Yikes! Just How High is the Sunshine Tax in California?

As any good Californian knows, the West Coast is the Best Coast, but now it’s also the most expensive coast.

According to a report by Coldwell Banker, nine of the 10 most expensive real estate markets are in California.

In fact, the Golden State dominated the Coldwell Banker Home Listing Report, taking 50 of the 100 spots.

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So which (un)lucky city is the most expensive to buy a home? That honor goes to Newport Beach, with an average four-bedroom, two bathroom home going for $2.29 million.

“The beauty of Newport Beach combined with the continued tech sector growth in Silicon Valley is powering California’s dominance of the most expensive communities in our report,” Coldwell Banker president and CEO Budge Huskey said.

Homes in Los Gatos, Cupertino, Saratoga and Palo Alto averaged well north of $1.5 million. Just how expensive is it the Bay Area? A smart-house in Los Altos is on the market for $8.888 million. A shack in Palo Alto is listed at $2 million -- and it already has an offer. Though, the real estate agent admits it’s the land that is the selling factor in that case.

So, where can one get the most bang for their real estate bucks? That would be Cleveland, where the average home costs $74,502. That’s about 30 times less expensive than in Newport Beach, according to the HLR.

Want to buy an affordable home? The midwest is where it’s at. Forty-five of the most affordable places in the U.S. are in the midwest.

Coldwell Banker came up with its report by comparing how an average four-bedroom home would be priced in different markets. This is in contrast to most housing affordability reports, which only calculate the median price of all homes sold in a particular market.

But it’s not all bad news for Californians, despite taking up half the spots on the list, California is still only the third most expensive state in the nation. So, there’s that.

Want to know how expensive your area is? Click here for the complete listing.

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