That figure comes from a nationwide chart, and a national median may not match a real, livable house anywhere near you. A national median blends every market in the country into one number. In high-cost coastal areas like Southern California, essentially no median single-family home exists at a low-to-mid national price point unless it needs a lot of work. Where homes actually transact around a national-median price is concentrated in the Midwest, and to some extent the South, though the South has been climbing too. That regional spread is the lesson. National headlines about "the median home price" can be close to meaningless for your decision, because your market can sit at a very different level in either direction. When you read price data, drop down to your metro, and ideally your submarket and price tier, before drawing any conclusion. A national median moving up or down says very little about the three-bedroom you're actually trying to buy on your street. If you want help translating a national headline into what it means for a specific area and a specific budget, that's a normal part of the free Roadmap conversation, where we run your real numbers.