Minnesota, Rhode Island Join Unwanted Club on Home Prices

The typical "starter home" in the US costs a not-so-staggering $192,000. But a new Zillow analysis shows that it very much depends on where you look—it counts 233 cities in 25 states where a starter home now costs at least $1 million. The 233 figure is up nearly three-fold in five years, notes CNBC. The analysis defines a starter home as one in the bottom third of home values within a certain market—in other words, these are the cheapest homes in the area. Highlights:

• Two more: Minnesota and Rhode Island joined the list of states with at least one city to qualify for the first time. Minnesota's high-priced city is Minnetonka Beach, and Rhode Island's is New Shoreham, per Axios.

• Top 10: Not surprisingly, California leads the way by far with 113 such cities, followed by New York (32), New Jersey (20), Florida (11), Massachusetts (11), Washington (8), Texas (7), Connecticut (4), Hawaii (4), and Maryland (4).
• NYC: However, the New York City metro area, which encompasses parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, has the greatest number of such cities with 48. Second is the San Francisco metro area at 43. Los Angeles is third at 34.
• Trends: All of which may help explain why so many young homeowners are priced out of the market, with the median age of first-time owners now approaching 40, notes CNBC. Some are forgoing homeownership altogether.

(More home prices stories.)