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Fixer-Uppers Remain Viable Option for Cash-Strapped Buyers

Buying a fixer-upper remains a viable option for many buyers trying to stretch their dollar in the current environment of still-rising home prices, bidding wars, low inventory and rising interest rates. While these properties do require buyers to put in a significant investment in physical work—not to mention time—they are a real solution for cost sensitive buyers. 

Asking the question “which cities are best to find a fixer-upper" StorageCafe conducted deep research into 61,200 active listings on Point2 by breaking those properties down into price, number of other fixer-upper listings in the area, home size and lot size. The study also took into account local storage costs as properties that are listed as fixer-uppers are generally smaller (1,400 square feet compared to an average of 1,900) and it’s more likely that owners will need to store a portion of their possessions as work is completed. 

All-in-all, the research found that in the 50 largest metropolitan areas, properties that were listed as a fixer-upper were 32% cheaper on average than standard homes coming in at $307,000 and $448,000, respectively. This comes to an average savings of $155,000 for the average buyer; price differences can be even higher in high-cost cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, where savings can top $400,000 to other hotspots like Atlanta, Dallas and Houston where you could still find savings of $250,000. 

Among the top 50 cities, Milwaukee, Wisconsin emerged as the best city for getting a fixer-upper. It’s status as a pre-industrial city, it has a generous amount of investor of homes that need work. These properties make up 12% all listings for the city, double the overall average of all other cities. 

In Milwaukee, a savvy buyer can pick up one of these homes for $80,000, lower than prices for regular, non-fixer-upper homes ($195K). 

Click here to view a complete ranking of the best cities to find a fixer-upper. 

About Author: Kyle G. Horst

Kyle G. Horst is a reporter for DS News and MReport. A graduate of the University of Texas at Tyler, he has worked for a number of daily, weekly, and monthly publications in South Dakota and Texas. With more than 10 years of experience in community journalism, he has won a number of state, national, and international awards for his writing and photography including best newspaper design by the Associated Press Managing Editors Group and the international iPhone photographer of the year by the iPhone Photography Awards. He most recently worked as editor of Community Impact Newspaper covering a number of Dallas-Ft. Worth communities on a hyperlocal level. Contact Kyle G. at [email protected].
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