worth considering on their own merits, not just as a consolation prize for buyers priced out elsewhere.
Here were the five most affordable markets from February’s report, and what the data said about buying in each one.
Wichita, Kansas — Median Price: $243,950
Wichita sat at the very bottom of the price range across all 50 surveyed markets, with a median sales price of $243,950 in February 2026, nearly $185,000 below the national median. Sales were up 3.3% year-over-year, inventory grew 15.3%, and buyers paid 99% of asking price on average. Homes moved in about 48 days, which is comfortably below the national average of 57.
Aviation manufacturing, healthcare, and education are all significant employers, and the cost of living extends well beyond housing. Groceries, transportation, and utilities all tend to run below national averages, which means the savings buyers find in the purchase price tend to carry through to everyday life as well. For buyers who want affordability, Wichita could deserve a closer look.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Median Price: $239,900
Pittsburgh came in just under Wichita with a median price of $239,900, and it brings a lot to the table beyond just a low price tag. The city has seen consistent interest from younger buyers drawn to its tech and healthcare sectors, and February’s data reflects a market that was active. Homes averaged 67 days on market, slightly above the national figure, which meant buyers may have had a little more time to make decisions. Inventory was up 6.9% year-over-year, and months’ supply came in at 2.4, lean enough to keep prices stable, but not so tight that buyers felt squeezed.
Pittsburgh also has a well-documented revitalization story. Neighborhoods that were overlooked a decade ago have seen significant investment, and the city’s universities and medical centers continue to anchor long-term economic stability. Buyers who do their homework on specific neighborhoods can find genuine value in a city with a lot going on.
New Orleans, Louisiana — Median Price: $290,555
With a median price of $290,555 and the highest months’ supply of inventory in the survey at 6.3 months, buyers here had options. The close-to-list price ratio of 96.2% means buyers were routinely paying below asking price, one of the lowest ratios across all 50 markets. Homes averaged 74 days on market in February, which gave buyers time to evaluate without feeling rushed. Sales were down 8.9% year-over-year. New Orleans stands out as one of the most accessible markets in the country right now.
Tulsa, Oklahoma — Median Price: $274,000
Tulsa’s numbers make a compelling case. The average home price was $274,000, well below the national average. Sales were up 10.6% year-over-year, one of the strongest growth figures in the entire report, and inventory rose 8.8%. Buyers paid 98% of asking price on average, and homes spent 56 days on market. Months’ supply was a tight 1.7, so while prices are low, this was not a sleepy market.
Tulsa has benefited from remote work migration trends, with buyers relocating from higher-cost metros and finding that their budgets go significantly further. The city has invested in its downtown core and arts district, and quality of life metrics tend to score well for a mid-size city. If affordability is on the checklist, Tulsa checks that box.
Birmingham, Alabama — Median Price: $299,950
Birmingham rounded out the five most affordable markets at just under $300,000 median price. Sales were up 1.5% year-over-year, inventory grew 10.9%, and buyers paid 99% of asking. Homes averaged 66 days on market, slightly above the national average. With a months’ supply of 3.2, Birmingham offered more breathing room than tighter markets like Manchester or Hartford in February.
Birmingham has been quietly building a reputation as one of the more livable mid-size cities in the South, with a growing restaurant and cultural scene, a strong medical and university presence through UAB, and neighborhoods that offer genuine character at prices that would be unrecognizable in most coastal markets. It is a steady, accessible market that rarely makes national headlines, which might be exactly why it is worth paying attention to.
What These Markets Have in Common
Beyond the price tags, a few themes run through all five of these markets. Inventory grew year-over-year in each one, which may have given buyers more options than they had a year ago. Close-to-list ratios were at or below the national average of 98%, which means there was meaningful room to negotiate in most of these cities. And none of them saw the kind of bidding wars that still characterize markets like San Francisco or Hartford.
Affordability that comes with nothing else to recommend may not be much of an opportunity. What makes these markets worth considering is that the low prices exist alongside functional job markets, reasonable infrastructure, and the kind of everyday livability that makes a home purchase feel like a sound long-term decision.
Even in affordable markets, well-priced homes attract attention. Working with a local REMAX agent who understands the nuances of each neighborhood, what a fair price looks like, how long things typically sit, and when to push back, can make the difference between finding the right home and overpaying for the wrong one.
The Bottom Line
Affordability is not dead in the U.S. housing market, it is just concentrated in specific places. If price point is a primary concern, these five markets offered real opportunities in February 2026, with data to back them up. Sometimes the best move is looking somewhere others are not.
Interested in buying in one of these markets? A local REMAX agent can walk you through what the data means on the street level, from neighborhood by neighborhood pricing to what a competitive offer actually looks like today.
