How can you spot a town that is an outdoor haven? “If you see a lot of rugged vehicles with bike racks and hauling kayaks, that’s a telltale sign at the ground level that you’re in one of these places,” Chris Chesak, a travel consultant based in Cincinnati, told realtor.com®. “In an outdoors city, [residents will] meet up for a hike. The primary focus isn’t sitting around—it’s being outside.”
Realtor.com®’s research team scoured data to find the top affordable housing markets for those who love the outdoors. They evaluated the 150 largest metro areas, factoring in criteria like the share of homes with outdoor patios, outdoor kitchens, and decks; bike friendliness ratings; per capita kayaking, rafting, and outdoor gear stores; number of campgrounds; share of restaurants with outdoor seating; and more.
Why are outdoor meccas like Denver, Boulder, Colo., and Honolulu not on the list? Realtor.com® researchers say their list is for affordable cities, in which the median home price is below $300,000.
The five most affordable housing markets for outdoor enthusiasts, according to realtor.com®, are:
1. Spokane, Wash.
- Median home list price: $295,100
- Median home list price: $260,000
- Median home list price: $225,000
- Median home list price: $269,500
- Median home list price: $279,800
Source:
“America’s Most Affordable Outdoorsy Cities, 2018: Open-Air Adventure at Cut-Rate Costs,” realtor.com® (Aug. 13, 2018)
