In some areas, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of homes for sale for less than $200,000.

Detroit, Michigan

Number of listings priced under $200,000: 3,926

Percentage of listings priced under $200,000: 39%.

The Motor City has the most homes for sale priced below $200,000 with nearly 4,000, and almost half of those are priced below $100,000.

Detroit also has the smallest home size of any city on the list, with the city's overall median home size being just under 1,500 square feet.

But buying a home in Detroit at a lower price can be tricky, according to Tom Nanes, a real estate agent with Detroit Community Choice Realty.

He says prices are being kept low because homes in the city centre are staggered and in different stages of livability.

In some cases, "the cost of updating these homes is too high. Some houses still use knob and tube wiring. You can't update it. At that point, you have to do a complete replacement of the electrical," he says." So you could spend $50,000 and not get half of what you need for the house."

Even if a buyer finds a suitable home at the price they want, he explains, it could be surrounded by homes that will eventually be razed." Until those abandoned homes are cleared or levelled, prices won't climb as much as they would in the suburbs."

So the opportunity exists for those who can handle an older Detroit home, whether it's a first-time buyer who doesn't mind putting a little work into fixing up a home or an investor looking to upgrade a home so it can be sold or rented.

For $83,000, someone could buy this 95-year-old, 1,500-square-foot, four-bedroom brick home in Detroit's Yorkshire Forest neighbourhood.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Number of listings priced under $200,000: 2,026

Percentage of listings priced below $200,000: 32%

Almost 1 in 3 homes for sale in the Steel City are priced below $200,000.

Pittsburgh has undergone significant renewal in recent years and these efforts, combined with lower prices, have made the area attractive to buyers and investors alike.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, speculators bought up properties in neighbourhoods such as Lawrenceville, East Liberty and Garfield, causing prices in these communities to rise.

Like Detroit, homes in Pittsburgh are relatively small, with a median of just over 1,500 square feet.

Right now, $200,000 can buy a two-bedroom home with an unfinished basement about 10 minutes north of downtown Pittsburgh.

Or buyers can find a three-bedroom Cape Codder in the Brooklyn neighbourhood south of downtown with an updated kitchen, hardwood floors and a fenced yard.

Cleveland, Ohio.

Number of listings priced under $200,000: 1,598

Percentage of listings priced under $200,000: 31%

Not only does Cleveland rank third on our list, but it currently has the lowest overall median listing price at $189,000.

No matter where you are in the Cleveland area, buyers in this price range have options, says David Sharkey, president and broker of Progressive Urban Real Estate.

"You go to the suburbs and you can find something that's really affordable," Sharkey said of the large single-family homes on the outskirts of the city." Then you go into the city, into the inner suburbs, and you can still find homes for under $200,000. These homes may need to be renovated or updated, but people are doing that."

Sharkey says he sees a lot of homeowners reinvesting in homes in Cleveland, buying them at low prices and then renovating them to their own tastes. One of his listings in Brooklyn, Ohio, an inner suburb about 10 minutes south of downtown Cleveland, has been completely remodelled with quartz countertops, refinished cabinets and a waterproof basement.

The three-bedroom home in the Ohio City neighbourhood is listed for $190,000 and is advertised as an opportunity to renovate the home for a huge profit.

For a more turnkey home, this four-bedroom home with hardwood floors in the Brookside neighbourhood is listed for $160,000.

St. Louis, Missouri

Number of listings priced under $200,000: 1,622

Percentage of listings priced under $200,000: 22%

St. Louis is the gateway to the West, with over 1,600 homes for sale priced under $200,000.

The area has long been known for affordable real estate, but is also known for its crime and racial tensions.

Ferguson, a city on the northwestern edge of the St. Louis region, became one of the catalysts for the Black Lives Matter movement after the shooting death of Michael Brown in 2014.

The area's troubles are part of the reason why real estate here remains more affordable than in other Midwestern cities.

For less than $100,000, home buyers can buy a three-bedroom townhouse in the North Riverside neighbourhood, which is about 15 minutes north of downtown and within walking distance of the Mississippi River.