Erie named one of the country’s best ‘bargain’ cities

Erie was just named the seventh most affordable city in the country, according to realtor.com®.

The site found that in Erie, the median list price is $155,100, and the share of homes with monthly mortgage of $1,000 or less is 52.3%. Realtor.com® used a hypothetical 30-year fixed-rate loan, which included 10% down payments, 4.55% mortgage interest rates, 0.5% of the value of the home in private mortgage insurance payments and a $40 home insurance payment for each $100,000 in home value when determining their list.

“It looks like our secret is getting out,” said Mark Kibbe, the Greater Erie Board of Realtors® president-elect. “The Erie County region not only has affordable housing, but it also offers the friendliness of a small town with the amenities and cultural attractions of a larger city. There are two state-of-the-art hospitals in the area, along with numerous highly ranked colleges and universities. Some of those institutions of higher learning include Penn State Behrend, Gannon University, Mercyhurst University and Edinboro University. The Erie Philharmonic, one of the nation’s oldest orchestras, which was founded in 1913, performs in the majestic Warner Theatre during nine months of the year. More fun awaits at Waldameer Amusement Park and Splash Lagoon, both of which boast top-ten-in-the-nation water parks. Shopping abounds along the Peach Street Corridor, which includes the Millcreek Mall, the 14th largest mall in the nation.”

Kibbe also said the area boasts much natural beauty too. Presque Isle State Park, a “true gem,” on Lake Erie has 11 beaches, while Presque Isle Bay offers boating, and nationally ranked steelhead trout fishing.

“As you can see, affordable housing is just the start of what the Erie region has to offer. Coincidentally, I was hosting an open house recently and a gentleman stopped in from Agawam, Massachusetts. He said he was looking for a new place to live, as he just could not afford to purchase a home in his area of Massachusetts, because the average price of a modest home was close to $300,000. He was also attracted to the idea of living near one of the Great Lakes. He had been staying in Erie for several weeks and said he loved Erie’s mix of small town charm and big city resources. We talked for more than a half hour, and he told me more than once that the house I was showing him would easily cost two to three times more where he was from. For him, Erie was an easy sell and I strongly suspect we may be welcoming him to our community very soon,” said Kibbe.