Among the largest US metros priced below the group's median list price ($406,122), buyer search changed a median −12% year over year, against −11% in pricier metros. Wichita, KS did best at +2%, with a median list price of $276,536.
Stagingmate ResearchAffordable = average median listing price below $406,122, the median of the 100 largest metros. Buyer search change = searches for homes for sale in the median month of Sep 2025–Aug 2026 vs the median month of the year before, in each metro's Google search area.
Metro search areas measure searches made from inside the metro, not searches about it from other places, so this shows local buyer demand rather than out-of-area interest as the plan intended. Google reports rounded monthly search volumes, and very small volumes show as 10 or nothing, so small states and rare queries are noisy. Google may group close variants of a query. Search volume measures interest, not transactions.
change in buyer search in Wichita, KS, the best of the affordable large metros.
median change in buyer search across affordable metros.
median change across pricier metros.
| Metro | Median list price | Buyer search change | Days on market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wichita, KS | $276,536 | +2% | 55 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $246,876 | 0% | 60 |
| New Orleans, LA | $298,075 | 0% | 78 |
| McAllen, TX | $260,832 | 0% | 78 |
| Harrisburg, PA | $338,165 | 0% | 42 |
| Scranton, PA | $266,555 | −2% | 53 |
| Buffalo, NY | $263,368 | −3% | 47 |
| Chicago, IL | $371,854 | −3% | 40 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $389,142 | −4% | 38 |
| Birmingham, AL | $296,029 | −4% | 62 |
| Syracuse, NY | $301,807 | −4% | 54 |
| Tucson, AZ | $381,965 | −7% | 60 |
| Kansas City, MO | $393,657 | −8% | 52 |
| Toledo, OH | $210,816 | −8% | 45 |
| Memphis, TN | $305,407 | −8% | 68 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $343,506 | −9% | 44 |
| Rochester, NY | $295,715 | −9% | 36 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $316,716 | −9% | 56 |
| Omaha, NE | $398,108 | −10% | 43 |
| Tulsa, OK | $326,512 | −10% | 59 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $313,985 | −11% | 54 |
| Greensboro, NC | $326,224 | −12% | 57 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $371,296 | −12% | 47 |
| Cleveland, OH | $258,325 | −12% | 47 |
| Columbus, OH | $369,043 | −12% | 47 |
| Dayton, OH | $250,288 | −12% | 46 |
| Detroit, MI | $257,679 | −13% | 45 |
| Greenville, SC | $379,744 | −13% | 59 |
| St. Louis, MO | $287,282 | −13% | 49 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | $302,878 | −14% | 75 |
| Little Rock, AR | $296,573 | −14% | 52 |
| Columbia, SC | $302,234 | −15% | 51 |
| Tampa, FL | $398,989 | −15% | 74 |
| El Paso, TX | $305,745 | −15% | 71 |
| Chattanooga, TN | $399,267 | −16% | 63 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $387,089 | −16% | 68 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY | $310,683 | −16% | 45 |
| Bakersfield, CA | $403,986 | −17% | 55 |
| San Antonio, TX | $323,435 | −18% | 69 |
| Jackson, MS | $297,256 | −18% | 74 |
| Baltimore, MD | $371,294 | −18% | 42 |
| Houston, TX | $355,713 | −19% | 54 |
| Augusta, GA | $318,419 | −20% | 71 |
| Des Moines, IA | $342,530 | −21% | 65 |
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Stagingmate Research (2026). Buyer search held steady in Wichita, Pittsburgh and New Orleans as most affordable metros cooled. https://stagingmate.com/research/cheapest-places-buyers-are-searching-for
Free to use under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page. For the full dataset or a local cut, email press@stagingmate.com.
Wichita, KS, Pittsburgh, PA and New Orleans, LA had the strongest buyer search among large metros priced below $406,122.