12 housing markets where homebuyers have an upper hand

Today's housing market climate is a stormy one for homebuyers; growing home prices and mortgage rates are creating affordability obstacles for potential purchasers, and limited inventory is pushing property values upward.

But, some local housing markets, supported by lower median home prices and more favorable mortgage rates, offer purchasing power advantages to consumers.

While some cities, like San Jose, Calif., experienced "real" house prices shooting up over 25% year-over-year in May, other regions saw property values remain fairly steady, according to a First American Financial Corp. analysis of home values that factor in local wages and mortgage rates in large cities.

From Washington to Baltimore, here's a look at 12 best housing markets for homebuyer purchasing power. The data, from the First American Real House Price Index, measures home price changes, taking local wages and mortgage rates into account "to better reflect consumers' purchasing power and capture the true cost of housing."

The May 2018 data is ranked by smallest year-over-year changes in RHPI for cities where the current value is less than 100 (an RHPI reading of 100 is equal to housing conditions in January 2000).

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Panorama of downtown Pittsburgh skyline at twilight
Wasin Pummarin/f11photo - stock.adobe.com

Pittsburgh, Pa.

Median sale price: $125,000
RHPI: 65.42
Year-over-year RHPI: 3.4%
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Dave Newman - Fotolia

Washington, D.C.

Median sale price: $374,921
RHPI: 85.16
Year-over-year RHPI: 3.7%
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Baltimore, Maryland - July 24, 2013: Colorful early 19th century homes line Montgomerey Street in the Federal Hill Historic District
Picasa/lspi138 - Fotolia

Baltimore, Md.

Median sale price: $258,000
RHPI: 83.07
Year-over-year RHPI: 6.1%
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A pool stands where the terrorist attack took place in Oklahoma
Manuel Hurtado/ManuelHurtado - stock.adobe.com

Oklahoma City, Okla.

Median sale price: $158,000
RHPI: 73.31
Year-over-year RHPI: 6.8%
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logan - stock.adobe.com

Memphis, Tenn.

Median sale price: $157,250
RHPI: 57.23
Year-over-year RHPI: 7.9%
Hartford, Conn.
Hartford skyline on a sunny afternoon. Hartford is the capital of Connecticut.
Mihai Andritoiu/mandritoiu - stock.adobe.com

Hartford, Conn.

Median sale price: $220,000
RHPI: 75.22
Year-over-year RHPI: 9.5%
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Buildings at Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Christian Hinkle - stock.adobe.com

Virginia Beach, Va.

Median sale price: $220,500
RHPI: 95.52
Year-over-year RHPI: 9.9%
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St. Louis, Mo.

Median sale price: $166,250
RHPI: 71.7
Year-over-year RHPI: 10.1%
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Konstantin L - Fotolia

Raleigh, N.C.

Median sale price: $248,500
RHPI: 82.25
Year-over-year RHPI: 10.5%
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Trey - Fotolia

Chicago, Ill.

Median sale price: $238,561
RHPI: 70.49
Year-over-year RHPI: 10.8%
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Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in Philadelphia
rabbit75_fot - stock.adobe.com

Philadelphia, Pa.

Median sale price: $202,897
RHPI: 87.72
Year-over-year RHPI: 11.5%
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Milwaukee skyline taken from the port, Wisconsin, USA
Eunika Sopotnicka/eunikas - Fotolia

Milwaukee, Wis.

Median sale price: $175,000
RHPI: 96.54
Year-over-year RHPI: 12%
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