15 Cities You Won't Be Able to Afford in 5 Years

Homes seem to be becoming more expensive to purchase and own over time, considering factors like increasing home values and interest rates.

If you're thinking about retiring in a few years, and you don't want to need help paying for your mortgage in retirement, you may want to reconsider buying a home in these areas.

Based on Redfin housing trend data, the cost of buying a home in the following cities is likely to continue increasing significantly in the next five years.

Worcester, MA, isn't necessarily the most expensive place to buy a home, with a median sale price of $452,500 in February 2025.

However, the very competitive real estate market here has grown 6.5% year-over-year in a challenging market climate. The median sale price per square foot has also increased to $282.

In February of 2025, the median price for a home in Bakersfield was $420,000. That's up about 8.2% year-over-year, making it a competitive market overall.

Homes often sell within 32 days, and 200 homes were sold in the city in February alone.

Wisconsin may not be the first place you think of when it comes to high home values, but they've risen over 8.1% from June 2023 to 2024. In early 2025, they've dropped back down a bit, down 1.3% from last year.

However, the median sale price of a home in this city is $430,000, and the median sale price per square foot grew 2.5%, at $247.

With home prices up about 17.5% in February 2025, the Providence real estate market is another very competitive area.

Homes spend about 30 days on the market, yet, with a median sale price of $498,000 and a price per square foot of $251, this is an area that's likely to see home prices grow to new heights.

The housing market in Roswell is highly competitive, even though it tends to feel like a small city.

Still, with home prices down 3.9% in February of 2025 over the previous year, still, it's hard not to see this area becoming highly expensive within a few years. The median sale price of a home here is $615,000, which is already one of the most expensive regions in the US.

A Midwest town with lots to offer, Columbus is another hidden city with fast-growing home prices.

In fact, most homes in Columbus received an average of four offers and had a median sale price of $270,000 in February 2025. Over 659 homes were sold in February this year, down from about 1,000 last year.

In February 2025, the median price for a home in Charlotte was $410,000. That month, more than 720 homes were sold in the area, a decrease of about 14% from a year ago.

The Charlotte housing market is very competitive, with home prices up about 2.5% in 2025 over the previous year.

Orlando is known for everything from theme parks to hot summers, but it's also seeing a lot of demand in the real estate market. The median sale price of a home in February of 2025 was $415,000.

The price per square foot, $248, is the exact same as it was a year ago. However, the 297 homes sold in February show a 15.9% decrease from last year.

In Atlanta, home prices are also on the rise, reaching a median sale price of $380,000 in February 2025.

That's actually about a 10.6% decrease from February 2024. However, the median sale price per square foot is still competitively high at $288, up 3.2% from last year.

It seems everyone wants to move to Prescott, where the median sale price of a home hit $551,00 in February of 2025. This is actually an 11.6% decrease from the previous year, but the median sale price per square foot is huge at $325, up 5% from last year.

Folsom, a community part of the Sacramento Metro area, is also a highly competitive place to live, with the median sale price of homes reaching $747,000.

The average price in this city is about $368 per square foot, and over 50 homes were sold in this small community in the month of February alone.

The median sale price of a home in February 2025 in Philadelphia was $250,000. With 873 homes selling in February alone (a decrease of 7% from the previous year), the home prices here are growing quickly, up 3.4% from 2024.

The median sold price of a home here was just $178,750 in February 2025, which is very affordable overall (especially when you consider NYC rates).

In fact, home prices are down about 0.7% compared to last year. However, the price per square foot in Buffalo is $113, up 3.7% since last year. With 118 homes sold in February, we see a decline of 18.6% in home sales compared to last year.

The median sale price for a home in Las Vegas was $440,000 in February of 2025. That's about 1.9% higher than the previous year.

The market saw an impressive 756 homes sold in February, indicating the very high demand.

Another competitive market is Knoxville, where home prices increased by about 13% from February 2024 to 2025, with 170 homes sold in February this year.

The median sale price in this area is still $338,000 lower than in many other places, but that could change over time.

If you're hoping to keep costs as low as possible, you may want to rent to avoid costly home repairs and increasing interest rates.

Yet, with a few smart homeowner moves, you can still find competitively priced real estate markets throughout the US, especially if you're willing to look beyond the large and in-demand city.