Ten years ago, Yankton civic leaders were struggling with a housing shortage. Now the city has the country's most affordable housing market, according to a 2002 Coldwell Banker report.
The survey compares the average price of a 2,200-square-foot, four-bedroom
home in 317 U.S. markets. In Yankton, the selling price for this "typical"
home is $101,062. In Palo Alto, Calif., the nation's most expensive housing
market, a comparable home would sell for over $1.2 million. Minot, N.D.,
is the country's second most affordable market, according to the survey,
and Billings, Mont., is fourth on the list.
Yankton city managers attribute the improvement to a large housing development
financed with tax increment bonds in the mid-1990s.
—Douglas Clement
