Daly City, south of San Francisco, has comparative bargains, like this five bedroom for $399,000.
Median income: $99,400
Affordability score: 21.0%
As in New York, developable land in the Bay area has been almost completely exhausted, boosting acquisition costs for builders and contributing to high home prices. The metro area is only more affordable than New York because the median income in the Bay Area is so high.
Prices are down from the bubble years, when a typical home sold for $769,000, according to the NAHB-Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.
The economy has continued soften, however, with metro area unemployment at 10.5% in June, nearly a point above the national average. That is down from 11% months earlier.
The housing market suffers from a severe hangover from the bubble years when exotic mortgage products put many homebuyers in jeopardy. Foreclosures remain a major problem. The rate of one filing for every 54 households, a total of more than 37,000, during the first six months of 2010 makes it the 43rd worst foreclosure rate in the nation, according to RealtyTrac.
NEXT: Third place: Santa Ana, Calif.
Last updated August 23 2010: 11:03 AM ET