If You’re Looking to Buy a Fixer Upper, These Are the Cities to Consider

Fixer-uppers may not be for everyone, but there’s some extra charm in living in a home that requires a little (or a lot of) extra TLC. They’re a great option for budget-minded buyers and allow you to get fully creative with the space.

StorageCafe analyzed thousands of single-family home listings to find the cities with the most fixer-uppers. They took several metrics into consideration, including prices, number of active fixer-upper listings, home sizes and lot sizes, determining those areas with the most affordability and availability.

Across the 50 biggest cities in the United States, Milwaukee, WI, came out on top as best city for fixer-uppers. According to the research, fixer-uppers in Milwaukee represent 12 percent of the existing homes for sale, double the overall average for the cities included in the study. The average asking price for a Milwaukee fixer-upper is around $80,000 on average, 59 percent lower than prices for regular, non-fixer-upper homes ($195K).

In second place is Philadelphia, PA, with an average fixer-upper price of $145,000. While they weren’t the cheapest on the list, fixer-uppers make up 29 percent of the housing market in the city.

Also shaping up to be fixer-upper hotspot, third place went to Detroit, MI. Thanks to its large inventory of historic homes – many of them built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, 22 percent of the current available listings appear to be homes in need of repairs.

Taking fourth place is Memphis, TN, a city with plenty of fixer-upper properties at an affordable price. With a 44.5 percent discount on regular home prices, a fixer-upper costs an average of $109,900. Rounding out the top five in the study is Baltimore, MD, with 25 percent of homes being classed as a fixer-upper. A great place for those on a budget, a fixer-upper in Baltimore costs about half (49 percent) the price of a regular listing ($210,000).