Being born and raised in a big city, Prateek Ghatage, 35, didn’t expect himself to be buying his first home in a smaller city in the Midwest.
“I didn’t have a plan to buy. I had just come back from India a few months ago, and thought I was going to continue with the lease,” which was up for renewal in early August, Ghatage told MarketWatch. The colleague offered to introduce him to her friend, who was a real-estate agent. Ghatage accepted, and he began house hunting.
Other cities in the Midwest made the top five, including Elkhart-Goshen, Ind., Oshkosh-Neenah, Wis., Fort Wayne, Ind., and Lafayette-West Lafayette, Ind. “You look at a $250,000 and people are competing for it,” she said. “People are buying as-is, no inspections, paying over asking price…. These homes are going very fast.”
“Topeka and the surrounding territory are still among the most affordable markets in the country at approximately half the median price,” she added.