Four bedrooms of domestic bliss
Four bedrooms of domestic bliss<br>
The dream has changed. Chastened by the housing collapse, middle-class Americans want a different kind of home these days. The McMansion, with its eight bedrooms, five baths and 10,000 square-feet, is out. A more sensible housing solution is in.

The average size of new homes shrunk by about 5% from 2007 to 2010 and far fewer mega-homes are being built. The number of homes 4,000 square-feet or larger built in 2010 fell to 35,000 from more than 120,000 in 2007.

Sure, some Americans still fantasize about buying grandiose dwellings -- like Jennifer Aniston's $42 million mansion -- but then practicality sets in: Nowadays, the real dream house is a family-friendly, four bedroom, with two-and-a-half bath, 2,200 square-foot home.

But as Coldwell Banker's 2011 Home Listing Report shows, what you pay for these more down-to-earth dwellings can vary dramatically depending on where you live. The report compared average prices of the homes in 2,300 town and cities across North America. Among the findings: At an average cost of $80,000, buying a four bedroom in Lithonia, Ga. is only a fraction of what you'd pay for a similar-sized dwelling in Newport Beach, California where the homes average $2.5 million.

Here's a sampling of what the American Dream home costs in cities and towns across the U.S.



Last updated June 24 2011: 10:48 AM ET
Join the Conversation

Kenny Rogers' former home in Athens, Ga., on 1,000 acres, with an equestrian center and 18-hole golf course, can be yours for $20 million. More

If you're hunting for a real estate bargain, look no further: Here are 10 cities where the typical home costs less than $82,000. More

Find Homes for sale
  • Property Type
  • Find a home in:
    New York | Atlanta | Chicago | Los Angeles
    Washington D.C | Houston | Philadelphia | More options
Most Popular
 
 
 
 
 

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.