Using the HPCI's

indexing formula, consumers can calculate what their own home could be

worth in another city. The HPCI thus provides preliminary guidance for

the affordability of housing within a market to aid a transferee's decision

process.

An online HPCI

calculator function can be found at www.coldwellbanker.com which

provides the possible home values automatically. The Home Price Comparison

Index is also available in a brochure format through Coldwell Banker Bullard

Realty.

In the past

few years, a hot job market, strong economy and the impact of technology

have encouraged people considering relocating to another market.Many factors

such as differing salary, cost of living, taxes and housing prices affect

what the same dollar can buy in different parts of the country.

This year's

HPCI reveals that eight of the country's 10 most expensive markets are

in California and seven of the ten most affordable are within the Midwest.

According to

the HPCI, the Western region of the United States has the highest cumulative

average price for the subject home ($313,733), followed by the Northeast

($272,716), the Midwest ($181,984), and the Southeast ($176,640).

The average

price of all homes surveyed, nationally, is $244,600 and the American

cities/areas that came closest to the cumulative HPCI markets' national

average sales price are Denver, CO; Detroit, MI; Fossmoor, IL; and Anne

Arundel County, MD.

Utah has the

least variance ($2,438) between the most affordable (Salt Lake City: $163,362)

and most expensive (Provo: $165,800) markets and California has the greatest

($802,500) between Bakersfield ($171,737) and Palo Alto ($974,237).

Regionally,

the most expensive market is Miami at $273,626, and the most affordable

market is Chattanooga at $132,000.

The methodology

used to compile the data included the surveying of hundreds of Coldwell

Banker offices throughout the HPCI's corresponding U.S. and Canadian markets,

including Coldwell Banker Bullard Realty.

The "subject

home" that the HPCI was based on included the following criteria:

a 2,200 square foot, single-family dwelling with four bedrooms, two and

one-half baths, a family room and a two-car garage in a typical, middle

management transferee neighborhood. (The figure of 2,220 square feet was

the baseline figure used as size criteria for the HPCI subject homes.

However, it is possible that in certain markets, the size of the subject

homes varied.)

What would

a house in the Atlanta area cost in California's Hollywood Hills? The

HPCI's standard statistics indexing formula provides an answer: multiply

the market value of your current home of the index number of the destination

city where you plan to move Then, divide that number by the index number

of the Atlanta area.

For example,

if your home costs $150,000, multiply by the HPCI index number for Hollywood

Hills, which is 271. Take that number and divide by 87, the index number

for the Atlanta area. Therefore, if you live in a $150,000 house in the

Atlanta area, the HPCI value of your home would be approximately $467,000

in the Hollywood Hills, CA, area. Index numbers can be found in the HPCI

brochure.

"Only

a few decades ago mortgage burning parties were commonplace signifying

the end of a homeowner's 30-year commitment but in today's migratory society

families generally live in a home for about only four to seven years before

moving on," said Steve Bullard, owner and president of Coldwell Banker

Bullard Realty.

"With

corporate relocation consistent, and technology making the world smaller,

people can also expect to call different areas of the global village home

at one time or another.Therefore, it is very important to understand the

home prices within an area before accepting a job or committing to live

there."