In Less Than 2 Years, You Won’t Be Able To Afford a Home in These ZIP Codes

There are certain ZIP codes potential buyers know to avoid out of financial planning necessity. Instead, these buyers are turning to other ZIP codes that are more affordable — for now. This might not be the case within two years’ time, or even one year out from now.

Using Zillow’s August 2024-25 one-year forecast, GOBankingRates was able to take the overall U.S. median home value and project its growth and/or decline over 10 years. Our data revealed the projected 2026 national median home value is $372,201. If a ZIP code exceeds this baseline, it is considered to be too expensive.

Are these nine ZIP codes becoming too expensive for your homebuying budget?

• August home value: $347,195
• 2026 projected home value: $376,972

Powell, a suburb of Knoxville, is projected to be about 1% above the median home value in 2026, but it is expected to be 12% above the median by 2030.

• August home value: $356,824
• 2026 projected home value: $377,820

Home values in this Providence county ZIP code are projected to be 1.5% above the median home value by 2026. By 2034, it’s expected to be 13% above the median.

• August home value: $352,937
• 2026 projected home value: $373,704

Groton is projected to be barely above the median home value by 2026, 2% above in 2027 and 12% above by 2034.

• August home value: $358,855
• 2026 projected home value: $378,495

The second Providence county ZIP code on this list, with its metro being Providence-Warwick, is expected to be 2% above the median home value in 2026 and should be 10% above the median by 2033.

• August home value: $354,353
• 2026 projected home value: $373,746

Pooler, northwest of Savannah, is projected to rise a little above the median home value in 2026. It is expected to be 10% above the median by 2034.

• August home value: $356,499
• 2026 projected home value: $375,277

Springdale, part of Washington County, is projected to be nearly 1% above the median home value in 2026, rising to 9% above the median by 2034.

• August home value: $355,244
• 2026 projected home value: $373,229

Beaufort, with the nearest metro of Hilton Head Island-Bluffton, is projected to be climb just over the median home value in 2026. Prices are not expected to accelerate by more than 1% a year through 2034, when it might be 8% over the median.

• August home value: $356,423
• 2026 projected home value: $372,278

Webster, part of New York’s Monroe County, is projected to surpass the median home value in 2026, but it won’t outpace the median by much over the next decade — perhaps 6% above the median by 2034.

• August home value: $360,551
• 2026 projected home value: $375,118

Bethlehem, part of Northampton County, is projected to cross the median home value in 2025 and be slightly above in 2026. It is expected to hit just 5% above the median over the next decade.

Methodology: GOBankingRates took the overall U.S. median home value and projected its growth and/or decline over 10 years, using Zillow’s August 2024-25 one-year forecast. This projection was then compared to the projections of the 5,000 largest ZIP codes in the U.S. and the ZIP codes in the top 5,000 that currently have home prices below the national median, with those rising above the national average in the next 10 years (plus its projected growth rate over the same period) being deemed “a place you could no longer afford.” For each ZIP code over the next decade, GOBankingRates found the following factors: (1) year the ZIP code will become a “place you could no longer afford”; (2) projected home value for that year; and (3) U.S. average projected home value for that year. NOTE: GOBankingRates does not expect growth in home value to stay stagnant at one current rate for the next decade, but using these constant figures gives us an idea where certain markets are heading without unforeseen market disruptors in the future. All data used to conduct this study was compiled and verified on Sept. 16, 2024.